[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58010-58011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23343]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Steamboat Mountain Mining Operations, Rogue River National 
Forest, Jackson County, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) in response to Vest-O-Land Enterprises, Inc.'s proposed 
Plan of Operations, for the purpose of establishing operational terms 
and conditions as deemed reasonable, and to in due course, promote the 
development of locatable mineral resources of the United States, as 
mandated by the Mining Law of 1872.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this analysis should be 
received by October 15, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Erin Connelly, District Ranger, 
Applegate Ranger District, Rogue River National Forest, 6941 Upper 
Applegate Road, Jacksonville, Oregon, 97530-9314, FAX (541) 899-3888.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bengt Hamner, Assistant Lands Staff, 
Rogue River National Forest, (541) 858-2304, or Carol Spinos, Planner, 
Applegate Ranger District, (541) 899-3843.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the terms of the 1872 Mining Law, a 
mineral claimant, a k a Vest-O-Land Enterprises, Inc., proposes to 
exercise his exclusive, mineral extraction rights by conducting surface 
or ``open pit'' gold, platinum and rodium withdrawal, from overlapping 
Mining Claims 146192 and 146193 (DVT 3 and 
DVT 4). The location of the Steamboat Mountain Mining 
Operations in NE\1/4\ of Section 20, Township 40 South, Range 4 West, 
Willamette Meridian, Jackson County, Oregon. The proposed 8-acre 
operations site is located approximately .75 air miles south of 
Steamboat Mountain peak, between 3,000-3,200 feet above sea level on 
National Forest System Lands. The claimant plans to facilitate mineral 
production over the next fifteen years by excavating an open pit area 
approximately 70-200 feet depth x 840 feet width. The Steamboat 
Mountain Mining Operations would provide for stages (year-by-year) 
excavation, resulting in the removal of over 4,400 cubic yards of 
bedrock annually. Initial clearing would include the incidental cutting 
of approximately 25-50 commercially valuable trees. Rock would be 
blasted, crushed, loaded on trucks with an excavator, and hauled off 
National Forest System Lands (estimate 5 semi-truck loads/day), along 
Forest Service Road 300 to County Road 777, for gold recovery 
processing off of national forest.

Proposed Action

    Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), the Rogue River National Forest, Applegate Ranger District, 
proposes to fulfill all legally mandated environmental analysis and 
statement requirements, including the establishment of operating terms 
and conditions. The application of operational terms and conditions are 
intended to direct mining operation mitigation and reclamation 
activities to minimize adverse effects on National Forest System 
surface resources (36 CFR 228.1).

Preliminary Alternatives

    The following preliminary alternatives will be analyzed in the 
forthcoming draft EIS; No-Action (as required by NEPA), a baseline 
alternative that assumes mining without any terms and conditions, an 
alternative that assumes mining with associated terms and conditions as 
proposed by the claimant, and an alternative that incorporates proposed 
claimant terms and conditions, as well as additional premium terms and 
conditions for resource protection.

Responsible Official/Nature of Decision To Be Made

    the Responsible Official, Erin Connelly, Applegate District Ranger, 
will review the analysis contained in the Steamboat Mountain Mining 
Operations Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), to decide whether or 
not terms and conditions shall be required, and if so, specially where, 
when, and to what extent they shall be

[[Page 58011]]

employed. The ensuring Record of Decision tied to the final EIS would 
not directly result in the approval of the claimants' Plan of 
Operations (POO). Rather, the Record of Decision would fulfill legal 
requirements and provide rationale for establishing reasonable terms 
and conditions.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process under NEPA, 
which will guide the development of the draft EIS. The draft EIS is 
expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 
to be available for public comment by November 2002. The comment period 
for the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date EPA publishes the 
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
    At the end of this period, comments submitted to the Forest 
Service, including names and addresses of those who responded, will be 
considered part of the public record for this proposal, and as such 
will be available for public review. Comments submitted anonymously 
will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit anonymous 
comments will not have standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 
36 CFR part 215. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person 
may request the agency to withhold a submission from the public record 
by showing how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such 
confidentiality. Persons requesting such confidentiality should be 
aware that, under the FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very 
limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest 
Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding 
the request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the 
agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the 
comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within a 
specified number of days.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft EISs must structure their participation in the environmental 
review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to 
the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 533 (1978). Also, environmental objections 
that could be raised at the draft EIS state, but that are not raised 
until completion of the final EIS, may be waived or dismissed by the 
courts. City Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir, 1986) and 
Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 
1980). Because of these court rulings, it is important that those 
interested in this proposed action participate by the close of the 45-
day comment period so substantive comments and objections are made 
available to the Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully 
consider them and respond to them in the final environmental impact 
statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS should 
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to 
specific pages or chapters of the draft EIS. Comments may also address 
the adequacy of the draft EIS or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer 
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
    Comments on the draft EIS will be analyzed, considered, and 
responded to by the Forest Service in preparing the final EIS. The 
final EIS is scheduled to be completed in January 2003. The responsible 
official will consider comments, responses, environmental consequences 
discussed in the final EIS and applicable laws, regulations, and 
policies in making this decision. The responsible official will 
document the decision and rationale for the decision in the Record of 
Decision. It will be subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36 
CFR Part 215).

    Dated: November 9, 2002.
Erin Connelly,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 02-23343 Filed 9-12-02; 8:45 am]
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