[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 4, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24558-24559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10017]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Big Bar Ranger District of the Trinity River Management Unit; 
Shasta-Trinity National Forest; California; Trinity 1-8 Mining 
Operation

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: A Plan of Operation has been submitted by Master petroleum, 
Inc., for the purpose of mining for gold within the trinity 1-8 Placer 
Mining Claim. The proposal is to mine within Trinity County from four 
sites totaling about 22 acres in the vicinity of Big East Fork and 
Canyon Creeks.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by May 20, 2004. The draft environmental impact statement is expected 
in February, 2005, and the final environmental impact statement is 
expected in May, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mike Mitchell, Supervisory Natural 
Resource Officer, c/o USFS, PO Box 1190, Weaverville, CA 96093. For 
further information, mail correspondence to Mike Mitchell, Supervisory 
Natural Resource Officer, c/o USFS, PO Box 1190, Weaverville, CA 96093.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry McLean, USFS Minerals Officer, 
phone 530-623-1767.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of the project is to extract locatable minerals 
(valuable mineral deposits) while providing resource protection on 
National Forest System lands as authorized by the United States mining 
laws of May 10, 1872, as amended (30 U.S.C. 21-54), which confer a 
statuary right to enter upon the public lands to search for minerals.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to approve the Plan of Operations submitted 
by Master petroleum, Inc. to open pit mine about 22 acres of National 
Forest Lands on the Trinity 1-8 Placer Mining Claims, CAMC 
605515. This is a high bench placer mining operation. The plan 
is to remove vegetation, stockpile topsoil for reclamation, remove and 
process valuable placer deposits down to bedrock, replace processed 
waste in excavation, and reclaim the site. It is estimated that the 
operation will process approximately 1,138,478 tons of gold bearing 
placer gravels from about 22 acres over a 25-year period. The Project 
is located at the confluence of Canyon Creek and the Big East Fork of 
Canyon Creek off Canyon Creek Road. Legal description is; T.35N., 
R.10W., Section 30, Mount Diablo Meridian.

Responsible Official

    Joyce Andersen, District Ranger, c/o USFS, PO Box 1190, 
Weaverville, CA 96093.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The District Ranger will decide whether the proposed action will 
proceed as proposed or as modified by an alternative. Also, she will 
decide which recommended mitigation measures and monitoring 
requirements will be applied.

Scoping Process

    The Forest Service will advertise the proposal in the Trinity 
Journal and Record Searchlight, newspapers of general distribution. The 
project will be listed in the Shasta-Trinity Forest Quarterly NEPA 
calendar. Adjacent landowners, known interested parties, and government 
agencies will be sent letters describing the project and identifying 
the project timeframe. Scoping comments are requested by May 20, 2004. 
A public meeting is scheduled for May 13, 2004, in the Weaverville Fire 
Hall.

Preliminary Issues

    Issues will be identified as a result of scoping. At this time 
project planners expect removal of vegetative cover, visual quality, 
and water quality concerns to be voiced in the scoping process.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. The Forest 
Service is seeking information that planners may not be aware of, and/
or issues (points of dispute, debate concern, or disagreement) 
regarding potential effects of the proposal to authorize mining on the 
Trinity 1-8 Placer Mining Claims.

Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review

    A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for 
comment. The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement 
will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency 
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    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 environmental impact statements 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, 
553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may 
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of 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 very important that those interested in this proposed action 
participate by the close of the 45 day comment period so that 
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 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the 
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
environmental impact statement 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 received, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal 
and will be available for public inspection.


[[Page 24559]]


(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, 
Section 21.)

    Dated: April 23, 2004.
Joyce Andersen,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 04-10017 Filed 5-3-04; 8:45 am]
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