[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 37 (Friday, February 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 9378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3628]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-060-3809]


Notice of Availability: Pipeline/South Pipeline Pit Expansion 
Project Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
    Cooperating Agency: Nevada Department of Wildlife.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Pipeline/South Pipeline Pit 
Expansion Project final supplemental environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 and the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations 
found at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, notice is hereby given of the 
availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(FSEIS) for comment, prepared by the Battle Mountain Field Office of 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The FSEIS analyzes the 
environmental effects of the Proposed Action, Complete Backfill 
Alternative, No Backfill Alternative, and the No Action Alternative.

DATES: Written comments must be post-marked or otherwise delivered by 
4:30 p.m. (Pacific Time Zone) by no later than 30 days after the date 
that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes this Notice in the 
Federal Register. A limited number of copies of the FSEIS may be 
obtained at the Battle Mountain BLM Field Office.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to the Bureau of Land 
Management, Attn: Pam Jarnecke, Battle Mountain Field Office, 50 
Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada 89820.
    Comments, including names and addresses or respondents, will be 
available for public review at the above address during regular 
business hours, Monday-Friday, excluding holidays. Individual 
respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your 
name or street address from public review or from disclosure under the 
Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your written comment. However, we will not consider 
anonymous comments. Such requests to withhold your name or street 
address from public review will be honored to the extent allowed by 
law. All submissions from organizations or business, and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives of officials of 
organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection in 
their entirety. The FSEIS is available at the Battle Mountain Field 
Office at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pam Jarnecke, Battle Mountain BLM at 
(775) 635-4144.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Cortez Gold Mines (CGM) proposes to expand 
its current gold mining operations 30 miles southeast of Battle 
Mountain, Nevada. The proposed Pit Expansion Project would not result 
in an increase in surface disturbance beyond the 7,676 acres previously 
approved. Actions associated with the Project would consist of the 
following: expand the South Pipeline open pit to the east, southeast, 
and southwest; increase the depth of the Pipeline/South Pipeline open 
pit; use resulting waste rock as backfill into portions of the 
Pipeline/South Pipeline open pit; increase the height of the approved 
South Area Heap Leach pad from a height of 250 feet to 300 feet above 
ground surface; increase the approved Area 28 tailings and heap leach 
facility height from 250 feet to 300 feet above ground surface; 
construct an additional waste rock dump on the backfilled portion of 
the open pit; construct the 125-acre Gap waste rock dump; increase the 
approved mining rate from an average 150,000 tons per day (tpd) with a 
maximum of 250,000 tpd to an average of 350,000 tpd with a maximum of 
500,000 tpd; translocate waste rock within the Pipeline/South Pipeline 
open pit, including portions of the expanded open pit; conduct certain 
activities at the approved Cortez facility without modification to the 
facility; install ground water extraction wells (ground water 
extraction from the existing and planned wells would not exceed the 
approved annualized average rate of 34,500 gallons per minute); close 
the existing Gold Acres heap leach facility and move the ore to the 
South Area heap leach facility for further processing; and continue 
management of mine dewatering as outlined in the Pipeline Infiltration 
Plan and South Pipeline EIS. The proposed additional development of the 
South Pipeline ore deposit would provide up to seven additional years 
of mining and processing. The combined life of the Pipeline Project, 
the South Pipeline Project and the Proposed Action would be up to 25 
years.

Gerald M. Smith,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 05-3628 Filed 2-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P