[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 203 (Friday, October 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 61302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21042]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and Initiate the Public Scoping Process

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, notice is hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 
Challis Field Office, will be directing the preparation of an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will analyze the mining 
impacts resulting from L&W Stone's Amended Plan of Operations in Custer 
County, Idaho.

DATES: The scoping comment period will commence with the publication of 
this notice and will end 45 days after publication of this notice. Two 
public meetings will be held during the scoping comment period. 
Comments on the scope of the EIS, including concerns, issues, or 
proposed alternatives that should be considered in the EIS should be 
submitted in writing to the address below. The dates of public meetings 
to be held in Challis and Boise, Idaho will be announced through the 
local media, newsletters, and BLM's National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) mailing list. The draft EIS is expected to be available for 
public review and comment in June 2006 and the final EIS is expected to 
be available in August 2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Chuck Horsburgh, Project 
Leader, Idaho Falls District Office, 1405 Hollipark Drive, Idaho Falls, 
Idaho 83401. Faxes should be sent to 208-524-7505. Comments received on 
this proposal, including names and addresses, will be considered part 
of the public record and will be available for public inspection during 
regular office hours, Monday-Friday, 8-4:30 p.m. Individual respondents 
may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name and 
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. Such requests will be honored to the extent 
allowed by law. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and 
from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials 
for organizations or businesses, will be available for public 
inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chuck Horsburgh, Project Leader, Idaho 
Falls District Office, 1405 Hollipark Drive, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83401; 
or phone at (208) 524-7530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: L&W Stone Corporation mines locatable 
flagstone on public lands administered by the BLM's Challis Field 
Office in Custer County, Idaho. L&W Stone submitted an Amended Plan of 
Operations for their quarry under the 43 CFR 3809 Regulations in 
December 2002. The BLM completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
regarding the Amended Plan of Operations, signed a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI), and approved the project. As a result of a 
lawsuit that was filed objecting to that approval, the BLM was ordered 
by a Federal District Court judge to prepare an EIS for the Amended 
Plan of Operations. The Amended Plan of Operations will serve as the 
basis for the EIS project description. The BLM will analyze a range of 
alternatives in the EIS. As proposed in the Amended Plan of Operations, 
the quarry would operate for up to 40 years. The main product that is 
mined is large-diameter sheets of rock called flagstone which is used 
in both indoor and outdoor decorative construction.

    Dated: August 30, 2005.
David Rosenkrance,
Challis Field Manager, BLM.
[FR Doc. 05-21042 Filed 10-20-05; 8:45 am]
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