[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 249 (Thursday, December 29, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77118-77120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-24574]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Caribou County, ID, Smoky Canyon 
Mine Panels F and G Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revision of the Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Smoky Canyon Mine, Panels F and G Project, as 
published in the Federal Register page 53998 to 53999 on September 15, 
2003 (Vol. 68, No. 178). This revision includes a change of project 
schedule.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, DOI, Bureau of Land Management and 
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality are preparing an 
Environmental Impact Statement to document the analysis and disclose 
the environmental impacts of the proposed Smoky Canyon Mine, Panels F 
and G Project, a phosphate mine expansion. This revised Notice of 
Intent is to document some changes in the schedule.
    In the original NOI, the tentative date for filing the Draft EIS 
was March of 2005 and the Final EIS was scheduled for September, 2005. 
Due to scheduling changes, the Draft EIS is now expected to be 
available for review in December, 2005. The final EIS is scheduled to 
be completed in July, 2006.
    Plans have been developed and submitted for agency review for an 
extension of open pit mining operations at the J.R. Simplot Company 
(Simplot) Smoky Canyon Phosphate Mine in Canyon County, Idaho, located 
approximately 20 miles west of Afton, Wyoming. Simplot has operated 
existing Smoky Canyon Mine since 1983 and within a few years will 
complete mining of currently permitted reserves.
    Agency Decisions: The BLM Idaho State Director or delegated 
official will make a decision regarding approval of the proposed mine 
and reclamation plan and appropriate land use authorizations (including 
a proposed 520 acre modification to I-27512 and up to a 100 acre 
modification to I-01441) on leased lands. Decisions will be based on 
the EIS and any recommendations the FS may have regarding surface 
management of leased National Forest System lands. The Caribou-Targhee 
National Forest Supervisor makes recommendations to the BLM concerning 
surface management and mitigation on leased lands within the Caribou-
Targhee National Forest and makes decisions on mine-related activities 
which occur off-lease. The Army Corps of Engineers may also make 
decisions related to permits under section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

DATES: A draft EIS is expected to be completed by the end of December 
2005. A final EIS is expected in July of 2006.
    Scoping Procedure: The scoping procedure used for this EIS 
involved: Notification in Federal Register; a mailing to interested and 
potentially affected individuals, groups, Federal, State and local 
government entities eliciting comments, issues and concerns; local news 
releases or newspaper legal notices; and public scoping meetings.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Smoky Canyon Mine DEIS, c/o The 
Shipley Group, PO Box 2000, Bountiful, UT 84011-2000. E-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill Stout, Bureau of Land Management, 
Pocatello Field Office, 4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, Idaho 83204, 
phone (208) 478-6340; or Scott Gerwe, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, 
Soda Springs Ranger District, 410 E. Hooper Ave., Soda Springs, Idaho 
83276, phone (208) 547-4356, Information is also available at http://www.blm.gov/nhp/spotlight/state_info/planning.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed new extension of mining 
operations in Panels F and G lie within the Caribou-Targhee National 
Forest on lands administered by the FS and Federal mineral leases 
administered by the BLM. Mining as proposed would take place on Panels 
F and G, including lease modifications (enlargement) of leases I-27512 
and I-01441. These

[[Page 77119]]

existing Federal mineral leases are adjacent to the southwest portion 
of the existing mine and were previously issued to Simplot by 
competitive bid in January of 2001 and October of 1950 respectively. 
Environmental impacts of the proposed mining operations and reasonable 
alternatives will be analyzed in the EIS. Appropriate mitigation 
measures will also be formulated.
    The proposed mining activities consist of two open pits--Panel F on 
Federal phosphate lease I-27512 (sometimes referred to as the Manning 
Creek lease) and Panel G on Federal phosphate lease I-01441 (sometimes 
referred to as the Deer Creek lease), topsoil stockpiles, mine 
equipment parking and service areas, access and haul roads, a power 
line extension from the existing Smoky Canyon loop, permanent external 
overburden storage areas, and runoff/sediment control facilities. A new 
haul/access road to transport ore to the existing Smoky Canyon mill is 
proposed to be constructed from the south end of the existing Panel E 
approximately 2.5 miles to the proposed Panel F. As operations move 
south to Panel G, another haul road is proposed to transport ore 7.8 
miles from Panel G north to Panel F. Much of these activities are 
proposed to occur within the FS Sage Creek inventoried roadless area.
    As proposed, the existing Smoky Canyon Mine, maintenance, 
administrative, and milling facilities would continue to be used. 
However, because G panel lies several miles south of the currently 
existing maintenance and fuel facilities, Simplot's plans propose mine 
support facilities at the new panels including: Equipment ready lines, 
electrical substations, warehouse and storage areas, lunch rooms, 
repair shops, restrooms, fuel and lubricant storage and dispensing 
facilities and blasting supplies.
    Ore from the new panels would be hauled in trucks over new and 
existing haul/access roads to the existing Smoky Canyon mill facilities 
to be concentrated. Ore concentrate from the mill would be transported 
to the Simplot fertilizer plant in Pocatello, Idaho via the existing 
slurry pipeline system. Mill tailings would continue to be deposited in 
the currently approved and permitted tailings disposal facilities 
located on Simplot property east of the mill.
    Initially, overburden generated from Panel F would be trucked to 
the existing Panel E open pit and used as backfill. Excess waste rock 
is proposed to be permanently placed in a 35-acre pit overfill on-
lease. Remaining overburden from Panel F would then be placed as 
backfill in Panel F as soon as practical. Overburden generated from 
mining Panel G would be permanently placed in 138 acres of external 
overburden fills on-lease at Panel G as well as backfill in the Panel G 
open pit.
    Disturbed lands directly resulting from the proposed activities 
total about 1,340 acres. New pits would disturb approximately 763 acres 
of which approximately 796 acres would be backfilled and reclaimed. 
Forty-six acres of highwall and pit bottoms would remain after 
reclamation is complete. The remaining 23 acres of the Panel E 
(currently approved and active) open pit would also be backfilled with 
overburden from Panel F. This pit is currently permitted to be left 
open. The rest of the disturbed acreage would consist of approximately 
284 acres of roads, 176 acres of overburden disposal areas, and 117 
acres of runoff management facilities, water monitoring facilities, and 
topsoil piles. Each would be reclaimed. The FS Sage Creek inventoried 
roadless area overlaps large portions of the proposed mine and haul 
road disturbance areas.
    Potential impacts to surface resources and water quality include 
erosion, sediment, and dissolved contaminants such as selenium. Simplot 
has proposed to implement practices designed to reduce, eliminate, or 
mitigate these impacts. Suitable topsoil would be salvaged from 
disturbed areas for use in reclamation. Reclamation of mining 
disturbances include: removal of facilities and equipment, backfilling 
pits, regrading slopes, restoring drainages, spreading topsoil, 
stabilizing surfaces, revegetation, testing and treatment for remaining 
hydrocarbon contaminants and environmental monitoring.
    Simplot has applied for two lease modifications to expand Federal 
Phosphate Lease I-27512 for the Panel F operations. They are a smaller 
120-acre lease modification on the northern edge of the lease and a 
larger 400-acre modification on the southern edge of the lease. The 
proposed northern lease modifications would be included in all action 
alternatives. The issuance and mining of a southern lease modification 
would be evaluated as a separate alternative. Simplot will likely apply 
for another lease modification to enlarge lease I-01441 to accommodate 
18 acres of off-lease external overburden fill. Environmental impacts 
of mining operations within the lease modifications will be analyzed in 
this EIS.
    Issues initially identified for the proposed mining of F and G 
panels include potential effects on: ground water and surface water 
quantity and quality, wildlife and their habitats; livestock grazing, 
wetlands and riparian habitat, socio-economics, FS inventoried roadless 
areas, visual resources, and cumulative effects.
    At this early stage, the BLM and FS believe that 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 to be meaningful and alert an agency to 
reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. 
v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 518,553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that 
could be raised at the draft EIS stage but are not raised until after 
completion of the final EIS 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). Due to these court rulings, it is very important that those 
interested in this proposed action participate by the close of the 60-
day comment period for the draft EIS. This is necessary so that 
substantive comments and objections are made available to the BLM and 
FS at a time when they can meaningfully consider them and respond to 
them in the final EIS.

Possible Alternatives

    The EIS will analyze the Proposed Action with and without issuing a 
lease modification on the southern margin of Panel F operations, 
alternative access/haul road alignment to access the Panel G operations 
and the No Action Alternative. Other alternatives may include: 
Additional access and haul road designs, use of conveyors to transport 
ore to the existing mill, revising the layout or sequencing of the 
proposed mining facilities, different methods for reducing impacts from 
overburden handling, and other alternatives that could provide 
mitigation for impacts.

Tentative EIS Project Schedule

    The tentative project schedule is as follows:
     Estimated date for Draft EIS: December 2005.
     Public Comment Period on Draft EIS: 60 days from when the 
Notice of Availability is published in the Federal Register.
     Final EIS Publication: July 2006.
     Decision: August 2006.

[[Page 77120]]

Public Scoping Meetings

    At least three public meetings will be held. Each will be the open 
house type. The open houses will include displays explaining the 
project and provide a forum for commenting on the project. Meetings are 
currently planned for Pocatello and Soda Springs, Idaho and Afton, 
Wyoming. The dates, times, and locations of the public scoping meetings 
will be announced in mailings and public notices issued by the BLM or 
may be obtained from Bill Stout, Bureau of Land Management, Pocatello 
Field Office, 4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, Idaho 83204, or http://www.blm.gov/nhp/spotlight/state_info/planning.htm, phone (208) 478-
6367.

Public Input Requested

    The BLM and FS are seeking information and written comments from 
Federal, State and local agencies as well as individuals and 
organizations interested in, or affected by, the Proposed Action or 
Alternatives. To assist the BLM and FS in identifying issues and 
concerns related to the Proposed Action or Alternatives, comments for 
the Draft EIS, should be as specific as possible.

    Dated: December 21, 2005.
Sheryl Bainbridge,
Acting Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
[FR Doc. 05-24574 Filed 12-28-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M