[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 156 (Friday, August 14, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41157-41158]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-19416]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLIDI02000. L71220000.EO0000.LVTFD0980300]


Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Proposed Blackfoot Bridge Mine, Idaho

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for 
the proposed Blackfoot Bridge Mine and by this Notice is announcing the 
opening of the comment period.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Blackfoot Bridge Mine DEIS within 45 days 
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the 
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce 
future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities 
at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media news 
releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: us.com">Blackfoot.Bridge@arcadis-us.com.
     Fax: (720) 344-3535.
     Mail: Blackfoot Bridge Project, ARCADIS, 630 Plaza Drive, 
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129.

Copies of the Blackfoot Bridge Mine DEIS are available in the BLM 
Pocatello Field Office at the following address: 4350 Cliffs Drive, 
Pocatello, ID 83204. In addition, an electronic copy of the DEIS is 
available at the following Web address: http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/0.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kyle Free, Bureau of Land Management, 
Pocatello Field Office, 4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, Idaho 83204, 
phone (208) 478-6368, fax (208) 478-6376.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: P4 Production, LLC (P4), a subsidiary of 
Monsanto Company, holds mineral leases issued by the United States 
granting them exclusive rights to develop phosphate minerals in the 
Blackfoot Bridge area. P4 has submitted a Mine and Reclamation Plan 
(MRP) for BLM to consider the environmental impacts that may occur from 
implementation of the MRP, including the possible modification of 
existing leases. P4 must receive approval of the MRP and obtain 
additional Federal and state permits prior to mining under the proposed 
mine plan. The BLM has prepared a DEIS to evaluate effects of the 
Blackfoot Bridge Mine upon the human environment, including the 
potential effects of selenium and other contaminants, and to consider 
appropriate mitigation measures.
    As required by the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 and 43 CFR Part 
3590, the BLM is to evaluate and respond to the MRP from P4 that 
proposes the recovery of phosphate ore reserves contained within 
Federal Phosphate Leases I-05613 and I-013709. The BLM is required to 
evaluate the MRP, considering the no action alternative and other 
reasonable alternatives, and issue decisions related to development of 
the phosphate leases and whether to modify the existing leases. The 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is required to evaluate and respond to 
P4's application for a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act 
that is needed to implement the MRP. The DEIS provides the analysis 
upon which the BLM and other involved agencies can base such decisions. 
The Proposed Action is needed to ensure economically viable development 
of the phosphate resources, as required by Federal law and the Federal 
leases, and to allow the lessee to exercise its right to develop the 
leases mentioned above.
    The Proposed Action consists of P4's MRP as revised in 2008. The 
Blackfoot Bridge Mine would be developed using open pit mining methods 
to extract phosphate ore that would be hauled about 8 miles to P4's 
existing Soda Springs elemental phosphorus plant for processing. Ore 
would be recovered from three separate mine pits called the North, Mid 
and South Pits. Mining would begin in the Mid Pit, followed by the 
North Pit and South Pit. Mining of the North Pit and portions of the 
Mid Pit are predicted to extend below groundwater level and would 
require dewatering during portions of the 17-year mine life. All 
overburden would either be backfilled into mined-out portions of the 
mine pits or placed in the external East Overburden Pile (EOP) or 
Northwest Overburden Pile (NWOP). Other mine-related facilities would 
include an ore stockpile, a tipple (truck loading facility), an ore 
truck turnaround loop, an equipment yard, two water management ponds, 
topsoil stockpiles, roads and sediment control structures. 
Approximately 739 acres of surface are expected to be disturbed over 
the life of the project, with about 640 acres (85 percent) planned to 
be re-vegetated. Fifteen percent of the mine site would involve 
residual highwalls that cannot be re-vegetated.
    As phosphate mining has developed in southeast Idaho, increasing 
concern for surface and groundwater contamination has led to the 
development of various Best Management Practices (BMPs) to control 
potential selenium migration from the mines. An impermeable or low-
permeability cover over external overburden piles and over pit 
backfilled areas is a way to reduce infiltration into the materials, 
and thus, reduce the potential leaching of selenium from the materials.

[[Page 41158]]

    In the Proposed Action, pit backfills and overburden piles are to 
be covered with at least 4 feet of chert or limestone, overlaid by 18 
inches of topsoil. A cover called the Simple 1 cover, consisting of 18 
inches of topsoil overlying 1 foot of weathered alluvium and 2 feet of 
chert, is proposed for capping of seleniferous portions of the EOP. As 
part of the DEIS analysis, groundwater modeling has been used to 
estimate the potential effects of the proposed action on groundwater 
and surface water resources in the project area. Model results indicate 
that the Proposed Action, as designed, has the potential to release 
selenium concentrations to groundwater and ultimately surface water in 
excess of the applicable water quality standard. To address this 
potential excess, alternative capping designs (Alternatives 1A and 1B) 
were developed to reduce the amount of meteoric water that would 
infiltrate through the backfilled pits and external overburden piles. 
The reduction in infiltration would result in a reduction in the volume 
of water that would leach through mine overburden thereby reducing the 
volume of water containing constituents of concern that could 
potentially affect the quality of area groundwater and surface water.
    Alternatives 1A and 1B would be comprised of all components of the 
Proposed Action but would require P4 to install a layer of impermeable 
material (a laminated Geosynthetic Clay Liner or GCLL) between the 
seleniferous materials and the applied growth media to reduce the 
volume of water infiltrating into the backfill. The GCLL cover system 
would be comprised of the following materials (from surface to base):
     18 inches of topsoil;
     1 foot of weathered alluvium cover material;
     Approximately 6 inches of drainage/protective layer 
material (actual thickness is dependent on slope and aspect);
     GCLL;
     6 inches of a protective sub-grade layer (weathered 
alluvium or other earthen material); and
     Run of Mine (ROM) overburden.
    The GCLL itself includes a thin layer of powdered sodium bentonite 
clay sandwiched between two geotextile layers. A geotextile is a woven 
or nonwoven sheet material that is resistant to penetration damage. The 
top geotextile layer is laminated with a polyethylene geomembrane 
layer, providing an additional layer of protection (hence the name, 
Geosynthetic Clay Liner Laminate).
    While Alternatives 1A and 1B primarily address water quality 
issues, additional alternatives to address other issues are also 
considered in the DEIS.
    A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare this EIS was published in the 
Federal Register on February 3, 2006. Publication of the NOI in the 
Federal Register initiated a 56 day public scoping period for the 
Proposed Action that provided for acceptance of written comments. The 
scoping process identified concerns that included potential effects of 
the project on water resources; socioeconomic conditions; livestock 
grazing; reclamation and restoration; wildlife and vegetation; soils; 
threatened, endangered, and sensitive species; air quality; aesthetics; 
land use; visual resources; hazardous and solid wastes; tribal 
interests and cumulative effects.
    It is currently expected that P4's existing South Rasmussen Mine 
will be depleted sometime in 2012. Because of operating requirements at 
the Soda Springs processing plant, it is necessary to bring Blackfoot 
Bridge Mine online in 2010. In years 1 through 4, a blend of ores from 
both South Rasmussen Mine and Blackfoot Bridge Mine would be required.
    Three public meetings will be held, each an open house, from 7 p.m. 
to 9 p.m. The open houses will include displays explaining the project 
and a forum for commenting on the project. Public meetings will be held 
in the Soda Springs City Office Building, 9 West 2nd South, Soda 
Springs, Idaho; in the BLM Pocatello Field Office, 4350 Cliffs Drive, 
Pocatello, Idaho; and in the Tribal Business Center, Pima Avenue, Fort 
Hall, Idaho. Each of these meetings will be held within 30 days of this 
Notice. Alternatively, interested parties may contact the BLM Project 
Lead listed above for specific information regarding the public 
meetings. Written and electronic comments regarding the DEIS should be 
submitted within 45 days of the date of publication of the EPA's Notice 
in the Federal Register.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses and e-mail addresses of respondents 
will be available for public review and disclosure at the above BLM 
address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday 
through Friday, except holidays.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

Karen Rice,
Associate District Manager.
[FR Doc. E9-19416 Filed 8-13-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GG-P