[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 161 (Friday, August 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51478-51479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20557]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVB00000 L71220000.EX0000 LVTFF0986020 241A.00; MO 
4500014477; 10-08807; TAS: 14X8069]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project, Lander County, 
NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 
Battle Mountain District, Mount Lewis Field Office, Battle Mountain, 
Nevada, has prepared a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project in Lander 
County, Nevada. The project was authorized in a Record of Decision and 
Plan of Operations Amendment Approval in November 2008 and by this 
notice the BLM is announcing the opening of the comment period for the 
Draft Supplemental EIS.

DATES: The Cortez Hills Expansion Project Draft Supplemental EIS is 
available for public comment for 45 days following the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in 
the Federal Register. To provide the

[[Page 51479]]

public with an opportunity to review and comment on the Draft 
Supplemental EIS, the BLM will host public meetings in Crescent Valley 
and Battle Mountain, Nevada. The BLM will announce future meetings or 
hearings and any other public involvement activities at least 15 days 
in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Cortez Hills 
Expansion Project Draft Supplemental EIS by the following methods:
     Fax: (775) 635-4034
     E-mail: [email protected]
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, 50 Bastian Road, Battle 
Mountain, Nevada 89020, ATTN: Christopher Worthington.
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Worthington, telephone 
(775) 635-4000; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM signed a Record of Decision and Plan 
of Operations Approval on November 12, 2008, for the Cortez Gold Mines 
(CGM) Cortez Hills Expansion Project, which is an expansion of an 
existing open-pit gold mining and processing operations in northeastern 
Nevada. The project entails new surface disturbance of approximately 
6,633 acres, including 6,412 acres of public land administered by the 
BLM Battle Mountain District and 221 acres of private land owned by 
CGM. The Notice of Availability of the Final Cortez Hills Expansion 
Project EIS, Nevada, was published in the Federal Register on October 
3, 2008 (73 FR 57647).
    On December 3, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit partially reversed the U.S. District Court of Nevada's denial 
of preliminary injunctive relief with respect to the BLM's 
environmental analysis of air quality and water resource issues. The 
BLM subsequently elected to prepare a Supplemental EIS to refine the 
analysis of potential air quality effects and the dewatering mitigation 
effectiveness for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project. The Supplemental 
EIS includes these analyses.
    Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at the above address during regular 
business hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
holidays, and will be published as part of the Final Supplemental EIS. 
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.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6.

Gerald M. Smith,
District Manager, Battle Mountain.
[FR Doc. 2010-20557 Filed 8-19-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P