[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 2705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-605]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVB00000 L71220000.EX0000 LVTFF0986020 241A.00; MO 
4500017947; 11-08807; TAS: 14X8069]


Notice of Availability of the Final 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 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project in Lander 
County, Nevada.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 30 days from the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its notice of availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Cortez Hills Expansion Project Final 
Supplemental EIS are available for public inspection at the Battle 
Mountain District Office, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada, 
during regular business hours of 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. Interested persons may also review the Final 
Supplemental EIS at the following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Worthington, (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 existing 
open-pit gold mining and processing operations in northeastern Nevada. 
The project entails new surface disturbance of approximately 6,633 
acres, which includes 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 was published in the Federal Register on October 3, 2008.
    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 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.
    A Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental EIS was published in 
the Federal Register on July 16, 2010. The Draft Supplemental EIS was 
released for public review on August 20, 2010, with a 45-day comment 
period. Following the release of the Draft Supplemental EIS, two public 
comment meetings were held, one in Crescent Valley and one in Battle 
Mountain in September 2010 to solicit additional comments on the 
document. Comments and resultant changes in the impact analyses are 
documented in the Final Supplemental EIS.

Ron Wenker,
State Director, Nevada.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7.

[FR Doc. 2011-605 Filed 1-13-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P