[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 189 (Thursday, September 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60474-60475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25140]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
for the Haile Gold Mine in Lancaster County, SC

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

[[Page 60475]]


ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District intends 
to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to assess the 
potential social, economic and environmental effects of the proposed 
construction and operation of a gold mine in order to extract and 
process gold from the Haile ore body in wetlands and streams associated 
with Haile Gold Mine Creek, by Haile Gold Mine, Inc. (Haile) in the 
vicinity of Kershaw, in Lancaster County, South Carolina. The DEIS will 
assess potential effects of a range of alternatives.

DATES: General Public Scoping Meeting: One Public Scoping meeting is 
planned for Thursday October 27, 2011 beginning at 5 p.m. EDT at the 
Andrew Jackson Recreation Center, 6354 N Matson St, Kershaw, SC 29067.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or 
questions about the proposed project and DEIS, please contact Dr. 
Richard L. Darden, Project Manager, by telephone: 843-329-8043 or toll 
free 1-866-329-8187, or by mail:
    CESAC-RE-P, 69-A Hagood Avenue, Charleston, SC 29403. For inquiries 
from the media, please contact the Corps, Charleston District Corporate 
Communications Officer (CCO), Ms. Glenn Jeffries by telephone: (843) 
329-8123.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An application for a Department of the Army 
permit was submitted by Haile pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean 
Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) on January 12, 2011 and was advertized in a 
Joint Public Notice, P/N  SAC 1992-24211-4--Lancaster--County 
on January 28, 2011. The public notice is available on Charleston 
District's public Web site at: http://www.sac.usace.army.mil/?action=publicnotices.pn2011.
    1. Description of Proposed Project. The project proposed by Haile 
is to reactivate the existing Haile Gold Mine near Kershaw, SC for the 
development of gold resources, to expand the area for open pit mining, 
and to construct associated facilities. The Haile Gold Mine Site 
encompasses approximately 4,231 acres. Mining will occur in phases 
involving eight open mining pits over a twelve-year period, with pit 
depths ranging from 110 to 840 feet deep. The proposed work includes 
the mechanized land clearing, grubbing, temporary stockpiling, filling, 
and excavation that will impact 161.81 acres of jurisdictional, 
freshwater wetlands and 38,775 linear feet of streams. Construction 
drawings provided by the applicant are included in the original joint 
public notice of January 28, 2011, and are available on Charleston 
District's public Web site at http://www.sac.usace.army.mil/?action=publicnotices.pn2011.
    2. Alternatives. A range of alternatives to the proposed action 
will be identified, and those found to be reasonable alternatives will 
be fully evaluated in the DEIS, including: The no-action alternative, 
the applicant's proposed alternative, alternative mine locations and 
mine plans, alternative mining methods and processes, alternatives that 
may result in avoidance and minimization of impacts, and mitigation 
measures not in the proposed action. However, this list is not 
exclusive and additional alternatives may be considered for inclusion.
    3. Scoping and Public Involvement Process. A scoping meeting will 
be conducted to gather information on the scope of the project and 
alternatives to be addressed in the DEIS. Additional public and agency 
involvement will be sought through the implementation of a public 
involvement plan and through an agency coordination team.
    4. Significant Issues. Issues associated with the proposed project 
to be given detailed analysis in the DEIS are likely to include, but 
are not necessarily limited to, the potential impacts of the proposed 
Haile Gold Mine on surface and groundwater quality, aquatic habitat and 
biota, wetlands and stream habitats, federal and state listed species 
of concern, indirect and cumulative impacts, drinking water supplies, 
mitigation, emergency response and contingency plans, mine closure and 
rehabilitation, conservation, economics, aesthetics, general 
environmental concerns, historic properties, fish and wildlife values, 
flood hazards, land use, recreation, water supply and conservation, 
water quality, energy needs, safety, and the needs and welfare of the 
people.
    5. Additional Review and Consultation. Additional review and 
consultation which will be incorporated into the preparation of this 
DEIS will include, but will not necessarily be limited to, Section 401 
of Clean Water Act; Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation 
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act; the National Environmental Policy Act; the Endangered 
Species Act; and the National Historic Preservation Act.
    6. Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is anticipated to be 
available late in 2012. A Public Hearing will be conducted following 
the release of the DEIS.

Edward P. Chamberlayne,
Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District.
[FR Doc. 2011-25140 Filed 9-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P