[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5566-5567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2375]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNMP02000 L71220000.EX0000 LVTFGX9G4200]


Notice of Availability of the Final EIS for the HB In-Situ 
Solution Mine Project, Eddy County, New Mexico

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, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the HB In-Situ 
Solution Mine Project, and by this notice is announcing its 
availability.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 30 days after the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its Notice of Availability of the Final EIS in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the HB In-Situ Solution Mining EIS are available 
for public inspection at the Carlsbad Field Office, 620 E. Greene St., 
Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220. Interested persons may also review the 
Final EIS on the Internet at http://www.nm.blm.gov/cfo/HBIS/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact David 
Alderman, Project Manager; telephone 575-234-6232; address 620 E. 
Greene St. Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220; email [email protected]. 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-(800) 877-8339 to 
contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Intrepid Potash, Inc. (Intrepid) is 
proposing to extract the potash, a potassium compound commonly used for 
fertilizer, remaining in inactive underground mine workings using the 
solution mining method. Intrepid proposes to

[[Page 5567]]

construct and operate a solution mine project in an existing deep mine 
located approximately 20 miles northeast of Carlsbad in Eddy County, 
New Mexico, in the Secretary's Potash Area.
    The remaining potash left in the underground pillars and walls of 
the inactive workings is no longer accessible through conventional 
mining methods. The proposed action is to inject saline water into the 
mine workings and extract a mineral-rich solution. This mineral-rich 
solution would be pumped to the surface and transported through a 
series of surface pipelines to evaporation ponds. Once the solution 
evaporates in the ponds, the potassium-bearing salts would be harvested 
from the ponds and transported to a newly constructed mill for ore 
refinement.
    The project area includes portions of the following:

New Mexico Principal Meridian

T. 19 S., R. 30 E., T. 19 S., R. 31 E., T. 20 S., R. 29 E., T. 20 
S., R. 30 E., T. 20 S., R. 31 E., T. 21 S., R. 29 E., T. 21 S., R. 
30 E.
    Containing 38,453 acres more or less.

    Eighty-two percent of the project area is on public lands managed 
by the BLM. There are 4,330 acres of open mine workings that are 
targeted for flooding and the total surface footprint of the project 
would range from 822 acres to 962 acres, depending on the alternative 
chosen. The surface footprint for the alternatives described in the 
draft EIS ranged from 822 acres to 907 acres. The 962-acre footprint 
evaluated in the final EIS is associated with Alternative D, the 
preferred alternative. Although it includes 55 more acres than 
Alternative B, evaluated in the draft and final EIS, this is not a 
substantial change relevant to environmental concerns because it does 
not result in substantially increased impacts to the environment. The 
surface disturbance for Alternative D represents an increase of only 6 
percent over the proposed surface disturbance evaluated for Alternative 
B in the draft EIS and would not lead to any substantial change in 
impacts on water resources, ground subsidence, wildlife, vegetation, or 
any other environmental resource.
    The BLM initiated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
process for the HB In-Situ Solution Mine Project by preparing an 
environmental assessment (EA) in 2008. Two public scoping meetings were 
held on September 16, 2008, to receive public input and comments on the 
proposed project. During development of the EA and prior to 
publication, the BLM determined that the preparation of an EIS would be 
required for the proposed project. The Notice of Intent (NOI) to 
prepare an EIS for the HB In-Situ Solution Mine Project was published 
in the Federal Register on January 12, 2010, and two public scoping 
meetings were conducted on January 26, 2010. A scoping report was 
compiled and published on April 1, 2010. Major issues identified for 
this project include water use, ground subsidence, and the concurrent 
development of oil and gas resources in the same area.
    Alternatives developed include the proposed action (Alternative A), 
which utilizes non-potable water supplied by seven wells in the Rustler 
Formation. Alternative B includes six of the seven wells from the 
proposed action but also assumes that a substantial portion of the 
water needed for the project would be supplied from fresh water wells 
in the Caprock Formation (Ogallala Aquifer) 30 miles northeast of the 
project area. An alternate routing of pipelines to the Caprock is also 
being considered under Alternative B. Alternative C buries the 
pipelines to reduce surface impacts. The Notice of Availability for the 
Draft EIS was published on April 15, 2011, starting a 60-day public 
comment period. Public scoping meetings were held in Carlsbad on May 
10, 2011, and in Hobbs on May 11, 2011. Briefings were also held for 
several cooperating agencies. The comment period was extended by 2 
weeks at the request of one of the cooperating agencies. Two hundred 
and seventeen unique comments were received and analyzed.
    After considering the comments received on the Draft EIS, the BLM 
designed a preferred alternative, Alternative D, consisting of elements 
from the existing action alternatives. The preferred alternative 
includes: Using water from the southern Rustler wells only, with any 
shortfall made up with water from the Caprock well field; building the 
alternate Caprock pipeline from Alternative B to minimize impacts to 
sand dune lizard habitat; burying 68 percent of the pipelines in the 
project area including all the pipelines in the Hackberry Lake Special 
Recreation Management Area; increasing the size of the evaporation 
ponds by 60 acres; and incorporating minor changes to the power and 
pipeline routes to protect resources and improve efficiency.
    Comments on the Draft EIS were considered and incorporated as 
appropriate into the proposed Final EIS. Public comments resulted in 
the addition of clarifying text and a preferred alternative consisting 
of elements from the other alternatives but did not significantly 
change the EIS.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.

Jim Stovall,
Field Manager, Carlsbad Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-2375 Filed 2-2-12; 8:45 am]
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