[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 93 (Friday, May 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29915-29916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11287]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVW0000.L5110000.GN0000.LVEMF1402860.14X; MO# 4500089716]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Coeur Rochester Mine Plan of Operations 
Amendment 10 and Closure Plan, Pershing County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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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 (EIS) for the Coeur Rochester Mine 
Plan of Operations Amendment 10 and Closure Plan 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 in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Coeur Rochester Mine Plan of Operations 
Amendment 10 and Closure Plan EIS are available for public inspection 
at the Winnemucca District BLM, 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, 
NV. Interested persons may also review the Final EIS on the Internet at 
http://on.doi.gov/1d5pIxR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen Rehberg, Project Lead, 
telephone 775-623-1500; address BLM Winnemucca District, Humboldt River 
Field Office, 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, NV 89445; 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: The applicant, Coeur Rochester, Inc. (CRI), 
has requested an expansion of its operations at the existing Coeur 
Rochester Mine, which is located approximately 18 miles northeast of 
Lovelock, Nevada, in the Humboldt Range, Pershing County. The mine is 
currently authorized to disturb up to 1,939 acres (approximately 187 
acres of private land and 1,752 acres of public land), which was 
permitted under a series of Environmental Assessments (EA N26-86-002P, 
February 1986; EA NV-020-99-12, February 1999; EA NV-020-01-06, 
December 2000; EA NV-020-01-06, February 2002; EA NV-020-03-13, August 
2003; DOI-BLM-NV-W010-2010-0010-EA, October 2010).
    The Draft EIS analyzed the potential environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed changes to CRI's current operations 
presented under this Plan of Operations (Plan) modification, which 
includes a total of 254.5 acres of new disturbance proposed on public 
land, and a reduction of approved disturbance acres of 23.3 acres on 
private land.
    The Draft EIS analyzed three alternatives: (1) The Proposed Action; 
(2) Permanent Management of Potentially Acid Generating (PAG) Material 
Outside of the Rochester Pit Alternative; and (3) The No Action 
Alternative. The Proposed Action would include a change to the Plan 
boundary designed to include existing claims and newly acquired private 
lands within the boundary. However, all of the proposed disturbance to 
public land would be within the existing approved Plan boundary. The 
project includes the following:
     An approximately 67-acre expansion to the existing Stage 
IV Heap Leach Pad (HLP);
     An increase of the allowable maximum Stage IV HLP stacking 
height from 330 feet to 400 feet;
     Construction of a 124-acre Stage V HLP with associated 
ponds and tank;
     Relocation of a portion of the American Canyon public 
access road and establishment of an associated right-of-way (ROW);
     Relocation of a portion of the paved Rochester main access 
road ROW;

[[Page 29916]]

     Realignment of the Stage IV haul road and construction of 
secondary access roads;
     Relocation of existing power lines consistent with the 
proposed ROW realignments and HLP construction;
     Relocation of the electrical building, core shed, and 
production well PW-2a;
     Excavation of new borrow areas and construction of one new 
growth medium stockpile;
     Installation of the Stage IV HLP conveyor system, 
associated load out points, ore stockpiles, maintenance road, and 
utility corridor, including process solutions and fresh water supply 
pipelines; and
     Changes to closure activities for existing facilities 
including: altering the open pit safety berm sizes; HLP interim fluid 
management plans; HLP cover designs; the installation of evaporation 
cells; and long-term draindown management.
    Under the Permanent Management of PAG Material Outside of the 
Rochester Pit Alternative, which is the BLM preferred alternative, the 
proposed activities listed in the Proposed Action would be the same, 
with the exception of the permanent location of the PAG material. In 
this alternative the material would be permanently relocated outside of 
the existing pit.
    Under the No-Action Alternative, the BLM would not approve the 
proposed Plan modification and there would be no expansion. CRI would 
continue mining activities under its previously approved plan of 
operation.
    Three other alternatives were considered, but eliminated: (1) Pit 
Backfill Elevation Alternative; (2) Alternate Location for Stage V HLP 
Alternative; and (3) Close a Portion of American Canyon Road to Public 
Access Alternative.
    A Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS for the Proposed Coeur 
Rochester Mine Plan of Operations Amendment 10 and Closure Plan was 
published in the Federal Register on August 21, 2015 (80 FR 50864). Two 
open house public meetings were held during the comment period. One 
hundred and forty two (142) comment letters were received during a 45-
day period; however, 135 of those did not contain any substantive 
comments. The majority of the comments was in support of the project 
and centered on the local and economic benefits. There were seven 
comment letters that contained substantive comments, which included 
concerns about impacts to special status species, especially Preble's 
shrew, post-closure monitoring and mitigation activities, impacts to 
water and air, climate change, and recommendations on the preferred 
alternative and cultural mitigation. These comments were considered and 
addressed in Appendix A (Response to Comments on the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement) of the Final EIS.
    On September 21, 2015, during the public scoping of this Draft EIS, 
the Record of Decision (ROD) and Approved Resource Management Plan 
Amendments for the Great Basin Region, including the Greater Sage-
Grouse Sub-Regions of Idaho and Southwestern Montana, Nevada and 
Northeastern California, Oregon, and Utah (Greater Sage-Grouse Plan 
Amendment) was signed. For consistency with the Greater Sage-Grouse 
Plan Amendment, the BLM compared the maps and habitat categories in 
that document to the initial habitat maps from BLM Instruction 
Memorandum (IM) 2012-044 (December 27, 2011) that were used in the 
development of the Draft EIS for the Proposed Coeur Rochester Mine Plan 
of Operations Amendment 10 and Closure Plan. According to the new map, 
approximately 20 acres of proposed disturbance from the Coeur Rochester 
project would be in General Habitat (versus 168 acres of Preliminary 
General Habitat analyzed in this Draft EIS) with the remainder now in 
an Other Habitat category. In other words, the new map in the Greater 
Sage-Grouse Plan Amendment shows less General Habitat within the 
proposed disturbance area than was analyzed in this Draft EIS under 
previous guidelines. The analysis and resulting mitigation for Greater 
Sage-Grouse outlined in Chapter 6 (Mitigation and Monitoring) of this 
Final EIS are thus consistent with the guidelines outlined in the 
Greater Sage-Grouse Plan Amendment, Appendix F (Regional Mitigation 
Strategy) and Appendix I (Avoid, Minimize, and Apply Compensatory 
Mitigation Flowchart.) The preferred alternative includes over 330 
acres of mitigation in Sagebrush Focal Areas and prime habitat located 
in National Conservation Areas and wilderness areas, which would result 
in a net conservation gain to Sage-grouse, as well as benefit other 
species.
    Comments on the Draft EIS received from the public and internal BLM 
review were considered and incorporated as appropriate into the Final 
EIS. Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, but 
did not significantly change the analysis. Following a 30-day 
availability and review period, a Record of Decision (ROD) will be 
issued. The decision reached in the ROD is subject to appeal to the 
Interior Board of Land Appeals. The 30-day appeal period begins with 
the issuance of the ROD.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.

Steve Sappington,
Field Manager, Humboldt River Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-11287 Filed 5-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P