[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 169 (Friday, September 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41647-41648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18696]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVB00000.L51100000GN0000LVEMF1604460.211B.16XMO#4500106342]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Greater Phoenix Project, Lander County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Mount 
Lewis Field Office, Battle Mountain, Nevada, has prepared a Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and is announcing the beginning of 
the public comment period to solicit public comments on the Draft EIS. 
Newmont USA Limited (Newmont) is proposing to expand its existing 
Phoenix Mine, which is located approximately 12 miles southwest of the 
Town of Battle Mountain in Lander County, Nevada. The Greater Phoenix 
Project (Project) includes expanding the life of the Phoenix mine from 
2040 to 2063; expanding the boundary of the mine by 10,611 acres from 
8,228 acres to 18,839 acres; and increasing surface disturbance by 
3,497 acres, from 8,374 to 11,871 acres, of which 5,896 acres involve 
public lands and 5,975 acres are private land.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft EIS within 45 days following the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in 
the Federal Register. The date(s) and location(s) of any public 
meetings or other public involvement activities will be announced at 
least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, local 
media, newspapers, mailings, and the BLM Web site at: goo.gl/JwgwXA.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Project by any of the 
following methods:
     Web site: goo.gl/JwgwXA.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 775-635-4034.
     Mail: BLM Mount Lewis Field Office, 50 Bastian Road, 
Battle Mountain, NV 89820.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Mount 
Lewis Field Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Gabriel, Project Manager; 
telephone: 775-635-4000; address: 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, 
Nevada 89820; or email: [email protected]. 
Contact Christine Gabriel to have your name added to BLM's mailing 
list. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact 
the above individual during normal business hours. The FRS 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: Newmont is proposing to expand its existing 
operations in the Phoenix Mine area, located approximately 12 miles 
southwest of the Town of Battle

[[Page 41648]]

Mountain in Lander County, Nevada. The existing authorized Phoenix Mine 
is a gold and copper mining and beneficiation operation. Mill-grade 
oxide gold ore is beneficiated to gold concentrate at the Phoenix Mill 
facility, which also produces small amounts of copper and silver 
concentrates as trace elements. Mill tailings are deposited in a 
tailings storage facility. Copper-containing ore is beneficiated using 
heap leaching followed by solvent extraction and electrowinning of 
copper from the leach solution. Current authorized facilities in the 
Phoenix Mine area include the following: Post-reclamation pit 
highwalls; pit backfills; ore stockpiles; Waste Rock Facilities (WRFs); 
a Tailings Storage Facility (TSF); growth media stockpiles; borrow 
areas; Heap Leach Facilities (HLF); evaporation and surge ponds; 
utility and haul roads; ancillary facilities; utility corridors; and 
other facilities.
    Newmont is proposing to expand the mine--called the Greater Phoenix 
Project--by amending its current Phoenix Mine Plan of Operations. 
Within the expanded area, surface disturbance would increase by 3,497 
acres, from 8,374 to 11,871 acres, which includes 5,896 acres located 
on public lands administered by the BLM Mount Lewis Field Office. If 
the BLM approves an amendment to the authorized Plan of Operations with 
its existing permits, mining activities at the Phoenix Mine would be 
extended approximately 24 years. Active closure and reclamation 
activities are anticipated to extend approximately 13 years beyond the 
operational phase. Additionally, more than 600 years of post-closure 
monitoring would follow final reclamation.
    The specific details of the Proposed Project include the following: 
Extension of mine life from 2040 to 2063; expansion of the Plan of 
Operations boundary by 10,611 acres, from 8,228 acres to 18,839 acres, 
of which 10,132 acres are BLM-managed public lands; expansion of the 
Phoenix Pit area through consolidation of existing pit areas and by 
increasing the depth of the pit by 380 feet, from 4,990 feet above mean 
sea level (amsl) to a lower depth of 4,610 feet amsl; expansion of the 
Natomas Waste Rock Facility by 347 acres, from 997 acres to 1,344 
acres; expansion of the Phoenix TSF by 1,801 acres, from 1,396 acres to 
3,197 acres; expansion of the Phoenix HLC by 79 acres, from 536 acres 
to 615 acres; expansion of the clay soil borrow area by 819 acres, from 
469 acres to 1,288 acres; development of an additional soil borrow area 
(483 acres); modification of the mine closure approach (including the 
management of pit water through treatment to meet applicable water 
quality standards and subsequently put to beneficial use in 
perpetuity); and realignment of Buffalo Valley Road, as well as 
realignment of a service power line, fiber optic line, and natural gas 
pipeline. Under the Proposed Project, four existing rights-of-way would 
require amendments to existing FLPMA grants.
    The Draft EIS, through scoping, has identified and analyzed impacts 
to the following resource areas: Water resources (including surface 
water, groundwater, and geochemistry); air quality; vegetation 
resources (including noxious weed species and special status species); 
wildlife (including migratory birds and special status species-Greater 
sage-grouse); livestock grazing management; land use and access; visual 
resources; cultural resources; Native American cultural concerns; 
geological resources (including minerals and soils); paleontological 
resources; recreation; social and economic values; hazardous materials; 
wetland and riparian zones. Not including existing disturbance, the 
Proposed Action would impact Greater sage-grouse (GSG) habitat 
including 200.1 acres in Priority Habitat Management Area; 1,900.1 
acres in General Habitat Management Area; 1,684.5 acres in Other 
Habitat Management Area; and 10,165.5 acres in Non-Habitat Area. 
Approximately half of the GSG habitat disturbance would be on private 
land.
    The Draft EIS describes and analyzes the Proposed Project's direct, 
indirect, and cumulative impacts on all affected resources. In addition 
to the Proposed Project, three alternatives were analyzed, including 
the Enhanced/Mechanical Evaporation Cell Alternative, Treat Water for 
Agricultural Cropping on Private Land Alternative, and the No Action 
Alternative.
    On September 29, 2015, a Notice of Intent was published in the 
Federal Register (80 FR 58501) inviting scoping comments on the 
Proposed Action. The BLM held a public scoping meeting in Battle 
Mountain on October 14, 2015. The BLM received a total of seven scoping 
comment letters during the scoping period. Concerns raised included 
impacts to water resources, air quality, wildlife, and recreation.
    The BLM has utilized and coordinated the NEPA scoping and comment 
process to help fulfill the public involvement requirements under the 
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108) as 
provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), and the agency continues to do so. The 
information about historical and cultural resources within the area 
potentially affected by the Proposed Project has assisted the BLM in 
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources in the context of 
both NEPA and the NHPA.
    The BLM has consulted and continues to consult with Indian tribes 
on a government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 
13175 and other policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts to Indian 
trust assets and potential impacts to cultural resources have been 
analyzed in the Draft EIS. Federal, State, and local agencies, along 
with tribes and other stakeholders that may be interested in or 
affected by the Proposed Project, are invited to participate in the 
comment process.
    Before including your address, phone number, email 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 1501.7.

Jon D. Sherve,
Field Manager, Mount Lewis Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2017-18696 Filed 8-31-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P