[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34924-34925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15290]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCAD07000.51010000.ER0000.LVRWB09B1670.18X5017AP) CACA044014,
CACA056908 (MO#4500133662)]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement for the United States Gypsum Company Mine Expansion/
Modernization Project, California
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
Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the United
States Gypsum Company Mine Expansion/Modernization Project (Project),
and by this notice is announcing the opening of the public comment
period.
DATES: To ensure that all comments will be considered, the BLM must
receive written comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS within 45 days
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes
its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will
announce future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement
activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media
releases, the project website, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: The public may submit comments related to the project during
the public comment period by using any of the following methods:
Website: https://bit.ly/2QiGK0m.
Email: [email protected].
Mail: U.S. Gypsum Project, Bureau of Land Management El
Centro Field Office, 1661 S 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243.
Copies of the Draft Supplemental EIS are available at the BLM--El
Centro Field Office at the above address and at the BLM California
Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno
Valley, CA 92553, and electronically on the project website referenced
above.
[[Page 34925]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miriam Liberatore, BLM project
manager, telephone: (541) 618-2412; email: [email protected]; mailing
address: Bureau of Land Management, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR
97524.
Persons who use telecommunication devices for the deaf may call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Ms. Liberatore
during normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, to leave a message or question regarding the project. You
will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: United States Gypsum Company (USG), a
subsidiary of USG Corporation, proposes to expand mining operations at
its Plaster City Quarry, replace a waterline supplying its Plaster City
Plant, and construct a new waterline and electrical supply line between
the Plaster City Quarry and a well on private property. USG applied for
right-of-way (ROW) grants for the waterline replacement (CACA-044014)
and new waterline and electrical line (CACA-056908) from the BLM for
portions of the waterlines that would be located on 18 and 7 acres of
public land, respectively. USG also submitted a Mining Plan of
Operations to the BLM for the proposed mine expansion, which covers
approximately 682 acres of private lands and 9 acres of millsite claims
on public lands.
In addition to the proposed action, the Draft Supplemental EIS
considers a ``no action'' alternative and six action alternatives.
Alternative 3, Partial Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Water Supply,
would replace part of the water used in the Plant with water from the
IID, reducing the amount of water supplied by USG's wells in the
community of Ocotillo. Alternative 4, Full IID Water Supply, would
fully replace the water for the Plant operations with water from the
IID. Alternatives 5 through 8 would modify the mining phases to reduce
the impacts of the mine expansion on waters of the United States. Under
the no action alternative, the BLM would deny the ROW applications and
would not approve the plan of operations; mining operations would
continue as currently permitted without expansion of those operations.
The BLM has identified Alternative 3, Partial IID Water Supply, as
the BLM Preferred Alternative for the Draft Supplemental EIS. The
United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will identify a Least
Environmentally Damaging Practicable Alternative as part of its
permitting process under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The BLM is
the lead agency and the USACE is a cooperating agency for this Draft
Supplemental EIS; both agencies will make Federal decisions associated
with the Project. The EPA has authority to review projects that require
a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act; therefore, EPA
Region 9 is also a cooperating agency, but does not have a direct
permitting role in the project. Public input on these alternatives or
other issues is important and will be considered in the Final
Supplemental EIS. Please note that public comments and information
submitted, including names, street addresses, and email addresses of
persons who submit comments will be available for public review and
disclosure at the above address during regular business hours (8:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays.
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 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2)
Danielle Chi,
Deputy State Director, Resources.
[FR Doc. 2019-15290 Filed 7-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P