[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