[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 235 (Friday, December 6, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 66928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26288]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCAD07000.51010000.ER0000.LVRWB09B1670 19X; CACA-44014, CACA-56477; 
MO#4500140313]


Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement for the United States Gypsum Company Mine Expansion/
Modernization Project, Imperial County, CA

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, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the 
potential impacts of the United States Gypsum Company (USG) Mine 
Expansion and Modernization Project (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 in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final Supplemental EIS are available for 
public inspection in the BLM El Centro Field Office at 1661 S 4th St, 
El Centro, CA 92243; at the BLM-California Desert District Office, 
22835 Calle San Juan de los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553; and 
electronically on the project website: https://bit.ly/2QiGK0m.
    Compact disc copies of the Final Supplemental EIS are available by 
request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miriam Liberatore, BLM Project 
Manager, by telephone at (541) 618-2400; by mail at Bureau of Land 
Management, Medford District Office, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 
97504; or by email at [email protected].
    Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 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. You will receive a reply 
during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Project is located in southwestern 
Imperial County, California, and involves both the Plaster City 
Wallboard Plant (processing plant) and Plaster City Quarry (quarry). 
The processing plant is located on Evan Hewes Highway approximately 18 
miles west of the city of El Centro. The quarry is located on Split 
Mountain Road approximately 26 miles northwest of Plaster City. Both 
sites are located within the BLM's California Desert Conservation Area.
    A joint Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIR/EIS) was published in 2006, and a Final EIR/EIS was 
published in 2008. The BLM did not issue a Record of Decision and the 
United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was not a party to the 
EIR/EIS. This Supplemental EIS revises and supplements the 2008 Final 
EIR/EIS, updating conditions and effects that have changed since 2008, 
and includes the USACE and the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency (USEPA) as Cooperating Agencies.
    Certain aspects of the Project originally analyzed in the 2006 
Draft EIR/EIS and 2008 Final EIR/EIS have been implemented under the 
conditions and approvals provided by Imperial County and were not 
subject to the jurisdiction of the BLM or the USACE. The BLM will use 
the Final Supplemental EIS to support its decisions on the Mining Plan 
of Operations and on rights-of-way (ROW) applications to construct, 
operate, maintain, and decommission: (a) A new water line with 
associated buried electrical service between the quarry and a proposed 
new well (CACA-56477); (b) A new water line between US Gypsum's 
processing plant and the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Westside 
Main Canal; and (c) A replacement line between USG's processing plant 
and existing wells in Ocotillo (CACA-44014).
    The USACE will use the Final Supplemental EIS to support its 
decision on an application by USG for a permit under Section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act (CWA). The USEPA has authority to review projects 
requiring a CWA 404 permit, but does not have a direct permitting role 
in the project.
    The Final Supplemental EIS considers the Proposed Action, a No-
Action Alternative, and six action alternatives. Alternative 1, 
Proposed Action, would expand the quarry as described in the Mining 
Plan of Operations, replace the existing water line, and install a new 
water line between the quarry and the new well. Alternative 2, No 
Action, would continue operations as they currently are permitted 
without expanding the quarry or replacing the existing water line. 
Alternative 3, Partial IID Water Supply, would provide for a new water 
line between the processing plant and the IID Westside Main Canal to 
partially replace processing water from a groundwater source with a 
surface water source. Alternative 4, Full IID Water Supply, would fully 
replace the processing water with surface water. Alternatives 5 through 
8 are variations on the mining plan proposed in the Mining Plan of 
Operations. The BLM has selected Alternative 3, Partial IID Water 
Supply, as the Agency-Preferred Alternative in the Final Supplemental 
EIS.
    The BLM published a Notice of Availability of the Draft 
Supplemental EIS in the Federal Register on July 19, 2019, announcing a 
45-day public comment period (84 FR 34924). The BLM held a public-
comment meeting on August 5, 2019. Seven individuals attended the 
meeting. The BLM received 13 comment letters during the comment period. 
Following the public comment period, comments were used to inform the 
Final Supplemental EIS. The BLM responded to substantive comments and 
made appropriate revisions to the document, or explained why a comment 
did not warrant a change. Comments did not result in substantive 
changes to effects analysis, findings or conclusions.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2)

Danielle Chi,
Deputy State Director, Resources.
[FR Doc. 2019-26288 Filed 12-5-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-40-P