[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 245 (Friday, December 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70207-70208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27286]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[19X.LLIDI02000.L71220000.FR0000.LVTFD1915100.241A.4500131504]


Notice of Availability for the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Blackrock Land Exchange, Bannock and Power 
Counties, Idaho

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
Pocatello Field Office, in Pocatello, Idaho, has prepared a Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Blackrock Land 
Exchange. By this notice, the BLM is announcing the beginning of the 
45-day public comment period for the Draft EIS.

DATES: In order to have comments considered for inclusion in the Final 
EIS, the BLM must receive comments on the Draft EIS by February 3, 
2020, or 45 days following the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register, 
whichever is greater.
    The date(s) and location(s) of public meetings are:

 January 7, 2020 from 4-6 p.m. at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel 
and Event Center, 777 Bannock Trail Avenue, Fort Hall, Idaho
 January 8, 2020 from 5-7 p.m. at the BLM Pocatello Field 
Office, 4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, Idaho

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the proposed Blackrock 
Land Exchange only by the following methods:
     Website: https://go.usa.gov/xEUuc.
     Fax: 208.478.6376.
     Mail: BLM, Pocatello Field Office, Attention: Blackrock 
Land Exchange, 4350 S Cliffs Dr., Pocatello, ID 83204.
    A copy of the Draft EIS is available at the BLM's ePlanning 
website: https://go.usa.gov/xEUuc. A hard copy of the document can be 
reviewed at the BLM Pocatello Field Office, at the address listed 
above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryce Anderson, Project Manager, by 
telephone: 208-478-6353; address: 4350 S Cliffs Dr., Pocatello, ID 
83204; or email: [email protected]. People who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 
Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Mr. Anderson. The FRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with Mr. Anderson. You will receive a reply during normal business 
hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM is the lead agency for the proposed 
land exchange. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ), 
Idaho Governor's Office of Energy and Mineral Resources (OEMR), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Department of Interior 
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are Cooperating Agencies.
    In 1994, the J.R. Simplot Company (Simplot) submitted an 
application to acquire 719 acres of Federal land managed by the BLM in 
exchange for 667 acres of non-Federal land. The Federal lands are 
adjacent to Simplot's Don Plant in Power and Bannock Counties, Idaho. 
The non-Federal lands are located in the Blackrock and Caddy Canyon 
areas in Bannock County approximately 5 miles east-southeast of 
Pocatello.
    In 1998, pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response 
Compensation and Liability Act, the Don Plant facilities and the 
surrounding area, known as the Eastern Michaud Flats (EMF), were 
designated as a Superfund Site, including a portion of the proposed 
Federal lands to be exchanged. The BLM prepared an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) to analyze the proposed land exchange and issued a 
Decision Record/Finding of No Significant Impact (DR/FONSI) on December 
21, 2007. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes litigated the decision in 
District Court. In May 2011, the Court granted the tribes' motion and 
remanded the DR/FONSI to the BLM, ordering the agency to prepare an 
EIS.
    The BLM's purpose is to evaluate the land exchange proposal. If 
approved, the proposal would improve resource management in an area 
containing crucial mule deer winter range and secure permanent public 
access within a popular recreation area. The BLM's need is to respond 
to the proposal pursuant to FLPMA. Simplot's purpose for the proposed 
land exchange is to implement legally enforceable controls as directed 
by the EPA and IDEQ. To meet fluoride reduction requirements from a 
2016 Consent Order with the IDEQ, Simplot has proposed construction of 
cooling ponds adjacent to the Don Plant, which would require the 
acquisition of adjacent Federal lands. Additionally, this acquisition 
would allow Simplot to maximize the operational life of its ongoing 
phosphate processing operations at the Don Plant by expanding gypsum 
stacks onto adjacent land.
    A Notice of Intent to prepare this EIS was published in the Federal 
Register on May 20, 2019 (84 FR 22893), initiating a 45-day public 
scoping period during which the BLM accepted comments on the proposed 
land exchange. Key resource issues identified during scoping include: 
Air quality, cultural resources, fish and wildlife, hazardous and solid 
wastes, lands and realty, recreation, socioeconomics, environmental 
justice, tribal treaty rights, visual resources, and water resources. 
Based on feedback from Cooperating Agencies, stakeholders, and public 
scoping, the BLM has developed alternatives to the Proposed Action, 
including a No Action Alternative, which are detailed in the Draft EIS.
    The BLM will 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) through the NEPA process. Information 
the BLM receives about historic and cultural resources within the area 
potentially affected by the proposed action will assist the BLM in 
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources in the context of 
both NEPA and Section 106 of the NHPA.
    The BLM will continue consulting with Native American tribes on a 
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 
and other policies. The BLM will give tribal concerns due 
consideration, including impacts on Native American trust assets and 
potential impacts to cultural resources.
    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

[[Page 70208]]

personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. In your comment, you can ask to have your personal identifying 
information withheld from public review, but the BLM cannot guarantee 
that it will be able to do so.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)

John F. Ruhs,
BLM Idaho State Director.
[FR Doc. 2019-27286 Filed 12-19-19; 8:45 am]
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