[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 140 (Friday, July 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43894-43895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15275]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management, Interior

[LLNVB01000.L51100000.GN0000.LVEMF2108010.21X.MO: 4500159219]


Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for Nevada Vanadium Company Gibellini Mine Project, Eureka County, 
Nevada

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, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the proposed Nevada Vanadium Company (NVV) Gibellini Mine 
Project, in Eureka County, Nevada, and requests the public review and 
provide comments on the Draft EIS.

DATES: All comments must be received by September 6, 2022. The BLM will 
announce the date of a public meeting on the Draft EIS at least 15 days 
in advance of the meeting on the BLM National ePlanning website https://go.usa.gov/xf2GR. The public meeting will be held online.

ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS is available for review on the BLM ePlanning 
project website at https://go.usa.gov/xf2GR.
    Written comments related to the proposed NVV Gibellini Mine 
Project, in Eureka County, Nevada, may be submitted by any of the 
following methods:
     ePlanning Website: https://go.usa.gov/xf2GR.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Gibellini Mine EIS c/o BLM Mount Lewis Field Office, 
50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, NV 89820.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Distel, Project Manager, 
telephone: (775) 635-4093; address: 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, 
Nevada 89820; email: [email protected]. Individuals in the United States 
who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability 
may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications 
relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the 
relay services offered within their country to make international calls 
to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The BLM's purpose for the action is to respond to NVV's proposal as 
described in the proposed Plan of Operations and to analyze the 
environmental effects associated with the proponent's Proposed Action 
and alternatives to the Proposed Action. The BLM's need for the action 
is established by the BLM's responsibilities under FLPMA and the BLM 
Surface Management Regulations at 43 CFR part 3809 to respond to a 
proposed Plan of Operations and ensure that operations prevent 
unnecessary or undue degradation of public lands.

[[Page 43895]]

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    Under the Proposed Action, NVV would construct and operate an open 
pit mine in the southern extent of the Fish Creek Range. Facilities 
associated with the Proposed Action include development of an open pit 
mine, rock disposal area, crushing facilities and stockpile, heap leach 
pad, process facility, process and make-up water ponds, borrow areas, 
mine and access roads, water and power supply lines, and ancillary 
facilities. The estimated Project life consists of one and a half years 
of construction, seven years of operation, four years of active 
reclamation and closure, and up to 30 years of post-closure monitoring. 
In addition, NVV would conduct exploration activities as part of the 
Proposed Action. The Project Area includes a total of 6,456 acres of 
BLM-administered land, of which approximately 806 acres of surface 
disturbance would occur due to Project-related activities.
    The South Access Road Alternative would include the same mine 
components as described for the Proposed Action, except the access road 
would be constructed in a different location. This alternative access 
road would be approximately seven miles long and extend from County 
Road M-103 (Duckwater Road) to the Project Area. The access road would 
be constructed parallel to the power line corridor. Overall, this 
alternative would result in approximately 38 additional acres of 
surface disturbance relative to the Proposed Action.
    The Renewable Energy Alternative would consist of the same overall 
activities as described for the Proposed Action, except this 
alternative would include supporting the mine operations with a 
combination of renewable energy and a utility interconnection with 
future large-scale battery storage. This alternative would result in 
approximately 33 additional acres relative to the Proposed Action.
    Under the No Action Alternative, the Plan of Operations would not 
be authorized by the BLM, and the activities described in the Proposed 
Action would not occur. Mineral resources would remain undeveloped, and 
the construction and operation of the proposed mine and associated 
facilities would not occur.

Schedule for the Decision-Making Process

    The final EIS is tentatively scheduled for Fall of 2022 with a 
Record of Decision in early 2023.

Draft EIS Review Process

    On July 14, 2020, a notice of intent to prepare an EIS was 
published in the Federal Register, announcing the beginning of the 
public scoping process. Virtual public meetings were held on September 
2 and 3, 2020. During the scoping period, 12 comment documents were 
received containing a total of 216 individual comments. The comments 
received, in order of decreasing volume, were associated with wildlife 
and special status species, laws and regulations, water resources, air 
quality, and uranium management.
    This notice of availability initiates the draft EIS review process. 
A public meeting to discuss the draft EIS will be held via virtual 
platform. An announcement regarding when and how to access the virtual 
meeting will be posted on the BLM's project website.
    Public review of the draft EIS provides an opportunity for 
meaningful collaborative public engagement and allows the public to 
provide substantive comments, such as identification of factual errors, 
data gaps, relevant methods, or scientific studies. The BLM will 
respond to substantive comments by making appropriate revisions to the 
EIS or explaining why a comment did not warrant a change.
    The BLM has and will continue to use and coordinate the draft EIS 
review process to help fulfill the public involvement requirements 
under the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as 
provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information 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.
    The BLM has and will continue to conduct government-to-government 
consultation with Indian Tribes in accordance with Executive Order 
13175 and other policies. Agencies will give due consideration to 
Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and treaty 
rights 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 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)

Jon Sherve,
Field Manager, Mount Lewis Field Office, Battle Mountain District.
[FR Doc. 2022-15275 Filed 7-21-22; 8:45 am]
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