[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 222 (Friday, November 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69301-69302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25048]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[223.LLIDI00000.L1330000.EO0000.241A]
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Husky 1 North Dry Ridge Phosphate Mine,
Caribou County, ID
AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA); 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 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USFS) Caribou-Targhee
National Forest (CTNF), announce the availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Husky 1 North Dry
Ridge Phosphate Mine (Project).
DATES: The Final EIS and the USFS Draft Record of Decision (ROD) are
now available for public review. A 45-day objection period for the USFS
Draft ROD will start when the USFS publishes a legal notice in the
newspaper of record. The BLM will not issue a decision on the proposal
for a minimum of 30 days after the date that the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) in
the Federal Register. The USFS will issue a Final ROD following
resolution of any objections.
ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and documents pertinent to this proposal are
available for review on the BLM ePlanning project website at https://go.usa.gov/x7HSJ; the Caribou-Targhee National Forest Current and
Recent Projects at http://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/ctnf/landmanagement/projects; or at the BLM Pocatello Field Office at 4350 Cliffs Drive,
Pocatello, ID 83204.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wes Gilmer, BLM Pocatello Field
Office, 4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, ID 83204; phone (208) 478-6369;
email: [email protected]; fax (208) 478-6376. 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 for contacting Mr. Gilmer.
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: Itafos Conda LLC (Itafos) submitted a
proposed mine and reclamation plan (MRP) for the Husky 1 North Dry
Ridge Phosphate Mine to conduct operations and recover phosphate ore
from existing leases (IDI-8289, IDI-05549, I-04, and IDI-0678). The MRP
proposes surface mining, support and reclamation activities on
approximately 1,146 acres of mostly National Forest System (NFS) land.
A modification (enlargement by 559 acres) of Federal phosphate lease
IDI-05549 to recover adjacent ore reserves that would otherwise be
bypassed and rendered unmineable in the future is also requested.
The BLM, the Federal lease administrator, is the lead agency, and
the USFS, the Federal land management agency, is the co-lead agency.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers, Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality, Idaho Department of Lands and Idaho Governor's
Office of Energy and Mineral Resources are cooperating agencies.
The NOA for the Draft EIS was published on October 22, 2021 (86 FR
58686), initiating a 45-day public comment period that ended on
December 6, 2021. Agencies, organizations and individual stakeholders
provided comments on the Draft EIS via mail, email and through the
project website.
Comments on the Draft EIS received from the public were considered
and incorporated as appropriate into the Final EIS. Public comments
resulted in the addition of clarifying text and two new alternatives
but did not significantly change the proposed action or predicted
impacts of the proposal.
The Final EIS addresses issues identified during scoping and public
review of the Draft EIS by analyzing impacts to the human and natural
environment including water resources, air quality, health and safety,
socioeconomics and wildlife. It also addresses reclamation, financial
assurance, mitigation and monitoring. The Final EIS considers a range
of alternatives and evaluates several in detail: the proposed action,
an alternative cover, an alternative stream routing, two alternative
access routes, an alternative sequence of mining and the No Action
alternative. The agencies' preferred alternative combines four
alternatives that modify the proposed action to be more protective of
natural resources, including: alternative cover that reduces impacts to
surface water and ground water by reducing infiltration of meteoric
water into waste rock; alternative stream routing to limit long-term
impacts to Stewart Creek by returning it permanently to its natural
channel after mining; alternative access Option 2 that permanently
relocates NFS Road 134 to maintain public and tribal access to the site
and through NFS lands; and the alternative mine sequence in which
mining would begin in the North Dry Ridge area prior to developing the
Husky 1 area.
The BLM and USFS will make separate but coordinated decisions
related to the Project. The BLM will either approve, approve with
modifications, or deny the MRP; and decide whether to modify lease IDI-
05549. The BLM will base its decisions on the Final EIS; public,
Tribal, and agency input; and any recommendations that the USFS may
have regarding surface management of leased NFS lands. The USFS will
make recommendations to the BLM concerning surface management and best
management practices on leased lands within the CTNF and issue
decisions on approval of proposed special use authorizations (SUAs) for
off-lease mining support activities and the alternative access. The
USFS SUAs are necessary for any off-lease disturbances or structures
associated with the Project located within the CTNF. The reroute of the
Simplot slurry line, which crosses the proposed mine operations, will
require an amendment of the Caribou National Forest Revised Land and
Resource Management Plan (2003 Revised Forest Plan (RFP)).
The portion of the Project related to proposed USFS SUAs for off-
lease activities, the selection of the alternative access and the
amendment of the 2003 RFP are subject to the objection process pursuant
to 36 CFR 218 subparts A and B. Instructions for filing objections will
be provided in the legal notice
[[Page 69302]]
published in the newspaper of record for the USFS Draft ROD. Objections
will be accepted only from those who have previously submitted specific
written comments regarding the proposed project, either during scoping
or other designated opportunities for public comment, in accordance
with 36 CFR 218.5. Issues raised in objections must be based on
previously submitted, timely and specific written comments regarding
the proposed project, unless based on new information arising after
designated opportunities.
(Authority: 36 CFR 218; 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10; 43 CFR 46;
and 43 CFR 3590.)
Mary D'Aversa,
Idaho Falls District Manager, Bureau of Land Management.
Melvin Bolling,
Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2022-25048 Filed 11-17-22; 8:45 am]
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