Notice2022-15275
Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Nevada Vanadium Company Gibellini Mine Project, Eureka County, Nevada
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 22, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 140 (Friday, July 22, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 140 (Friday, July 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43894-43895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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 <a href="https://go.usa.gov/xf2GR">https://go.usa.gov/xf2GR</a>. The public meeting will be held online.
ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS is available for review on the BLM ePlanning
project website at <a href="https://go.usa.gov/xf2GR">https://go.usa.gov/xf2GR</a>.
Written comments related to the proposed NVV Gibellini Mine
Project, in Eureka County, Nevada, may be submitted by any of the
following methods:
<bullet> ePlanning Website: <a href="https://go.usa.gov/xf2GR">https://go.usa.gov/xf2GR</a>.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e1a3adacbeafb7bea3aca5aebeb1c7a4a2beafa4b1a0a1838d8ccf868e97"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c1838d8c9e8f979e838c858e9e91e784829e8f84918081a3adacefa6aeb7">[email protected]</span></a>.
<bullet> 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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0e7d6a677d7a6b624e6c626320696178"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6f1c0b061c1b0a032f0d030241080019">[email protected]</span></a>. 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]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P
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