Notice2023-05501
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed East Tailings Expansion Project (Project), Near Magna, Salt Lake County, Utah
Primary source
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Published
March 17, 2023
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentEngineers Corps
Abstract
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District (USACE), intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the proposed Project. The Project is proposed due to the planned expansion of the Bingham Canyon Mine (Mine), a commercial open pit copper mining operation near Magna, Salt Lake County, Utah. Kennecott Utah Copper LLC (Applicant) has applied for a Department of the Army (DA) permit for discharges of dredged or fill materials into 44.86 acres of waters of United States, including wetlands, to construct the Project. This notice opens the public scoping phase and invites interested parties to identify issues and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action that should be considered in the EIS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 52 (Friday, March 17, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 52 (Friday, March 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16418-16419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05501]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed East Tailings Expansion Project (Project),
Near Magna, Salt Lake County, Utah
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District (USACE),
intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the
proposed Project. The Project is proposed due to the planned expansion
of the Bingham Canyon Mine (Mine), a commercial open pit copper mining
operation near Magna, Salt Lake County, Utah. Kennecott Utah Copper LLC
(Applicant) has applied for a Department of the Army (DA) permit for
discharges of dredged or fill materials into 44.86 acres of waters of
United States, including wetlands, to construct the Project. This
notice opens the public scoping phase and invites interested parties to
identify issues and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action that
should be considered in the EIS.
DATES: Written comments for consideration in the development of the
scope of the NEPA EIS are due to the addresses below no later than
April 17, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Nicole Fresard, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, Bountiful Regulatory Field
Office, 533 West 2600 South, Suite 150, Bountiful, Utah 84010; email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#034d6a606c6f662d472d457166706271674376706260662d62716e7a2d6e6a6f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="db95b2b8b4b7bef59ff59da9bea8baa9bf9baea8bab8bef5baa9b6a2f5b6b2b7">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and EIS can be answered by Nicole Fresard, (801) 295-8380 extension
8321; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a8e6c1cbc7c4cd86ec86eedacddbc9dacce8dddbc9cbcd86c9dac5d186c5c1c4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="88c6e1ebe7e4eda6cca6cefaedfbe9faecc8fdfbe9ebeda6e9fae5f1a6e5e1e4">[email protected]</span></a>. Please refer to
identification number SPK-2009-01213-UO.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Applicant has applied for a DA permit
under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to construct the East Tailings
Expansion with related infrastructure and to buttress the east slope of
the historic South Tailings Impoundment.
The Applicant is developing an updated mine plan for the Bingham
Canyon Mine that would extend the open pit life of mine to
approximately year 2038 and would generate an additional 1.2 to 1.7
million tons (Mt) of copper equivalent product. To fully implement the
updated mine plan, the Applicant has stated that it needs to expand the
eastern portion of the historic south impoundment to provide an
additional 100 Mt of tailings storage that cannot be met using existing
storage capacity. In addition, studies have shown that the east slope
of the historic South Tailings Impoundment is potentially susceptible
to earthquake-induced tailing flows resulting from impoundment failure.
The Project would buttress the east slope of the historic South
Tailings Impoundment to improve seismic stability and reduce the risk
of runout caused by a seismic event to a level as low as reasonably
practicable.
The Project purpose is to increase tailings storage capacity for
continued mining operations at the Bingham Canyon mine until
approximately 2038 and to improve seismic stability of the east slope
of the historic South Tailings Impoundment.
The project is located approximately ten miles west of Salt Lake
City near the community of Magna, Utah. The additional infrastructure
would include: new access roads; a new drainage system including finger
drains; relocation of the clarification canal; a new 50-foot electrical
corridor; relocation of Outfall 002 (which discharges to the C-7
ditches); installation of tailings and water piping, pumps, and valve
stations required to operate the Project; and a dust control system.
Construction of the Project infrastructure is planned to begin in 2024
and extend through 2026.
The project would impact approximately 539 acres, including 327
acres within the footprint of the existing South Tailings Impoundment,
39 acres of the existing clarification canal and the closed
sedimentation pond (industrial process waters), and 173
[[Page 16419]]
acres on land without previous tailings deposition. In an approved
jurisdictional determination and a preliminary jurisdictional
determination dated May 2022, USACE reviewed a 351-acre survey area
within and adjacent to the Project along the southeast boundary of the
existing tailings impoundment and determined that 38.78 acres are
industrial process waters, and 9.85 acres are artificial wetlands not
subject to regulation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act or
Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. In addition, USACE determined
that 54.93 acres of aquatic resources are potentially subject to
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The project proposes to impact
44.86 acres of these potentially jurisdictional aquatic resources,
including wetlands.
USACE anticipates that the draft EIS will be made available for
public comments in November 2023. At that time, a minimum 45-day public
review period will be provided for individuals and agencies to review
and comment on the Draft EIS. USACE anticipates the Final EIS will be
published in July 2024. At that time, a minimum 30-day public review
period will be provided for individuals and agencies to review and
comment on the Final EIS. A Record of Decision is anticipated in
September 2024.
Alternatives. The EIS will include an evaluation of a reasonable
range of alternatives. Currently, the following alternatives are
expected to be analyzed in detail: (1) The no action alternative (no
permit issued) and (2) the Proposed Action (Project). The no action
alternative assumes that the Applicant would continue to operate the
mine in its existing footprint; no changes to existing infrastructure
would occur, with all potential waters of the U.S. avoided. In addition
to the Proposed Action, USACE anticipates evaluating additional on-site
and off-site alternatives for potential detailed analysis. As part of
this notice, USACE requests comments on any additional on-site and off-
site alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the proposed
action. All reasonable alternatives to the proposed federal action that
meet the purpose and need will be considered in the Draft EIS.
Scoping. The USACE scoping process for the EIS includes a public
involvement program with several opportunities to provide oral and
written comments. In addition to public meetings and notifications in
the Federal Register, USACE will issue public notices when the draft
and final EIS are available.
Affected federal, state, and local agencies, Native American
tribes, and other interested private organizations and parties are
invited to participate. Potentially significant issues to be analyzed
in the EIS include, but are not limited to impacts to waters,
hydrology, water supply, water quality, cultural resources, biological
resources, traffic and transportation, and air quality.
The USACE is the lead federal agency for preparation of the EIS
under the requirements of NEPA. USACE has invited the following Tribes
and federal and state agencies to participate as cooperating agencies
for the EIS: Ute Indian Tribe of The Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah,
Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, Skull Valley Band of Goshute
Indians of Utah, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Utah Department of Natural Resources, and Utah
Department of Environmental Quality.
Other environmental review and consultation requirements for the
proposed action include the need for the Applicant to obtain water
quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from the
Utah Division of Water Quality. The proposed project will not affect
any federally listed threatened or endangered species; however, it may
affect state-listed special status species. USACE will consult with the
State Historic Preservation Officer under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act concerning properties listed, or potentially
eligible for listing, on the National Register of Historic Places.
Interested parties may register for the USACE public notice email
notification lists at: <a href="https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Permitting/Request-for-Public-Notice-Notification/">https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Permitting/Request-for-Public-Notice-Notification/</a>.
Public Scoping Meetings. USACE will hold in-person public scoping
meetings in Magna, Utah at the Webster Community Center, 8952 West
Magna Main Street, from 6 to 8 p.m. MT on April 4, 2023, and in Kearns,
Utah at the Element Event Center, 5624 South Cougar Lane, Kearns, Utah
84118 from 6 to 8 p.m. MT on April 5, 2023. Interested parties can
provide oral and written comments at the meetings. Interested parties
may also submit written comments on this notice. Scoping comments may
be submitted at any time prior to publication of the Draft EIS, which
is anticipated in November 2023.
Antoinette R. Gant,
Brigadier General, USA, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2023-05501 Filed 3-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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