Notice2023-17783
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Bald Mountain Mine Plan of Operations Amendment, Juniper Project, White Pine County, Nevada
Primary source
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Published
August 18, 2023
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 Bald Mountain Mine Plan of Operations Amendment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 159 (Friday, August 18, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 159 (Friday, August 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56652-56653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17783]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500170457]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Bald Mountain Mine Plan of Operations Amendment,
Juniper Project, White Pine 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 Bald Mountain Mine Plan of Operations Amendment.
DATES: To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider comments in the
Final EIS, please ensure that the BLM receives your comments within 45
days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS is available for review on the BLM ePlanning
project website at <a href="https://go.usa.gov/xAm2g">https://go.usa.gov/xAm2g</a>.
Written comments related to the Bald Mountain Mine Plan of
Operations Amendment may be submitted by any of the following methods:
<bullet> ePlanning website: <a href="https://go.usa.gov/xAm2g">https://go.usa.gov/xAm2g</a>
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1c3cdccfecfd7fec4d8c5cefecbd4cfc8d1c4d3fec4c8d2e1c3cdcc8fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c7a5abaa98a9b198a2bea3a898adb2a9aeb7a2b598a2aeb487a5abaae9a0a8b1">[email protected]</span></a>
<bullet> Mail: BLM Bristlecone Field Office, ATTN: BMM EIS Project,
702 North Industrial Way, Ely, Nevada 89301
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at
<a href="https://go.usa.gov/xAm2g">https://go.usa.gov/xAm2g</a> and at the Bristlecone Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Concetta Brown, Planning and
Environmental Coordinator, telephone (775) 289-1885; address 702 North
Industrial Way, Ely, Nevada 89301; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#14777776667b637a547678793a737b62"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a5c6c6c7d7cad2cbe5c7c9c88bc2cad3">[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 for contacting Ms. Brown. 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: KG Mining (Bald Mountain) Inc. (KG-BM) owns
and operates the Bald Mountain Mine (BMM), a large-scale, open-pit gold
mine primarily on public lands administered by the BLM Bristlecone
Field Office. The BMM is in northwestern White Pine County, Nevada,
approximately 60 miles southeast of the city of Elko, Nevada, and 60
miles northwest of Ely, Nevada. The BMM is on patented and unpatented
Federal mining claims owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by KG-BM.
The BMM has been in continuous operation for more than 40 years;
therefore, mine areas and facilities are in various stages of
development, operation, and reclamation. The BMM is subdivided into two
plan of operation areas: the North Operations Area (NOA) and South
Operations Area. KG-BM is proposing to amend its plan of operations for
the NOA (NOA Plan) to enable continued mining, processing, exploration,
and reclamation of the open pit mining operations and to reestablish
underground mining. This is referred to as the Juniper Project.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
The BLM's purpose for this Federal action is to evaluate and
respond to KG-BM's proposed amendment to the NOA Plan in accordance
with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The need for the
action is established by the BLM's responsibility under FLPMA, the
Mining Law of 1872, the BLM's surface management regulations (43 CFR
3809), and its use and occupancy regulations (43 CFR 3715), to respond
to KG-BM's proposal while preventing unnecessary or undue degradation
of public land.
As a cooperating agency for this EIS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's (USFWS) purpose for this Federal action is to evaluate and
respond to KG-BM's proposed golden eagle nest removal and incidental
take permit application in accordance with applicable laws,
regulations, and policies. The USFWS's need for this action is
established by the USFWS's responsibility under the Bald and Golden
Eagle Protection Act to respond to KG-BM's request for a nest removal
and incidental take permit authorization, while maintaining stable or
increasing breeding populations in all golden eagle management units
and the persistence of local populations throughout their geographic
range.
BLM Proposed Action and Alternatives
KG-BM's proposed NOA Plan Amendment would develop, expand, modify,
reconfigure, reclassify, realign, or eliminate select mine components
or portions thereof in the NOA. Specifically, this action involves the
expansion or modification (i.e., pit floor elevation change, backfill)
of 7 authorized open pits (Redbird, Rat, Top, Poker Flats, Bida, Saga,
and Winrock South), the development of the Royale and South Duke pits,
the development of 3 rock disposal areas (RDAs) (Royale, South Duke RDA
2, and Bida), the modification of 13 authorized RDAs, and the
elimination of a portion of the authorized but not yet constructed
Poker Flats RDA. Modification or development is proposed for heap leach
facilities, haul roads, interpit areas, process areas, ancillary areas,
and support facilities (infrastructure).
Other aspects of the Juniper Project include conducting planned
concurrent reclamation activities, implementing a growth media
stockpile management program, applying a road design strategy to select
haul roads, creating haul road placement zones for three haul roads,
reestablishing the Top Pit underground mine, creating a sequencing and
backfill schedule for the Poker Flats Pit, increasing the height of the
Poker Flats heap, and reusing spent heap leach ore. Proposed non-
surface disturbing activities involve administrative actions such as
renaming authorized mine components or recategorizing authorized
surface disturbance. The Juniper Project would extend the authorized
NOA Plan boundary in 5 areas totaling 3,425 acres. Life-of-mine surface
disturbance in the NOA would increase from 10,782 acres to 14,752
acres, resulting in a net surface disturbance increase of about 3,969
acres. Mine life would extend for an additional 11 years.
Alternative A
Alternative A was developed to address refinements to two
designated mule deer migration corridors through the western portion of
the NOA. Under Alternative A, some of the surface disturbance described
in the Proposed Action would not be developed, some of the authorized
but not constructed disturbance would be canceled, some
[[Page 56653]]
partial pit backfilling would occur, and some of the existing surface
disturbance would undergo concurrent reclamation. The Alternative A
design modifications were developed in coordination with the Nevada
Department of Wildlife and are intended to improve mule deer migration
through the NOA and reduce energy expenditure of migrating mule deer
compared to the Proposed Action. Alternative A would remove 6.9 acres
of proposed new surface disturbance and 10.5 acres of authorized
surface disturbance that would not be constructed, resulting in a 17.4-
acre reduction in comparison with the Proposed Action. The total
proposed surface disturbance under Alternative A would be about 14,735
acres. Alternative A is the same as the Proposed Action in all other
respects.
No-Action Alternative
Under the No-Action Alternative, the BLM would not authorize the
proposed NOA Plan Amendment. The Juniper Project would not be
developed, and KG-BM would continue its construction, operations,
closure, reclamation, and post-mining monitoring activities within the
authorized NOA Plan boundary under the terms, permits, and approvals as
authorized by the BLM and State of Nevada. Operations in the NOA would
not be extended for an additional 11 years, and mine operations would
continue as already authorized until an expected end-of-mine-life date
of 2029. Under the No-Action Alternative, the USFWS would not issue an
incidental take permit for golden eagles to KG-BM. The decision for the
eagle take permit is independent of the BLM's decision of whether to
authorize the Juniper Project. Under this alternative, the USFWS
assumes that KG-BM would take reasonable steps to avoid taking eagles,
but KG-BM would not be protected from enforcement for violating the
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act should take of an eagle occur.
USFWS Proposed Action and Alternatives
Under the Eagle Conservation Plan Proposed Action, the USFWS would
authorize the removal of up to 5 golden eagle nests and up to 15
incidents of take resulting from disturbance to breeding territories
for up to 19 years as requested by KG-BM. Under this alternative, KG-BM
would be required to implement nest protection buffers to ensure any
ground disturbing activities do not exceed its permitted 15 incidental
takes. Under the Eagle Conservation Permit Proposed Action, KG-BM would
provide the compensatory mitigation as required by regulations to
ensure that effects of take caused by KG-BM are offset at the
population level. Additional mitigation for nest removals would also be
required.
USFWS Preferred Alternative
Under the USFWS Preferred Alternative, the USFWS would issue a
permit with increased take authorizations and experimental compensatory
mitigation measures. Under this alternative, the USFWS would authorize
up to 27 incidents of golden eagle take resulting from disturbance
consistent with the USFWS risk assessment for a period of up to 30
years to allow for take coverage to extend into the mine closure and
final reclamation phases. As required by regulation, KG-BM would
provide compensatory mitigation for authorized take and additional
mitigation for nest removals. Under this alternative, KG-BM would have
increased flexibility to implement its mining activities without
potentially needing to alter mining operation or exploration plans.
USFWS No-Action Alternative
Under the USFWS No-Action Alternative, the USFWS would not issue an
incidental take permit for golden eagles to KG-BM. For purposes of
analyzing the USFWS No-Action Alternative, the USFWS assumes that KG-BM
would implement all measures required by other agencies and
jurisdictions to conduct the proposed Juniper Project, but the
conservation measures proposed in the eagle incidental take permit
application package would not be required. KG-BM may choose to
implement some, none, or all of those conservation measures.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The BLM is the lead agency. The USFWS, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Nevada Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources Sagebrush Ecosystem Technical Team,
City of Ely, White Pine County Commisioners, and Eureka and Elko
Counties are cooperating agencies on this EIS.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process
The final EIS is tentatively scheduled for Fall of 2023 with a
Record of Decision in the Winter of 2023/2024.
Draft EIS Review Process
On March 31, 2022, a notice of intent to prepare an EIS was
published in the Federal Register, announcing the beginning of the
public scoping process. Virtual public scoping meetings were held on
April 19, 2022, and April 21, 2022. During the scoping period, 19
unique submittals were received containing a total of 206 discrete
comments. The three categories that received the most comments were
associated with water quality and quantity, special status species, and
air quality, including greenhouse gases and climate change.
This notice of availability initiates the draft EIS review process.
The BLM will be holding two public meetings in the following locations:
an in-person meeting in Ely, Nevada, and a virtual meeting. The
specific dates, locations, and information on how to join these meeting
will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local media and
on the BLM website at: <a href="https://go.usa.gov/xAm2g">https://go.usa.gov/xAm2g</a>.
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 will continue to consult with Indian Tribal Nations on a
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order
13175, BLM MS 1780, and other Departmental policies. Tribal concerns,
including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential impacts to
cultural resources, will be given due consideration. Consultation will
continue on an individual basis with interested tribes.
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 K. Raby,
State Director, Nevada State Office, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-17783 Filed 8-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-21-P
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