Notice2024-05331
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Nevada Gold Mines LLC's Robertson Mine Project, Lander County, NV
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
March 15, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
In accordance 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 Nevada Gold Mines LLC (NGM) Robertson Mine Project in Lander County, Nevada.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 52 (Friday, March 15, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 52 (Friday, March 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18968-18969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05331]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500177742]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for Nevada Gold Mines LLC's Robertson Mine Project, Lander
County, NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance 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 Nevada Gold Mines LLC (NGM) Robertson Mine Project in Lander
County, Nevada.
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 (NOA) of the Draft EIS in the
Federal Register. The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays.
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 NEPA
Register website <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023088/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023088/510</a>. One public meeting will be held in-person in Crescent
Valley, Nevada and a second will be held virtually online.
ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS and documents pertinent to this proposal are
available for review on the BLM National NEPA Register website at
<a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023088/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023088/510</a>.
Written comments related to the Robertson Mine Project may be
submitted by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Website: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023088/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2023088/510</a>.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f2b0bebfadbca4adb0bfb6bdada2d4b7b1adbcb7a2b3b2909e9fdc959d84"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="42000e0f1d0c141d000f060d1d126407011d0c07120302202e2f6c252d34">[email protected]</span></a>.
<bullet> Mail: Robertson Mine EIS c/o BLM Mount Lewis Field Office,
50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada 89820.
<bullet> By fax at: (775) 635-4034.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gene Gilseth, Project Manager,
telephone: (775) 635-4020; address 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain,
Nevada 89820; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f09597999c83958498b0929c9dde979f86"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a1c4c6c8cdd2c4d5c9e1c3cdcc8fc6ced7">[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 telecommunication
relay services for contacting Mr. Gilseth. 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 is to respond to NGM's proposal, as described in
its proposed Plan of Operations, and to analyze the potential
environmental effects associated with the Proposed Action, which is the
operator's proposed Plan of Operations, and alternatives to the
Proposed Action. NEPA mandates that the BLM evaluate the potential
effects of the Proposed Action and alternatives. The BLM's need for the
action is established by the BLM's responsibilities under Section 302
of FLPMA and the BLM Surface Management Regulations at 43 CFR subpart
3809 to respond to a proposed Plan of Operations and ensure that
operations prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of the public
lands.
Proposed Action and Alternatives
NGM is proposing to construct, operate, close, and reclaim a new
surface mine within the Shoshone Range approximately 58 miles southeast
of Battle Mountain, Nevada, and 70 miles southwest of Elko, Nevada. The
Proposed Action would result in changes to the authorized Robertson
Exploration Plan boundary (NVN-067688), the Cortez Mine Plan boundary
(NVN-67575), and the Pipeline-South Pipeline-Gold Acres Exploration
Plan boundary (NVN-067261). If the Robertson Mine Project Plan is
approved, these authorized plans would be modified subsequent to that
approval.
The Robertson Mine Project would employ a contractor workforce of
approximately 150 employees during the initial two-year construction
period and approximately 415 full-time employees, comprised of
approximately 370 existing Cortez Mine employees and 45 new hires, for
the operations period.
The Robertson Mine Project would operate 24 hours per day, 365 days
per year. The total life of the Robertson Mine Project would be 15
years, including 9 years of mining, 3 additional years of ore
processing, and 3 additional years of reclamation. Reclamation of
disturbed areas resulting
[[Page 18969]]
from mining operations would be completed in accordance with BLM and
Nevada Division of Environmental Protection regulations. Concurrent
reclamation would take place where practicable and safe.
The proposed Plan of Operations would result in approximately 4,234
acres of new surface disturbance, of which 179 acres would be on
private land and 4,055 acres would be on public land administered by
the BLM.
The proposed Plan of Operations boundary would encompass 5,990
acres. The total disturbance associated with the Proposed Action,
including existing, reclassified, and exploration, would be 4,306
acres, with 4,127 acres on land administered by the BLM and 179 acres
on private land. The proposed surface mining activities for the
Robertson Mine would include:
<bullet> Three open pits (Gold Pan, Porphyry, and Altenburg Hill)
and associated haul roads;
<bullet> A Waste Rock Facility;
<bullet> A Heap Leach Facility including a lined pad, process
solution ponds and vaults, and carbon-in-column plant;
<bullet> Ancillary facilities including a three-stage crushing
system with associated conveyors; ore stockpiles; growth media
stockpiles; a gravel borrow source; secondary roads; stormwater
controls and diversions; truck scale; power lines and electrical
substations; water production, dewatering, and monitoring wells; water
pipelines and loadouts; ready lines; fuel and reagent storage; fueling
facilities; laydown yards; wildlife and range fencing; assay
laboratory; trailers; buildings; and communications sites;
<bullet> Shared facilities with the Pipeline Complex at the Cortez
Mine, including but not limited to haul roads, potable water well,
water pipelines, warehousing and maintenance shops, hazardous waste
storage, petroleum-contaminated soils facility, ore stockpiles, the
Pipeline Mill, carbon handling, refinery, laboratory, and Pipeline Area
28 tailings storage facility; and
<bullet> Modifying the authorized Robertson Exploration Plan (NVN-
067688) (Exploration Plan) boundary.
The Partial Backfill Alternative and No Action Alternative are
described in the Draft EIS. Under the Partial Backfill Alternative, the
Gold Pan Pit would be backfilled to prevent the establishment of a
post-mining pit lake. All other aspects of the Partial Backfill
Alternative are the same as those described for the Proposed Action.
Under the No Action Alternative, the development of the Robertson Mine
Project would not be authorized and NGM would not construct, operate,
and close a new surface mine. Modifications to the Exploration Plan
boundary, the Cortez Mine Plan boundary, and the Pipeline-South
Pipeline-Gold Acres Exploration Plan boundary would not occur.
Draft EIS Review Process
On August 18, 2023, a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was
published in the Federal Register, announcing the beginning of the
public scoping process. The BLM held virtual public scoping meetings
for the Robertson Mine Project on August 31 and September 1, 2023.
During the scoping period, 30 comment documents were received
containing a total of 141 individual comments.
This Notice of Availability initiates the draft EIS review process.
There will be a 45-day public comment period. Public meetings to
discuss the draft EIS will be announced. The date and times of the
meetings will be posted on the BLM's Robertson Mine Project website.
The purpose of public review of the draft EIS is to provide an
opportunity for meaningful collaborative public engagement and for 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). 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 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. 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)
Douglas W. Furtado,
District Manager, Battle Mountain District.
[FR Doc. 2024-05331 Filed 3-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-21-P
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