[Federal Register: January 22, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 14)]
[Notices]
[Page 6570-6571]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ja01-60]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Basin Creek Mine Final Water Treatment System proposal,
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Jefferson County, MT
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement to document the analysis and disclose the environmental
impacts of a proposed action to develop a final water treatment system
at the inactive Basin Creek Mine. The mine site is located on the
Continental Divide about 30 miles southwest of Helena, Montana.
The proposed action would finalize the reclamation of the closed
mine by defining a long-term water treatment system to treat effluent
coming from the reclaimed leach pad (known as Leach Pad 3) on National
Forest System lands. The effluent needs to be treated in perpetuity to
ensure that any residual contaminants (cyanide or heavy metals)
originating from the reclaimed leach pad do not degrade water quality.
The decision to be made is to determine the type of final water
treatment system that will be developed.
DATES: Initial comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be
received in writing no later than January 31, 2001.
ADDRESSES: The responsible official is Forest Supervisor Janette
Kaiser, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Dillon, Montana. To
facilitate the analysis of public comments, send written comments to
District Ranger Terry Sexton, Jefferson Ranger District, 3 Whitetail
Road, Whitehall, MT 59759. Comments may be electronically submitted to
tsexton@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Sexton, District Ranger, at the
above address, or phone (406) 287-3223 or 1-800-433-9206, or by email
to tsexton@fs.fed.us.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Basin Creek Mine is an inactive open pit
heap leach gold mine. The site contains the headwaters of the municipal
watersheds for the city of Helena (Monitor Creek) and the town of Basin
(Basin Creek). Active mining operations were most recently conducted
from 1988 through 1990 on patented land belonging to Pegasus Gold
Corporation and National Forest System lands administered by the
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. Final reclamation and closure of
the site began in 1994 and is scheduled for completion in the fall of
2001. The State of Montana Department of Environmental Quality will be
preparing a separate document to analyze the effects of a proposed
action to develop final water treatment systems for two other sources
of effluent located on private land at the mine site. Discharges from
the water treatment systems will require a National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit; a federal permit issued by the Corp
of Engineers.
The Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and the State
of Montana are cooperating agencies for this proposal.
The project area is located in Township 8N, Range 6W, Sections 25
and 26. The scope of this proposal is limited to developing a final
long-term water treatment system for the effluent originating from
Leach Pad 3.
Public participation is important to this analysis. Part of the
goal of public involvement is to identify additional issues and to
refine the general, tentative issues. A scoping notice describing the
proposal will be mailed to those who request information on mining
activities on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. There are no
scoping meetings scheduled.
Preliminary issues identified by the Forest Service include effects
to water quality, and maintenance and effective life of the water
treatment system. The analysis will consider all reasonably foreseeable
activities. The
[[Page 6571]]
interdisciplinary team has not yet identified any preliminary
alternatives to the proposed action. Alternatives will be developed
based on the key issues identified after scoping.
People may visit with Forest Service officials at any time during
the analysis and prior to the decision. Two periods are specifically
designated for comments on the analysis: (1) During the scoping process
and (2) during the draft EIS period.
During the scoping process, the Forest Service is seeking
additional information and comments from individuals or organization
who may be interested in or affected by the proposed action, and
Federal, State and local agencies. The Forest Service invites written
comments and suggestions on this action, particularly in terms of
identification of issues and alternative development.
The draft EIS should be available for review in March, 2001. The
final EIS is scheduled for completion in May, 2001.
The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes
the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
draft environmental impact statements must structure their
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is
meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,
553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the
draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490
F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings,
it is very important the those interested in this proposed action
participate by the close of the 45-day comment period so that
substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to
them in the final environmental impact statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
The responsible official will make the decision on this proposal
after considering comments and responses, environmental consequences
discussed in the final EIS, applicable laws, regulations, and policies.
The decision and reasons for the decision will be documented in a
Record of Decision.
Dated: December 18, 2000.
Janette S. Kaiser,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 01-1818 Filed 1-19-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
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