79016 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2010 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNVE02000.L19900000.EX0000; MO: 

4500011512; 10–08807; TAS: 14X1109] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Newmont Mining Corporation 

Emigrant Project Plan of Operation, 

Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) has prepared 

a Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) for the Newmont Mining 

Corporation Emigrant Project Plan of 

Operations and by this notice is 

announcing its availability. 

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final 

decision on the proposal for a minimum 

of 30 days from the date that the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes this notice in the Federal 

Register. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the EIS for the 

Newmont Mining Corporation Emigrant 

Project Plan of Operation are available 

for public inspection at the BLM 

Tuscarora Field Office, 3900 East Idaho 

Street, Elko, Nevada. Interested persons 

may also review the Final EIS at the 

following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ 

nv/st/en/fo/elko_field_office.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom 

Schmidt, BLM Project Manager (775) 

753–0200; by mail at Bureau of Land 

Management, Tuscarora Field Office, 

Attn: Emigrant Mine Project Manager, 

3900 East Idaho Street, Elko, Nevada 

89801; or by e-mail 

tom_schmidt@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Newmont Mining Corporation 

submitted a proposed Plan of 

Operations to the BLM on February 4, 

2004 to open the Emigrant Mine about 

10 miles south of Carlin, Nevada. The 

proposed Emigrant Mine would include 

developing and operating an open pit 

mine, constructing a waste rock disposal 

facility, storing waste rock in mined out 

areas of the pit, developing an oxide 

heap leach pad; constructing ancillary 

facilities, rerouting intermittent stream 

flows in the pit area, and conducting 

concurrent reclamation. Proposed 

mining operations would last for 

approximately 10 years with an 

additional 4 years of closure operations. 

Approximately 1,170 acres of public 

land and 248 acres of private land 

would be disturbed. 

The issues analyzed in the Final EIS 

include the potential impacts to wildlife 

and cultural resources, the potential for 

waste rock, heap leach, and pit walls to 

produce acid rock drainage and/or 

heavy metals, and the proposed 

diversion of a drainage. Indirect and 

cumulative impacts are addressed for air 

quality, water, soil, vegetation, wildlife, 

fisheries and aquatic resources, 

threatened, endangered, candidate, and 

sensitive species recreation, livestock 

grazing, social and economic values, 

visual resources, cultural and Native 

American religious site concerns. 

Additional resource analysis includes 

geology and minerals, paleontology, 

lands and realty, wilderness, weeds and 

environmental justice. 

The analysis in the Final EIS reflects 

modifications to the proposed plan of 

operations as a result of new 

information. As a result of the NEPA 

review process, an Adaptive 

Management Plan was developed to 

monitor performance of the operations 

plan and prevent impacts. The BLM 

originally published a Notice of 

Availability of the Draft EIS in the 

Federal Register on March 25, 2005 (70 

FR 15346). In response to substantive 

comments on the 2005 Draft EIS, the 

BLM issued a revised Draft EIS in 2008 

that replaced the 2005 Draft EIS. A 

Notice of Availability for the 2008 Draft 

EIS was published in the Federal 

Register on November 19, 2008 (73 FR 

69675). The 2008 Draft EIS incorporated 

revisions made in response to 

substantive comments received on the 

2005 Draft EIS. The 2008 Draft EIS 

analyzed the proposed action and no 

action alternatives. Other alternatives 

considered and reasons why they were 

eliminated from detailed analysis are 

discussed in the Final EIS. Measures to 

avoid or minimize environmental 

impacts and to assure the proposed 

action does not result in undue or 

unnecessary degradation of public lands 

are also included. The BLM received 15 

comments from the public. These 

comments included concerns about 

what methods would be used to classify 

waste rock as potentially acid generating 

and non-potentially acid generating. In 

response to these comments, the Final 

EIS includes an Adaptive Management 

Plan in the monitoring program to 

continually monitor and evaluate the 

performance of the waste rock 

management plan proposed for this 

project and respond to any unforeseen 

surface and/or groundwater impacts. 

Comments on the 2008 Draft EIS 

received from the public and from an 

internal BLM review were considered 

and incorporated as appropriate into the 

proposed plan of operations and the 

Final EIS. Public comments resulted in 

the addition of clarifying text and the 

inclusion of the Adaptive Management 

Plan. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 1506.10. 

Kenneth E. Miller, 

Manager, Elko District. 

[FR Doc. 2010–31646 Filed 12–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNV912000.L10200000.PH0000.LXSS006F 

241A; 11–08807; MO# 4500019213; TAS: 

14X1109] 

Notice of public meeting: Resource 

Advisory Councils, Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) Nevada will 

hold a joint meeting of its three 

Resource Advisory Councils (RACs), the 

Sierra Front-Northwestern Great Basin 

RAC, the Northeastern Great Basin RAC, 

and the Mojave-Southern Great Basin 

RAC in Sparks, Nevada. The meeting is 

open to the public and a public 

comment period will be available. 

DATES AND TIMES: Thursday, January 20, 

2011, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday, 

January 21, 2011, from 7:30 a.m. to 

12:30 p.m. A public comment period 

will be held early in the afternoon on 

Thursday, January 20. The time for the 

comment period will be posted on the 

Web and the agenda will be available 

two weeks days prior to the meeting at 

http://www.blm.gov/nv. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rochelle Francisco, telephone: (775) 

861–6588, e-mail: 

rochelle_francisco@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The three 

15-member Nevada councils advise the 

Secretary of the Interior, through the 

BLM Nevada State Director, on a variety 

of planning and management issues 

associated with public land 

management in Nevada. The meeting 

will be held at John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 

1100 Nugget Avenue, Sparks, Nevada. 

Agenda topics include a presentation 

and discussion of accomplishments 


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