41410 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 148 / Friday, August 1, 1997 / Notices

DEIS (circulated November, 1996) will

not receive a written response. Instead,

the written comments will be

considered in preparation of the new

DEIS. Prior commentors can submit

comments during the scoping period for

the new EIS.

Comments, including names and

street addresses of respondents, will be

available for public review at the above

address during the business hours of

7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except holidays. Individual

respondents may request

confidentiality. If you wish to withhold

your name or street address from public

review or from disclosure under the

Freedom of Information Act, you must

state this prominently at the beginning

of your written comment. Such requests

will be honored to the extent allowed by

law. All submissions from organizations

or business, and from individuals

identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organization or businesses, will be made

available for public inspection in their

entirety.

The Imperial Project is a proposal by

Glamis Imperial Corporation (a sister

corporation of the former project

applicant Chemgold Inc.) to develop an

open-pit, gold mining operation

utilizing a heap leach process. The

proposed site is located in eastern

Imperial County, California,

approximately 45 miles northeast of El

Centro, California and 20 miles

northwest of Yuma, Arizona. The

project area is comprised of

approximately 1,625 acres. Up to 150

million tons of ore would be leached,

and 300 million tons of waste rock

would be deposited at the proposed

waste rock stockpiles or the mined-out

portions of the three planned open pits.

Typical, average mining rate would be

130,000 tons per day. Approximately

1,409 acres of surface disturbance

would occur as a result of the Proposed

Action. Mining activity would be

performed 24 hours per day, seven days

per week, and are projected to

commence in 1998 and terminate

around the year 2017. The proposed

mine would include a lined heap leach

pad to contain the ore heap and to

collect process fluid from the heap for

gold recovery. Waste rock would be

hauled directly to a waste rock stockpile

or to one of the on-site pits to be

backfilled. A ground water production

well field, consisting of up to four

groundwater production wells, would

be completed and used to provide water

through a buried pipeline for processing

operations, dust control, and on-site

domestic uses. The proposed project

would also include a power substation

and construction of a short portion of a

transmission line and a rebuild of an

existing transmission line.

Dated: July 24, 1997.

Terry Reed,

Area Manager.

[FR Doc. 97–20194 Filed 7–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV–010–1990–09]

Notice of Intent; Nevada

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS)

on a mining Plan of Operations for the

Newmont/Barrick HD Venture in Eureka

County, Nevada; and notice of scoping

period and public meetings.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c)

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 and 43 CFR part 3809, the

Bureau of Land Management will be

directing the preparation of an EIS to be

prepared by a third-party contractor on

the impacts of a proposed Plan of

Operations for gold mining by the

Newmont/Barrick HD Venture, in

Eureka County, Nevada. The Bureau

invites comments on the scope of the

analysis.

EFFECTIVE DATES: This notice initiates

public scoping for the Leeville EIS. A

scoping meeting will be held August 20,

1997, at the Bureau of Land

Management, Elko Field Office, 3900 E.

Idaho, Elko NV., to identify issues and

concerns to be addressed in the EIS. The

meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30

p.m. and will continue until 9:00 p.m.,

if necessary. Representatives of

Newmont Gold Company (operating

partner) will be available to answer

questions about the Plan of Operations.

Additional scoping meetings may be

held as appropriate. Written comments

on the Plan of Operations and the scope

of the EIS will be accepted until

September 2, 1997. A draft

environmental impact statement (DEIS)

is expected to be completed by the

spring of 1998 and made available for

public review and comment. At that

time a notice of availability of the DEIS

will be published in the Federal

Register. The comment period on the

DEIS will be 60 days from the date the

notice of availability is published.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Scoping comments may be sent to:

District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, 3900 E. Idaho St., Elko,

NV 89801. ATTN: Leeville Project EIS

Coordinator. For additional information,

write to the above address or call Deb

McFarlane at (702) 753–0200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Newmont/Barrick HD Venture of Carlin,

Nevada has submitted a Plan of

Operations to open the Leeville

underground mine, located about 20

miles northwest of the town of Carlin.

The mine and associated facilities

would be located in portions of sections

2, 3, 10, and 11 of T. 35 N., R. 50 E. A

water pipeline is proposed to be located

in sections 5, 8, 10, 15, 16, 17, and 22

of T. 35 N., R. 50 E.; sections 1, 2, 3, and

12, of T. 35 N., R. 49 E., and section 33

of T. 36 N., R. 49 E., MDM. The

proposed Leeville mine would consist

of an underground mine which would

develop three deposits and would

include surface support facilities, access

and haul roads, waste rock facility,

stockpiles, powerlines, dewatering

wells, pipelines, and water treatment

facilities. Proposed mining operations

and dewatering would last for

approximately 18 years, through the

year 2017. Approximately 457 acres of

public land and 39 acres of private land

would be disturbed.

The Leeville Project operations would

require dewatering at pumping rates of

up to 35,000 gallons per minute for the

life of the project. Excess water would

be discharged into the Humboldt River

via a pipeline proposed to connect with

an existing dewatering discharge

pipeline. This project lies between

Barrick Goldstrike Mines Inc.’s Betze/

Post Mine and Newmont Gold

Company’s South Operations Area and

would be affected by both dewatering

cones of depression.

The issues expected to be analyzed in

the EIS include potential impacts to

ground water availability, wildlife,

cultural resources, and hazardous

materials. Cumulative impacts will also

be addressed. In addition, the following

resources will be analyzed: recreation

and wilderness, geology, paleontology,

air quality, soils, vegetation, range

management, lands and realty, visual

resources, land use planning, and social

and economic values. The analysis will

be conducted by an interdisciplinary

team.

A range of alternatives (including but

not limited to alternative reclamation

measures and the no-action alternative)

will be developed to address the issues.

Mitigating measures will be considered

to minimize environmental impacts and

to assure that the proposed action does

not result in undue or unnecessary

degradation of public lands. Federal,
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 148 / Friday, August 1, 1997 / Notices 41411

state and local agencies and other

individuals or organizations who may

be interested in or affected by the

Bureau’s decision on the Leeville

Project Plan of Operations are invited to

participate in the scoping process with

respect to this EIS. These entities and

individuals are also invited to submit

comments on the DEIS. It is important

that those interested in the Leeville

Project Plan of Operations participate in

the scoping and commenting process.

Comments should be as specific as

possible. The tentative project schedule

is as follows:

Public Comment Period—August 1

through September 2, 1997.

Issuance of Draft Environmental

Impact Statement—Spring of 1998.

File Final Environmental Impact

Statement—Autumn of 1998.

Record of Decision—Autumn of 1998.

Begin Permitted Operation—Winter of

1998/1999.

The Bureau of Land Management’s

scoping process for the EIS will include:

(1) Identification of issues to be

addressed; (2) Identification of viable

alternatives; (3) Notification of

interested groups, individuals and

agencies so that additional information

concerning these issues, or other

additional issues, can be obtained.

Dated: July 24, 1997.

David Stout,

Acting District Manager.

[FR Doc. 97–20289 Filed 7–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Mangement

[CA–060–07–1210–00]

Meeting of the California Desert

District Advisory Council

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, in

accordance with Public Laws 92–463

and 94–579, that the California Desert

District Advisory Council to the Bureau

of Land Management, U.S. Department

of the Interior, will participate in a field

tour of BLM-administered public lands

near Ridgecrest, California on Thursday,

September 25, 1997, from 7:30 a.m. to

5 p.m., and meet in formal session on

Friday, September 26 from 8 a.m. to 5

p.m., and Saturday, September 27 from

8 a.m. to 12 noon. The Friday and

Saturday public meetings will be held

in the conference room at the Carriage

Inn, located at 901 North China Lake

Boulevard, Ridgecrest, California.

Council members will assemble for

the Thursday field tour at the Carriage

Inn parking lot at 7:15 a.m., and depart

at 7:30 a.m. The public is welcome to

participate in the field tour, but should

dress appropriately and plan on

providing their own transportation,

food, and beverage. Anyone interested

in participating in the field tour should

contact BLM at (909) 697–5215 for more

information.

The Friday meeting will begin at 8

a.m. All Desert District Advisory

Council meetings are open to the public.

Time for public comment may be made

available by the Council Chairman

during the presentation of various

agenda items, and is scheduled at the

end of the meeting for topics not on the

agenda.

Written comments may be filed in

advance of the meeting for the

California Desert District Advisory

Council, c/o Bureau of Land

Management, Public Affairs Office, 6221

Box Springs Boulevard, Riverside,

California 92507–0714. Written

comments also are accepted at the time

of the meeting and, if copies are

provided to the recorded, will be

incorporated into the minutes.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Doran Sanchez, BLM California Desert

District Public Affairs at (909) 697–

5215.

Dated: July 28, 1997.

Henri R. Bisson,

District Manager.

[FR Doc. 97–20308 Filed 7–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–40–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV–930–1430–01; N–61382]

Notice of Realty Action; Recreation

and Public Purposes Act

Classification; Washoe County,

Nevada

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The following described land,

comprising 26.56 acres, has been

examined and is determined to be

suitable for classification for lease or

conveyance pursuant to the Recreation

and Public Purposes Act, as amended

(43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.):

Mt. Diablo Meridian, Nevada

T. 20 N., R. 20 E.,

Sec. 7, E1⁄2SE1⁄4SE1⁄4NE1⁄4SW1⁄4SW1⁄4,

E1⁄2NE1⁄4NE1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4SW1⁄4,

E1⁄2SE1⁄4NE1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4SW1⁄4,

E1⁄2NE1⁄4SE1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4SW1⁄4,

E1⁄2SE1⁄4SE1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2SW1⁄4NE1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2SE1⁄4NE1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2SW1⁄4NW1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2SE1⁄4NW1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4, S1⁄2SE1⁄4SW1⁄4.

(containing 26.56 acres ±)

DATES AND ADDRESSES: The land will

become segregated upon publication of

this notice in the Federal Register.

Comments will be accepted on or before

September 15, 1997. The land will not

be offered for lease until September 30,

1997. Interested persons may submit

comments regarding the proposed

Recreation and Public Purposes lease/

conveyance or classification to the

Assistant District Manager, Carson City

District Office, Bureau of Land

Management, 1535 Hot Springs Road,

Suite 300, Carson City, Nevada 89706.

Comments, including names and street

addresses of respondents, will be

available for public review at the above

address during regular business hours.

Individual respondents may request

confidentiality. If you wish to withhold

your name or street address from public

review or from disclosure under the

Freedom of Information Act, you must

state this prominently at the beginning

of your written comment. Such requests

will be honored to the extent allowed by

law. All submissions from organizations

or businesses, and from individuals

identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, will be

made available for public inspection in

their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Chuck Pope, Carson City District Office,

Bureau of Land Management, 1535 Hot

Springs Road, Suite 300, Carson City,

Nevada 89706, (702) 885–6000. Detailed

information pertaining to this action is

also available for review at the BLM

Carson City District Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Washoe County School District has

submitted an application for a lease

with an option to purchase the 26.56

acre parcel of land in Sun Valley,

Washoe County, Nevada, for

construction of an elementary school

including classrooms, multi-purpose

room, a school library, computer room,

and miscellaneous administrative

offices, parking and bus loading/

unloading areas, and a fenced

playground area. Lease/conveyance is

consistent with the current BLM land

use planning and would be in the public

interest. The lease/conveyance, when

issued, will be subject to the provisions

of the Recreation and Public Purposes

Act and all applicable regulations of the

Secretary of Interior, and the following

reservations to the United States:

1. A right-of-way thereon for ditches

and canals constructed by the authority