Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 225 / Friday, November 21, 1997 / Notices 62343

or feature. Vehicles so parked are

subject to citation, removal and

impoundment at the owner’s expense.

j. Take any vehicle through, around or

beyond a restrictive sign, recognizable

barricade, fence or traffic control barrier.

k. Fail to keep their site free of trash

and litter during the period of

occupancy or fail to remove all personal

equipment, trash, and litter upon

departure.

l. Violate quiet hours by causing an

unreasonable noise as determined by

the authorized officer between the hours

of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Mountain

Standard Time.

m. Allow any pet or other animal in

their care to be unrestrained at any time.

Signs and maps directing the public to

the designated spectator areas will be

provided by the Bureau of Land

Management and the event sponsor.

The above restrictions do not apply to

emergency vehicles and vehicles owned

by the United States, the State of

Arizona or to La Paz County. Vehicles

under permit for operation by event

participants must follow the race permit

stipulations. Operators of permitted

vehicles shall maintain a maximum

speed limit of 35 mph on all La Paz

County and BLM roads and ways.

Authority for closure of public lands

is found in 43 CFR 8340, subpart 8341;

43 CFR 8360, Subpart 8364.1, and 43

CFR 8372. Persons who violate this

closure order are subject to arrest and,

upon conviction, may be fined not more

than $100,000 and/or imprisoned for

not more than 12 months.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark Harris, BLM Ranger, or Myron

McCoy, Outdoor Recreation Planner,

Lake Havasu Field Office, 2610

Sweetwater Avenue, Lake Havasu City,

Arizona 86406 at (520) 505–1200.

Dated: November 12, 1997.

Robert M. Henderson,

Acting Field Manager.

[FR Doc. 97–30589 Filed 11–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–32–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ID–037–08–1200–00–264a]

Public Land Closure To Use of

Firearms

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 43 CFR 8364.1(a)

and 8365.2–5(a), in order to protect

persons, property and resources, notice

is hereby given that the Pocatello

Resource Area, Bureau of Land

Management, prohibits the discharge or

use of firearms, other weapons and

fireworks within the Formation Cave/

Springs Research Natural Area/Area of

Critical Environmental Concern (RNA/

ACEC), located within the following

boundaries of public lands:

T. 08 S., R. 42 E., Boise Meridian, Caribou

County,

Sec. 28: E1⁄2SW1⁄4.

DATES: Effective immediately, this

prohibition will remain in effect until

revoked.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff

Steele, Pocatello Resource Area

Manager, Bureau of Land Management,

1111 N. 8th St., Pocatello, Idaho, 83201

(208) 236–6860.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

prohibition on the use of firearms, other

weapons or fireworks within the

Formation Cave/Springs RNA/ACEC

will serve to protect the safety and

health of individuals and groups

visiting and hiking the network of trails

located within the lands described

above. Signs will be posted in strategic

locations to provide notice of this

restriction.

Dated: November 13, 1997.

Jeff S. Steele,

Area Manager.

[FR Doc. 97–30581 Filed 11–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–GG–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM/MT/PL–98/003+1990; DES 97–38]

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

for the Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc.;

Amendment 008 and Mine Life

Extension

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347) and

the Montana Environmental Policy Act,

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

and the Montana Department of

Environmental Quality (DEQ), as lead

agencies, have prepared, through a third

party contractor, a Draft EIS on the

impacts of the Golden Sunlight Mines,

Inc., implementation of Amendment

008 and the extension of the mine life

through 2006. The Draft EIS presents a

preferred alternative derived from seven

alternatives including the company

proposed action. The preferred

alternative is the agencies’ attempt to

reduce or avoid the potential

environmental impacts of the proposed

action. The Draft EIS discloses the

possible environmental consequences

associated with each alternative.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft

EIS will be accepted for 60 days

following the date the Environmental

Protection Agency publishes the Notice

of Filing of the draft in the Federal

Register.

Comments can also be presented at a

public hearing to be arranged. Interested

parties will be notified of the date, time,

and location. This meeting will also be

the forum for the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers to collect public comments on

the Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc., 404

permit application for the Golden

Sunlight Mines Amendment 008 and

mine life extension.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to Merle Good,

Headwaters Resource Area Manager,

Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box

3388, Butte, Montana 59702.

Copies of the Draft EIS will be

available from the Bureau of Land

Management, P.O. Box 3388, Butte,

Montana 59702, telephone 406–494–

5059; or the Montana Department of

Environmental Quality, P.O. Box

200901, Helena, Montana 50620–0901,

telephone 406–444–3276.

Public reading copies will be

available for review at the following

locations: (1) Bureau of Land

Management, Office of External Affairs,

Main Interior Building, Room 5600,

18th and C Streets NW., Washington,

DC; (2) Bureau of Land Management,

External Affairs Office, Montana State

Office, 222 North 32nd Street, Billings,

Montana; (3) Bureau of Land

Management, Butte District Office, 106

North Parkmont Street; Butte, Montana

and (4) State of Montana, Department of

Environmental Quality, 1520 East Sixth

Avenue, Helena, Montana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg

Hallsten, Team Leader, Montana

Department of Environmental Quality,

P.O. Box 200901, Helena, Montana

59620–0901, telephone 406–444–3276

or David Williams, Team Leader,

Bureau of Land Management, Box 3388,

P.O. Butte, Montana 59702, telephone

406–494–5059.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Golden Sunlight Mine (GSM) began

large-scale operations to mine and

process gold-bearing ore in 1982

following completion of an

Environmental Impact Statement by the

Montana Department of State Lands

(DSL) in 1981. Several minor
62344 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 225 / Friday, November 21, 1997 / Notices

amendments were processed by the DSL

and BLM between 1983 and 1990.

In 1988 GSM applied for a major

expansion of operations (Amendment

008). Following completion of a

mitigated Environmental Assessment in

1990, GSM was authorized to proceed

with the expansion. Amendment 008

included 31 stipulations attached to the

Decision Record for the EA. These

stipulations were designed to address a

varity of environmental issues

developed in the EA. This decision was

appealed to the Interior Board of Land

Appeals (IBLA) by several

environmental groups in 1990. In 1993

the IBLA ruled largely in favor of the

agencies. In 1992 these same groups

appealed the approval of Amendment

008 in Montana State court. On

September 1, 1994, the District Court

Judge ruled that DSL must prepare an

EIS for the impacts associated with

Amendment 008. Following the court

ruling the plaintiffs, GSM, and DSL

negotiated a Settlement Agreement that

allowed mining to continue until the

completion of an EIS.

In compliance with the District Court

Decision, the agencies began

preparation of an EIS in 1995.

Total disturbance is approximately

2,336 acres at this time. Under the

proposed action the mine’s permitted

disturbance would expand to include an

additional 517 acres of GSM land, 75

acres of BLM-administered land, and 35

acres of school trust (state) land.

Operations would continue until

approximately 2006.

The Golden Sunlight mine is a

conventional truck-and-shovel open-pit

mine. Approximately 60,000 to 70,000

tons of rock are excavated per day,

totaling approximately 22 million tons

per year. Only 2.5 million tons of this

total are ore, the remainder being waste

rock. Approximately 320 million tons of

waste have been placed in waste rock

dumps. The ore is processed in a vat

cyanide process. Gold-bearing cyanide

solutions are treated by carbon

adsorption to recover the gold. The

recovered gold is ultimately returned to

solution for electrowinning onto steel

wool, which is then smelted down to

recover gold as dore ́. Following

processing, the mill stream is piped as

a slurry to Impoundment II, a lined

tailings impoundment. Impoundment I,

an unlined facility which did

experience some leakage in the early

1980s and corrected through a series of

pumpback wells, is currently

undergoing the early stages of

reclamation.

Proposed reclamation of the waste

rock dumps includes a mix of 2h:1v and

3h:1v slopes. Because the waste rock at

GSM has high potential for ‘‘acid rock

drainage’’ or low pH runoff/effluent,

effective reclamation of these wastes is

crucial to limiting the reactions that

produce acid rock drainage. The

reclamation plan calls for a cover

system that includes approximately 24

inches of neutral waste rock and 19 to

24 inches of cover soil. Extensive

monitoring of several slopes reclaimed

since 1990 to 1992 has helped the mine

and the agencies determine what

reclamation practices have been most

effective. Surface water management is

another critical factor in reclamation

success and is an important part of the

reclamation plan. Long-term water

treatment is an integral part of the mine

plan. GSM has posted a total bond of

approximately 38 million dollars to

cover reclamation costs.

A Notice of Intent was published in

the Federal Register on October 25,

1995. A public scoping meeting was

conducted on October 17, 1995, to

solicit comments for the scope of the

EIS. Written comments were accepted

through November 10, 1995.

Dated: November 5, 1997.

Merle Good,

Headwaters Resource Area Manager.

[FR Doc. 97–30133 Filed 11–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–DN–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

[CO–030–5101–00–YCKD; COC–51280]

Notice of Intent To Prepare a

Supplement to a Final Environmental

Impact Statement; Colorado and New

Mexico

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

USDI, and Forest Service, Department of

Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice; Intent to prepare a

supplement to a Final Environmental

Impact Statement; Notice of scoping

with a public comment period.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

National Environmental Policy Act,

notice is hereby given that the Bureau

of Land Management (BLM) in

cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service

(USFS) is initiating the preparation of a

Supplement (supplement) to the Final

Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)

for the TransColorado Gas Transmission

Company (TransColorado) pipeline

project on federal lands in Colorado and

New Mexico. TransColorado is the

proponent. Lands managed by the BLM

in the Montrose, Craig, and Grand

Junction Districts in Colorado, and the

Farmington District in New Mexico, and

the USFS in the Uncompahgre and San

Juan National Forests, Colorado, are

crossed by the TransColorado pipeline

project. The supplement will address

the environmental impacts of the

construction, operation, maintenance,

and ultimate abandonment of known

proposed route changes and minor

realignments (less than 100 ft.) of

portions the approved pipeline and

right-of-way (ROW) grant COC–51280,

and the impacts of the proposed

construction and use of known

additional temporary work areas

adjacent to the approved ROW or,

proposed ROW route changes or minor

realignments. The supplement will also

address the impacts of the construction,

operation, maintenance and ultimate

abandonment of several ROW route

changes or realignments, and the

construction and use of several

alternative temporary work areas in

unspecified locations. These

unspecified temporary work areas and

ROW route changes or minor

realignments will be addressed in the

supplement to accommodate conditions

that might be encountered during

construction. Cumulative affects of

potential future gas supply facilities,

such as gas supply pipeline laterals will

be addressed. The FEIS is not being reopened nor re-analyzed, nor are the

decisions in the FEIS being

reconsidered. Any comments addressing

issues analyzed in the FEIS will not be

considered. Please focus any comments

on the proposed action of the

supplement to the FEIS.

DATES: Written comments on the

proposed action will be accepted until

December 15, 1997. The comment

period on the draft supplement to the

FEIS will be 45 days from the notice of

availability, published in the Federal

Register.

ADDRESSES: Any comments relative to

the proposed action described in this

notice should be sent to Bill Bottomly,

TransColorado Project Manager, Bureau

of Land Management, Montrose District

Office, 2465 South Townsend Avenue,

Montrose, CO 81401.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bill Bottomly (970) 240–5337, Ilyse

Auringer (970) 385–1341, or Steve

Hemphill (970) 874–6633.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: After

preparing a Draft and Final

Environmental Impact Statement in

1992, the BLM and the USFS issued

Records of Decision on December 1,

1992, approving the authorization of a