22608 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 73 / Monday, April 16, 2012 / Notices 

mined in the Wyoming portion of the 

Powder River Basin. 

The tract in this lease offering 

contains split estate lands. There are 

qualified surface owners as defined in 

the regulations at 43 CFR 3400.0–5(gg). 

Consent granted by the qualified surface 

owners has been filed with and verified 

by the BLM. The LBA tract lands 

included in the consent are: 

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th Principal Meridian 

Sec. 13, lots 12 through 14 inclusive; 

Sec. 14, lots 1, 2, 8, and 18; and 

Sec. 24, lots 3, 4, 17, 19, and 21. 

Containing 396.79 acres, more or less, in 

Campbell County, Wyoming. 

The purchase price of the consent as 

stated in the consent documents is 

‘‘* * * an overriding royalty of three 

percent (3%) of the gross realization of 

all coal mined and sold from the Subject 

Property.’’ 

The tract will be leased to the 

qualified bidder of the highest cash 

amount provided that the high bid 

meets or exceeds the BLM’s estimate of 

the fair market value (FMV) of the tract. 

The minimum bid for the tract is $100 

per acre or fraction thereof. No bid that 

is less than $100 per acre, or fraction 

thereof, will be considered. The bids 

should be sent by certified mail, return 

receipt requested, or be hand delivered. 

The BLM Wyoming State Office Cashier 

will issue a receipt for each handdelivered bid. Bids received after 4 p.m. 

local time on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 

will not be considered. The minimum 

bid is not intended to represent FMV. 

The FMV of the tract will be determined 

by the Authorized Officer after the sale. 

The lease that may be issued as a result 

of this offering will provide for payment 

of an annual rental of $3 per acre, or 

fraction thereof, and a royalty payment 

to the United States of 12.5 percent of 

the value of coal produced by surface 

mining methods. The value of the coal 

will be determined in accordance with 

30 CFR 1206.250. 

Pursuant to the regulation at 43 CFR 

3473.2(f), the applicant for the South 

Porcupine Tract, BTU Western 

Resources, Inc., has paid a total case-bycase cost recovery processing fee in the 

amount of $83,694. The successful 

bidder for the South Porcupine Tract, if 

someone other than the applicant, must 

pay to the BLM the $83,694 previously 

paid by BTU Western Resources, Inc., 

and, in that circumstance, the BLM 

would then refund that amount to BTU 

Western Resources, Inc. Additionally, 

the successful bidder must pay all 

processing costs the BLM will incur 

after the date this sale notice is 

published in the Federal Register, 

which are estimated to be $10,000. 

Bidding instructions for the LBA tract 

offered and the terms and conditions of 

the proposed coal lease are available 

from the BLM Wyoming State Office at 

the address above. Case file documents, 

WYW176095, are available for 

inspection at the BLM Wyoming State 

Office. 

Donald A. Simpson, 

State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8973 Filed 4–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNVL01000. L5110. GN0000. 

LVEMF1201180; N82888, N90443; MO# 

4500031854; TAS: 14X5017] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Proposed Bald Mountain Mine 

North and South Operations Area 

Projects, White Pine County, NV 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, (NEPA) and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

Egan Field Office, Ely, Nevada intends 

to prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) and by this notice is 

announcing the beginning of the 

scoping process to solicit public 

comments and identify issues. The 

proposed project is located in White 

Pine County, about 70 miles northwest 

of Ely and 30 miles northeast of Eureka, 

Nevada. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the EIS. Comments 

on issues may be submitted in writing 

until 30 days after the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register. The 

date(s) and location(s) of any scoping 

meetings will be announced at least 15 

days in advance through local media, 

newspapers, and the BLM web site at: 

http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/ely_

field_office.html. In order to be included 

in the Draft EIS, all comments must be 

received prior to the close of the scoping 

period or 15 days after the last public 

meeting, whichever is later. We will 

provide additional opportunities for 

public participation upon publication of 

the Draft EIS. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

related to the Bald Mountain Mine 

North and South Operations Area 

Projects by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: BLM_NV_EYDO_Barrick

_Bald_EIS@blm.gov. 

• Fax: (775) 289–1910. 

• Mail: BLM Ely District, Egan Field 

Office, HC 33 Box 33500, Ely, NV, 

89301. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined at the Egan Field 

Office, 702 N. Industrial Way, Ely, 

Nevada. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information and/or to have your 

name added to our mailing list, contact 

Miles Kreidler, project lead, telephone: 

(775) 289–1893; email: 

mkreidler@blm.gov. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

to contact the above individual during 

normal business hours. The FIRS is 

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 

to leave a message or question with the 

above individual. You will receive a 

reply during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Bald 

Mountain Mine (BMM), owned by 

Barrick Gold US Inc., proposes to 

expand the existing approved mine 

facilities in the North Operations Project 

Area, and expand the existing Casino/ 

Winrock Plan of Operations and 

incorporate it into the North Operations 

Project Area. This expansion would add 

four new heap leach pads and increase 

the total surface disturbance from 9,124 

acres to 13,704 acres. Of the 13,704 total 

acres, 21.6 acres would be located on 

private land. In addition, BMM 

proposes an expansion of the South 

Operations Area Project which would 

encompass and expand the existing 

Yankee and Alligator Ridge mine sites, 

and would include an access road from 

the North Operations Area to the South 

Operations Area. The access road would 

provide a direct route for transportation 

of equipment and personnel between 

the two operational areas, and would 

also be used for a power line corridor. 

Establishing the South Operations Area 

Project would increase the total surface 

disturbance from 960 acres to 3,643 

acres, all of which is on public land. 

Mining has been ongoing in this area 

for over 20 years and a variety of 

different mining proposals have been 

analyzed under previous NEPA 

documents. Most recently, mine 

expansions were analyzed in the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Bald Mountain Mine North Operations 

Area Project (August 2009) and the 

Mooney Heap and Little Bald Mountain 

Mine Expansion Project Environmental 

Assessment (July 2006). 


emcdonald on DSK29S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 73 / Monday, April 16, 2012 / Notices 22609 

A range of alternatives will be 

developed, including the no-action 

alternative, to address the issues 

identified during scoping. Mitigation 

measures will be considered to 

minimize environmental impacts and to 

assure the proposed action does not 

result in unnecessary or undue 

degradation of public lands. 

The purpose of the public scoping 

process is to determine relevant issues 

that will influence the scope of the 

environmental analysis, including 

alternatives, and guide the process for 

developing the EIS. At present, the BLM 

has identified the following preliminary 

issues: 

(a) Potential wildlife impacts could 

include loss of forage or impediments to 

mule deer migration, and loss of habitat 

for the greater sage-grouse and raptors, 

including golden eagles. 

(b) Potential effects to viewshed posed 

by the proximity of the project to the 

Pony Express Trail, a Class II Visual 

Resource Management Area. 

(c) Potential effects to wild horses 

could include loss of habitat and 

mortality from vehicles using the access 

road. The project area is within the 

boundaries of the Triple B Wild Horse 

Herd Management Area. 

(d) Potential impacts to air quality 

could be created by an increase in the 

use of equipment at the North 

Operations Area Project and the 

initiation of mining at the South 

Operations Area Project. 

The BLM will utilize and coordinate 

the NEPA commenting process to help 

fulfill the public involvement process 

under Section 106 of the National 

Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

470f) as provided for in 36 CFR 

800.2(d)(3). Native American Tribal 

consultations will be conducted in 

accordance with policy, and Tribal 

concerns will be given due 

consideration, including impacts on 

Indian trust assets. Federal, state, and 

local agencies, along with other 

stakeholders that may be interested or 

affected by the BLM’s decision on this 

project are invited to participate in the 

scoping process and, if eligible, may 

request or be requested by the BLM to 

participate as a cooperating agency. 

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 part 1501 and 43 CFR 

part 3809. 

Doris A. Metcalf, 

Field Manager, Egan Field Office. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9089 Filed 4–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNVL01000. L51100000.GN0000. 

LVEMF1201170; N90444; MO# 4500032267; 

TAS: 14X5017] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Proposed Pan Mine Project, White 

Pine County, NV 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, (NEPA) and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

Egan Field Office, Ely, Nevada intends 

to prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) and by this notice is 

announcing the beginning of the 

scoping process to solicit public 

comments and identify issues. The 

proposed project is located in White 

Pine County, about 50 miles west of Ely 

near Newark Valley. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the EIS. Comments 

on issues may be submitted in writing 

until 30 days after the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register. The 

date(s) and location(s) of any scoping 

meetings will be announced at least 15 

days in advance through local media, 

newspapers, and the BLM Web site at: 

http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/

ely_field_office.html. In order to be 

included in the Draft EIS, all comments 

must be received prior to the close of 

the scoping period or 15 days after the 

last public meeting, whichever is later. 

We will provide additional 

opportunities for public participation 

upon publication of the Draft EIS. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

related to the Pan Mine Project by any 

of the following methods: 

• Email: BLM_NV_EYDO_Midway

_Pan_EIS@blm.gov. 

• Fax: (775) 289–1910. 

• Mail: BLM Ely District, Egan Field 

Office, HC 33 Box 33500, Ely, NV, 

89301. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined at the Egan Field 

Office, 702 N. Industrial Way, Ely, 

Nevada. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information and/or to have your 

name added to our mailing list, contact 

Miles Kreidler, project lead, telephone: 

(775) 289–1893; email: 

mkreidler@blm.gov. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

to contact the above individual during 

normal business hours. The FIRS is 

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 

to leave a message or question with the 

above individual. You will receive a 

reply during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Midway 

Gold US Inc. (Midway) proposes to 

construct and operate an open-pit gold 

mining operation, which would include 

open pits, a heap leach pad, waste rock 

dumps, and ancillary facilities. The 

mine would be located in the northern 

part of the Pancake Mountain Range, 

about 50 miles west of Ely and 10 miles 

south of U.S. Route 50. Currently, 

Midway is authorized to disturb up to 

100 acres for exploration purposes. The 

proposed operations and associated 

disturbance would increase disturbance 

to 3,238 acres of public land managed 

by the BLM. The projected mining 

period of 13 years, associated 

construction, closure, and post-closure 

monitoring periods would extend the 

project life for an estimated 25 years. 

Midway is currently conducting 

exploration activities in this area which 

were analyzed in two environmental 

assessments (EA): the Castleworth 

Ventures, Inc. Pan Exploration Project 

EA (May 2004) and the Midway Gold 

Pan Project Exploration Amendment EA 

(July 2011). 

A range of alternatives will be 

developed, including the no-action 

alternative, to address the issues 

identified during scoping. Mitigation 

measures will be considered to 

minimize environmental impacts and to 

assure the proposed action does not 

result in unnecessary or undue 

degradation of public lands. 

The purpose of the public scoping 

process is to determine relevant issues 

that will influence the scope of the 

environmental analysis, including 

alternatives, and guide the process for 

developing the EIS. At present, the BLM 

has identified the following preliminary 

issues: 

(a) Potential effects to archaeological 

resources in the area, such as Carbonari 

(historic charcoal production) sites and 

a 1913 alternative route of the Lincoln 

Highway. 


emcdonald on DSK29S0YB1PROD with NOTICES