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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81427-81429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25756]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM_ ID_ FRN_ MO4500175813]

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Caldwell Canyon Revised Mine and Reclamation Plan, Caribou County, 
Idaho

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Idaho Falls 
District intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to 
consider the effects of P4 Production, LLC's (P4 Production) Caldwell 
Canyon Revised Mine and Reclamation Plan (RMRP) in Caribou County, 
Idaho. This notice announces the beginning of the scoping process to 
solicit public comments and identify issues and alternatives.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EIS. 
The BLM requests that the public submit comments concerning the scope 
of the analysis, potential alternatives, and identification of relevant 
information and studies by December 22, 2023. In order to be considered 
during the preparation of the Draft EIS, please ensure your comments 
are received prior to the close of the 30-day scoping period or 15 days 
after the last public meeting, whichever is later. Additional 
information will be distributed through a press release, newspaper 
notice, BLM's ePlanning website, and email to the mailing list.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Caldwell Canyon RMRP 
by any of the following methods:
     Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2026858/510.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (208) 478-6376.

[[Page 81428]]

     Mail: Caldwell Canyon Mine EIS, C/O Stantec Consulting 
Services Inc., 2890 East Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, 
UT 84121.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at 
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2026858/510 and at the 
BLM Pocatello Field Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Myers, project manager, 
telephone (208) 559-3662; address 4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, ID 
83204; email [email protected]. Contact Mr. Myers to have your name added 
to our mailing list. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, 
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services 
for contacting Mr. Myers. Individuals outside the United States should 
use the relay services offered within their country to make 
international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Following the preparation of a Final EIS, 
the Caldwell Canyon Mine and Reclamation project was approved in a 2019 
Record of Decision (ROD). Since that approval in 2019 and continuing 
through May 2023, P4 Production developed and constructed various 
components of the original project including a service road, haul 
roads, various utility lines, loadout facilities, and earthwork to 
prepare for ore removal.
    In June 2023, as a result of legal action challenging the BLM's 
decision and analysis, the Final EIS and ROD were vacated by the United 
States District Court for the District of Idaho (Case No. 4:21-cv-
00182-BLM). As a result of this vacatur, P4 Production submitted a new 
RMRP, which the BLM will analyze under NEPA. The RMRP proposes 
modifying existing lease boundaries, developing two new open mine pits, 
constructing haul and access roads, installing various utility lines, 
and constructing water management features, monitoring wells, and shop 
and office facilities (the Project).

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of the Project is for the BLM to evaluate and respond 
to the RMRP submitted for the recovery of phosphate ore and to modify 
leases, in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. P4 
Production has certain rights and privileges to recover phosphate from 
their leases, including the exploration, mining, and disposal of the 
phosphate or phosphate rock, subject to applicable requirements. The 
need for the Project is to develop the phosphate resources, using an 
economically viable method, in accordance with federal laws and 
regulations governing federal mineral leases, consistent with 
applicable law.

Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives

    P4 Production's RMRP proposes to mine phosphate ore in Caribou 
County, Idaho, from three existing federal phosphate leases by 
constructing two open pits, constructing haul and access roads, 
installing various utility lines, and constructing water management 
features, monitoring wells, and shop and office facilities, while 
implementing environmental protection measures and reclamation.
    The Project would create two open pits, portions of which extend 
beyond the existing federal lease boundaries. To accommodate those 
portions of the pits that extend outside the current federal leases, P4 
Production proposes to expand their leases in accordance with 43 CFR 
subpart 3510.
    The mining and the support facilities would encompass approximately 
1,830 acres. The expected mine life would be approximately 40 years. 
Reclamation would be concurrent with mining and is scheduled to 
conclude two years after mining ceases.
    In addition to the No Action Alternative (not approving the RMRP 
and lease modifications) and the Proposed Action, other possible 
alternatives may include a new proposed haul and access road and 
utility corridor that avoid federal surface as much as possible, and 
alternatives that address the sage-grouse issues identified by the 
Court. The BLM welcomes comments on all preliminary alternatives, as 
well as suggestions for additional alternatives.

Summary of Expected Impacts

    The BLM expects mining and hauling operations to: change 
groundwater and surface water quantity and quality within regulatory 
limits; remove and change the structure and composition of vegetation, 
including species important to Native American Tribes; disturb wetlands 
and riparian habitat; modify wildlife habitat, including sage-grouse 
habitat; change scenery; disturb soil; permanently remove mineral 
resources; create air and fugitive dust emissions; extend economic 
activity such as employment and the continued operation of an existing 
elemental phosphorous processing plant; support businesses and generate 
tax revenue; and reduce livestock grazing.

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations

    The BLM anticipates that the following permits and approvals may be 
required for the Project:

 BLM; MRP approval or modification of approved MRP; 43 CFR 
3590.2(a), 3592.1(a)
 BLM; Lease Modification/Fringe Lease; 43 CFR 3510
 BLM; Right-of-way; 90 Statute 2776; 43 U.S. Code (U.S.C.) 1761
 BLM; Phosphate Use Permit; 43 CFR 3501.10, 43 CFR 3516
 High Explosives Permit; 18 U.S.C. 40; 27 CFR 555
 Idaho Department of Environmental Quality; Point of Compliance 
under the Idaho Groundwater Quality Rule; IDAPA 58.01.11.401
 Idaho Department of Environmental Quality; Certification of 
Water Quality (Clean Water Act, Section 401); IDAPA 39-101, et seq.; 
Idaho Code Parts 39-3601, et seq.
 Idaho Department of Water Resources; Water Rights; Idaho Code 
Parts 42-201, et seq.; IDAPA 37.03.08, Water Appropriation Rules and 
37.03.11 Conjunctive Management of Surface and Ground Water
 Idaho Department of Environmental Quality; Stormwater 
Pollution Prevention Plan, Idaho Pollutant Discharge Elimination 
System; (IDAPA 58.01.25)
 USACE; Section 404 Permit--required if surface disturbance and 
placement of fill is more than 0.5 acres of wetlands and 500 feet of 
stream channels; Clean Water Act [Title 33 U.S.C. 1344, Section 404(a)]
 Idaho Department of Water Resources; Stream Channel Alteration 
Permit; IDAPA 42-3801
 Idaho Department of Environmental Quality; Air Quality Permit 
to Construct; IDAPA 58.01.01
 Idaho Department of Lands; Reclamation Plan approval and 
modification of approved Reclamation Plan; IDAPA 20.03.02.010, 
20.03.02.120, and 20.03.02.140
 Caribou County; Conditional Use Permit for facilities within 
an approved land use; Caribou County Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 13.

Schedule for the Decision-Making Process

    The BLM will provide additional opportunities for public 
participation consistent with the NEPA process, including a 45-day 
comment period on the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is anticipated to be 
available for public review in summer 2024 and the Final EIS is 
anticipated to be released in December 2024, with a Record of

[[Page 81429]]

Decision no sooner than 30 days after the release of the Final EIS.

Public Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping period. The BLM will be 
holding a virtual public scoping meeting. The specific date and time of 
the virtual meeting, including information on how to register, will be 
announced in advance via press release, newspaper notice, the ePlanning 
project page, and email.

Cooperating Agencies

    The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Idaho Department of Lands, and Idaho Governor's Office of 
Energy and Minerals are Cooperating Agencies.

Responsible Official

    Idaho Falls District Manager Mary D'Aversa is the BLM responsible 
official.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The BLM Idaho Falls District Manager will decide whether and under 
what conditions to approve land use authorizations on BLM-managed 
public land and the RMRP on leased lands, and to recommend the approval 
or disapproval of proposed lease modifications to the BLM Idaho State 
Office Branch Chief for Minerals, Land Tenure, and Water Rights. The 
decision and recommendation will be documented in a ROD.

Additional Information

    The BLM will identify, analyze, and consider mitigation to address 
the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources from the Proposed 
Action and all analyzed reasonable alternatives and, in accordance with 
40 CFR 1502.14(e), include appropriate mitigation measures not already 
included in the Proposed Action or Action Alternative(s). Mitigation 
may include avoidance, minimization, rectification, reduction or 
elimination over time, and compensation, and it may be considered at 
multiple scales, including the landscape scale.
    The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA process to help 
support compliance with applicable procedural requirements under the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536) and Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 CFR 
800.2(d)(3), including public involvement requirements of Section 106. 
Information about historic and cultural resources and threatened and 
endangered species within the area potentially affected by the Project 
will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts to such 
resources.
    The BLM will consult with Indian Tribal Nations on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175, BLM MS 1780, 
and other Departmental policies. The BLM will send invites to 
potentially affected Tribal Nations prior to consultations. Tribal 
concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential 
impacts to cultural resources, will be given due consideration. 
Federal, State, and local agencies, along with Indian Tribal Nations 
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed Project that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate 
in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by 
the BLM to participate in the development of the environmental analysis 
as a Cooperating Agency. The BLM will also provide additional 
opportunities for government-to-government consultation at other times 
during the NEPA process.
    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 may 
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 1501.9)

Mary D'Aversa,
District Manager, Idaho Falls District.
[FR Doc. 2023-25756 Filed 11-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-19-P
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