77174 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 183 / Friday, September 20, 2024 / Notices 

period. Of the submissions, 420 were 

identical copy letters, 89 were form 

letters with additional text, 73 were 

unique letters, and one was a duplicate 

submission. Principle comment issues 

included: 

• Wildlife impact concerns, including 

birds, bats, big game, amphibians, 

pollinators and insects, general wildlife, 

special-status species, and GRSG; 

• Lands with Wilderness 

Characteristics impact concerns; 

• Visual resource impact concerns; 

and 

• Cultural resource impact concerns. 

Public and stakeholder comments also 

provided specific edits and corrections 

to EIS sections and general support or 

opposition to the proposed Project. 

Final EIS Revisions 

Comments on the Draft EIS received 

from the public and internal BLM 

review were considered and 

incorporated as appropriate into the 

Final EIS. Public comments resulted in 

the addition of clarifications and 

analysis, but comments did not identify 

significant new circumstances or 

information relevant to environmental 

concerns that have bearing upon the 

proposed action. 

In response to public comments on 

the Draft EIS, revisions were made to 

the Final EIS. The agency made 

micrositing changes within the 0.5-mile 

wide siting corridor at Marjum Pass in 

Millard County, Utah, which is 

analyzed as part of the Agency Preferred 

Alternative within the Final EIS. The 

LWC, Transportation, Visual Resources, 

and Wilderness Study Areas sections of 

the Final EIS include updated analysis 

for the Agency Preferred Alternative 

micrositing at Marjum Pass. Impacts 

from the Agency Preferred Alternative 

would be the same as described under 

the Proposed Action for the following: 

air quality; climate change/greenhouse 

gases; cultural and heritage resources; 

fire and fuels management; geology, 

minerals, and renewable energy 

production; inventoried roadless areas; 

land use; livestock grazing; noxious and 

invasive weeds; paleontology; 

recreation; socioeconomics and 

environmental justice; soils; vegetation; 

water resources; wildlife; and 

woodlands. 

In addition to micrositing in Marjum 

Pass, the agency widened the 0.5-milewide siting corridor in two specific 

areas (Utah-Nevada border west of 

Garrison, Utah; and Steptoe Valley, 

Nevada) where public comments noted 

administrative constraints that would 

preclude or interfere with existing 

infrastructure, private lands, and 

specially managed areas. Widening the 

siting corridor in these locations allows 

for the flexibility of the centerline to 

shift. The 0.5-mile-wide siting corridor 

was also reduced after publication of the 

Draft EIS in multiple locations across 

Nevada to remove locations outside 

designated utility corridors. These are 

locations where siting of the 

transmission line would not be in 

conformance with the Nevada and 

Northeastern California Greater SageGrouse Approved Resource 

Management Plan Amendment (NevadaCalifornia ARMPA) (BLM 2015b), as 

described below. The 0.5-mile-wide 

siting corridor and centerline were also 

shifted in the southwest corner of 

Millard County, Utah, to avoid the LWC 

Inventory Unit Jackson Wash (UT– 

C010–121). 

In early 2024, the United States 

Geological Survey issued a draft annual 

update report related to GRSG that 

disclosed an adaptive management 

trigger identified in the NevadaCalifornia ARMPA that was tripped for 

the third year in a row for a lek cluster 

within the area near the western 

terminus of the Project at Robinson 

Summit Substation (Prochazka et al. 

2024). The individual annual triggers 

are defined as soft triggers in the 

Nevada-California ARMPA, and the 

plan provided that tripping three soft 

triggers in consecutive years (2021, 

2022, and 2023) equates to a hard 

trigger. In response to tripping a hard 

trigger, the ARMPA identifies any land 

outside designated utility corridors and 

within GRSG habitat management areas 

as exclusion areas for new high-voltage 

transmission. There is an approximately 

1-mile-long segment of the proposed 

Project and action alternatives that 

would be located outside the designated 

utility corridor across GRSG habitat 

management areas and whose 

authorization would not conform to the 

approved Nevada-California ARMPA 

based on this new information. Through 

a separate process, the BLM is currently 

reconsidering its 2015 GRSG planning 

decisions, including its management of 

the lands being considered for this 

proposed Project segment. The BLM 

published a NOA for the draft GRSG 

RMP amendments on March 15, 2024. 

The BLM will ensure that its decision 

responding to the application for the 

Project will conform to the land use 

plans approved at the time of the record 

of decision, consistent with 43 CFR 

1610.5–3. 

Additional updates were made to 

address public concerns within the 

following resource sections: renewable 

energy resources, visual resources, 

Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions 

and cumulative impacts, GRSG, and 

LWC. 

Agency Decisions 

Based on the environmental analysis 

in this Final EIS, the BLM Utah State 

Director will decide whether to 

authorize the ROW grant, authorize with 

modifications, or deny the application 

based on the proposed Project, 

alternatives, or any combination thereof 

on Public Lands. The Forest Service will 

issue a separate ROD specific to its 

decision whether to authorize a SUP on 

National Forest System land. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10) 

Christina Judd, 

Acting State Director, Utah. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21279 Filed 9–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–25–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_NV_FRN_4500181325] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC’s Rhyolite 

Ridge Lithium-Boron Mine Project, 

Esmeralda County, Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

announces the availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron 

Mine Project (Project) proposed by 

Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC (Ioneer) in 

Esmeralda County, Nevada. 

DATES: The BLM will not issue a 

decision on the proposal for a minimum 

of 30 days after the date that the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

publishes its Notice of Availability 

(NOA) in the Federal Register. The EPA 

usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays. 

ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and 

documents pertinent to this proposal are 

available for review on the BLM’s 

National NEPA Register (ePlanning) at 

https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2012309/510. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Scott Distel, Project Manager, telephone: 

(775) 635–4093; email: sdistel@blm.gov; 

address: 50 Bastian Road, Battle 

Mountain, NV 89820. Individuals in the 

United States who are deaf, deafblind, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 183 / Friday, September 20, 2024 / Notices 77175 

hard of hearing, or have a speech 

disability may dial 711 (TYY, TDD, or 

TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunication relay services for 

contacting Mr. Distel. 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: 

Purpose and Need 

The BLM’s purpose for the action is 

to respond to Ioneer’s proposal as 

described in its proposed Plan of 

Operations, and to analyze the potential 

environmental effects associated with 

the Proposed Action and alternatives to 

the Proposed Action. NEPA mandates 

that the BLM evaluate the potential 

effects of the Proposed Action and 

develop alternatives. The BLM’s need 

for the action is established by the 

BLM’s responsibilities under section 

302 of FLPMA and the BLM Surface 

Management Regulations at 43 CFR part 

3800 subpart 3809 to respond to a 

proposed Plan of Operations. 

Alternatives A, B, and C 

Under Alternative A, the Proposed 

Action, Ioneer is proposing to construct, 

operate, close, and reclaim a new 

lithium-boron mine project in 

Esmeralda County, Nevada. The 

proposed Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron 

Mine Project Plan of Operations 

boundary would encompass 7,166 acres, 

which consists of a 6,369-acre 

Operational Project Area and a 797-acre 

Access Road and Infrastructure 

Corridor. The total surface disturbance 

associated with Alternative A, including 

existing and reclassified disturbance 

and exploration, would be 2,306 acres of 

BLM-administered public lands and 

private land. 

The Project would employ a 

workforce of approximately 400 to 500 

employees during initial construction 

and approximately 350 employees 

during operations. The Project would 

operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per 

year. The total life of the Project would 

be 23 years, including four years of 

construction (years 1 through 4), 17 

years of quarrying (years 1 through 17), 

13 years of ore processing (years 4 

through 17), and 6 additional years of 

reclamation (Years 18 through 23). 

Reclamation of disturbed areas would 

be completed in accordance with BLM 

and Nevada Division of Environmental 

Protection regulations. Concurrent 

reclamation would take place where 

practicable and safe. 

The proposed activities for the Project 

would include: 

• A mine, including an open pit berm 

and water storage tanks; 

• A processing facility, including a 

contact water pond and diversion 

channels; 

• Three overburden storage facilities 

(North, West, and Quarry Infill), 

including contact water ponds and 

diversion channels; 

• One spent ore storage facility, 

including an underdrain pond and 

diversion channels; 

• Project Area exploration, including 

access routes and drill sites with sumps; 

• Haul roads, service roads, and 

public road realignment; 

• Buckwheat exclusion area and 

critical habitat fencing; and 

• Ancillary facilities including an 

explosives storage area, communication 

towers, All-Terrain Vehicle trails, a 

batch plant, a proposed water supply 

testing facilities including pipelines, a 

sewage system including septic leach 

fields, a dewatering pipeline, growth 

media stockpiles, stormwater controls 

and diversions, monitoring wells, 

laydown yards, and fencing. 

Under Alternative B, the North and 

South OSF Alternative, which is the 

BLM’s preferred alternative, all mine 

components and operations would be 

the same as Alternative A, but the 

facility layout would be modified to 

reduce surface disturbance within the 

Tiehm’s buckwheat (Eriogonum tiemii) 

designated critical habitat. Surface 

disturbance under Alternative B would 

be less than Alternative A and total 

approximately 2,271 acres. 

Under Alternative C, the No Action 

Alternative, the development of the 

Project would not be authorized and 

Ioneer would not construct, operate, and 

close a new lithium-boron mine project. 

Lead and Cooperating Agencies 

The BLM Battle Mountain District 

Office is the lead agency for the EIS. The 

Nevada Department of Wildlife, the 

Nevada Division of Forestry, the U.S. 

Department of Energy, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service—Ecological Services, 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service— 

Migratory Birds Program, the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, and 

the Esmeralda County Board of County 

Commissioners have participated in this 

environmental analysis as cooperating 

agencies. Several Native American 

Tribes have also participated in the 

environmental analysis. 

Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process 

Consistent with the NEPA and the 

BLM’s land use planning regulations, 

the BLM is providing a 30-day public 

review period for the Final EIS and will 

not issue a decision on the proposal for 

a minimum of 30 days after the date that 

EPA publishes its NOA in the Federal 

Register. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10) 

Jon D. Sherve, 

District Manager, Battle Mountain District. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21580 Filed 9–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–21–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500180510] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Resource Management Plan 

Amendment and Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Copper Rays Solar 

Project in Nye County, Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

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 (FLPMA), the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 

prepared a Draft Resource Management 

Plan (RMP) Amendment and Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Copper Rays Solar Project and by 

this notice is providing information 

announcing the opening of the comment 

period on the Draft RMP Amendment/ 

EIS. 

DATES: This notice announces the 

opening of a 90-day comment period for 

the Draft RMP Amendment/EIS 

beginning with the date following the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

(EPA) publication of its Notice of 

Availability (NOA) in the Federal 

Register. The EPA usually publishes its 

NOAs on Fridays. 

To afford the BLM the opportunity to 

consider comments on the Draft RMP 

Amendment/EIS, please ensure your 

comments are received prior to the close 

of the 90-day comment period or 15 

days after the last public meeting, 

whichever is later. 

The BLM will be holding one inperson public meeting and one virtual 

public meeting during the public 

comment period. 

• In-Person Meeting 

—Date and Time: October 22, 2024, 6 

p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time 

(PDT) 

—Location: Pahrump Nugget Hotel 

and Casino, 681 NV Highway 160, 

Pahrump, Nevada 89048 

• Virtual Meeting 


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