2528 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 18 / Friday, January 26, 1996 / Notices

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom

Dyer, Snake River Resource Area

Manager, 200 South 15 East, Burley, ID

83318. Telephone (208) 677–6641. A

map showing vehicle routes of travel is

available from the Burley BLM Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Authority

for this closure and restriction order

may be found in 43 CFR 8364.1.

Violation of this closure is punishable

by a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or

imprisonment not to exceed 12 months.

Dated: January 16, 1996.

Tom Dyer,

Snake River Resource Area Manager.

[FR Doc. 96–1256 Filed 1–25–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–GG–P

[OR–130–1330–04; GP6–0055]

Notice of Intent to Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

for the Midnite Uranium Mine (MUM)

Reclamation

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Spokane District.

ACTION: Notice.

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

of the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA) of 1969, The Bureau of Land

Management (BLM), Spokane District,

as the lead federal agency, will be

directing the preparation of an EIS for

final reclamation of the Midnite

Uranium Mine located on the Spokane

Indian Reservation, in Washington

State. The EIS will evaluate the

environmental impacts of alternative

plans for mitigating the affects of past

mining activities. The reclamation

objective is to ensure that a physically

stable condition is achieved whereat

environmental impacts are mitigated or

controlled and public safety is

protected. This notice initiates the

scoping process for the EIS and also

serves as an invitation for other

potential cooperating parties. Potential

cooperating parties include the Spokane

Tribe of Indians, the U.S. Bureau of

Indian Affairs (BIA), the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

and the Washington State Department of

Health (WADOH).

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of the analysis should be received by

March 29, 1996, to receive full

consideration in the development of

alternatives. Three public scoping

meetings will be held: February 26,

1996 at the Spokane Tribal Longhouse,

Sherwood Loop Road, Wellpinit,

Washington from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

and from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.;

February 27, 1996 at the Davenport

Community Memorial Hall, 511 Park

Street, Davenport, Washington from

7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and February

28, 1996 at the Spokane County

Agricultural Center at 222 N. Havana

Spokane, Washington from 7:00 p.m. to

10:00 p.m.. Additional briefing meetings

may also be held as appropriate.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

the District Manager, Bureau of Land

Management, Spokane District Office,

1103 N. Fancher, Spokane, Washington,

99212–1275, ATTENTION: Midnite

Uranium Mine.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kelly Courtright, Project Manager, or

Gary Yeager, Planning & Environmental

Coordinator, Bureau of Land

Management, Spokane District Office,

1103 N. Fancher, Spokane, Washington,

99212–1275; or call (509) 536–1200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Midnite Uranium Mine is located on the

Spokane Indian Reservation, Stevens

County, about 45 miles northwest of

Spokane, Washington, and about 3.5

miles upstream of the Spokane River

arm of Lake Roosevelt. Dawn Mining

Company (DMC) leased the property

and operated the Midnite Uranium

Mine from 1955 to 1964 and again from

1968 to 1981. Active mining ceased on

the site in 1981 and the mine has

remained inactive since that time,

except for construction and operation of

internal drainage channels, collection of

seepage below the mined area, and

operation of a mine water treatment

plant.

Approximately 320 acres have been

directly affected by mining and waste

disposal and will require reclamation.

Mine workings and waste dumps span

over 1,000 feet of topographic relief

within the one mile length of the highly

disturbed area. About 33 million tons of

waste rock remain on-site. Two of the

mine pits— Pits 3 and 4—totaling about

70 surface acres remain open. Another

multiple pit area (Pit 2) was backfilled

with mine waste rock during active

operations in the 1970’s.

Leases for the mining activities were

issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Bureau of Land Management

assumed responsibility for regulating

mining activities in 1983 as a result of

Interior Department reorganization. The

Department has determined that BLM

will have primary authority for

overseeing preparation of the EIS and

that the decision authority on the

proposed action rests by delegation with

BLM.

DMC started treating mine water in

1992. The solid product of mine water

treatment, a semi-solid sludge or filter

cake, is classified as ‘‘source material’’

and must be disposed of according to

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

regulations. This material is transported

by covered truck to DMC’s mill, 25

miles to the east in Ford, Washington,

and off of tribal land, where uranium is

extracted and the by-product, known

within NRC regulations as 11.e.2.

material, is piped to the nearby licensed

and lined tailings pond. It is important

to note that BLM and BIA have no

jurisdiction at the mill site. The

Washington Department of Health has

regulatory jurisdiction at the mill site

(off-reservation on private land) and

also at the water treatment plant at the

mine. That authority covers the water

treatment plant’s generation, handling

and disposal of the regulated source

material. Environmental data has been

collected at the Midnite Mine for over

ten years. A significant amount of data

has been collected, compiled and

analyzed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines

(USBM). Because that agency has been

eliminated by legislative action, the

large body of data developed by USBM

has been transferred to BLM for

maintenance and management. The

responsibility for site clean-up lies with

DMC. Reclamation standards and

reasonable alternatives will be

addressed by the NEPA process initiated

by this scoping action. DMC will be

developing a reclamation proposal that

will be considered as one approach to

site reclamation, but other approaches

will also be evaluated.

The Bureau of Land Management’s

NEPA scoping process for the EIS will

include: (1) identification of issues of

concern that will need to be addressed

in the EIS process; (2) identification of

ideas for reclamation alternatives; (3)

identification of additional scientific

and creditable site data that may not be

reflected in the existing database; and

(4) notification of interested groups,

individuals, and agencies so that

additional information concerning these

issues can be obtained.

The scoping process will consist of

news releases announcing the start of

the NEPA process; and newsletters

inviting the public to participate in the

scoping process. A scoping summary

report will be prepared at the close of

scoping that will summarize the

findings. This report will be made

available to the public through local

public libraries, and offices of the lead

and cooperating agencies.

Dated January 19, 1996.

Joseph Buesing,

Spokane District Manager.

[FR Doc. 96–1164 Filed 1–25–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–33–P