45750 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 6, 2008 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Intent To Prepare a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Expansion of an Operating Open 

Pit Taconite Mine and Expansion of an 

Operating Taconite Ore Processing 

Facility Proposed by U.S. Steel—

Minnesota Ore Operations Near 

Keewatin in Itasca County and St. 

Louis County, MN 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DOD. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: U.S. Steel—Minnesota Ore 

Operations (U.S. Steel) has applied to 

the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers 

(Corps) for a Clean Water Act Section 

404 permit to discharge fill material into 

jurisdictional wetlands to facilitate the 

expansion of an operating open pit 

taconite mine and expansion of an 

operating taconite ore processing facility 

near Keewatin in Itasca County and St. 

Louis County, MN. Tailings would be 

discharged into an existing, operating 

tailings basin. The proposed project is 

known as the Keetac Expansion Project. 

Iron ore mining and taconite pellet 

production have been on-going at the 

Keetac site since 1967, when the 

original Phase I taconite processing 

plant began operation. In 1977, the 

Phase II expansion added a second 

grate-kiln pellet line. The Phase I 

facility was idled in December 1980, 

leaving the Phase II facility as the only 

operating pellet production line. U.S. 

Steel now proposes to increase the 

capacity at the Keetac facility by 

restarting the Phase I line and upgrading 

the mining, concentrating, and 

agglomerating processes. The restart 

would involve the installation of 

energy-efficient technologies in addition 

to new emission controls. The 

expansion would increase the project 

impact area by approximately 1,272 

acres to a total of approximately 12,864 

acres. The project would continue to 

operate 24 hours per day; 365 days per 

year. Taconite pellet production output 

would increase by 3.6 million tons to a 

total output of 9.6 million tons per year. 

The mining process would require the 

construction of overburden, waste rock, 

and lean ore stockpiles adjacent to the 

open pit mine. There is currently 

adequate ore crushing capacity for the 

proposed expansion. The existing 

tailings basin would be expanded 

slightly in order to reinforce the dikes 

so that the height of the tailings can be 

increased. The currently permitted mine 

could also be used to provide ore for the 

proposed expanded operation, but this 

would reduce the life of the mine and 

therefore an expansion of the mine is 

proposed to maintain twenty-five years 

of permitted capacity. 

The project would require the 

discharge of fill material into 

approximately 620 acres of wetlands. 

While some of the wetlands may be 

isolated, the majority of the wetlands 

are abutting or adjacent to an unnamed 

tributary to Welcome Creek, which is a 

tributary to O’Brien Creek, which is a 

tributary to the Swan River, which is a 

tributary to the Mississippi River, which 

is a navigable water of the United States. 

U.S. Steel proposes to utilize 

approximately 395 acres of wetlands 

that have been restored and are being 

monitored adjacent to the existing 

tailings basin to compensate for the first 

five years of lost wetland functions and 

values that would be caused by the 

proposed project. Those restored 

wetlands have been identified as being 

suitable for wetland banking. In 

addition, U.S. Steel will submit a 

compensatory wetland mitigation plan 

to identify compensation for the 

remainder of the proposed wetland 

impacts. The discharge of dredged or fill 

material into waters of the United States 

requires a permit issued by the Corps 

under Section 404 of the Clean Water 

Act. The Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (FEIS) will be used as a basis 

for the permit decision and to ensure 

compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 

ADDRESSES: Questions concerning the 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(DEIS) can be addressed to Mr. Jon K. 

Ahlness, Regulatory Branch, by letter at 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 190 Fifth 

Street East, Suite 401, St. Paul, MN 

55101–1638, by telephone or by e-mail 

at jon.k.ahlness@usace.army.mil. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Jon K. Ahlness, (651) 290–5381. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Corps 

and the State of Minnesota will jointly 

prepare the DEIS. The Corps is the lead 

federal agency and the Minnesota 

Department of Natural Resources 

(MnDNR) is the lead state agency. To 

determine issues to be addressed in the 

DEIS, a public scoping process will be 

conducted. The MnDNR, with 

assistance from the Corps, will prepare 

and release to the public a Draft Scoping 

Decision Document (Draft SDD) and a 

Scoping Environmental Assessment 

Worksheet (SEAW). Federal, state, and 

local agencies; the general public; 

interested private organizations and 

parties; and affected Native American 

tribes will have 30 days to provide 

comments on those two documents. 

During the 30-day public comment 

period, the Corps and the MnDNR will 

jointly conduct a public scoping 

meeting. The meeting will be held on 

Wednesday, October 1, 2008, from 6:30 

p.m. to 9 p.m. at the NashwaukKeewatin High School gymnasium at 

400 2nd Street, Nashwauk, MN. The 

MnDNR, with assistance from the Corps, 

will prepare and release to the public a 

Final SDD based upon the comments 

received during the scoping process. 

Significant issues and resources 

identified in the Final SDD will be 

addressed in the DEIS. 

The DEIS will assess impacts of the 

proposed action and reasonable 

alternatives, identify and evaluate 

mitigation alternatives, and discuss 

potential environmental monitoring. 

Anyone who has an interest in 

participating in the development of the 

DEIS is invited to contact the St. Paul 

District, Corps of Engineers. Major 

issues identified to date for discussion 

in the DEIS are the impacts of the 

proposed project on: 

1. Fish, wildlife, and ecologically 

sensitive resources. 

2. Water resources, including: surface 

and groundwater resources; waters of 

the U.S., including wetlands; and 

receiving stream geomorphology. 

3. Water quality, including: surface 

water runoff; and storm water 

management. 

4. Air quality. 

5. Cumulative impacts, including: 

Wildlife habitat loss/fragmentation and 

habitat corridor obstruction/landscape 

barriers; wetlands in the Swan River 

watershed; air quality in federallyadministered Class I areas; and water 

quality and flow in Swan Lake and the 

Swan River. 

Additional issues of interest may be 

identified through the public scoping 

process. We anticipate that the DEIS 

will be available to the public in April 

of 2009. 

Issuing a permit for the expansion of 

an open pit taconite mine and 

expansion of a taconite ore processing 

facility is considered to be a major 

Federal action that may have a 

significant impact on the quality of the 

human environment. The project: (1) 

Would have a significant adverse effect 

on wetlands (which are special aquatic 

sites), and (2) has the potential to 

significantly affect water quality, 

groundwater, air quality, fish, and 

wildlife. Our environmental review will 

be conducted to meet the requirements 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969, National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966, Council of 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 6, 2008 / Notices 45751 

Environmental Quality Regulations, 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, 

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and 

other applicable laws and regulations. 

Dated: July 30, 2008. 

Jon L. Christensen, 

Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer. 

[FR Doc. E8–18019 Filed 8–5–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–CY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Agency Information Collection 

Extension 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Submission for Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) review; 

comment request. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) has submitted an information 

collection package to OMB for extension 

under the provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq. The information collection 

package requests a three-year extension 

of, OMB Control Number 1910–0600, 

entitled ‘‘Industrial Relations.’’ This 

information collection package covers 

information necessary for collection of 

Human Resource information from 

major Department contractors for 

contract management, administration, 

and cost control. 

DATES: Comments regarding this 

collection must be received on or before 

September 5, 2008. If you anticipate that 

you will be submitting comments, but 

find it difficult to do so within the 

period of time allowed by this notice, 

please advise the OMB Desk Officer of 

your intention to make a submission as 

soon as possible. The Desk Officer may 

be telephoned at 202–395–4650. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to the 

DOE Desk Officer, Office of Information 

and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, Room 

10102, 735 17th Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20503; and to 

Robert M. Myers, US Department of 

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–1615, 

202–287–1584, or by fax at 202–287–

1656 or by e-mail at 

robert.myers@hq.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Robert Myers at the address 

listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

information collection request contains: 

(1) OMB No. 1910–0600; 

(2) Information Collection Request 

Title: Industrial Relations; 

(3) Purpose: This information is 

required for management oversight for 

the Department of Energy’s Facilities 

Management Contractors and to ensure 

that the programmatic and 

administrative management 

requirements of the contract are 

managed efficiently and effectively; 

(4) Estimated Number of 

Respondents: 316; 

(5) Estimated Total Burden Hours: 

8,140; 

(6) Number of Collections: The 

information collection request contains 

8 information and/or recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Statutory Authority: The basic authority 

for collection of this data is the statute 

establishing the Department of Energy 

(‘‘Department of Energy Organization Act,’’

Public Law 95–91, of Aug 4, 1977, 42 U.S.C. 

7101 et seq. ). It vests the Secretary of Energy 

with the executive direction and 

management function, authority, and 

responsibilities for the Department, including 

contract management. The provisions of 42 

U.S.C. 7254 state that ‘‘The Secretary is 

authorized to prescribe such procedural and 

administrative rules and regulations as he 

may deem necessary or appropriate to 

administer and manage the functions now or 

hereafter vested in him.’’

Issued in Washington, DC on July 30, 2008. 

Edward R. Simpson, 

Director, Office of Procurement and 

Assistance Management. 

[FR Doc. E8–18034 Filed 8–5–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Proposed Agency Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice and request for Office of 

Management and Budget review and 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) has submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

clearance a proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 

proposed collection will be used to 

assess the organizational climate and 

Safety Conscious Work Environment as 

part of the Office of Civilian Radioactive 

Waste Management’s desire to 

continuously improve performance and 

comply with the employee protection 

requirements of 10 CFR 63.9, Employee 

protection, and Section 211 of the 

Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 5851). 

DATES: Comments regarding this 

collection must be received on or before 

September 5, 2008. If you anticipate that 

you will be submitting comments, but 

find it difficult to do so within the 

period of time allowed by this notice, 

please advise the OMB Desk Officer of 

your intention to make a submission as 

soon as possible. The Desk Officer may 

be telephoned at 202–395–4650. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to the DOE Desk Officer, Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 

735 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20503; and to Mark Van Der Puy, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Office of Civilian 

Radioactive Waste Management, M/S 

523 1551 Hillshire Drive, Suite A, Las 

Vegas, NV 89134. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Mark Van Der Puy, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Office of Civilian 

Radioactive Waste Management, M/S 

523 1551 Hillshire Drive, Suite A, Las 

Vegas, NV 89134. Or telephone at: 1–

800–225–6972. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

information collection request contains: 

(1) OMB No. {‘‘New’’}; (2) Information 

Collection Request Title: Organization 

Climate and Safety Conscious Work 

Environment; (3) Type of Request: New 

collection; (4) Purpose: The proposed 

collection will be used to assess the 

organizational climate and Safety 

Conscious Work Environment as part of 

the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste 

Management’s (OCRWM) desire to 

continuously improve performance and 

comply with the employee protection 

requirements of 10 CFR 63.9, Employee 

protection, and Section 211 of the 

Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 5851; (5) Type of 

Respondents: Federal, national 

laboratory, and other contractor 

employees supporting the OCRWM 

mission; (6) Estimated Number of 

Respondents: 1,750; and (7) Estimated 

Number of Burden Hours: 1,000. 

Statutory Authority: 10 CFR 63.9, 

Employee protection, and Section 211 of the 

Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 5851). 

Issued in Washington, DC, on July 31, 

2008. 

Alan B. Brownstein, 

Chief Operating Officer, Office of Civilian 

Radioactive Waste Management. 

[FR Doc. E8–18037 Filed 8–5–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

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