Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 198 / Friday, October 10, 2008 / Notices 60233 

of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 

1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin 

Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 

1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of 

these court rulings, it is very important 

that those interested in this proposed 

action participate by the close of the 45 

day comment period so that substantive 

comments and objections are made 

available to the Forest Service at a time 

when it can meaningfully consider them 

and respond to them in the final 

environmental impact statement. 

To assist the Forest Service in 

identifying and considering issues and 

concerns on the proposed action, 

comments on the draft environmental 

impact statement should be as specific 

as possible. It is also helpful if 

comments refer to specific pages or 

chapters of the draft statement. 

Comments may also address the 

adequacy of the draft environmental 

impact statement or the merits of the 

alternatives formulated and discussed in 

the statement. Reviewers may wish to 

refer to the Council on Environmental 

Quality Regulations for implementing 

the procedural provisions of the 

National Environmental Policy Act at 40 

CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points. 

Comments received, including the 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record on this proposal and will 

be available for public inspection. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22, 36 

CFR 220.5(b) and Forest Service Handbook 

1909.15, Section 21. 

Dated: October 1, 2008. 

Roberto Martinez, 

District Ranger/Field Office Manager. 

[FR Doc. E8–24112 Filed 10–9–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Kaibab National Forest; AZ; Uranium 

Exploratory Drilling Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service is 

preparing an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) to consider and disclose 

the effects of proposed exploratory 

drilling for uranium on National Forest 

System (NFS) land. The proposed 

exploratory drilling project would occur 

on mining claims held by VANE 

Minerals, Inc. and Uranium One (with 

all exploratory drilling to be completed 

by VANE Minerals, Inc.) in the Tusayan 

Ranger District, Kaibab National Forest 

within Townships 27, 28, 29 and 30 

North, Ranges 2, 3, 4 and 5 East, Gila 

and Salt River Meridian, Coconino 

County, Arizona. Exploration is 

proposed by VANE Minerals, Inc. to 

determine whether uranium deposits 

exist on these mining claims. A total of 

25 drill sites are planned by VANE 

Minerals, Inc. Shallow drill holes would 

be drilled to determine whether or not 

‘‘breccia pipes’’ occur at the site. Breccia 

pipes are the geologic formations found 

in the Colorado Plateau region that can 

contain uranium minerals. Deep drill 

holes would be drilled to confirm the 

presence and extent of the breccia pipes 

and to gather additional information 

regarding the uranium concentrations 

found in these pipes. This EIS will 

include analyses and will disclose the 

potential environmental effects for 

future exploratory uranium drilling and 

accompanying ground-disturbing 

activities at the seven sites that were 

part of the VANE project challenged in 

Center for Biological Diversity v. Stahn, 

Civ. No. 08–8031–PCT–MHM (D. Ariz.). 

DATES: Comments on this proposal must 

be received by the Kaibab National 

Forest (Forest) within 30 days following 

the publication of this notice in the 

Federal Register. The Draft EIS (DEIS) 

for the VANE Minerals Uranium 

Exploratory Drilling Project (Project) is 

expected to be available for public 

review in March 2009. At that time, the 

Environmental Protection Agency will 

publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) 

of the DEIS in the Federal Register. The 

NOA will begin a period of public 

review that will extend 45 days from the 

date of publication of the NOA in the 

Federal Register. The Final EIS (EElS) 

and a Record of Decision (ROD) are 

scheduled to be completed in December 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this 

notice may be mailed or hand-delivered 

to Kaibab National Forest, Attn: VANE 

Minerals Uranium Exploratory Drilling 

Project, 800 S. 6th St., Williams, AZ 

86046. Comments may also be 

submitted by facsimile to (928) 635– 

8208 and by electronic mail (e-mail) to 

comments-southwesternkaibab@fs.fed.us. E-mail and facsimile 

comments must include the words 

‘‘VANE Minerals Uranium Exploratory 

Drilling Project.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information on the VANE 

Minerals Uranium Exploratory Drilling 

Project (Project), please contact Tom 

Mutz, Lands and Minerals Staff Officer, 

in writing at Williams and Tusayan 

Ranger Districts, 742 S. Clover Rd., 

Williams AZ 86046 or by telephone at 

(928) 635–5600. Questions regarding the 

Forest Service NEPA process may be 

directed to Alvin Brown, Forest NEPA 

Coordinator, at 800 S. 6th St., Williams, 

AZ 86046 and telephone (928) 635– 

8200. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

information presented in this notice is 

included to help reviewers determine if 

they are interested in or potentially 

affected by the proposed action. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

In 2006, VANE Minerals, Inc. 

submitted a Plan of Operations to the 

Forest Service to drill exploration holes 

for uranium at a total of (10) sites within 

the Tusayan Ranger District, Kaibab 

National Forest. A categorical exclusion 

from documentation under the National 

Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) 

was completed in December 2007, and 

the Forest Service approved VANE 

Minerals, Inc.’s plan to drill on seven (7) 

of the ten (10) sites, in areas accessible 

by Forest Service roads. Exploratory 

drill operations began in March 2008, 

and one site was completed. 

A lawsuit was filed against the 

agency’s use of a categorical exclusion 

and a Preliminary Injunction (PI) was 

ordered on further uranium exploratory 

drilling. The original agency decision 

has been withdrawn and an 

environmental impact statement will be 

completed on the balance of the original 

ten (10) sites (one site had exploratory 

drilling on it and was rehabilitated 

before the PI was instituted by the 

court), plus additional proposed sites 

VANE Minerals, Inc. submitted to the 

Forest Service in 2007. 

The agency’s purpose is to analyze the 

proposals from VANE Minerals, Inc. and 

any reasonable alternatives, including 

any mitigation measures to protect the 

surface resources in the areas of 

exploratory drilling in order to approve 

a plan of operations for exploration. The 

agency’s need for action is based on 

statutes and policy that govern mining 

on NFS land. 

Most NFS land is subject to the 

location of certain minerals under the 

Mining Law of 1872, as amended (30 

U.S.C. 21–54, et seq.), and the directives 

in Forest Service Manual 2800. 

Prospecting, locating and developing 

the mineral resources on NFS land are 

also subject to other rules and 

regulations. These include, but are not 

limited to, the 1897 Organic 

Administration Act, the 1960 MultipleUse Sustained-Yield Act, the 1970 

Mining and Minerals Policy Act, and 

Regulations at Title 36, Code of Federal 

Regulations, part 228A which sets forth 

rules and procedures governing the use 

of NFS lands in conjunction with 

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60234 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 198 / Friday, October 10, 2008 / Notices 

operations authorized by general mining 

laws. 

Proposed Action 

The Forest Service proposes to 

authorize VANE Minerals, Inc. to 

perform exploratory drilling at the 25 

drill sites proposed. This Proposed 

Action would constitute exploratory 

drilling only. No mining extraction or 

transporting of uranium minerals for 

processing would be contemplated or 

permitted by this proposal. 

Public Involvement 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. The Forest received 

several comments during the categorical 

exclusion analysis in 2007 which will 

be considered in this analysis. The 

Forest Service encourages the public to 

express issues, concerns, and 

suggestions they may have about this 

proposed action. Comments should be 

directly related to issues associated with 

the proposed action, rather than general 

advocacy of or opposition to the project, 

to best assist us in the NEPA analysis. 

Although comments are welcome at any 

time during this NEPA analysis, they 

will be most useful to us if they are 

received within 30 days following the 

publication of this notice. 

Responsible Official 

The Forest Supervisor for the Kaibab 

National Forest of the Southwestern 

Region of the USDA Forest Service is 

the Responsible Official. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The decision to be made is what plan 

of operations to approve for exploration, 

including any requirements for surface 

resource protection. VANE Minerals, 

Inc. has a statutory right to explore for 

locatable minerals under the 1872 

Mining Law. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review 

A draft environmental impact 

statement will be prepared for comment. 

The comment period on the draft 

environmental impact statement will be 

45 days from the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes the notice of availability in 

the Federal Register. The Forest Service 

believes, at this early state, it is 

important to give reviewers notice of 

several court rulings related to public 

participation in the environmental 

review process. First reviewers of draft 

environmental impact statements must 

structure their participation in the 

environmental review of the proposal so 

that it is meaningful and alerts an 

agency to the reviewer’s position and 

contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear 

Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 

(1978). Also, environmental objections 

that could be raised at the draft 

environmental impact statement stage 

but that are not raised until after the 

completion of the final environmental 

impact statement may be waived or 

dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon 

v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 

1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. 

Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. 

Wis. 1980). Because of these court 

rulings, it is very important that those 

interested in this proposed action 

participate by the close of the 45-day 

comment period so that substantive 

comments and objections are made 

available to the Forest Service at a time 

when it can meaningfully consider them 

and respond to them in the final 

environmental impact statement. 

To assist the Forest Service in 

identifying and considering issues and 

concerns on the proposed action, 

comments on the draft environmental 

impact statement should be as specific 

as possible. It is also helpful if 

comments refer to specific pages or 

chapters of the draft statement. 

Comments may also address the 

adequacy of the draft environmental 

impact statement or the merits of the 

alternatives formulated and discussed in 

the statement. Reviewers may wish to 

refer to the Council on Environmental 

Quality Regulations for implementing 

the procedural provisions of the 

National Environmental Policy Act at 40 

CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points. 

Comments received, including the 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record on this proposal and will 

be available for public inspection. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21). 

Dated: October 2, 2008. 

Michael P. Williams, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. E8–23993 Filed 10–9–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Notice of Meeting; Federal Lands 

Recreation Enhancement Act (Title VIII, 

Pub. L. 108–447) 

AGENCY: Black Hills National Forest, 

Rocky Mountain Region. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Black Hills National 

Forest Advisory Board, acting in its 

capacity as the Black Hills National 

Forest Recreation Resource Advisory 

Committee (RRAC), will meet in Rapid 

City, SD. The purpose of the meeting is 

for the Committee to consider 

recommending special recreation permit 

fees to use the Black Hills National 

Forest’s designated, motorized, offhighway vehicle trail system. Fees 

would include a $20.00 weekly permit, 

a $40.00 annual permit, and a $100.00 

commercial vehicle annual permit. The 

fees would be established pursuant to 

Public Law 108–447 (H.R. 48 118), 

September 8, 2004, Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2005, Title VillFederal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

Act, Section 803 Recreation Fee 

Authority, (h) Special Recreation Permit 

Fee. 

DATES: The meeting(s) will tentatively 

be held October 15 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

This meeting will only be held if a 

quorum of the Committee is present. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center; 

LaCroix Hall, in Rapid City, South 

Dakota. Details will be published prior 

to the meeting on the Black Hills 

National Forest Web site at http:// 

www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills, and in the 

news media. Send written comments to 

Craig Bobzien, Designated Federal 

Official, 1019 N. 5th St., Custer, SD, 

57730 or e-mail twillems@fs.fed.us. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom 

Willems, Black Hills National Forest 

Travel Planner at 605–673–9217 or 

twillems@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

meeting is open to the public. There 

will be time on the agenda for timed 

verbal comments (at the discretion of 

the Chair) and the Chair may ask for 

comments from the public at any time 

during the meeting. People wishing to 

speak at the meeting are asked to sign 

in at the door with a name and contact 

information. Public comments will be 

taken based first-come, first-served. The 

public may provide written comments 

to the Committee staff. Check for the 

status of the meeting, the final agenda, 

and a special recreation permit fee 

proposal at: http://wwwfs.fed.us/r2/ 

blackhills. The Recreation RAC is 

authorized by the Federal Land 

Recreation Enhancement Act, which 

was signed into law by President Bush 

in December 2004. 

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