61414 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 192 / Tuesday, October 5, 2010 / Notices 

that participated in a BQMS pilot 

development project conducted during 

2009. Five organizations participated in 

the pilot development project and 

assisted APHIS in evaluating the draft 

audit standard, program training 

sessions, and audit procedures 

established for the BQMS Program. 

Following the pilot development 

project and after evaluating the 

comments submitted on the BQMS draft 

audit standard, APHIS made 

adjustments to the BQMS audit 

standard. You may view the public 

comments submitted on the draft audit 

standard, APHIS’ evaluation of the 

comments received, and the revised 

BQMS audit standard on the 

Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 1 

for a link). 

The revised audit standard and the 

comment evaluation document, as well 

as additional information about the 

BQMS Program, may be found on the 

APHIS Web site at http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/ 

news_bqms.shtml. Copies of those 

documents may also be obtained from 

the person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of 

September 2010. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24995 Filed 10–4–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Basin Electric Power Cooperative: 

South Dakota PrairieWinds Project 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Record 

of Decision. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service, 

hereinafter referred to as RUS and/or the 

Agency, has issued a Record of Decision 

(ROD) for the Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for the proposed South 

Dakota PrairieWind Project (Project) in 

Aurora, Bule and Jerauld Counties, 

South Dakota. The Administrator of 

RUS has signed the ROD, which is 

effective upon signing. The EIS was 

prepared pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) and in 

accordance with the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) 

regulations for implementing the 

procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 

Parts 1500–1508), RUS’s NEPA 

implementing regulations (7 CFR Part 

1794), and the Western Area Power 

Administration’s (Western) NEPA 

implementing regulations (10 CFR Part 

1021). RUS and Western are serving as 

co-lead agencies in preparation of the 

EIS as defined at 40 CFR 1501.5. Each 

agency is issuing a separate ROD for the 

project. The purpose of the EIS was to 

evaluate the potential environmental 

impacts of and alternatives to Basin 

Electric Power Cooperative’s (Basin 

Electric) application for a RUS loan and 

a Western interconnection agreement to 

construct the proposed Project. The 

proposed Project’s facility would 

include a new 151.5-megawatt windpowered generation facility. 

ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the 

ROD, or for further information, contact: 

Mr. Dennis Rankin, Environmental 

Protection Specialist, USDA, Rural 

Utilities Service, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Stop 1571, Room 2239–S, 

Washington, DC 20250–1571, telephone: 

(202) 720–1453, fax: (202) 690–0649, or 

e-mail: dennis.rankin@wdc.usda.gov. A 

copy of the ROD can be viewed online 

at: http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/ees/ 

eis.htm. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Basin 

Electric’s proposed Project is to 

construct, own, operate, and maintain 

the Project. The proposed Project 

includes a 151.5-megawatt (MW) 

nameplate capacity wind-powered 

energy generation facility that would 

feature 101 wind turbine generators; 

6,000-square-foot operations and 

maintenance building and fence 

perimeter; 64 miles of underground 

communication system and electrical 

collector lines (within the same trench); 

34.5-kilovolt (kV) to 230-kV collector 

substation and microwave tower; 11- 

mile-long overhead 230-kV transmission 

line; temporary equipment/material 

storage or lay-down areas; temporary 

crane walks; and 81 miles of new and/ 

or upgraded service roads to access the 

facilities in Aurora, Brule and Jerauld 

Counties in eastern South Dakota. The 

purpose for the proposed Project is to 

meet Basin Electric’s load growth 

responsibilities, State mandated 

Renewable Portfolio Standards and 

Renewable Energy Objectives and 

renewable energy goals. In accordance 

with NEPA, the CEQ regulations for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA, and applicable agency NEPA 

implementing regulations, RUS and 

Western prepared an EIS to assess the 

potential environmental impacts 

associated with the proposed Project. 

The decision being documented in 

RUS’s ROD is that the Agency agrees to 

consider, subject to loan approval, 

funding the proposed Project at the 

Crow Lake location. More details 

regarding RUS’s regulatory authority, 

rationale for the decision, and 

compliance with applicable regulations 

are included in the ROD. Because two 

distinct federal actions are being 

proposed, RUS and Western decided to 

issue separate RODs. 

On April 7, 2009, RUS and Western 

published in the Federal Register a 

Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the 

proposed Project. The U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency 

acknowledged receipt of the Draft EIS 

on January 15, 2010. The 45-day 

comment period ended on March 1, 

2010. A public hearing to receive 

comments on the Draft EIS was held in 

Chamberlain, South Dakota, on 

February 11, 2010. All comments 

received were addressed in the Final 

EIS, The U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency acknowledged receipt of the 

Final EIS on July 30, 2010. The 30-day 

review period ended on August 28, 

2010. Two comment letters were 

received; they were addressed in RUS’s 

ROD. 

After considering various ways to 

meet its purpose and need, Basin 

Electric identified construction of the 

proposed Project as its best course of 

action. This EIS considered four 

alternative methods to provide 

renewable energy and six alternative 

site locations. These alternatives were 

evaluated in terms of cost-effectiveness, 

technical feasibility, and environmental 

factors (e.g., soils, topography and 

geology, water resources, air quality, 

biological resources, the acoustic 

environment, recreation, cultural and 

historic resources, visual resources, 

transportation, farmland, land use, 

human health and safety, the 

socioeconomic environment, 

environmental justice, and cumulative 

effects). 

The EIS analyzes in detail the No 

Action Alternative and the Action 

Alternative (construction of the Project) 

at two separate locations: The Crow 

Lake site (approximately 36,000 acres 15 

miles north of the City of White Lake 

within Brule, Aurora and Jerald 

Counties, South Dakota), and the 

Winner site (approximately 83,000 acres 

eight miles south of the City of Winner 

in Tripp County, South Dakota). The No 

Action Alternative would not meet the 

state’s and Basin Electric’s renewable 

energy goals. The resources or 

environmental factors that could be 

affected by the proposed Project were 

evaluated in detail in the EIS. These 

issues are summarized in Table ES–1: 

‘‘Summary of Potential Impacts of South 

Dakota PrairieWinds Project,’’ of the EIS. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 192 / Tuesday, October 5, 2010 / Notices 61415 

Based on an evaluation of the 

information and impact analyses 

presented in the EIS, including the 

evaluation of all alternatives, and in 

consideration of the Agency’s NEPA 

implementing regulations, 

Environmental Policies and Procedures, 

as amended (7 CFR Part 1794), RUS 

finds that the evaluation of reasonable 

alternatives is consistent with NEPA. 

The Agency has selected the Action 

Alternative at Crow Lake site as its 

preferred alternative. This Notice 

concludes RUS’s compliance with 

NEPA and the Agency’s ‘‘Environmental 

Policies and Procedures.’’ 

Dated: September 29, 2010. 

James R. Newby, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24993 Filed 10–4–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Admiralty National Monument: 

Tongass National Forest; Alaska; 

Expansion of Tailings Disposal 

Facility, Greens Creek Mine 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) to consider the proposal to create 

additional tailings and waste rock 

disposal capacity and related 

infrastructure at the Greens Creek Mine 

on northern Admiralty Island on the 

Admiralty Island National Monument, 

Tongass National Forest. The proposed 

action provides for an expansion of the 

existing tailings facility area to the south 

for an increase of approximately 200 

acres. This would include an increase of 

about 60 acres for tailings placement 

and an addition of approximately 140 

acres for supporting infrastructure. 

DATES: A scoping letter will be mailed 

out in early October. Individuals who 

want to receive a copy of this mailing 

or who want to be on the project mailing 

list should contact the Admiralty Island 

National Monument at the address 

below. Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

November 4, 2010. The Draft EIS is 

projected to be filed with the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

in the summer of 2011 and will begin 

a 45 day public comment period. The 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

and the Record of Decision are expected 

to be published in the spring of 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may comment on the 

project in the following ways: Send 

written comments to the Admiralty 

Island National Monument, Tongass 

National Forest, Attn: Greens Creek 

Tailings Expansion, 8510 Mendenhall 

Loop Road, Juneau, AK 99801. Hand 

delivered comments may be taken to 

this same address. Comments may also 

be sent via e-mail to comments-alaskatongass-admiralty-nationalmonument@fs.fed.us with Greens Creek 

Tailings EIS on the subject line, or via 

facsimile to 907–586–8808. Include 

your name, address and organization 

name if you are commenting as a 

representative of an organization. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the proposal and the 

EIS should be directed to Chad 

VanOrmer, District Ranger, Admiralty 

Island National Monument, 8510 

Mendenhall Loop Road, Juneau, AK 

99801, telephone (907) 789–6202, or 

Sarah Samuelson, Interdisciplinary 

Team Leader, Tongass National Forest 

Minerals Program Leader, 8510 

Mendenhall Loop Road, Juneau, AK 

99801, telephone (907) 789–6274. 

Individuals who use telecommunication 

devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the 

Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 8 

a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday 

through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Hecla Greens Creek Mining Company 

(HGCMC) operates an underground 

polymetallic mine located 

approximately 18 miles southwest of 

Juneau, Alaska on the northern part of 

Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska. 

Exploration work at the site began in the 

mid-1970s, with the first exploration 

portal to go underground started in 

1981. Before mining operations began 

the Forest Service completed a Greens 

Creek Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (1983) and Record of 

Decision for overall development and 

operations of the mine. Full scale mine 

development began in 1987. 

The original General Plan of 

Operations (GPO) called for 

underground mining with the ore 

crushed and concentrated in the mill 

near the portal. The tailings were to be 

slurried in a pipeline parallel to the 

road corridor to a disposal site at the 

Cannery Muskeg. In 1986 the new 

owners of the mine (Amselco) decided 

to change the method of tailings 

disposal; instead of transporting tailings 

in a slurry via a pipeline, the owners 

proposed to truck ‘‘dry tailings’’ to a 

smaller area at the same Cannery 

Muskeg for disposal. In 1988, the Forest 

Service completed the Environmental 

Assessment for Proposed Changes to the 

General Plan of Operation for the 

Development and Operation of the 

Greens Creek Mine (1988) and approved 

the dry-stack tailings method for the 

Greens Creek Mine. 

In 1990 new mine owners (Kennecott 

Greens Creek Mining Company— 

KGCMC) sought approval for additional 

waste rock disposal capacity. In 1991, 

the Forest Service began a third 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) review, the Environmental 

Assessment for Additional Waste Rock 

Disposal Capacity at Greens Creek Mine 

(1992). 

In 2001, KGCMC submitted an 

application to the Forest Service 

requesting a modification of the thencurrent GPO for expansion of the 

existing tailings facility. Based on 

known ore reserves and the success of 

the exploration program, it was 

estimated that the approved tailings 

facility could not contain tailings 

associated with projected future 

operations. In 2003, the Greens Creek 

Tailings Disposal Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (2003) and ROD were 

completed; this provided for a 

modification of the GPO to allow for an 

expansion of the tailings disposal 

facility. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The Forest Service has been requested 

by HGCMC to consider additional 

tailings expansion at the Greens Creek 

Mine. With continued positive 

exploration results, improved metal 

prices, and ongoing operational 

efficiencies, there is a need for 

additional tailings and waste rock 

disposal and related infrastructure at the 

Greens Creek Mine to allow for 

continuous site operations in a safe, 

environmentally sound, technically 

feasible, and economically viable 

manner, while being in compliance with 

regulatory requirements. The purpose of 

this EIS is for the Forest Service to 

consider certain changes to the 

approved HGCMC General Plan of 

Operations regarding tailings and waste 

rock disposal and related infrastructure. 

The existing tailings facility is 

considered sufficient to provide for 

HGCMC needs until 2014 but HECLA 

has indicated that preparation work for 

tailings must begin during the 2012 

construction season. 

Proposed Action 

HGCMC is proposing a tailings 

expansion which will accommodate an 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES