212 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 2 / Monday, January 5, 2015 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft 

Environment Impact Statement for the 

Proposed Lone Star Ore Body 

Development Project in Graham 

County, Arizona 

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Los Angeles District (Corps) 

is examining the environmental 

consequences associated with FreeportMcMoRan Safford Inc.’s (FMSI) 

application for a Department of the 

Army permit under section 404 of the 

Clean Water Act for the proposed 

development of the mineral resources 

associated with the Lone Star ore body 

for the purpose of producing copper (the 

Lone Star Project). The proposed 

development would include the 

construction of mining facilities, 

including an open pit mine and 

attendant development rock stockpiles 

and heap leach facilities, which will 

allow continued mining at the Safford 

Mine Facility using conventional openpit mining, heap leaching techniques, 

and solution extraction/electrowinning 

(SX/EW) processing, and utilizing as 

much of the existing Safford Mine 

Facility infrastructure and processing 

facilities as practicable. The 

construction of the proposed facilities 

would discharge fill materials into 

approximately 90.27 acres of waters of 

the United States (U.S.). The primary 

federal environmental concerns are the 

proposed discharges of fill material into 

waters of the U.S. and the potential for 

significant adverse environmental 

effects resulting from such activities. 

Therefore, to address these concerns in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Corps is requiring preparation of an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

prior to consideration of any permit 

action. The action must comply with the 

section 404(b)(1) Guidelines (40 CFR 

part 230) and not be contrary to the 

public interest to be granted a Corps 

permit. The Corps may ultimately make 

a determination to permit or deny the 

above project, or permit or deny 

modified versions of the above project. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the proposed action or 

the scoping of the Draft EIS can be 

answered by Michael Langley, Corps 

Senior Project Manager, at (602) 230– 

6953. Comments regarding scoping of 

the Draft EIS shall be addressed to: U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles 

District, Arizona Regulatory Branch, 

ATTN: SPL–2014–00065–MWL, 3636 

North Central Avenue, Suite 900, 

Phoenix, Arizona 85012–1939, or 

michael.w.langley@usace.army.mil. 

Comment letters sent via electronic mail 

shall include the commenter’s physical 

address and the project title ‘‘Lone Star 

Ore Body Development Project’’ shall be 

included in the subject line. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Project Site and Background 

Information: The Lone Star copper ore 

body proposed for development is 

located within the boundary of the 

existing FMSI Safford Mine Facility, 

north of the City of Safford, Graham 

County, Arizona. FMSI owns and 

manages approximately 36,050 acres of 

privately held lands within and 

surrounding the Safford Mine Facility, 

which has been in operation for almost 

7 years. The Safford Mine Facility is 

located within the Safford Mining 

District, and lands within the district 

have been used for mining activities by 

various entities for more than a century. 

FMSI (formerly Phelps Dodge Safford 

Inc.) first began development of an 

underground copper mining operation 

in the district in the 1960s, and later 

purchased other copper mining 

operations in the vicinity. 

Between 1994 and 1996, FMSI 

initiated discussions to obtain 

authorization from the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) and the Corps to 

develop open pit copper mining 

operations in the district, and in May 

1996, formally initiated NEPA review of 

these proposals through submission of a 

Mine Plan of Operations (MPO) to the 

BLM. NEPA review of the project, 

termed the Dos Pobres/San Juan Project 

(DP/SJ Project) after the ore bodies 

proposed for development, involved the 

publication of a Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (DEIS) in September 

1998, a Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (FEIS) in December 2003, and 

a BLM Record of Decision (ROD; No. 

1793 [AZ–040] AZA–31133) in June 

2004. As a component of the NEPA 

review, the Corps completed a section 

404(b)(1) Alternatives Analysis in 

October 1997 and issued a section 404 

Individual Permit (No. 964–0202–MB) 

for impacts to waters of the U.S. from 

development of the DP/SJ Project on 

September 27, 2004. 

The Safford Mine Facility is currently 

an open-pit copper mining operation 

consisting of two pits: The Dos Pobres 

Pit and the San Juan Pit. The handling, 

processing, and support infrastructure 

for mineral resources recovered from the 

two pits is integrated into a single 

system consisting of a three-stage 

crushing system, two drum 

agglomerators, a single heap leach pad, 

SX/EW processing facility, and support 

facilities. Each of the pits has an 

associated development rock stockpile: 

For Dos Pobres immediately west of the 

pit, and for San Juan immediately south 

of the pit. A clay borrow pit is located 

in the southeastern portion of the 

Safford Mine Facility. 

2. Proposed Action: FMSI has 

proposed the development of the 

mineral resources associated with the 

Lone Star ore body, located on FMSI’s 

privately owned lands and proximate to 

the existing Safford Mine Facility. 

Development of the Lone Star copper 

ore body (the Lone Star Project) was 

considered as a Reasonably Foreseeable 

Future Action (RFFA) and was included 

in the NEPA review of cumulative 

impacts for the 2003 FEIS. The 

applicant has designed the proposed 

Lone Star Project to make use of as 

much of the existing Safford Mine 

Facility infrastructure as is practicable. 

Although the location of the open pit for 

the Lone Star Project is tied to the 

physical location of the mineral 

resource, the locations of the remaining 

project elements have been optimized to 

continue using existing infrastructure 

wherever possible. New elements 

anticipated as necessary for the 

development of the Lone Star Project 

include the open pit, a heap leach 

stockpile and associated solution 

management systems, development rock 

stockpiles, the ore haulage/conveyance 

route between the pit and crusher, 

additional power distribution 

infrastructure, an expanded clay borrow 

source, and additional stormwater 

management facilities. 

The Lone Star Project proposes 

discharges to waters of the U.S. for the 

development and operation of the heap 

leach stockpile, the development rock 

stockpiles, the haul road, and for the 

expansion of the clay borrow pit. 

Continued use of the existing facilities 

including the existing crushing 

facilities, SX/EW facilities, the majority 

of the existing support infrastructure for 

the current leach pad, and the mine 

access road are not anticipated to 

require the discharge of fill to waters of 

the U.S. Construction and operation of 

the remaining Lone Star Project 

elements including the open pit and 

power distribution infrastructure are not 

anticipated to require the discharge of 

additional fill to waters of the U.S. 

3. Issues: There are several potential 

environmental issues that will be 

addressed in the Draft EIS. Additional 

issues may be identified during the 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 2 / Monday, January 5, 2015 / Notices 213 

1Order Modifying and Approving Resident Fish 

Habitat and Project Tailrace Plan and Effectiveness 

Monitoring Plan per Article 401, Appendix A 

Condition 1, and Appendix B Condition 6 (123 

FERC ¶ 62,062). 

scoping process. Issues initially 

identified for evaluation in the Draft EIS 

include: 

a. Visual/aesthetics impacts from 

landform alterations, 

b. air quality impacts from 

construction and operation of the 

facility, 

c. cultural resources (prehistoric and 

historic resources), 

d. surface water hydrology and 

quality, 

e. groundwater hydrology and quality, 

f. potential land use incompatibility, 

g. noise impacts from construction 

and operation, 

h. socioeconomic effects, 

i. soils and geology resources, 

j. transportation network impacts, 

k. environmental justice 

l. biological impacts 

m. impacts to waters of the U.S., and 

n. cumulative impacts. 

4. Alternatives: Alternatives to the 

proposed action are being developed for 

evaluation in the EIS. The Draft EIS will 

include a co-equal level of analysis of 

the No-Action and project alternatives 

considered. Alternatives will be further 

formulated and developed during the 

scoping process. 

5. Scoping: The Corps will conduct a 

public scoping meeting in an open 

house format for the proposed Lone Star 

Ore Body Development Project Draft EIS 

to receive public comment and to assess 

public concerns regarding the 

appropriate scope and preparation of 

the Draft EIS. Participation in the public 

meeting by federal, state, local, and 

tribal agencies and other interested 

organizations is encouraged. The 

meeting will be held on February 4, 

2015, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Arizona 

Time Zone) at the Manor House 

Convention Center, 415 E. U.S. Highway 

70, Safford, Arizona 85546. 

Representatives from the Corps and 

Freeport-McMoRan Safford Inc. will 

provide a presentation for attendees at 

7:00 p.m. Comments on the proposed 

action, alternatives, or any additional 

concerns should be submitted in 

writing. Written and electronic 

comment letters will be accepted 

through February 20, 2015. 

The Corps also anticipates formally 

consulting with the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service under section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act and with the 

State Historic Preservation Officer and 

appropriate Tribal Historic Preservation 

Officers under section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act. 

6. Availability of the Draft EIS: The 

Draft EIS is expected to be published 

and circulated in the fourth quarter of 

2015, and a public meeting will be held 

after its publication. 

Dated: December 12, 2014. 

David J. Castanon, 

Division Chief, Los Angeles District, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30864 Filed 1–2–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 719–033] 

Trinity Conservancy, Inc.; Notice of 

Application for Amendment of License 

and Soliciting Comments, Motions To 

Intervene, and Protests 

Take notice that the following 

hydroelectric application has been filed 

with the Commission and is available 

for public inspection: 

a. Application Type: Amendment to 

modify approved resident fish habitat 

and project tailrace plan and 

effectiveness monitoring plan 

b. Project No: 719–033 

c. Date Filed: July 11, 2014 

d. Applicant: Trinity Conservancy, 

Inc. 

e. Name of Project: Trinity 

Hydroelectric Project 

f. Location: The Trinity Project is 

located on Phelps and James Creeks, 

tributaries of the Chiwawa River in the 

Columbia River Basin, near the city of 

Leavenworth, in Chelan County, 

Washington. 

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power 

Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r) 

h. Applicant Contact: Reid L. Brown, 

President, Trinity Conservancy, Inc., 

3139 E. Lake Sammamish SE., 

Sammamish, WA 98075, (425) 392– 

9214. 

i. FERC Contact: B. Peter Yarrington, 

telephone (202) 502–6129 or email 

peter.yarrington@ferc.gov. 

j. Deadline for filing comments, 

motions to intervene, protests, and 

recommendations is 30 days from the 

issuance date of this notice by the 

Commission. The Commission strongly 

encourages electronic filing. Please file 

motions to intervene, protests, or 

comments using the Commission’s 

eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/

docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can 

submit brief comments up to 6,000 

characters, without prior registration, 

using the eComment system at http://

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/

ecomment.asp. You must include your 

name and contact information at the end 

of your comments. For assistance, 

please contact FERC Online Support at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 

208–3676 (toll free), or (202) 502–8659 

(TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please 

send a paper copy to: Secretary, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. 

Please include the project number (P– 

719–033) on any comments, motions to 

intervene, protests, or recommendations 

filed. 

k. Description of Request: Trinity 

Conservancy, Inc. (license) requests 

amendment of the Trinity Project’s 

resident fish habitat and project tailrace 

plan and effectiveness monitoring plan, 

which was approved in a Commission 

order issued April 22, 2008.1 The 

Trinity Project uses water from Phelps 

Creek, then returns it via the project 

tailrace to the Chiwawa River, several 

hundred yards above where the historic 

natural channel of Phelps Creek meets 

the Chiwawa River. The April 22, 2008 

order approved two alternatives for the 

tailrace plan, both involving routing of 

water through a short section of pipe to 

a new 858-foot open tailrace channel 

that would follow natural contours to a 

confluence with Phelps Creek above 

where it meets the Chiwawa River. The 

licensee now requests, based on 

consultation with resource agencies, an 

amendment of the tailrace plan which 

would utilize 680 feet of primarily 

buried pipe for the first section of the 

new tailrace, leading to a shorter open 

reach. The change would reduce water 

loss and provide enhanced salmonid 

habitat in the area where the tailrace 

would join Phelps Creek. The licensee 

also requests approval of minor 

modifications to the effectiveness 

monitoring plan. 

l. Locations of the Application: A 

copy of the application is available for 

inspection and reproduction at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room, 

located at 888 First Street NE., Room 

2A, Washington, DC 20426, or by calling 

(202) 502–8371. This filing may also be 

viewed on the Commission’s Web site at 

http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/

elibrary.asp. Enter the docket number 

excluding the last three digits in the 

docket number field to access the 

document. You may also register online 

at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/

esubscription.asp to be notified via 

email of new filings and issuances 

related to this or other pending projects. 

For assistance, call 1–866–208–3676 or 

email FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, for 

TTY, call (202) 502–8659. A copy is also 

available for inspection and 

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