[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 88 (Thursday, May 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25196-25197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12089]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Anchor Hill Project, Gilt Edge Mine, Environmental Impact
Statement Supplement, Black Hills National Forest, SD
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft supplement to a final
environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: J. Thomas Millard, Spearfish/Nemo District Ranger, of the
Black Hills National Forest gives notice of the agency's intent to
prepare a Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement
for the Anchor Hill Project of the Gilt Edge Mine. The responsible
official for this project is John C. Twiss, Forest Supervisor, Black
Hills National Forest.
DATES: The Draft Supplement should be available for public comment by
the end of April 1998. The Final Supplement should be ready for public
review in July of 1998.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to District Ranger, Spearfish/Nemo
District, P.O. Box 407, Deadwood, SD 57732.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Don Murray Lands and Minerals Staff on the Spearfish/Nemo Ranger
District, (605) 578-2744.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft Supplement will provide additional
information and clarification of items in the Final Environmental
Impact Statement for the Anchor Hill Project published in November
1997. The Anchor Hill Project is the proposed expansion of an existing
open pit gold
[[Page 25197]]
mine on to 37 acres of land in the Black Hills National Forest, which
is located four miles southeast of Deadwood, South Dakota.
The comment period on the draft supplement to the final
environmental impact statement will be a minimum of 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 stage, it is important
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
draft supplements to the final 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 supplement to the final environmental
impact statement stage but that are not raised until after completion
of the final supplement to 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 objectives 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 supplement
to the final environmental impact statement should be as specific as
possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or
chapters of the draft supplement. Comments may also address the
adequacy of the draft supplement to the final 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.
Dated: April 3, 1998.
J. Thomas Millard,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 98-12089 Filed 5-6-98; 8:45 am]
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