[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 107 (Monday, June 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29546-29547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13566]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 107 / Monday, June 5, 1995 /
Notices
[[Page 29546]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
North Star Inc. Mine Operating Plan
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Revised notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact
statement.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the United States Forest Service
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the
potential environmental impacts that may be associated with development
of the proposed North Star Project. North Star, Inc., previously known
as Right Star, Inc. a California Corporation, has filed a plan of
operation with the Big Bear Ranger Station, San Bernardino National
Forest to expand and develop a high grade locatable limestone deposit
in San Bernardino County, California. The North Star Project is located
approximately 80 miles due east of Los Angeles, and approximately 3.5
miles northeast of Big Bear City. The Project will ultimately affect
approximately 37 acres, and includes the following activities: mining,
limestone trucking, vegetation and soil removal, blasting, loading,
crushing, screening, and reclamation of disturbed land. The quarry will
extend to a depth of approximately 40 feet below the level of Forest
Road 3N03. Access to the site is via State Highway 18 and Forest Road
3N03. Approximately 200 tons of limestone per day would be transported
to markets in California and Arizona. The USDA Forest Service is the
lead Federal Agency for NEPA compliance in the preparation of the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed project. The
following issues have been preliminarily identified for analysis:
Visual quality, cultural resources, traffic, recreation, threatened,
endangered and sensitive plant and wildlife species, health and safety,
economics, mineral development, air quality, and other land uses. In
accordance with the National Environmental Quality Act requirements,
the EIS will also consider alternatives to the proposed action.
Alternatives and additional issues may be identified as a result of the
public scoping process.
This notice is a request for environmental information that you or
your organization feels should be addressed in the EIS. Detailed
information may be included in your response. Written comments should
be sent to the address below no later than June 30, 1995.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The General Mining Law of 1872 (May 10,
1872) as amended, authorizes the location and extraction of minerals,
including limestone, subject to regulations prescribed by law.
Mining regulations for the Forest Service are found in 36 CFR Part
228, Subpart A, first issued on August 28, 1974.
In preparing the environmental impact statement, the Forest Service
will identify and consider a range of alternatives for this site. One
of these will be no development of the site. Other alternatives will
consider the company proposal, and environmentally modified proposal
and an environmentally constrained proposal. Alternative locations for
overburdened dumps, roads, and support facilities also will be
considered.
Gene Zimmerman, Forest Supervisor, San Bernardino National Forest,
San Bernardino, California is the responsible official.
Public participation will be especially important at several points
during the analysis. The first point is during the scoping process (40
CFR 1501.7). The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments,
and assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies and other
individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by
the proposed action. This input will be used in preparation of the
draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The scoping process
includes:
1. Identifying potential issues.
2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth.
3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those which have been
covered by a relevant previous environmental analysis.
4. Exploring additional alternatives.
5. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed
action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects
and connected actions).
6. Determining potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.
The mining of limestone is a significant activity on the north
slope of the San Bernardino Mountains and is important to the economy
of the Lucerne Valley Community. In excess of 3.5 million tons of
limestone material are removed annually from quarries on both private
and Federal lands. An additional 1.8 million tons of un-economic
materials are removed but re-deposited in waste dumps. The limestone
mining operations on the northslope have been carried on for many years
through various approvals (Plans of Operations and a variety of
amendments to those plans). The need for a consolidation of plans and
amendments and a need to emphasize reclamation and advanced planning
has been identified.
North Star, Inc., has been bulk-sample mining at the edge of the 11
acre site. Approximately .6 of an acre has been mined to date. Mining
equipment (e.g. drills, crushers, loaders) has not been left on the
site. North Star proposes to expand from the current bulk sample to an
anticipated 200,000 tons of product in the next 5 years, based upon
market demands.
North Star Minerals, Inc., a California corporation, holds leases
for Smart Ranch Carbonate Placer Mining Claims 11 and 16 from Don Fife
and Associates in Lone Valley, Big Bear Ranger District (Sec 32, T3N,
R2E, SBBM) all within San Bernardino County. Right Star proposes to
develop a quarry on the 11 acres and conduct operations that will yield
high quality screened limestone products. Access to the site is via SH
18 and Forest road 3N03. Approximately 8 trucks per day would transport
200 tons of limestone to markets in the Lucerne Valley area. The 11
acres will be used for soil stockpiles, processing facility and a
benched quarry. Operations will include vegetation and soil removal,
blasting, loading, hauling, crushing and screening. The quarry will
extend to a depth of approximately 40 feet below the level of FS 3N03.
Waste material would also be deposited on-site. Electrical power would
be supplied by [[Page 29547]] a diesel generator. The staging area
would be set up to accommodate a guard's camper trailer and chemical
toilet for the crew. A 20 foot air-sea cargo container (for storage of
small tools) and a 500 gallon diesel fuel storage tank would be in the
same general location.
During a preliminary environmental analysis, it was determined that
an area of Forest Service sensitive plants and their habitat exists on
the North Star limestone area, and that the plants and habitat would be
impacted by any developmental alternative. For the reason, it was
determined that the proposal could have significant effects on the
environment, and an EIS is needed.
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by
September 1995. At that time EPA will publish a notice of availability
of the draft EIS in the Federal Register.
The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date
that the EPA's notice of availability appears in the Federal Register.
It is very important that those interested in the management of the
north slope of the San Bernardino Mountains participate at that time.
To be the most helpful, comments on the draft EIS should be as specific
as possible and may address the adequacy of the statement or the merits
of the alternatives discussed (see The Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3). In addition, Federal court
decisions have established that reviewers of draft EISs must structure
their participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that
it is meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewers' position and
contentions, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,
553 (1978), and that environmental objections that could have been
raised at the draft stage may be waived if not raised until after
completion of the final environmental impact statement. Wisconsin
Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334 (E.D. Wis. 1980). The
reason for this is to ensure 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.
After the comment period ends on the draft EIS, the comments will
be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the final
environmental impact statement. The final EIS is scheduled to be
completed by December 1995. In the final EIS, the Forest Service is
required to respond to the comments received (40 CFR 1503.4). The
responsible official will consider the comments, responses,
environmental consequences discussed in the EIS, and applicable laws,
regulations, and policies in making a decision regarding this proposal.
The responsible official will document the decision and reasons for the
decision in the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to
appeal under 36 CFR 211.18.
DATES: Comments are requested on this notice concerning the scope of
the analysis of the draft EIS. Comments must be received within 30 days
of the publication date of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions concerning the scope
of the analysis to Gene Zimmerman, Forest Supervisor, San Bernardino
National Forest, 1824 S. Commercenter Circle, San Bernardino, CA 92408-
3430.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Raj Daniel, District Minerals Officer, San Bernardino National Forest,
Mill Creek Station, 34701 Mill Creek Road, Mentone, CA 92359,
telephone: (909) 794-1123.
Dated: May 26, 1995.
Gene Zimmerman,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 95-13566 Filed 6-2-95; 8:45 am]
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