Santa Fe National Forest, Sandoval County, NM; El Cajete Pumice Mining

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Santa Fe National Forest, Sandoval County, NM; El Cajete Pumice

Mining

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Santa Fe National Forest will prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposal to mine pumice on National Forest

System land.

DATES: Comments in response to this NOI concerning the proposal or

scope of the analysis should be received within 2 weeks of publication

of this NOI in the Federal Register. Comments on the Draft EIS, planned

for release in the summer of 1994, will be received during a 45-day

comment period, prior to making a decision on the proposal.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to John Peterson, Jemez District

Ranger, POB 98, Jemex Springs, NM 87025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bob Crostic, Project Coordinator, Jemez Ranger District, POB 98, Jemez

Springs, NM 87025.

RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: Alan S. Defler, Forest Supervisor, Santa Fe

National Forest.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copar Pumice Company of Espanola, New

Mexico, has submitted a proposed Plan of Operations under 36 CFR part

228(A) to surface mine one million tons of pumice on mining claims over

a 10 year period beginning in the fall of 1994. The proposed 135 acre

El Cajete Pumice Mine will be located within the Jemez National

Recreation Area of the Santa Fe National Forest in T.18 N., R.3 E.,

Section 1 and T.18 N., R.4 E., Section 3, N.M.P.M.

The proposed mine would involve the removal and sale of forest

trees and vegetation, stripping and stockpiling of topsoil and

overburden, removing pumice and then reclaiming the land. A screening

plant would be used to sort out the common variety pumice for use in

reclamation of the mined area. Large each moving equipment would be

used to mine and reclaim the site. Semi-trucks would haul the pumice on

State Road 4 to Copar's mills in San Ysidro, Cuyamungue and Espanola,

New Mexico. As mining progresses, wasted overburden and common variety

pumice would be used to backfill and recontour the mined area. Topsoil

would be replaced over the reclaimed area and grass and conifer

seedlings would be planted to restore, to the extent practicable, the

site's pre-mining conditions.

Copar's proposed Plan of Operation will be considered along with

other mining alternatives with various stipulations, and a ``no

action'' alternative. All alternatives will be in compliance with the

Forest Plan, Jemez National Recreation Area legislation and all

applicable environmental laws and policies.

Public participation will be fully incorporated into preparation of

the EIS. Preliminary scoping for the proposal began in April 1992 when

the landowners in the Vallecitos de los Indios and Sierra Los Pinos

subdivisions petitioned the Chief of the Forest Service to withdraw the

landowners watershed area from mining. A petition with 172 signatures

of landowners was presented. A meeting was also held with landowner

representatives October 20, 1992. On October 30, 1992 nearly 300

residents, individuals, groups and government agencies were contacted

by letter requesting their concerns and notifying them of a scheduled

field trip. About 36 people provided written responses and 34 people

attended a November 7, 1993 field trip.

Thus far, scoping for public concerns has resulted in the following

preliminary issues: What will be the effects of the proposed mining

operation on: Mineral rights?; Dust production related to air quality?;

Noise?' Surface water and ground water?; Wetlands, Canada Bonito Spring

and Intermittent streams?; Public safety?; Excessive wear and tear of

Highway 4 and impacts to other highway users?; Residential property

values?; Deforestation and soil erosion?; Heritage resources such as

Native American traditional uses?; Recreation opportunities and

experiences, and Jemez National Recreation Area values?; Visual quality

such as scenery viewed from Trail 137 and Highway 4?; Wildlife and

plant habitat including threatened and endangered species?; Root rot

experiment area and the long-term research?; The economy?

The 45-day comment period on the Draft EIS will begin when the

Notice of Availability appears in the Federal Register. A Record of

Decision will be prepared and filed with the Final EIS.

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 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 EIS stage may be waived if not raised until after completion of

the Final EIS (City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022, 9th Cir.

1988 and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris,, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338,

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 EIS.

Dated: March 1, 1994.

Alan S. Defler,

Forest Supervisor, Santa Fe National Forest.

[FR Doc. 94-7589 Filed 3-30-94; 8:45 am]

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