GRIFFON Project; Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests, White Pine County, Nevada

SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service will be

directing the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

for the proposed development of an open pit gold mining project in the

White Pine Range northwest of Ellison Guard Station in White Pine

County, Nevada (T14N, R58N, sec 24 & 25). This EIS will be prepared by

contract and funded by the proponent, Alta Gold Company. (Alta).

DATES: Written comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be

received by May 31, 1996 to ensure timely consideration.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: David Valenzuela, Project Team

Leader, Ely Ranger District, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests, PO Box

539, Ely, Nevada 89301.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions about the proposed project and preparation of the EIS

to David Valenzuela, Project Team Leader, at the same address,

Telephone: 702-289-3031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Alta has submitted to the Humboldt-Toiyabe

National Forests, a Proposed Plan of Operations (POO) for a new mine in

White Pine County, Nevada. The POO describes the proposed mining

development activities and operational and reclamation procedures for

the GRIFFON Project. The proposal includes developing two open pits.

Waste rock dumps, soil stockpiles, ore stockpile, haul roads and

support facilities would also be developed. Ore would be processed at a

proposed mill-site located on the project site.

The proposal would affect approximately 161 acres of public lands.

Preliminary internal scoping has identified several issues which would

be addressed in the analysis process. The following list of issues is

not intended to be all inclusive. They are: impacts to ground and

surface water resources; impacts to grazing resources; impacts to

Waters of the United States including wetlands; mine economics;

threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and wildlife species; and

visual resources. These issues and any others identified during the

scoping process may be used to develop alternatives to the proposed

action. In addition, the No Action alternative will be considered in

the analysis.

Public participation is important during the EIS scoping process.

As part of the scoping process, the Forest Service will be seeking

information and comments from Federal, State, County and local agencies

and other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or

affected by the proposed actions. This input will be used in the

preparation of the draft EIS and Final EIS.

Several government agencies will be invited to participate in this

project as cooperating or participating agencies. These agencies

include, but are not limited to, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Nevada

Division of Environmental Protection, Nevada Division of Wildlife, and

White Pine County Board of Commissioners. In addition to the Plan of

Operations, various Federal, State, and local permits and licenses may

be required to implement the proposed action. These may include, but

are not limited to, a Section 404 permit, Water Pollution Control

Permit, Reclamation Permit for Mining Operations, and a General

Discharge Permit for Stormwater.

The Forest Service is the lead agency for this project and Monica

J. Schwalbach, Assistant Forest Supervisor for the Central Nevada

Ecosystem of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests is the responsible

official. She will make a decision to approve the proposed Plan of

Operations or one of the alternatives analyzed. Alta's rights under the

1872 Mining Law as amended, applicable Forest Service regulations and

the Humboldt National Forest Land and Resource Management Plant (1986)

will be taken into account throughout the analysis.

The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and be available for review in November 1996.

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 at least 45 days from

the date the EPA's notice of availability appears 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 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 environmental impact stage but that are not raised until after

completion of 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

objections 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 environmental impact statement should be as

specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific

pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also address the

adequacy of the draft environmental impact statement or the merits of

the alternatives formulated or discussed in the statement. Reviewers

may wish to refer to the Council on Environmental

[[Page 19607]]

Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the

National Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these

points.

Pursuant to 7 CFR, Part 1, Subpart B, Section 1.27, all written

submissions in response to this notice shall be made available for

public inspection including the submitter's name, unless the submitter

specifically requests confidentiality. Anonymous comments will be not

accepted. All written submissions from business entities and

organizations, submitted on official letterhead, in response to this

notice shall be made available for public inspection in their entirety.

Dated: April 22, 1996.

Monica J. Schwalbach

Assistant Forest Supervisor, Central Nevada Ecosystem, Humboldt-Toiyabe

National Forests.

[FR Doc. 96-10847 Filed 5-1-96; 8:45 am]

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