Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for ASARCO's Rock Creek Project, Copper/Silver Mine, Kootenai National Forest, Sanders County, MT

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for

ASARCO's Rock Creek Project, Copper/Silver Mine, Kootenai National

Forest, Sanders County, MT

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplement to the draft

environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service, Kootenai National Forest (KNF) in

conjunction with Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will

prepare a Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement

(SDEIS) for ASARCO's proposal to develop the Rock Creek copper/silver

mine project approximately 5 miles northeast of Noxon, Montana.

The original notice of intent was published in the Federal

Register, Volume 53, No. 9, January 14, 1988. A number of items

including lead agency, mine water disposal, release date of the SDEIS

have changed since 1988. This revised notice describes the current

situation.

The KNF and DEQ are joint lead agencies in this effort. Joint lead

status will allow both agencies to fulfill their interrelated

responsibilities in managing the process for preparation of the draft,

supplement and final EIS documents under the guidelines of the National

Environmental Policy Act and the Montana Environmental Policy Act,

respectively. The DEQ administers the 1971 Montana Metal Mine

Reclamation Act. The purposes of the act are, first, to recognize and

protect the usefulness, productivity, and scenic values of the lands

and waters within the state and second, to reclaim to beneficial use

the lands used for metal mines. The Forest Service has the

responsibility for managing the uses of the Federal surface land and

resources.

This SDEIS is being prepared because there is new information

relevant to environmental concerns abut the proposed action (40 CFR

part 1502.9(c)(1) (i & ii). The revised notice of intent to prepare the

draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was published in the May

27, 1993, Federal Register (Vol. 58, No. 101). The notice of

availability for the ASARCO Rock Creek Copper and Silver Mining Project

DEIS was published in the October 6, 1995, Federal Register (Vol. 60,

No. 194).

The public comment received on the DEIS has lead the Agencies to

take a look at revising some proposed portions of the operation. A new

alternative (Alt. V) has been developed which includes the surface

deposition of tailings as a paste, and a water treatment system using a

semi-passive bioreactor and a reverse osmosis process. The concentrate

from the mill would be pumped to an enclosed rail loadout facility.

There are also changes in mitigations for the project which

[[Page 43693]]

include change in: the type of diesel engines used, the type of pipe

used to transport materials and the depth buried, the use of seepage

collection features, the design intensity for storm diversions and

ponds, the busing of employees, the closing of roads and additional

monitoring.

The public will be informed of the availability of the SDEIS by a

notice of availability in the Federal Register, news releases and

mailings of those on the mailing list. The anticipated date of release

of the SDEIS for comment is Fall, 1997.

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

submitted by September 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The responsible official is Robert Schrenk, Forest

Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest. Written comments and suggestions

concerning the re-analysis and the proposed SDEIS should be sent to the

responsible official at 506 U.S. Highway 2 West, Libby, MT 59923.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Paul Kaiser, Project Coordinator, Kootenai National Forest. Phone:

(406) 293-6211.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A new alternative (V) was developed to

address the new information received and concerns raised since release

of the DEIS on October 6, 1995.

Original Proposed Action

ASARCO's proposal, which was submitted in 1987, includes

constructing a 10,000 ton per day mine and mill complex to develop

their stratiform copper/silver ore deposit which is located under the

Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. The ore would be accessed via tunnels

starting outside and downslope from the wilderness boundary. ASARCO

estimates an ore reserve of 136 million tons and mine recovery rate of

65 percent. ASARCO projects the estimated mine life (from beginning

through reclamation) to be 32 years. The mine is estimated to employ

305-355 people. Parts of the project would be on National Forest System

land with the remainder on private land. Facilities would include a

tailings impoundment approximately 250' high and 324 acres in size, a

new access road, utility corridor, water lines, wells, mill site, water

treatment site, and rail loadout facility. An exploration adit is

proposed to further define the ore body. Two parallel adits (horizontal

access passages) would be drilled, one would be used for the ore

conveyor and the other for mine access. Two ventilation adits are

proposed, one to have its surface opening within the wilderness and the

other would use the proposed exploration adit outside the wilderness.

Excess mine water is proposed to be discharged to the Clark Fork River

after being treated to State water quality standards.

New Alternative

The new alternative (Alt. V) proposal includes activities on

approximately 483 acres. Alternative V has been developed which

includes the surface deposition of tailings as a paste, and a water

treatment system using a semi-passive bioreact0r and a reverse osmosis

process. The concentrate from the mill would be pumped to an enclosed

rail loadout facility. There are also changes in mitigations for the

project which include change in: the type of diesel engines used, the

type of pipe used to transport materials and the depth buried, the use

of seepage collection features, the design intensity for storm

diversions and ponds, the busing of employees, the closing of roads and

additional monitoring.

Reviewer Obligations

The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers

notice at this early stage because 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 statement stage but that are not raised

until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may

be waived or dismissed by the courts. 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 supplement to 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 supplemental statement.

Comments may also address the adequacy of the supplemental to the

draft 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: July 31, 1997.

Robert L. Schrenk,

Forest Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest.

[FR Doc. 97-20897 Filed 8-14-97; 8:45 am]

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