Nicore Mining Plan of Operation, Siskiyou National Forest, Josephine County, OR

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Nicore Mining Plan of Operation, Siskiyou National Forest,

Josephine County, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intend to supplement a draft environmental impact

statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, in cooperation with the Bureau of

Land Management, will prepare a supplement to a draft environmental

impact statement (SDEIS) for the Nicore Mining Plan of Operation on the

Illinois Valley Ranger District of the Siskiyou National Forest. The

draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was released January 1998.

A SDEIS is needed because of changed conditions, including the recent

closure of a nickel smelter in Riddle, Oregon; new issues raised during

the DEIS comment period; the presence of a plant species now listed

under the Endangered Species Act, and a need to broaden the range of

alternatives considered.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments regarding the SDEIS to Joel King,

District Ranger, Illinois Valley Ranger District, 26568 Redwood

Highway, Cave Junction, Oregon, 97523.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rochelle Desser, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Illinois Valley Ranger

District, 26568 Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, Oregon, 97523 (541)

592-2166.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Nicore Plan of Operations (POO) includes

mining 4 sites for a total of 35 acres. The mine sites would be

accessed by an existing low-standard road system that would need to be

upgraded. Ore would be stockpiled for later smelting.

The Nicore DEIS considered the Proposed Plan of Operations and four

alternatives. Many issues were considered in the DEIS, including risk

of sediment delivery; botanical diversity and sensitive plants; costs

of road development; effects on residents; visual quality, recreation,

and interpretive development; impacts on the character of the South

Kalmiopsis Roadless Area, noxious weeds, Port-Orford-cedar root

disease; risk of hazardous fuel spills; effects on fish habitat,

especially species listed under the Endangered Species Act; Aquatic

Conservation Strategy and Riparian Reserve Standards and Guidelines;

and Wild and Scenic River Eligibility. The SDEIS will consider

additional issues and alternatives based on new information and public

comment.

Substantial uncertainty exists related to the economic viability of

the mining POO. Since the release of the Nicore DEIS, the only nickel

smelter in the United States closed, due to low nickel prices

worldwide. Public comment continues to raise issues with the

reasonableness of the mining plan, given the smelter closure. In

addition, reports provided by the public indicate that the plan is not

currently economically viable.

Since the release of the DEIS, a plant found on the ore haul route

was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Forest

Service has initiated consultation about the plant with the US Fish and

Wildlife Service.

Additional alternatives are being considered for the SDEIS. The

DEIS consider the Proposed Action and five alternatives. Many people

commented that the range of alternatives was too limited for a full

consideration of impacts. The SDEIS will consider additional access

routes, additional mitigation measures, and a scaled-back operation.

The SDEIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) and be available for review in November 1998. At that

time, EPA will publish a Notice of Availability in the Federal

Register.

A 45-day comment period for the SDEIS will commence following the

Notice of Availability. Those interested in the project should

participate at that time. Several recent court rulings related to

public participation are pertinent to this process. Reviewers of a

Draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental

review process of the Proposed Action so that it is specific,

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 early-on in the

environmental review process, but that are not raised until after

completion of the Final EIS, 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).

These court rulings reinforce the citizen's responsibility for

timely participation. Comments on the SDEIS should be as specific as

possible; page number citations or other references to the SDEIS within

comments are most helpful.

Comments should address the adequacy of the EIS, and/or the merits

of the alternatives (see the Council on Environmental Quality

Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National

Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 for further guidance).

After the SDEIS comment period, comments on both the DEIS and SDEIS

will be considered. Comments and Agency responses will be included in

the Final EIS. The Final EIS is scheduled to be completed August 1999.

The Responsible Official is the Siskiyou National Forest

Supervisor. He will consider the Final EIS; applicable laws,

regulations, policies; and analysis files and document his decision and

rationale in the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to

appeal by the general public under 36 CFR 215 and by the miner under 36

CFR 251.

Dated: July 28, 1998.

Robert Ettner,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 98-21434 Filed 8-10-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-11-M