[Federal Register: August 19, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 161)]
[Notices]
[Page 48376-48377]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19au08-42]
[[Page 48376]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Reopening of an Idle Open Pit Taconite Mine and Construction and
Operation of a Taconite Ore Concentration Plant Proposed by Mesabi
Mining, LLC and Steel Dynamics, Inc. (Collectively, the Applicant) Near
Aurora and Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County, MN
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: Mesabi Mining, LLC and Steel Dynamics, Inc. have applied to
the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) for a Clean Water Act
Section 404 permit to discharge fill material into jurisdictional
wetlands to facilitate the reopening of an open pit taconite mine and
construction and operation of a taconite ore concentration plant near
Aurora and Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County, MN. Tailings would be
discharged into an existing, idle open pit mine. The proposed project
is known as the Mesabi Nugget Phase II Project. The project would be
located entirely on portions of the site of the former LTV Steel Mining
Company Facility (also known as Erie Mining Company prior to 1986).
Taconite mining was conducted at the site from the late 1950s until
operations ceased in early 2001. Prior to taconite mining, the area was
also mined for natural iron ore in nearby pits as early as 1903. Mesabi
Mining now proposes to reopen and mine taconite ore from two open pits,
haul the ore in trucks to a proposed new processing plant where the ore
would be crushed, ground, magnetically separated, and then passed
through a flotation circuit to produce a concentrate. About one-third
of the concentrate (approximately 1.04 million metric tonnes per year)
would be used as feed for Mesabi Nugget Delaware's on-site Large Scale
Demonstration Project (LSDP) iron nugget facility that was permitted in
2005 and will be ready for operation in the second quarter of 2009. The
remainder of the concentrate (approximately 2.09 million metric tonnes
per year) would be shipped by rail for use in other facilities. The
mining process would require the construction of overburden and waste
rock, and lean ore stockpiles adjacent to the open pits. The project
would operate 24 hours per day; 365 days per year during its proposed
20-year life. The project area would be approximately 4,760 acres, of
which approximately 3,820 acres (80 percent) has previously been
disturbed by mining activities.
The project would require the discharge of fill material into
approximately 235 acres of wetlands. While some of the wetlands may be
isolated, the majority of the wetlands are abutting Second Creek (a
tributary to the Partridge River) or an unnamed tributary (Unnamed
Creek) to the Partridge River. The Partridge River is a tributary to
the St. Louis River, which is navigable water of the United States up
to the mouth of the Embarrass River. The Applicant proposes to develop
a detailed compensatory wetland mitigation plan for inclusion in the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to provide compensation for
the unavoidable wetland impacts planned during at least the first five
years of the project. Conceptual wetland mitigation plans will be
developed for inclusion in the DEIS to provide compensation for the
unavoidable wetland impacts planned during the remainder of the project
(years six through twenty). The discharge of dredged or fill material
into waters of the United States requires a permit issued by the Corps
under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS) will be used as a basis for the permit decision
and to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA).
ADDRESSES: Questions concerning the DEIS can be addressed to Mr. Jon K.
Ahlness, Regulatory Branch by letter at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
190 Fifth Street East, Suite 401, St. Paul, MN 55101-1638, by telephone
or by e-mail at jon.k.ahlness@usace.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jon K. Ahlness, (651) 290-5381.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Corps and the State of Minnesota will
jointly prepare the DEIS. The Corps is the lead federal agency and the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MnDNR) is the lead state
agency. To determine issues to be addressed in the DEIS, a scoping
process will be conducted. The MnDNR, with assistance from the Corps,
will prepare and release to the public a Draft Scoping Decision
Document (Draft SDD) and a Scoping Environmental Assessment Worksheet
(SEAW). Federal, state, and local agencies; the general public;
interested private organizations and parties; and affected Native
American tribes will have 30 days to provide comments on those two
documents. During the 30-day public comment period, the Corps and the
MnDNR will jointly conduct a public scoping meeting. The meeting will
be held on Wednesday, September 3, 2008, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the
Aurora Community Center at 15 West 1st Avenue North, Aurora, MN. The
MnDNR, with assistance from the Corps will prepare and release to the
public a Final SDD based upon the comments received during the scoping
process. Significant issues and resources identified in the Final SDD
will be addressed in the DEIS.
The DEIS will assess impacts of the proposed action and reasonable
alternatives, identify and evaluate mitigation alternatives, and
discuss potential environmental monitoring. Anyone who has an interest
in participating in the development of the DEIS is invited to contact
the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers. Major issues identified to
date for discussion in the DEIS are the impacts of the proposed project
on:
1. Fish, wildlife, and ecologically sensitive resources.
2. Water resources, including: surface and groundwater resources;
waters of the U.S., including wetlands; and receiving stream
geomorphology.
3. Water quality, including: surface water runoff; and storm water
management.
4. Air quality.
5. Cumulative impacts, including: wildlife habitat loss/
fragmentation and habitat corridor obstruction/landscape barriers;
wetlands in the Partridge River watershed; loss of threatened and
endangered plant species; air quality in federally-administered Class I
areas; air quality in Class II areas; water quality; streamflow and
lake level changes; and socioeconomic impacts.
Additional issues of interest may be identified through the public
scoping process. We anticipate that the DEIS will be available to the
public in March of 2009.
Issuing a permit for the reopening of an open pit taconite mine and
the construction and operation of a taconite ore concentration facility
is considered to be a major Federal action that may have a significant
impact on the quality of the human environment. The project: (1) would
have a significant adverse effect on wetlands (which are special
aquatic sites), and (2) has the potential to significantly affect water
quality, groundwater, air quality, fish, and wildlife. Our
environmental review will be conducted to meet the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, Council of Environmental Quality Regulations,
[[Page 48377]]
Endangered Species Act of 1973, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and
other applicable laws and regulations.
Dated: August 7, 2008.
Jon L. Christensen,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. E8-19164 Filed 8-18-08; 8:45 am]
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