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Date:  November 1, 2007 Contact: South Dakota Field Office, (605) 892-7000                    Public Meetings Scheduled Regarding Proposed Conveyor Project The Bureau of Land Management has scheduled three public meetings to gather comments on GCC Dacotah’s application for a 100-foot wide right-of-way across federal lands.                         Meetings are scheduled for Nov. 6 at the Senior Center, 601 5th Street, Edgemont, S.D.; Nov. 7 at the Black Hills National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 25041 U.S. Hwy. 16, Custer, S.D.; and Nov. 8 at the USDA Service Center, 1225 Washington Blvd., Newcastle, Wyo. All meetings will take place from 4-7 p.m.                         The right-of-way would allow construction of about seven miles of an enclosed, above-ground conveyor belt to transfer limestone from a quarry to a rail-loading facility near Dewey in Custer County, S.D. The proposed project would cross about 1.5 miles of National Forest lands and about one mile of lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The remainder would cross private land owned by GCC Dacotah.                          The BLM is preparing an environmental impact statement to analyze the proposal. This project is currently in the scoping phase, when potential environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives are identified.                          A map of the area and information about the meetings can be found on the project website: http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/south_dakota_field.html. To ensure consideration, comments should be submitted by December 3, 2007.   For additional information, please contact Marian Atkins with the Bureau of Land Management at 605-892-7001, or marian_atkins@blm.gov. Comments can be mailed to: BLM South Dakota Field Office, 310 Roundup Street, Belle Fourche, SD 57717.   ###