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Bureau of Land Management Environmental Assessment <br /> Royal Gorge Field Office DOI-BLM-CO-F020-2020-0036 EA <br /> operating practices; limited by closure if necessary; special mitigation will be developed <br /> to protect values on a case-by-case basis. <br /> 1.6. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION <br /> 1.6.1. Scoping <br /> NEPA regulations (40 CFR §1500-1508) require that BLM use a scoping process to identify <br /> potentially significant issues. Internal scoping was initiated when the project was presented to the <br /> RGFO interdisciplinary team on March 17, 2020. This project was listed on the BLM National <br /> Land Use (ePlanning)website. Scoping was the primary mechanism used by BLM to identify <br /> issues. <br /> 1.6.2. Public Comments <br /> The BLM published a News Release(NR)of the Draft EA on November 06, 2020. The NR <br /> announced the availability of the Draft EA, summarized the alternatives and other key <br /> information presented in the Draft EA,provided a link to the project website,provided the <br /> methods by which comments on the Draft EA might be sent to the BLM, and noted a 30-day <br /> formal public comment period in which comments must be received. A summary of the Draft EA <br /> public comment process, including substantive comments received, and responses to those <br /> comments, is provided in Appendix E. <br /> 2. PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES <br /> 2.1. PROPOSED ACTION <br /> PROPOSED EXPANSION: <br /> General <br /> The operator proposes expanding the current operation from 9.0 acres to approximately 50 acres, <br /> which includes 10.75 acres of interspersed BLM managed lands. The application for a mineral <br /> material sale's contract would account for future federal mineral production and all reclamation <br /> requirements associated with any past,present, and future disturbances. Per the 1987 CDRMS <br /> permit, production was projected to be between 5,000 and 10,000 tons per year; however,with <br /> the additional reserves the production rate is anticipated to increase to 8,000 tons per month for a <br /> maximum total production of 96,000 tons per year. Active mining is seasonal; however, <br /> production would be year-round with product material stockpiled for use during winter months. <br /> Seasonal operations would be from November to April for 40 hours per week and May through <br /> October for 50 hours per week. <br /> 7 <br />