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PREFACE <br />INTRODUCTION <br />This is an abbreviated Fiual E.nvrronmental Impact <br />Statement (EiS) on the Wolf Ridge Corporation (WRC) <br />Mine Plan for a Nahcofite Solution Mine. The draft EIS <br />was printed and distributed in July 1986. This abbreviated <br />final contains a summary of the 8lternatives enalyZOd in <br />the draft ELS, the major issues involved in the analysis, <br />and an impact summary table (Section 1), a record of the <br />public comments received on the draft EIS (Section 2.l), <br />responses to those comments (Section 2.2), text changes <br />to the draft EIS resulting from public comment and internal <br />review (Section 3), and several appmditxs (Section 4). <br />This abbreviated final and the draft EIS constitute the <br />complete final EIS. Both documctts must be used in <br />conjunction. <br />DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TIC <br />DRAFT' AND FII~1AL <br />Public comments on the draft EIS did not, for the most <br />part, require extensive changes in the data, analyses, or <br />coocliuioas. Therefore, the buBc of the draft EIS has not <br />been reprinted, but has been incorporated by reference into <br />this abbreviated final. In addition to the Summary section, <br />select sections have been reprinted in t:ndrety within Section <br />3 for clarity. These include the Water Resources end the <br />Aquatic, Wetland, and Riparian Habitats (renamed Wetland <br />Habitats) segioos. In the case of these sections, the analyses <br />were expanded to include additional information as the result <br />of internal review and/or in response uiquestions/comments <br />raised by the public. Other sections reprinted in entirety <br />are the Impact Simimary Tabte (Table 2-2 at the end of <br />Section 1) and Section 4.3, BLM Proposed Mitigation <br />(APpendix C). <br />Changes worthy of note between the draft and final are <br />1. Refinement and expansion of the Water Resources <br />section. Because of numerous comments and the <br />technical uncertainties involving hydrology issues (i.e., <br />existing environment, impacts mitigation, monitoring), <br />the analysis waz carefully scrutinized, refined, and <br />restated. However, the nature and anticipated degree <br />of impact to the water resources is unchanged. <br />2. Reanalysis and rewrite of the Aquatic, Wetland, and <br />Riparian Habitats section (renamed Wethmd Habitats). <br />As a result of field investigations, more wetland habitat <br />was identified (approximately 126.5 acres exists) on <br />Yellow Creek than was addressed in the draft EIS. <br />The substance of the impacts described in the draft <br />EIS also apply to these recently identified saes. <br />3. As a result of WRC's protest of two stipulations <br />contained in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) <br />approval of their pilot-scale project mine plan, a <br />compromise was reached allowing WRC to demon- <br />strate their proposed well completion technique. This <br />compromise changed two of the No Action Alternative <br />(pilot-scale project) stipulations contained on page 2- <br />13 of the draft. It also required WRC to submit a <br />monitoring plan for the pilot-scale project [hat addresses <br />BLM concerns over their mud-gel completion <br />technique. These changes are contained in Appendix <br />A. No change in the nature or degree of the impacts <br />identified in the draft is anticipated as a result of this <br />change. <br />4. Inclusion of BLM's technical evaluation of WRC's <br />proposed well completion and abandonment proce- <br />dures (Appendix B). <br />vii <br />