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~, <br />~I <br />CNAPTERONE Purpose and Need <br />' The ROD and approval of the Commercial Mine Plan would include Best Management Practices <br />(BMPs) and operating procedures consistent with the Colorado Standazds of Public Land Health. <br />Appendix C of the RMP identifies the Colorado standards. The standazds provide for the <br />minimum resource conditions and management practices expected to sustain land health. The <br />following standards were adopted in February 1997: <br />• Ensure healthy upland soils <br />' . Protect and improve riparian systems <br />• Maintain healthy, productive plant and animal communities <br />• Maintain or enhance special status, threatened and endangered species, and other plants and <br />animals officially designated by BLM <br />' • Ensure water quality meets minimum Colorado standazds <br />The BLM is also responsible for establishing provisions for ensuring proper reclamation of <br />facilities and disturbed ]ands. American Soda would post a reclamation bond with the BLM to <br />ensure effective reclamation occurs on BLM lands at appropriate intervals throughout the life of <br />the project. In addition, the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology would likely require <br />additional bonding for other related disturbance as a condition of its Section 112 Reclamation <br />Permit. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would require bonding for <br />the plugging and abandonment of the solution mine wells. <br />Under NEPA, the BLM is required to prepare this EIS to evaluate the potential environmental <br />consequences of implementing the Yankee Gulch Project and altematives. The EIS documents <br />the analysis of effects, develops environmental protection measures necessary to reduce or <br />eliminate adverse consequences, and informs the decision-makers and public of a reasonable <br />range of altematives that would minimize the environmentally-damaging actions. Upon approval <br />of the Final EIS, the BLM would select a preferred alternative and the decisions regazding the <br />proposed project would be documented in a ROD signed by the BLM Colorado State Director. <br />The BLM decision would relate primarily to actions taken on federal land administered by the <br />BLM. In the ROD, the BLM may decide to: 1) adopt the No Action Alternative, 2) adopt one of <br />the action altematives, or 3) adopt one of the action altematives with additional mitigation <br />measures. If a development alternative is selected, the BLM would decide on details for <br />construction methods, scheduling of activities, access routes, and environmental protection <br />measures through special use and other permit authorizations. <br />The BLM White River Resource Area is the federal agency responsible for preparing this Draft <br />EIS. The BLM's interdisciplinary project team is assisted by specialists from athird-party <br />contractor, URS Greiner Woodward Clyde, working under the direction of and in cooperation <br />with, the BLM. <br />' 1.4 AUTHORIZING ACTIONS <br />The EIS is not the final review upon which approval of all actions in the Project Area would be <br />based. Federal, state, and county authorizing actions would be required to implement the project <br />as defined by the ROD. The permitting process gives the individual government decision- <br />' 1-3 <br />