Three Rivers Stone Quarry Expansion. Draft Environmental Impact Statement

摘要

In 2002, L&W Stone (the Applicant) submitted an Amended Plan of Operations to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Challis Field Office, Challis, Idaho to continue quarrying flagstone (Three Rivers Stone) at the Three Rivers Stone Quarry, located about 5 miles east of the town of Clayton in Custer County, Idaho. In 2004, an Environmental Assessment (EA) was completed that evaluated the Amended Plan of Operations and alternatives. The BLM signed a FONSI and Decision Record in July 2004 that authorized implementation of Alternative 2, as described in the 2004 EA, contingent upon submittal of a revised Plan of Operations and an acceptable bond for full reclamation of the operations. In 2005, as a result of a lawsuit that was filed objecting to the authorization, the BLM was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Winmill to prepare an EIS for the Amended Plan of Operations. On October 21, 2005, the BLM published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS and initiated the public scoping process in the Federal Register. This triggered an initial public scoping period that ran for 45 days and concluded on December 5, 2005. The process for analyzing the proposal and alternatives began with the publication of the Notice of Intent and was consistent with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, 1969 (NEPA).