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Draft Plan Amendment to the 1980 California Desert Conservation Area Plan, As Amended, and Environmental Assessment for the P

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Draft Plan Amendment to the 1980 California Desert Conservation Area Plan, As Amended, and Environmental Assessment for the P DOI-BLM-CA-D080-2019-0006-EA November 2018 Draft Plan Amendment to the 1980 California Desert Conservation Area Plan, as amended, and Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Sale of 70 Acres of Public Land to OMYA, Inc. U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management California Desert District Barstow Field Office 2601 Barstow Road Barstow, CA 92311 Table of Contents CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 PROPOSED ACTION OVERVIEW .................................................................................. 1 1.2 PURPOSE AND NEED ...................................................................................................... 5 1.3 DECISION TO BE MADE ................................................................................................. 5 1.4 PLANNING AREA ............................................................................................................ 5 1.5 SCOPING/ISSUES ............................................................................................................. 6 1.6 PLANNING CRITERIA ..................................................................................................... 6 1.7 PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS ........................................................ 6 1.8 POLICY CONSISTENCY AND LAND-USE PLAN CONFORMANCE ......................... 7 CHAPTER 2. PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES 9 2.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 9 2.2 ALTERNATIVE A: PROPOSED ACTION – 70-ACRE DIRECT LAND SALE ........... 11 2.3 ALTERNATIVE B: NO ACTION .................................................................................... 12 2.4 ALTERNATIVE C: 45-ACRE DIRECT LAND SALE ................................................... 12 2.5 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED BUT ELIMINATED FROM ANALYSIS ............... 14 2.6 BLM’S PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE: PROPOSED ACTION .................................... 15 CHAPTER 3. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT 16 3.1 AIR QUALITY ................................................................................................................. 16 3.2 CULTURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................. 18 3.3 PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ............................................................................ 19 3.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES .......................................................................................... 19 3.5 WATER RESOURCES/DRAINAGE/HYDROLOGY .................................................... 23 3.6 LOCAL PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT .......................................... 23 3.7 MINERAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................ 24 3.8 VISUAL RESOURCES .................................................................................................... 25 3.9 HAZARDOUS/SOLID WASTES .................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 4. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES 25 4.1 AIR QUALITY ................................................................................................................. 27 4.2 CULTURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................. 28 4.3 PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ............................................................................ 28 4.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES .......................................................................................... 28 4.5 WATER RESOURCES/DRAINAGE/HYDROLOGY .................................................... 31 4.6 LOCAL PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT .......................................... 32 4.7 MINERAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................ 33 4.8 VISUAL RESOURCES .................................................................................................... 34 4.9 HAZARDOUS/SOLID WASTES .................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER 5. CONSULTATION & COORDINATION 37 CHAPTER 6. LIST OF PREPARERS 37 LIST OF PREPARERS (LILBURN CORPORATION) .......................................................................... 37 LIST OF PREPARERS (BLM) ....................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 7. LIST OF ACRONYMS 38 CHAPTER 8. REFERENCES 39 i FIGURES Figure 1 Regional Location Map…………………………………………………………..3 Figure 2 Project Location Map…………………………………………………………….4 Figure 3 Granite Mountain Wildlife Linkage ACEC ………..….…………………….….10 Figure 4 Proposed Action Area ……….………………………..………………..……….11 Figure 5a 70-Acre Direct Land Sale Area …………………………………........................12 Figure 5b 45-Acre Direct Land Sale Area ………………………………………………....13 Figure 6 70-acre and 45-acre Alternatives Layered ………………………………………14 Figure 7 Habitat and Vegetation Map…………………………………………………......22 Figure 8 Biological Resources Indirect Impact Map………………….………………......31 Figure 9 VRM Before and After Reclamation…………………………………………….36 TABLES Table 1 Planned Waste Rock, Overburden, & Fines Storage Areas White Knob – White Ridge Quarries…………………………………………………………………….2 Table 2 State and Federal Air Quality Designations and Classifications…………………17 Table 3 White Knob – White Ridge Quarries Three Year Average and Amended Plan Proposed Throughputs Tons/Year………………………………………………..34 Appendix Appendix A Conservation Management Action Checklist ii UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT BARSTOW FIELD OFFICE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT TITLE/TYPE OF ACTION: Proposed sale of 70 acres of public land to OMYA, Inc. CASE FILE/SERIAL NO.: CACA-53705 CONTROL NO.: DOI-BLM-CA-D080-2013-0084–EA LAND USE PLAN: 1980 California Desert Conservation Area Plan, as amended. COUNTY: San Bernardino, California APPLICANT: OMYA, Inc. 7225 Crystal Creek Road Lucerne Valley, CA 92356 BLM OFFICE: Barstow Field Office 2601 Barstow Road Barstow, CA 92311 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 PROPOSED ACTION OVERVIEW This environmental assessment (EA) considers the proposed direct sale of 70 acres of public land to OMYA, Inc. (OMYA). A plan amendment to the 1980 California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan would allow the direct sale under 43 CFR 2711.3-3(5). Operations at the White Knob Quarry began in the 1950s. OMYA became the operator in 1976. OMYA mines and processes calcium carbonate from a quarry that is located on private land, on the north side of the San Bernardino Mountains approximately 6 miles southwest of the community of Lucerne Valley (junction of SR 18 and SR247) and 8 miles northwest of Big Bear Lake. The public lands proposed for sale are located immediately north of OMYA’s White Knob Quarry. Ore from the White Knob Quarry is transported by truck to OMYA’s Lucerne Valley processing plant, which is on Crystal Creek Road approximately four miles south of State Highway (SH) 18 (see Figure 1). Substantive mining operations began in 1986 at the White Knob Quarry, and continue to generate considerable amount of waste material, which consists mostly of overburden. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a Notice of Trespass on December 15, 2005 on 9.2 acres after determining that overburden had been placed on federal public lands. The presence of overburden on public lands was addressed in a 2011 Settlement Agreement between the BLM and OMYA. The purpose of the agreement was to resolve and otherwise settle disputes regarding OMYA Direct Land Sale EA 1 Nov 2018 the BLM claims of trespass relating to OMYA’s activities at the White Knob Quarry, including those set forth in the BLM’s December 2005 Notice of Trespass. The agreement has six separate remediation components (PARTS A-F). Included in one of those components is the BLM’s agreement to consider a sale of public land on which overburden material was placed without authorization and was proposed to be placed in the future, as one possible mechanism for resolving the unauthorized use. Under the General Mining Law of 1872, OMYA located mill site claims in 2012 on the area subject to the 70-acre direct sale. The 2015 Amended Mine and Reclamation Plan assumes that portions of the public lands proposed for sale would be used for placement of overburden material and a sediment basin. The BLM has authority under Section 203 and 209 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) to sell public lands including surface and subsurface, but only where the BLM has determined through its land use plan that the lands or interests in lands meet the criteria for sale under Section 203(a) and 209(b)(1) of the FLPMA. In December 2017, the BLM certified an addendum to the 2014 mineral potential report. In 2015, San Bernardino County approved an Amended Mine and Reclamation Plan for the existing White Knob/White Ridge Limestone Quarries, in accordance with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMARA) of 1977. The 2015 Amended Mine and Reclamation Plan prepared by OMYA states that the 3-year average of overburden production between 2004 and 2006 was a minimum of 392,500 and a maximum of 1,150,000 tons, and these materials were placed in overburden stockpiles. During the 3-year of overburden stockpile data collection, between 242,500 (minimum) and 850,000 tons (maximum) were subtracted from those overburden stockpiles and sold as aggregate depending on demand. OMYA’s 2015 Amended Mine and Reclamation Plan proposes to place overburden stockpiles within the
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