Page 8 - gillibrand1991eis

CONTENTS

SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S- J

J .0 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR ACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J-J
1. J Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . J-J
J .2 Scoping Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J-2
J .3 Summary of Public Scoping Issues and Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J -2
J .4 Issues and Concerns Discussed in this Environmental
Impact Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J-4

2.0 ALTERNATIVES INCLUDING PROPOSED ACTION AND COMPARISON
OF IMPAC'TS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
2.1 Alternative I - Proposed Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-J
2.2 Alternatives Considered in Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
2.2.J Alternative 2 - Conveyor Transport - Claim Group II to
Plant Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
2.2.2 Alternative 3 - Road Section D (Original Road Section B) to
Claim Group II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-J 3
2.2.3 Alternative 4 - No Action Alternative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
2.3 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated From Detailed Study ............ 2-16
2.3.1 Alternative 5 - Move Mill Site to the Mineral Source ............. 2-16
2.3.2 Alternative 6 - Reduce the Scope of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-J 7
2.3.3 Alternative 7 - Conveyor Transport Only ..................... 2-)8
2.3.4 Alternative 8 - Helicopter Transport ......................... 2-18
2.3.5 Alternative 9 - Underground Mining ......................... 2-19
2.4 Comparison of Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

3.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ...... 3-1
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
3.1.J Conformity with the Forest Plan ............................... 3-2
3.2 Air Quality (Issue Category # 1) ................................... 3-2
3.2.1 Affected Environment .................................... 3-3
3.2.2 Criteria for Significance of Impact Determination ................ 3-8
3.2.3 Environmental Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
3.3 Soils (Issue Category #2) ........................................ 3-16
3.3.1 Affected Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
3.3.2 Criteria for Significance of Impact Determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
3.3.3 Environmental Consequences ............................... 3-18
3.4 Water Resources (Issue Category #3) ............................... 3-22
3.4.1 Affected Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
3.4.2 Criteria for Significance of Impact Determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
3.4.3 Environmental Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
3.5 Biological Resources (Issue Category #4) ............................ 3-33
3.5.1 Affected Environment ................................... 3-34
3.5.2 Criteria for Significance of Impact Determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
3.5.3 Environmental Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
3.6 Cultural and Paleontological Resources (Issue Category #5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-63
3.6.1 Affected Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-63
3.6.2 Criteria for Significance of Impact Determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65
3.6.3 Environmental Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66

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