decision memoa123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558/abc123/forestservic...national oilwell varco – east...

United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

August, 2014

Decision Memo

National Oilwell Varco East Northumberland Exploration Project

Plan of Operations # 03-13-03

Austin Ranger District, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Nye County, Nevada

Barite mines on the north side of East Northumberland Canyon.

1

National Oilwell Varco – East Northumberland Exploration Project

BACKGROUND In November 2013, National Oilwell Varco (NOV) submitted Plan of Operations #03-13-03 (Plan) to conduct mineral exploration drilling on mining claims located on National Forest System lands. LOCATION The East Northumberland Project is located in the Toquima Range, approximately 43 miles southeast of Austin, Nevada, in the northern portion of Nye County (see attached map).

Mount Diablo Baseline and Meridian

T12N, R46E, Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 and T13N, R46E, Section 31

FOREST SERVICE MINERALS REGULATIONS AND POLICY Forest Service policy in Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part 228 (36 CFR 228.1) states that use of the surface of National Forest System lands in connection with operations authorized by the United States mining laws (30 U.S.C. 21–54), which confer a statutory right to enter upon the public lands to search for minerals, shall be conducted so as to minimize adverse environmental impacts on National Forest System surface resources. While Federal law permits mining operations on National Forest lands; it also charges the agency with the prevention of unnecessary destruction of Forest lands and regulation of occupancy and use of the surface for purposes reasonably incident to prospecting, mining, or processing, primarily under the Organic Act of 1987 and the Multiple Use Mining Act of 1955. Relevant policy in the Minerals and Geology Manual (FSM 2802) states that the Forest Service would:

• Encourage and facilitate the orderly exploration and development of mineral and energy resources on National Forest System lands to maintain a viable, healthy minerals industry, and

• Ensure that exploration, development, and production of mineral and energy resources are conducted in an environmentally sound manner.

PROPOSED ACTION The proposed action is for the Forest Service to authorize NOV to conduct mineral exploration and to install and operate a weather monitoring station. The mineral exploration will consist of collecting samples from boreholes for mineral resource evaluation. The exploration project has been designed to minimize potential impacts to surface resources by using existing roads to the extent possible. All but 11 of 51 proposed drill sites are located on old drill roads. NOV has proposed 2,200 feet of new temporary road construction and overland travel of 1,800 feet. Equipment laydown and storage areas will be located off the Forest on private lands. Reverse-circulation and core boreholes will be drilled at up to fifty-one (51) sites. Borehole locations may change as drilling progresses but will still be located on specified existing or new roads. More than one hole may be drilled from the same site. Holes are expected to be approximately 500’ in depth but that may be changed by the on site geologist. Most boreholes will be vertical but some may be inclined. Drill sites will be approximately 25’ x 50’ for vertical holes and 60’ x 60’ for inclined holes. Each drill pad will include a 12’x 20’ sump approximately 6 feet deep to collect rock cuttings and manage drilling fluids. Total surface disturbance for the project will be up to 3.8 acres for a maximum of 10 inclined boreholes, including 2.0 acres of drill pads, 1.3 acres of new temporary road (assuming an average road width of 25 feet), and 0.5 acres of overland travel routes (assuming an average disturbance width of 12 feet). A core and reverse-circulation drill may both be on site at the same time and may be operated 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The duration of drilling at each site will vary depending on hole depth and drilling conditions. It is likely that drilling operations will be completed within 3 months of start-up.


All boreholes will be plugged in accordance with Nevada Regulations NRS/NAC Chapter 534 and with additional guidance in the Plan before the drill moves off the location. Equipment The project may utilize the following vehicles and large equipment:

• 2 drill rigs, • 2 pipe trucks, • 2 water trucks, • 2 portable light plants with generators, • 1 auxiliary air compressor, • Cat D-7 (or similar) dozer, • Cat 325 (or similar) excavator, • Cat 140 M2 (or similar) grader, • Rubber-tired backhoe, • 2 ATVs, and • Various 4-wheel drive support and crew vehicles.

Reclamation Reclamation will be completed to the standards described in 36 CFR 228.8(g). Sumps will be allowed to dry and then will be backfilled with cuttings and excavated material and covered with stockpiled soil, if any. Drill pads and constructed temporary roads will be recontoured. Overland travel routes will be ripped or repaired if they become overly compacted or rutted. Depending on the extent of road repair, some existing roads which have sloughed in and been overgrown with brush may require that new fill be pulled back on to the road and that the road segment be seeded. All surface disturbance will be seeded with a Forest Service approved, weed-free seed mix at the appropriate time of year and at an application rate for optimum seed sprouting and plant growth. Seeding will be completed using a broadcast method and then raked. Reclaimed surfaces will be left in a textured, or rough, condition. Seeded areas will be monitored for stability and revegetation success for a minimum of three years until attainment of the revegetation standards established in the Nevada Guidelines for Successful Revegetation for the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, the Bureau of Land Management, and the USDA Forest Service, Attachment B (Instruction Memorandum #NV-13). Duration Duration of the exploration project from the start of surface disturbance to completion of recontouring of roads and drills pads will be one year. Seeding may be delayed beyond one year, with Forest Service permission, if doing so would improve the chances of vegetation success. The Plan will expire if surface disturbance has not started by September 1, 2017. The complete Plan is included in the Project Record and is incorporated by reference. Weather Monitoring Station A solar-powered weather monitoring station will be installed on an existing road and surrounded by a fence. No additional disturbance will be created. Installation of the station will occur only after any required reclamation activities have been completed on the road where the station will be located so that the station can be removed without additional reclamation. Weather data will be collected periodically from the stationover a period of approximately three years. Vehicle access will use existing roads. The bond for removal of the station will be returned after the station and all related materials have been removed and successful project revegetation has been achieved.


DECISION I have decided to approve exploration and weather monitoring activities for the East Northumberland Exploration Project on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, as described above under the “Proposed Action” and further detailed in the Plan and its modifications. The modifications are changes, modifications, or special mitigation measures that have been incorporated into the Plan by the Forest Service under Section VI – “Forest Service Evaluation of Plan of Operations, A. Required changes/ modifications/ special mitigation for plan of operations” and are required to be implemented by the operator. They include measures for: Maintainability of a Surety Bond; Bond Update Criteria; Bond Release Criteria; Project Start-up, Change of Operations, Cessation of Operations, Removal of Structures and Equipment; Departure from the Approved Plan of Operations; Fire Prevention and Control; Noxious Weeds; Cultural Resource Protection; Migratory Birds and Wildlife Protection; Drilling and Hole Abandonment Measures; Water Resource Protection and Sediment Control; Livestock Protection; Road Maintenance; and Reclamation and Closure. In addition to the standard mitigation measures, the following specific mitigation measures have been required for this project:

• Due to the presence of snails, project activities and personnel will avoid the spring in East Northumberland Canyon. However, the road which passes about 50 feet from the spring may be used to access the project area.

• No drilling or road construction will be allowed in pygmy rabbit habitat or in Toiyabe buckwheat habitat. Existing roads through these habitats may be used for access.

• To ensure no adverse effect on historic cultural resources, a Forest Service archaeologist determined that drill sites and part of an overland travel route within identified historic sites will have no adverse effect on historic features or artifacts. The drill sites are located on an existing road and disturbance beyond the shoulders of the road would be minimal.

The action to authorize exploration activities is categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental impact statement (EIS) or an environmental assessment (EA) because the proposed action falls within category 8, short-term (one year or less) mineral, energy, or geophysical investigations and their incidental support activities that may require cross-country travel by vehicles and equipment, construction of less than one mile of low standard road (Service Level D, FSH 7709.56), or use and minor repair of existing roads (36 CFR 220.6(e)(8)). The total duration of exploration program implementation will not exceed one year from initiation of approved activities. The action to authorize weather monitoring is categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental impact statement (EIS) or an environmental assessment (EA) because the proposed action falls within category 3: “Approval, modification, or continuation of minor special uses of NFS lands that require less than five contiguous acres of land. Examples include, but are not limited to: (i) Approving the construction of a meteorological sampling site” (36 CFR 220.6(e)(3)). The duration of weather monitoring will not extend beyond the achievement of revegetation success, which would take a minimum of approximately three years. I find that there are no extraordinary circumstances that would warrant further analysis and documentation in an EA or EIS. I took into account resource conditions identified in agency procedures that should be considered in determining whether extraordinary circumstances might exist pursuant to 36 CFR 220.6[b]:

• Federally listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat, species proposed for Federal listing or proposed critical habitat, or Forest Service sensitive species.

A Biological Evaluation of the project was completed by SRK Consulting (US), Inc., reviewed by Forest Service specialists, and finally approved in May 2014. Six Forest


Service Region 4 Sensitive wildlife species and three Humboldt-Toiyabe Management Indicator Species have the potential to occur within the project area. Of these, pygmy rabbit, spring snails, and mule deer were confirmed by the field survey. Pygmy rabbit habitat is limited to the floor of East Northumberland Canyon, which is outside the project area. Existing roads will be used to cross pygmy rabbit habitat to the project area. Spring snails occur in the spring just outside the project area. Mule deer habitat occurs within the project area but is extensive outside the project area. The evaluation concluded that the project may impact individuals of these species but is not likely to result in a trend toward federal listing or a loss of viability of these species. The same is true of migratory birds which may frequent the project area. Construction activities during the May 1 – July 15 nesting season are prohibited unless measures have been adopted to avoid nests identified during a pre-construction nest survey. In addition, the project area has the potential to provide habitat for three Forest Service Region 4 Sensitive plant species. Toiyabe buckwheat occurs in the project area but no drill sites or new roads are proposed in Toiyabe buckwheat habitat. The evaluation concluded that the project may impact individuals of this species but is not likely to result in a trend toward federal listing or a loss of viability of this species. [SRK Consulting (US), Inc., April 2014, National Oilwell Varco East Northumberland Exploration Project Biological Evaluation/Specialist’s Report ]

• Floodplains, wetlands, or municipal watersheds.

The project area is not within any municipal watersheds, or wetlands.

• Congressionally designated areas such as wilderness, wilderness study areas, or National Recreation Areas. The project is not located within any Congressionally designated area.

• Inventoried roadless areas or potential wilderness areas.

The southeastern section of the project extends up to 550 feet into the Stagecoach Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA), which contains 6,560 acres. Five drill sites are within the IRA but are located on a pre-existing road and will create minimal new disturbance (<0.3 acres). An overland travel route across 300 feet of the IRA follows a pre-existing 2-track vehicle trail. If the entire overland travel route is considered new disturbance, total disturbance would still be less than 0.4 acres. The part of the IRA within the project area lacks wilderness qualities and opportunities for solitude because there are several old drill roads just outside the IRA and there is a well-maintained county road in East Northumberland Canyon 1,000-2,000 feet away. The IRA boundary is located south of a road shown on the 1971 Northumberland Pass 7.5-minute topographic map. That road is no longer passable and was replaced by a different road during mineral exploration in the 1970s and 1980s. If the IRA boundary had been placed south of roads existing at the time of the inventory, no project activities would occur within the IRA. The proponent has the statutory right to explore for and develop mineral resources on federally-administered lands under the General Mining Law of 1872 and has made a good effort to minimize disturbance within the IRA.

• Research natural areas. The project is not located within or near any RNA.


• American Indians and Alaska native religious or cultural sites.

No American Indian religious or cultural sites in the project area were identified during the scoping and tribal consultation process.

• Archeological sites or historical properties or areas. A block survey by Kautz Environmental Consultants, Inc., identified eighteen cultural resources sites in or near the project area. Seven sites are considered eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, eight sites are considered not eligible, and three sites remain unevaluated. Two eligible sites and one unevaluated site could be directly affected by project activities. A Forest Service archaeologist visited the project area and determined that a proposed overland travel route would not affect historic or unevaluated resources. For twelve proposed drill sites which are in or near eligible or unevaluated sites, the Forest Service archaeologist worked with a NOV geologist in the field to situate the drill sites such that project activities would have no adverse effect on historic resources. All drill pads will be reclaimed at the end of the project so there will be no indirect adverse effects to significant cultural properties identified within the surveyed area. Through avoidance and geographic distance from the eligible sites or historic features within sites, the project will have no adverse effect on historic properties. In compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the Forest Service has assessed the effects of the proposed action on historic resources and has consulted with the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). SHPO has concurred with the Forest Service determination that this project will have no adverse effect to identified historic properties.

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT Project information was entered in the Forest Service’s Planning Appeals and Litigation System (PALS) database on April 16, 2014 and subsequently published to the Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA), which can be viewed by the public. A Scoping document requesting public comment was mailed out to interested individuals, organizations, and agencies on the District mailing list and uploaded to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest web page for NEPA projects in late May 2014. A notice was sent by email to the Nevada State Clearinghouse on May 26, 2014. Comments were received from Bradley Berthold, Nevada Division of Water Resources, Nevada Division of Wildlife, and Nevada Division of State Lands and State Land Use Planning Agency. I have considered these comments in making this decision. TRIBAL INVOLVEMENT The Scoping document was mailed to the Yomba Shoshone, Duckwater Shoshone, Fallon Paiute-Shoshone, Ely Shoshone, and Timbisha Shoshone tribes and the Western Shoshone Historic Preservation Society in late May 2014. A field trip to the project area was conducted with a representative of the Duckwater tribe on May 19, 2013. No concerns were raised about the proposed project activities. Although the Duckwater representative suggested that NOV hire a tribal monitor to observe project activities, the Forest Service has no authority over such matters. No comments were received in response to the Scoping document. FINDINGS REQUIRED BY OTHER LAWS AND REGULATIONS This decision conforms to the Toiyabe National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, as required by the National Forest Management Act of 1976, as amended. Applicable management plan standards include those for Minerals (p. IV-57 to 59), Soil and Water (p. IV-40 to 41), and Management Area


Direction (p. IV-120 to 141). In addition, it is consistent with other laws, regulations, and policy, including the following:

• The Mining Act of 1872, as amended, 30 U.S.C. §§ 21-54 (1994), which confers a statutory right to enter upon the public lands to search for and mine minerals,

• 37 CFR 228 Subpart A-Locatable Minerals, • FSM 2600 Wildlife, Fisheries, and Sensitive Plant Habitat Management; FSH 2609.13 Wildlife

and Fisheries Program Management Handbook, • Endangered Species Act, • Migratory Bird Treaty Act, • National Clean Water Act, as amended, • Executive Order11988 - Floodplain Management, • Executive Order 12898 - Environmental Justice, • National Historic Preservation Act and 36 CFR Part 800 – The Section 106 Process, • Humboldt-Toiyabe FSM Supplement to Chapter 2080 – Noxious Weeds Management, • FSM 7711 Transportation Analysis.

I find that this Decision is consistent with all other applicable Federal, State, and local laws or requirements. DISCLAIMER Approval of this Plan does not constitute recognition or certification of ownership by any person named as owner therein. Approval of this Plan does not constitute, now or in the future, recognition or certification of the validity of any mining claim to which it may relate or to the mineral character of the land on which it lies. ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW (APPEAL) OPPORTUNITIES This decision is not subject to appeal pursuant to the Agricultural Act of 2014 Public Law No. 113-79, Section 8006. On January 17, 2014, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-76). Section 431 of that Act directs that the 1992 and 2012 legislation establishing the 36 CFR 215 (post-decisional appeals) and 36 CFR 218 (pre-decisional objections) processes “shall not apply to any project or activity implementing a land and resource management plan … that is categorically excluded ….under the National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA].” On February 7, 2014, the President signed into law the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) (Pub. L. No. 113-79). Section 8006 of the 2014 Farm Bill repealed the Appeals Reform Act (ARA) (Pub. L. No. 102-381). The ARA’s implementing regulation was 36 CFR 215. As a result of these two statutes, the Forest Service will no longer offer notice, comment and appeal opportunities pursuant to 36 CFR 215 for categorically excluded projects. IMPLEMENTATION DATE The proposed actions described in this decision may be implemented after

• the Forest Service has accepted the bond posted by NOV, • NOV has signed acceptance of, and the District Ranger has approved, the final Plan of Operations, • NOV has received a letter from the District Ranger allowing work to start, and • NOV has secured any other applicable state, local, and federal permits and authorizations.

RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL The responsible official for this project is Steven Williams, District Ranger, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, PO Box 130, Austin, NV 89310 or (775) 964-2671 or [email protected].

National Oilwell Varco - East Northumberland Exploration Project

CONTACTFor further information regarding this project, please contact George Langstaff, Austin District Geologist,at (775) 964-2671 or [email protected].

DATE'"Steven WillianisDistrict Ranger

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activitieson the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status,familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs,reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistanceprogram. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who requirealternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.)should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint ofdiscrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is anequal opportunity provider and employer.


Figure 1. Location of East Northumberland project.


Figure 2. East Northumberland project roads (Figure 5 of the Plan of Operations).

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