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Prepared By:

U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management	County of Imperial Planning/Building Department
Tim Salt District Manager, Acting California Desert District	Jurg Heuberger, AICP Planning Director County of Imperial

Lead Agencies:

U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management California Desert District El Centro Resource Area El Centro, California

County of Imperial Planning/Building Department El Centro, California

Prepared By:

Environmental Management Associates, Inc.

For Information Contact:

Douglas Romoli Bureau of Land Management 1661 S. 4th Street El Centro, California 92243 (909) 697-5237

John L. Morrison, Asst. Planning Director Imperial County Planning/Building Dept. 939 Main Street El Centro, California 92243 (760) 339-4236

Abstract:

This Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Imperial Project has been revised from, and either replaces, pursuant to NEPA, or is a recirculation of, pursuant to CEQA, the November 1, 1996 Draft EIS/EIR for the Imperial Project. Since November, 1996, substantial revisions have been made in the Proposed Action by the Applicant; additional environmental field data collected under the direction of the Lead Agencies, and additional analyses and assessments of the environmental effects of the Proposed Action conducted.

The Imperial Project (Project) is a proposal by Glamis Imperial Corporation to develop an open-pit, precious metal mining operation utilizing heap leach processes. The Project area, which is located entirely on public lands administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), El Centro Resource Area Office, of the California Desert District, is located in eastern Imperial County, California, approximately 45 miles northeast of El Centro, California and 20 miles northwest of Yuma, Arizona, northeast of Ogilby Road along Indian Pass Road.

The Project area consists of a Project mine and process area and a Project ancillary area. The Project mine and process area, which is comprised of approximately 1,571 acres of unpatented mining claims, would contain all of the open pits, waste rock stockpiles, soil stockpiles, ephemeral wash diversion channels, administration office and maintenance facility area, heap leach facility, precious metal recovery plant, an electric substation, and internal roads and electrical distribution lines. The Project ancillary area would include ground water production wells, a buried water pipeline, and a new 92 kV/13.2 kV electrical transmission line, all located adjacent to Indian Pass Road, and two (2) relocated portions of Indian Pass Road. In addition, the Imperial Irrigation District would overbuild an existing 34.5 kV electric transmission line into a 92 kV/34.5 kV electric transmission line to provide electrical power for the Project. Together, these activities constitute the Proposed Action.

Up to 150 million tons of ore would be mined and leached, and 300 million tons of waste rock mined and deposited at the proposed waste rock stockpiles or the mined-out portions of the three (3) open pits. The daily mining rate would typically be 130,000 tons per day, and range between zero (0) and 200,000 tons per day. Approximately 1,362 acres of surface disturbance would occur as a result of the Proposed Action, which includes 1,302 acres within the Project mine and process area, 38 acres within the Project ancillary area, and 22 acres from the overbuilding of the existing 34.5 kV electric transmission line. Project operations within the Project area would be performed up to 24 hours per day, seven (7) days per week. Project operations are projected to commence in 1998, after the acquisition of all required approvals, and terminate around the year 2017, although final reclamation activities may continue beyond this date.

The Proposed Action incorporates measures to reduce the level and significance of impacts to the human environment. However, even with the application of additional proposed mitigation measures, mine construction, operations, facilities and conditions would result in significant adverse effects to prehistoric cultural resources, Native American traditional cultural uses and values, and visual resources.

The Proposed Action would generate up to 120 local job opportunities, and would require approximately $48 million in initial capital expenditures, $1.7 million per year in continuing capital expenditures, and $26 million per year in non-capital expenditures including payroll. In addition, the Project would pay sales tax on expenditures and pay local property taxes on mine assets. These would be beneficial economic effects of the Proposed Action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action which are analyzed in this EIS/EIR include:

• West Pit Alternative;
• East Pit Alternative;
• Complete Pit Backfill Alternative; and
• No Action Alternative.

Federal, State, and Local Agency Authorizing Actions Required for the Imperial Project

Approval of Plan of Operations, including the Reclamation Plan, for mine and process operations from BLM;

Right-of-Way approval for relocation of Indian Pass Road from BLM;

Right-of-Way approval for new and overbuilt transmission lines from BLM;

Biological Opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a result of formal consultation with the BLM in conformance with Section 7 of the federal Endangered Species Act;

Individual Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;

User of High Explosives Permit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms;

Explosives Permit from the Imperial County Sheriff;

Waste Discharge Requirements for discharge of wastes to land from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin Region;

Certification of Compliance with Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin Region;

California Endangered Species Act (California Fish and Game Code Section 2081) Management Permit from the California Department of Fish and Game;

Stream or Lake Alteration Agreement (California Fish and Game Code Section 1603) from the California Department of Fish and Game;

Concurrence from the California State Office of Historic Preservation as a result of consultation with the BLM in conformance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act;

Conditional Use Permit through the Imperial County Planning/Building Department for drilling ground water production wells;

Reclamation Plan approval through the Imperial County Planning/Building Department for Project facilities;

Building Permits and Certificate of Occupancy from the Imperial County Planning/Building Department;

Individual Septic Disposal System Permit from the Imperial County Department of Health Services;

Authority to Construct applicable air pollution emission units from the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District;

Permit to Operate applicable air pollution emission units from the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District;

Ground Water Extraction Permit from the Imperial County Public Works Department;

Encroachment Permit from the Imperial County Department of Public Works and Road Revocation from the Imperial County Board of Supervisors for Project access off, and relocation of, Indian Pass Road; and

Plan Review by the Imperial County Fire Department for conformance with Uniform Fire Code.

 

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