Custer Gallatin National Forest & Montana DEQ to Host Public Meetings for East Boulder Mine Expansion

• Moira Davin
• May 26 2022

HELENA—The Custer Gallatin National Forest (CGNF) and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) are preparing a joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the potential impacts of a proposed major amendment (Amendment 004) for the East Boulder Mine, an existing platinum and palladium mine operated by Stillwater Mining Company (SMC) in Sweet Grass County, Mont.

The EIS is being prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Montana Environmental Policy Act. If approved, the project would authorize construction and operation of the Lewis Gulch Tailings Storage Facility and the Dry Fork Waste Rock Storage Area. Construction of these facilities will provide the mine with the tailings and waste rock storage capacity needed to continue to mine the JM Reef area. A summary of the facilities can be found at the Forest Service Supervisors Office in Bozeman, Mont., and the Forest Service Yellowstone Ranger District, in Big Timber, Mont. The application for this project is available on the Forest Service website at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61385

DEQ and the CGNF are hosting two public meetings on Thursday, June 23, 2022, to provide information and hear public comment about the proposed project. The first meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the other at 6 p.m. During the first 30 minutes of each meeting, the agencies will give a presentation on the EIS, the permitting process and a description of the proposed project. A question-and-answer session and the opportunity to provide oral public comment will follow each presentation. The meetings will be held in the Community Meeting Room at the Big Timber Carnegie Library (314 McLeod Street, Big Timber, Mont.) and will be live-streamed via Zoom to provide online or telephone access for remote participants. Zoom links will be sent to registered participants prior to the meeting. If you are interested in attending, please register for one of the meetings by Monday, June 20, 2022 at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-scoping-meeting-east-boulder-mine-amendment-004-registration-342367348957

The CGNF and DEQ are seeking comments on the proposed project until June 27, 2022. Comments can be submitted in written or electronic formats. Please submit comments electronically through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service website (click on “Comment/Object on Project”): https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61385. Acceptable formats for electronic comments are text or HTML email, Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), or formats viewable in Microsoft Word (such as .doc or .docx). Written comments can be submitted to ATTN: East Boulder Mine Amendment 004 EIS, C/O: Robert Grosvenor, CGNF, Gardiner Ranger District, PO Box 5, Gardiner, MT, 59003.

The comment and objection process for this project will follow 36 CFR 218 parts A and B. Only those who submit timely “specific written comments” during any designated opportunity for public participation, such as this public scoping period, will be eligible to file an objection based on the final analysis and a draft decision document. For the purposes of this rule, “specific written comments” should be within the scope of the proposed action (i.e., the project), have a direct relationship to the proposed action, and must include supporting reasons for the responsible official to consider (36 CFR 218.2).

Other eligibility requirements are identified at 36 CFR 218.25(a)(3) and include name, postal address, title of the project, identity of the individual or entity who authored the comments, and signature or other verification of identity upon request.