BLM announces public scoping for Green Beetle Mine Expansion
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WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah —The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Salt Lake Field Office is considering a land use proposal to authorize an expansion of the Green Beetle Quarry in Box Elder County, Utah. If authorized, the mine expansion would increase access to Park Valley Quartzite which is used in building and landscaping across the region.
“The BLM supports increased access to mineral deposits for the growing communities across Utah,” said Todd Marks, Acting Assistant Field Manager for the Salt Lake Field Office. “As our communities and State’s population grow, the development of mineral deposits on public lands will become even more important in the coming decades.”
The land identified for the project is a split estate. The surface is administered by the BLM and the minerals are owned by the State of Utah’s School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA). The operator proposes to occupy BLM-managed lands to access the SITLA minerals and expand the quarry by no more than 5 acres, construct a staging/loading area, and build a short access road.
The BLM is seeking public input in advance of an environmental assessment of the Green Beetle Quarry Mineral Extraction Land Use Permit. The public scoping will begin on July 1 and end on July 16, 2020.
Interested members of the public, local governments, tribal members, organizations, and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide comments during this public scoping period to help identify alternatives, refine the proposed action, clarify issues, and identify new issues.
All comments must be submitted on the BLM’s ePlanning website: https://bit.ly/2Bs55Oo. To be considered, comments must be submitted by the close of business on the last day of the public scoping period (4:30 p.m. on July 16, 2020).
Please be aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, it is not guaranteed.
For additional information, please contact Shawn Storbo, Lands and Realty Specialist, at 801-977-4300. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1 (800) 877-8339 to leave a message or question for the above individual. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.