The purpose of the programmatic EA would be to help BLM managers decide whether a mining proposal merits an Environmental Impact Statement and what performance standards should be stipulated as a condition of approval. This assessment also considers factors helpful to guiding the analysis and range of alternatives.
All authorizations for plans of operation remain subject to standard Federal mining claim processes as well as the Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act. This proposed programmatic EA will exclude operations determined to have significant resource impacts and will not assess a specific on-the-ground action, but would be used as a source of tiering and reference for future evaluation and approval of site specific plans of operation.
The public is invited to provide comments during a 30 day scoping period prior to the release of the programmatic EA. Please send written comments/feedback within 30 days of the date of this release to: Randall Porter, Geologist, Ridgecrest Field Office, 300 S. Richmond Rd, Ridgecrest, CA 93555, or via email: rporter@blm.gov. If sent by email, please include "programmatic environmental assessment" in the title of the message.
A detailed letter that outlines the features of the proposed EA including alternatives and analysis factors can be viewed on the BLM web page: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ridgecrest.html.
