Prepared in support of the Musgrove Exploration Drilling Project Environmental Assessmenta123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558/abc123/forestservic... · 2017-05-11 · Musgrove Exploration

Soil and Water Resources Specialist Report

Prepared in support of the

Musgrove Exploration Drilling Project Environmental Assessment

Prepared by David Deschaine

Forest Hydrologist Salmon-Challis National Forest

3/14/2017

Signed _/s/ David Deschaine_________

Date ___May 5, 2017_________________

Soil and Water Resources Specialist Report Musgrove ExplorationDrilling Project5/5/2017

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1 Introduction

Project Description

The Salmon-Cobalt Ranger District of the Salmon-Challis National Forest received a Plan of Operations

for exploration drilling in the head of the Musgrove Creek drainage, a tributary of Panther Creek in the

Salmon River drainage, on December 1, 2016, from Bravura Ventures Corporation (Bravura) to explore

for mineralization.

The proposed exploration area is located approximately 50 miles southwest of Salmon, Idaho, in the

Blackbird Mining District on public lands open to location and operations under the general mining laws

of the United States. Specifically, the operations are located in sections 22 and 27, Township 20 North,

Range 18 East, Boise Meridian, in Lemhi County, Idaho (Fig. 1). Access to the project area is provided by

NFS Roads 60021 (Williams Creek), 60101 (Deep Creek), 60055 (Panther Creek), 60115 (Blackbird Creek)

60116 (Ludwig Gulch) and U201823A.

The project is located in an area of known mineralization, with high potential for precious-metal veins.

The area has previously been drilled and sampled for many years. Therefore, the planned additional

drilling was determined to constitute a reasonable method of surface disturbance that is appropriate

during the exploration stage of operations in the head of the Musgrove Creek drainage.

This action meets the expectations for development of known locatable minerals deposits and the goals

outlined in the Salmon National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) to encourage

the legitimate exploration and extraction of leasable and locatable minerals from National Forest

System lands while maintaining or improving other resource values (Forest Plan, page IV-3).

This analysis focuses on only the resource conditions that are related to soil and water resources:

floodplains, wetlands, and municipal watersheds and provides the following information to support the

NEPA analysis:

1) The extent to which floodplains, wetlands, and municipal watersheds are present within the

project area.

2) A list of design features related to soil and water resourcesthat are tobe considered as part of

the proposed action.

3) The degree of potential effects of the proposed action on floodplains, wetlands, and municipal

watersheds, and whether any issues related to soil and water resources exist.

4) A determination of consistency of the proposed action with applicable Forest land and resource

management plan(s).

5) A determination of consistency of the proposed action with federal and state requirements of

the Clean Water Act and any other applicable laws related to soil and water resources.

Analysis Approach

This analysis was conducted by examining the data sources listed below to characterize watersheds,

nearby streams, geology, landtypes, and soils, and to determine the existence of floodplains, wetlands,


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and municipal watersheds in the project area, describe any potential effects, and identify any potential

issues.

Salmon-Challis National Forest GIS Data

Forest Administrative Boundaries

Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) – 4th, 5th, and 6th-levels

Streams (Perennial, Intermittent)

National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) – Springs, Water Bodies

Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas (RHCAs)

Transportation (Roads, Trails)

Land System Inventory (Landtype, Geology, Soils)

Slope

Other GIS Data

National Wetland Inventory (US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2015)

Idaho Department Of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Assessment (Idaho Department of

Environmental Quality, 2014)

Other Resources

Salmon-Challis National Forest Lands System Inventory

Geologic Map of the Salmon National Forest and Vicinity, East-Central Idaho

Soil Survey of Custer-Lemhi Area, Idaho

This site has been explored for mineral deposits and fully reclaimed on 3 previous occasions. A Best

Management Practices (BMP) review of the Newmont Minerals Exploration Project in this same area

was conducted in 1996. During this BMP review it was determined by an Interdisciplinary Team that

both interim and final reclamation had been done on the project and that it was effective in preventing

soil movement from the disturbed areas. A field review in June of 2010 showed that the past

exploration roads from the 2007 Journey Resources exploration and earlier entries have been effectively

reclaimed in the project area. Exploration and full reclamation with no soil or water issues was achieved

again in 2010.


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2 Affected Environment

Hydrologic Setting

The project area is located within the 15,174 acre Musgrove Creek 6th level sub-watershed (HUC:

170602030903). The Musgrove Creek sub-watershed is located within the 5th level Upper Panther Creek

watershed (HUC: 1706020309) and the 4th level Middle Salmon-Panther sub-basin (HUC: 17060203).

Project area elevations range from approximately 6600 to 6680 feet with a cool, wet, mid elevation,

moderate growing season climate with cold winters and warm summers. Average annual precipitation

can range from 11 to 23 inches.

The project area is on a dry ridge upslope of a perennial of Musgrove Creek, which is a tributary to

Panther Creek. Musgrove Creek is a fish bearing stream protected by a Riparian Habitat Conservation

Area (RHCA) buffer width of 300 feet required by PACFISH amendments to the Forest Land Management

Plan on either side of the stream.


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Geology of the project area is predominantly quartzite.The landtype is described as a moderately

dissected mountain slopeland in quartzite. Slopes are steep (31-50%) with moderate erosion hazard

ratings.

Floodplains

Forest Service Manual 2520 defines floodplains as “The lowland and relatively flat areas joining inland

and coastal water including the debris cones and flood-prone areas of offshore islands and, at a

minimum, that area subject to a 1 percent (100-year recurrence) or greater chance of flooding in any

given year” (USDA Forest Service, 2004).

There are NO ground disturbing activities proposed within a floodplain.

Wetlands

Forest Service Manual 2520 defines wetlands as “Those areas that are inundated by surface or ground

water with a frequency sufficient to support and that, under normal circumstances, do or would support

a prevalence of vegetation or aquatic life that requires saturated or seasonally saturated soil conditions

for growth and reproduction. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas

such as sloughs, potholes, wet meadows, river overflows, mud flats, and natural ponds” (USDA Forest

Service, 2004).

There are NO wetlands within the project area.

Municipal Watersheds

Forest Service Manual 2542.05 defines a municipal supply watershed as one that serves a public water

system as defined in public law 93-523 (Safe Drinking Water Act); or as defined in State safe drinking

water regulations (USDA Forest Service, 2007). The definition does not include communities served by a

well or confined ground water unaffected by Forest Service activities. The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act

(SDWA) Amendments established a new emphasis on preventing contamination problems through

source water protection and enhanced water system management.

Only two municipal watersheds are located on the Salmon-Challis National Forest (USDA Forest Service

Salmon National Forest, 1988; USDA Forest Service Challis National Forest, 1987):

The 21,400-acre Garden Creek watershed provides domestic water uses for the City of Challis,

Idaho. The headwaters of the Garden Creek watershed are located on National Forest System lands

(53% of the watershed). The Garden Creek Source Water Assessment (Idaho Department of

Environmental Quality, 2015) defines the Source Water Assessment area as a 500-foot buffer on

Garden Creek and its tributaries, serving approximately 847 people.

The 12,900-acre Jesse Creek watershed (including Jesse Creek, Chipps Creek, and Pollard Creek)

provides domestic water uses for the City of Salmon, Idaho. The headwaters of the Jesse Creek

watershed are located on National Forest System lands (92% of the watershed). The Source Water


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Assessments for Jesse Creek, Chipps Creek, and Pollard Creek (Idaho Department of Environmental

Quality, 2015) define these watersheds as serving approximately 3122 people.

The proposed project is NOT located within a municipal watershed.

Water Quality as related to the Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act (CWA) provides the structure for regulating pollutant discharges to Waters of the

United States, with the objective to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity

of the Nation’s waters.” The CWA requires states to assess the condition of their waters and produce a

biennial report summarizing the findings. Water bodies that have water quality determined to be either

impaired (not fully meeting water quality standards) or threatened (likely to violate standards in the

near future) are compiled by the State of Idaho Department of Environmental Quality in a separate list

under Section 303(d) of the CWA. Water bodies on the 303(d) list are to be targeted and scheduled for

development of water quality improvement strategies on a priority basis. These strategies are in the

form of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) which define the quantity of pollutants that may be

delivered to a water body without violating water quality standards. Water bodies are grouped into

assessment units, where similar land use, ownership, and land management occur, rather than by

individual stream segments.

Table 1 displays the assessment units that exist within the project area, as described in the State of

Idaho 2012 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (Idaho Department of

Environmental Quality, 2014). Musgrove Creek water quality supports beneficial uses in this

assessment units.

Table 1: Summary of assessment units within the project area.

Assessment Unit Beneficial Uses Pollutants Basis for Listing

EXAMPLE: ID17060203000091 Musgrove Creek-Source to Mouth (17.69 miles)

Cold Water Aquatic Life Secondary Contact Recreation Salmonid Spawning

None Listed Fully Supporting Beneficial Uses. Unit is in Category 2.

3 Best Management Practices and Proposed Design Features

Best Management Practices

Best Management Practices (BMPs) are the primary mechanism to control non-point source pollution on

National Forest System lands. The Forest Service developed the National Core Best Management

Practices in 2012 (USDA Forest Service, 2012) as a framework for applying BMPs to all projects

implemented on National Forest System lands. National Core BMPs that are applicable to this project

are listed in Table 2.


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Table 2: National Core BMPs applicable to the proposed action.

BMP Title

AqEco-2 Operations in Aquatic Ecosystems

Min-2 Minerals Exploration

Min-5 Mineral Materials Resource Sites

Min-6 Ore Stockpiles, Mine Waste Storage and Disposal, Reserve Pits, and Settling Ponds

Min-7 Produced Water

Min-8 Minerals Site Reclamation

Road-5 Temporary Roads

Road-9 Parking and Staging Areas

Road-10 Equipment Refueling and Servicing

Road-11 Road Storm-Damage Surveys

Project Design Features

Forest Service BMP guidance intends that project specific BMPs are developed that tier to the National

Core BMPs. Proposed project design features to protect soil and water resources, as well as the linkages

between these design features and the Forest Service National Core BMPs, are shown in Table 3.

Table3: Proposed design features to protect soil and water resources.

Design Feature Linkage to Forest Service

National Core BMPs Project activities will be conducted when site conditions are conducive to minimizing impacts on soil and water resources. Activities will not be allowed when roads and exploration area are very wet and excessive road rutting or soil compaction would occur. Dry conditions should generally exist from July 15 until November 15. Operations outside of this period will be agreed to by the Operator and the Forest Service.

Road 9,10,11

During water drafting operations in Ludwig Creek or Blackbird Creek, withdrawal rates shall never dewater the stream. The intake hose shall be equipped with a 3/32 inch or smaller mesh size screen. An alternative drafting site may be recommended if invasive species are found at the proposed drafting site.

Road 10

If water is temporarily impounded to allow for drafting, the impoundment will be configured to allow for upstream and downstream aquatic vertebrate (i.e., fish and amphibians) passage around the structure.

AqEco 2

In order to prevent petroleum products from entering the stream-channel from pumps that may be placed at the water drafting sites or from transferring fuels to drilling and support equipment, pumps or fuel containers will be placed on an impermeable liner capable of containing their entire volume of fuel, oil, etc. An example would be a plastic children’s wading pool.

AqEco 2


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National Core BMPs In order to prevent petroleum products from entering the stream-channel, pumps or fuel containers will be placed on an impermeable liner capable of containing 1.5 times the total volume of fuel, oil, etc. Refueling of equipment will occur outside of the Riparian Habitat Conservation Area (RHCA). Equipment staging areas and fuel storage shall be located at least 300 feet from any streams and will be placed inside a berm of sufficient capacity to contain any spilled fuel, ensuring that petroleum products will not enter any stream in the event of spills or leaks. The FS shall approve all fuel storage areas and spill plans.

AqEco 2

The operator will be required to have a spill response cache in the project area and a portable spill response kit in all equipment that will be operating on the project.

Min 2

No hazardous materials would be stored on the Forest. All fuel containers will be properly labeled and stored in containment, per EPA’s Regulation Code 40 CFR 112.7. An approved spill kit would be maintained on-site to manage any accidental spill of petroleum products. In the event of a fuel spill, a Forest Service Official would be notified of the incident and response within twenty-four hours and the contaminated material would be removed and transported to an authorized location.

Min 6

Seasonal stormwater prevention devices (straw wattles or bales, silt fence) would be installed along the outside edge of newly constructed or reopened roads, unless determined to be not necessary by the FS Administrator in consultation with the Forest Hydrologist.

Min 2, 5

Water bars shall be placed along roads that will remain open over the winter, according the R4 Guide for conditions at this site. Outsloping of routes may be recommended where locations dictate.

Road 5

If sumps do not evaporate or filter out subsurface at the cessation of operation, sump contents must be pumped out of the sumps and disposed of at an appropriate off-Forest facility.

Min 6, 7

The existing unauthorized route to be used (U201823A) would be minimally cleared (only larger boulders, rocks, and minimal slough material) to allow for 4-wheel drive and support vehicle access. Removal of vegetation and material from the cut slope of U201823A to accommodate passage of equipment would be minimized to the extent possible. No earth material would be sidecast or windrowed on the outside edge of the travel surface, outsloping will be maintained, and rolling dips would be installed at prescribed intervals. U201823A will be decommissioned following final reclamation of the drilling sites at the cessation of operations, including construction or maintenance of appropriate drainage features.

Road 5

The new temporary routes would minimize removal of vegetation and be consistent with SCNF guidelines for brush clearing on NFS roads. Road 5

Trees and shrubs removed for the new temporary routes and drillpads would be windrowed below the planned toe of fill slopes to filter sediment and prevent material rollout.

Road 5


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National Core BMPs The new temporary routes and drillpads would be immediately reclaimed following abandonment of drill holes, with the slopes returned to original contour. Stockpiled topsoil and vegetative material (slash windrows) will be distributed over the disturbed areas.

Min-8

The District Ranger or authorized representative would be notified when drilling operations are completed and when seasonal and/or final reclamation work would commence.

Min-8

All newly disturbed areas would be re-contoured as closely as possible to original topography, covered with stockpiled topsoil and organic materials (and weed-free mulch, if required by the authorized officer), and re-vegetated with an approved weed-free, native seed mix.

Min-8

Upon acceptance of cleanup and earthwork reclamation tasks, corresponding portions of the bond may be release back to the operator. Min-8

Upon notification from the Forest Service that acceptable vegetative cover has been achieved

1, the site would be cleaned up by removing any remaining

sediment-retention devices. These final reclamation tasks shall be inspected and accepted as complete by the District Ranger prior to final acceptance of reclamation and bond release.

Min-8

4 Environmental Consequences

Floodplains

Ground disturbing proposed activities would occur on a high dry rocky ridge far from floodplains

eliminating the need for further analysis or consideration. The only activity that would intersect with

floodplains is the water drafting needed for processing. Project design features associated with drafting

would ensure that the floodplain at the drafting location would be maintained and have no effect to its

function or ecological integrity.

Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management) requires that agencies avoid, to the extent possible,

adverse impacts associated with occupancy and modification of floodplains. It applies to all floodplain

locations, as a minimum to areas in the 100-year, or base, floodplain. The proposed action meets

Executive Order 11988.

Wetlands

The proposed activities would occur on a high dry rocky ridge with no wetlands eliminating the need for

further analysis or consideration.

1 Revegetation would be considered complete when weed-free ground cover has been maintained at >70% of an

adjacent reference area for ≥2 consecutive years over 90% of the disturbed area.


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Executive Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands) states that agencies shall minimize destruction, loss, or

degradation of wetlands and shall preserve and enhance their natural and beneficial values. Agencies

are to avoid construction in wetlands unless it is determined that there is no practicable alternative and

that all practicable measures are taken to minimize harm to wetlands. The proposed action meets

Executive Order 11990.

Municipal Watersheds

Forest Service Manual (FSM) 2542.05

A municipal supply watershed as one that serves a public water system as defined in public law 93-523

(Safe Drinking Water Act); or as defined in State safe drinking water regulations. The definition does not

include communities served by a well or confined ground water unaffected by Forest Service activities.

The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments established a new emphasis on preventing

contamination problems through source water protection and enhanced water system management.

The proposed activities would not be located within a municipal watershed eliminating the need for

further analysis or consideration.

Cumulative Effects

The cumulative effect analysis area or activity area for the proposed project is the Musgrove Creek sub-

watershed. At this time, no other foreseeable future management activities are proposed within the

Musgrove Creek sub-watershed. It is assumed that current condition reflects past and present activity

effects such as mining, road use, road building, invasive or noxious weed management, recreation and

grazing management within the analysis area. It is not expected that this project in combination with

cumulative activities will obstruct Moccasin Creek from fully supporting beneficial uses or alter

floodplain and wetland function.

5 Forest Plan Consistency

Table 4 includes the Goals and Standards/Guidelines for soil and water resources from the Salmon

National Forest Land Resource Management Plan (USDA Forest Service Salmon National Forest, 1988)

AND PACFISH/INFISH that are applicable to this project. The proposed action IS consistent with Forest

Plan Goals and Standards/Guidelines related to soil and water resources.

Table 4: Forest Plan Goals and Standards/Guidelines for Soil and Water resources that are applicable to the proposed action.

Forest Plan Goals (Salmon National Forest)

Soil and Water Goal Maintain watershed condition and water quality such that downstream beneficial uses are protected and compliance with State standards is achieved.

Soil and Water Goal Conduct management and resource development within riparian zones in a manner compatible with protection of water quality and fish habitat.


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Forest Plan General Direction / Standards and Guidelines (Salmon National Forest)

Water Resource Improvement and Maintenance - General Direction #1

Maintain favorable instream flows and protect public property and resources.


Improve and maintain water quality to meet State water quality standards. However, where the natural background water pollutants cause degradation, it is not necessary to implement improvement actions.


Conduct nonpoint source activities in accordance with applicable Best Management Practices as referenced in “Idaho Water Quality Standards and Wastewater Treatment Requirements” and in accordance with the Forest Service’s soil and water conservation practices.


Timber harvest, road construction, mining, range revegetation and similar activities which have a significant soil disturbing impact will not be permitted on lands identified in soil resource inventories as exhibiting high mass stability hazard. These activities will be permitted on lands identified in soil resource inventories exhibiting moderate mass stability hazard only if it can be shown that a design can satisfactorily mitigate or prevent potential soil movement.


Long term water quality will be maintained or improved in all municipal watersheds.


Rehabilitate disturbed areas that are contributing sediment directly to perennial streams as a result of management activities.


Limit use of herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, or other chemical agents as part of management activities to times and places where possible transport to or by surface water has a low probability of occurrence.


Prevent stream channel instability, loss of channel cross-sectional areas, and loss of water quality resulting from activities that alter vegetative cover.


Maintain sediment yield within threshold limits. The effects on water and sediment yields from vegetation manipulation and road construction projects will be determined through the use of appropriate modeling and/or quantification procedures to determine sediment yield threshold limits and water yield increase potentials.


Avoid channelization of natural streams. Where channelization is necessary for flood control or other purposes, use stream geometry relationships to re-establish meanders, width/depth ratios, etc., consistent with each major stream type.


Treat disturbed areas resulting from management activities in the shortest possible time to meet water quality objectives.


Riparian zones will be managed in a manner compatible with protection of water quality and fish habitat.


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Soil Resource Management - General Direction #1

Maintain soil productivity, minimize man-caused soil erosion, and maintain the integrity of associated ecosystems.

Soil Resource Management - General Direction #2

Identify at the project level, filter strip requirements immediately adjacent to streams, in order to reduce sediment delivery from roads or other major surface disturbance.

6 Consistency with Clean Water Act

Background

Idaho State law defines the State’s obligations to develop and enforce water quality standards to deal

with problems related to personal health and water pollution. The State of Idaho has developed water

quality standards to protect public health and welfare, enhance water quality, and comply with

requirements of the Clean Water Act. Idaho State Water Quality Standards are administered under

IDAPA 58, Title 01, Chapter 2 (Idaho Department of Environmental Quality 2012). Idaho Water Quality

Standards establish water quality criteria for aquatic life use designations.

The Idaho State Antidegradation Policy applies to all waters subject to the jurisdiction of the Clean

Water Act. This policy states that the level of water quality necessary to protect the existing uses shall

be maintained and protected, and includes provisions to maintain and protect the water quality of High

Quality Waters and Outstanding Resource Waters.

Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act requires states to assess the condition of their waters and

produce a biennial report summarizing the findings. Water bodies that have water quality determined

to be either impaired (not fully meeting water quality standards) or threatened (likely to violate

standards in the near future) are compiled by the State of Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

(DEQ) in a separate list under Section 303(d) of the Act. Water quality improvement strategies in the

form of TMDLs are developed to define the quantity of pollutants that may be delivered to a water body

without violating water quality standards.

Consistency

The proposed action is consistent with the laws and policies related to the Clean Water Act shown

above. The proposed activities would not impact the beneficial uses in Musgrove Creek due to the

nature of activities, design features and location relative to stream channels and floodplains.


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7 References

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, 2015. Idaho Department of Environmental Quality SWA

Online, Source Water Assessment Database. http://www2.deq.idaho.gov/water/swaOnline.

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, 2012. Idaho Administrative Practices Act (IDAPA) 58, Title

01, Chapter 02, Water Quality Standards.

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, 2014. Idaho’s 2012 Integrated Report, Final. State of

Idaho, Department of Environmental Quality, January 2014.

US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2015. National Wetlands Inventory, Wetlands Mapper.

http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/data/mapper.html.

USDA Forest Service, 2004. Forest Service Manual 2500 (Watershed and Air Management), Chapter

2520 (Watershed Protection and Management), Amendment No. 2500-2004-1, Effective Date May 26,

2004. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Headquarters (WO), Washington, DC.

USDA Forest Service, 2007. Forest Service Manual 2500 (Watershed and Air Management), Chapter

2540 (Water Uses and Development), Amendment No. 2500-2007-1, Effective Date September 4, 2007.

US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Headquarters (WO), Washington, DC.

USDA Forest Service, 2012. National Best Management Practices for Water Quality Management on

National Forest System Lands, Volume 1: National Core BMP Technical Guide. USDA Forest Service, FS-

990a, April 2012.

USDA Forest Service, 2014. Forest Service Handbook 1909.15 Chapter 30, National Environmental Policy

Act, Categorical Exclusion from Documentation.

USDA Forest Service, Salmon National Forest, 1988. Land and Resource Management Plan for the

Salmon National Forest. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Salmon National Forest.

http://www2.deq.idaho.gov/water/swaOnline

http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/data/mapper.html

Documents

Prepared in support of the Musgrove Exploration Drilling Project Environmental Assessmenta123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558/abc123/forestservic... · 2017-05-11 · Musgrove Exploration