The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Price Field Office is seeking public comment on the preliminary environmental assessment (EA) for the Diamond K Gypsum Chalk Hills Quarry Extension, located in central Emery County, Utah. The EA analyzes the potential impacts of approving a new gypsum mining permit for the Chalk Hills Quarry. The public comment period will be open for 30 days.

Diamond K currently has an active permit to mine 155 acres for gypsum and has applied for a new permit for an additional 400 acres to expand their mining operations and continue mining the gypsum bed. The additional 400 acres are within 14 of Diamond K’s current unpatented mining claims, located along Emery County Road 405, in T. 19 S., R. 10 E., Sections 23, 26, and 27. Within this proposed permit area, up to 147.9 acres have been identified to be mined in three phases over approximately 38 years, at an estimated average of five acres mined per year.

The public can access and comment on the proposal and associated environmental assessment on the BLM’s ePlanning website. Comments will also be accepted through email. The 30-day comment period starts today and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19, 2020. Please reference “Diamond K Gypsum Chalk Hills Quarry
Extension” when submitting comments.

• ePlanning: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/101109/510
• Email: BLM_UT_PR_Comments@blm.gov

Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable information in any comments, be aware that the entire comment—including personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

For additional information, please contact Rebecca Anderson at rkanderson@blm.gov. 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.