Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 2. Alternatives,
Including the Proposed Action
Introduction
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) was established by NEPA in the Executive Office
of the President. Among its other duties, CEQ drafted and promulgated the regulations for
implementing NEPA, located at Parts 1500–1508 in Title 40, Chapter V of the Code of Federation
Regulations (CFR). Section 1502.14 of the NEPA Regulations addresses “alternatives including
the proposed action,” which the CEQ states is “the heart of the environmental impact statement.”
Section 1502.14 directs Federal agencies to:
a. Rigorously explore and objectively evaluate all reasonable alternatives, and for
alternatives which were eliminated from detailed study, briefly discuss the reasons
for their having been eliminated.
b. Devote substantial treatment to each alternative considered in detail including the
proposed action so that reviewers may evaluate their comparative merits.
c. Include reasonable alternatives not within the jurisdiction of the lead agency.
d. Include the alternative of no action.
e. Identify the agency's preferred alternative or alternatives, if one or more exists, in the
draft statement and identify such alternative in the final statement unless another law
prohibits the expression of such a preference.
f. Include appropriate mitigation measures not already included in the proposed action
or alternatives.
This chapter describes and compares the alternatives considered for the proposed Roca Honda
Mine. It includes a description and map of each alternative considered. This section also presents
the alternatives in comparative form, sharply defining the differences between each alternative
and providing a clear basis for choice among options by the decision maker and the public. Some
of the information used to compare the alternatives is based upon the design of the alternative and
some of the information is based upon the environmental, social, and economic effects of
implementing each alternative.
Alternatives Considered in Detail
The Forest Service developed three alternatives, including the no action and proposed action
alternatives, in response to issues raised by the public.
Alternative 1 – No Action
As just noted, Section 1502.14 of the NEPA Regulations directs the Cibola National Forest to
consider the no action alternative with regard to RHR’s proposed plan of operations for the Roca
Honda Mine. Under the no action alternative, the Roca Honda Mine would neither be constructed
nor operated. However, for purposes of NEPA analysis and disclosure, the no action alternative
provides a baseline for comparison of the effects of the action alternatives.
DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest 29