References to “Olinghouse County Road”

Jed Margolin

4/28/2022

The Bureau of Land Management issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Olinghouse Mine Project dated September 12, 1997.

In it they referred to “Olinghouse County Road” many times.

The full report is at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Draft_environmental_impact_statement_-_Olinghouse_Mine_Project_(IA_draftenvironmental00unit).pdf

For a local copy (43.8 MBytes) Click Here.

I have culled out the pages that contain the references to “Olinghouse County Road” . (3.9 MBytes) Click Here. It is text searchable using Adobe Acrobat Reader and probably many other PDF readers. search for Olinghouse County Road.

These are the reference to “Olinghouse County Road”.

I am underlining the references for emphasis. The references to the PDF page number is the PDF page number in the full report.

1.  Report page iv, PDF Page 10:

Traffic on the Olinghouse County Road and on State Route 447 through Wadsworth would increase by approximately 120 passenger vehicles and 2-12 trucks per day during project construction. This represents an increase of approximately 14-15% in the number of vehicles passing through Wadsworth each day. During operations, the mine traffic through Wadsworth would include approximately 228 passenger vehicles and 2-12 trucks per day or an increase of about 27 to 28 %.

....

The proposed project would be most visually prominent from KOP #2, on State Route 447 at the intersection with Olinghouse County Road, where northbound travelers from Wadsworth would have a nearly direct forward view of the project area lasting more than 2 minutes at highway speeds.

2.  Report page 1-2, PDF page 26:

Access to the mine would be from State Route 447 (the Wadsworth-Nixon Highway) to the Olinghouse County Road. The proposed mine would be located approximately 5 miles from the State Route 447 intersection. Water would be piped underground from a well located in Dodge Flat. Chemical treatment and/or water would be used to control dust on the mine and access roads.

3.  Report page 1-4, PDF page 29:

Access to the site would be from State Route 447 to the Olinghouse County Road.

4.  Report page 2-13, PDF page 41:

2.1.3.1 Haul Roads

A 70-ft wide haul road, approximately 3.0 miles in length, would be constructed to connect the mine pits, waste rock dump, and ore processing facilities. The haul road would cross Olinghouse County Road near the historic town of Olinghouse, and Alta would coordinate with Washoe County to implement adequate traffic controls at this crossing.

....

2.1.3.2 Access Roads

Access to the mine would be from State Route 447 to the Olinghouse County Road, which would be improved by the addition of a gravel surface from the intersection of State Route 447 to the proposed haul road; however, the road would not be widened. Alta would negotiate with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe for access across Reservation lands.

5.  Report page 2-19, PDF page 47:

All roads within the permit area would be recontoured to approximate original topography with the exception of the main Olinghouse County Road, which would remain in its upgraded configuration. Maintenance of the Olinghouse County Road would revert to Washoe County. Culverts would be removed as the roadways are recontoured, and road surfaces would be ripped, harrowed, broadcast-seeded, and harrowed a second time. Water bars would be employed on recontoured slopes, as deemed appropriate, to divert run-off.

6.  Report page 2-23, PDF page 51:

The Proposed Action is the agency-preferred alternative provided agreement between Alta and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe can be achieved concerning a ROW for that portion of the Olinghouse County Road that crosses Tribal lands.

7.  Report page 3-36, PDF page 94:

3.11.4 Access and Rights-of-way

Access to the general vicinity is provided by Interstate 80, U.S. Route 50, and Alternate 50 from the east and west; State Route 447 from the north; and U.S. Alternate Routes 50 and 95 from the south. Access to the project area would be from State Route 447 (the Wadsworth-Nixon Highway) northwest from Wadsworth approximately 2 miles to the Olinghouse County Road, then approximately 5 miles west to the project area. The first 0.5 mile of the Olinghouse County Road immediately west of State Route 447 is owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and no access agreement has been made between the tribe and Washoe County for public use of this section of road.

8.  Report page 3-38, PDF page 96:

Three key observation points (KOPs) were selected for evaluating visual contrast ratings. These KOPs were selected to represent high-sensitivity and high-volume viewing perspectives of the proposed project: 1) on State Route 447 approximately 1 mile north of Olinghouse County Road; 2) at the intersection of State Route 447 and Olinghouse County Road; and 3) on Interstate 80 at the State Route 427 overpass (Figure 3.14).

9.  Report page 3-39, PDF page 107:

3.14.6.3

Access and Transportation

Access to the general vicinity of the proposed project is provided by Interstate 80, then State Route 447 from Wadsworth and Olinghouse County Road to the project area. The first 0.5 mile of the county road from State Route 447 is owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. No access agreement has been made between the Tribe and Washoe County for public use of this section of the road.

10.  Report page 4-1, PDF page 119:

4.4.3 No Action Alternative

Under the No Action Alternative there would be no further modifications to surface drainage networks from the excavation of Mine Pit #1 nor from placement of waste rock dumps. Dewatering and potential discharge to surface waters would not occur, nor would evaporative water losses from an eventual pit lake. There would be no potential releases of hazardous substances beyond those that could occur now as a result of a spill along the existing Olinghouse County Road.

11.  Report page 4-22, PDF page 119:

Traffic on the Olinghouse County Road (including that portion that crosses the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation) and State Routes 447 and 427 between the mine and Interstate 80 would increase due to mine activities.

...

Traffic on the Olinghouse County Road, especially heavy truck traffic, could discourage recreation-related traffic and would add to the possibility of accidents on all roads. There would be an increased probability of traffic accidents at the crossing of the Olinghouse County Road by the mine haul road. Increased traffic past the Natchez Elementary School would likewise increase the probability of vehicle collisions with pedestrians.

The Olinghouse County Road would be maintained by Alta in association with Washoe County, thus freeing county crews and equipment for maintenance elsewhere. State Routes 447 and 427 are both structurally adequate to handle minerelated traffic (Deroes 1996).

...

The probability of increased traffic accidents where the mine haul road crosses the Olinghouse County Road could be completely mitigated by installing an overpass, or partially mitigated by installing traffic signals.

12.  Report page 4-27, PDF page 135:

The Proposed Action would be spread over an area about 2 miles north to south and 1 mile east to west. There would be several focal points of activity within that area that would generate noise. The residences south of the Olinghouse County Road and about 2 miles west of State Route 447 would be the nearest sensitive receptors to the proposed waste rock dump, where major activity would include large haul trucks dumping rock, as well as some dozer activity.

13.  Report page 4-33, PDF page 141:

4.14.1 .6 Indian Trust Assets

The Proposed Action would affect land resources related to Indian Trust Assets by crossing Tribal lands for the access road connecting the Olinghouse County Road to State Route 447 and by increasing overall traffic volume and hazardous materials transport through Wadsworth adjacent to the Natchez Elementary School. Impacts to water resources and wildlife and fisheries related to Indian Trust Assets are discussed in Sections 4.4.1, 4.7.1, and 4.8.1.

14.  Report page 7-5, PDF page 165:

______, 1989b. Olinghouse county road N-51086. Cultural Resources Report 3-1341(N).

This appears to be another Hufnagle report. I don’t see it on BLM’s Web site: https://www.blm.gov/learn/blm-library/agency-publications/cultural-resource-series

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