Public paper · October 4, 2026 · Mining desk
Roca Honda Uranium Mine: Forest Service Opens EIS Scoping on Plan of Operations Through October 14
Cibola National Forest seeks scoping comments through October 14, 2026 on an EIS for Roca Honda Resources’ underground uranium mine Plan of Operations near San Mateo, New Mexico. EPA and BLM are cooperating agencies. Draft EIS expected July 2027.
noticenearby.com/papers/roca-honda-uranium-mine-eis-scoping-oct-2026.pdf
The U.S. Forest Service, Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands, published a Federal Register notice on September 14, 2026 announcing its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Roca Honda Mine Project — an underground uranium mine proposed by Roca Honda Resources, LLC. The notice opens a 30-day scoping window to identify issues.
The Forest Service is the lead agency. EPA Region 6 and the BLM Rio Puerco Field Office are cooperating federal agencies. The EIS will evaluate a proposed Plan of Operations (PoO) / Mine Operations and Reclamation Plan on National Forest System and BLM-administered lands, plus state and private lands.
Comment clock and schedule
- Scoping comments due: October 14, 2026 by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time.
- Draft EIS expected: July 2027.
- Final EIS expected: January 2028.
- Project page: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola/projects/roca-honda-mine-project
- Contact email listed in the notice: sm.nm.cif.rocahondamine.eis@usda.gov (subject: Roca Honda Mine Project—Inquiry).
Where the mine project sits
The project is about three miles northwest of San Mateo, New Mexico, and about 22 road miles northwest of Grants, in McKinley County. It spans NFS sections, State trust land, private land, and BLM parcels. Proposed NFS disturbance is about 87 acres for dewatering wells, vent shafts, pipelines, development drilling, utility corridors, and access roads. Additional disturbance off NFS lands is described at about 279 acres.
Mining would be conventional underground (step room-and-pillar or drift-and-fill). Estimated project life is about 21 years (about 11 years of mineral production plus construction, reclamation, and monitoring). Ore would be hauled off-site to the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, Utah. The proposal does not include leach pads, heaps, pits, tailings facilities, or mills on site.
Why mining claims and a plan of operations show up here
Under the Organic Administration Act and 36 CFR 228 Subpart A, the Forest Service must analyze and respond to a submitted Plan of Operations for locatable minerals. BLM would decide a right-of-way for a water pipeline on public land. EPA would consider an NPDES discharge permit for treated wastewater to the Rio San Jose near Milan.
This paper is a scoping notice brief — not a permit approval and not a prediction of the final Record of Decision.
Sources
- Federal Register (Sept. 14, 2026), Document 2026-18765, 91 FR 58056: Mount Taylor Ranger District, Cibola National Forest; Roca Honda Mine Project — NOI to prepare EIS; comments due October 14, 2026. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/14/2026-18765/mount-taylor-ranger-district-cibola-national-forest-and-national-grasslands-new-mexico-roca-honda
- Forest Service project page: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola/projects/roca-honda-mine-project
Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).
Notes and sources
- Author: Ryan Standley / Record of Sale, LLC / Notice Nearby.
- Discussed on @NoticeNearYou: (pending — fill xPostUrl after live post).
- Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).
Mining desk · Notice Nearby public papers shelf. @NoticeNearYou post pending.
Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).