The proposed sale of nearly 250 acres of federal land in east-central Nevada to an oil refinery for future growth has sparked a debate about whether the move could harm a rare toad.
The Bureau of Land Management on Friday published a draft environmental assessment detailing the potential sale of BLM land southwest of Ely, Nevada, to the Foreland Refinery, which holds a right-of-way permit and operates a refinery on 40 acres.
The proposal calls for selling the 40 acres of BLM lands where the Eagle Springs Refinery is located, as well as about 209 acres of vacant BLM-managed land on the south side of the refinery site to protect “improvements” to the site, as well as to “allow for future expansion of the refinery.”
BLM also published an unsigned “finding of no significant impacts,” or FONSI, that would advance the land sale.
