[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 203 (Friday, October 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54410-54411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26753]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Master Development Plan for Pelican Butte Ski Area, Winema
National Forest, Klamath County, Oregon
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) for a Master Development Plan for the Pelican Butte Ski
Area on the Klamath Ranger District of the Winema National Forest. In
response to a planning permit and prospectus issued by the Forest
Service, the Pelican Butte Corporation has submitted a site-specific
Master Development Plan for development of a winter recreation area,
with limited summer uses. The Forest Service is initiating the process
of preparing an EIS to analyze and disclose the effects of the proposed
Master Development Plan (Proposed Action) and alternatives. The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are being
asked to participate as cooperating agencies.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received
in writing by December 3, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Bob Castaneda, Forest Supervisor,
Winema National Forest, 2819 Dahlia Street, Klamath Falls, Oregon
97601.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Don Hoffheins, Klamath Ranger District, Winema National Forest, 1936
California Avenue, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601, phone 541-883-8858.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Over the past thirty years, a number of
studies have identified Pelican Butte as a potential alpine skiing
area. In 1990, the City of Klamath Falls submitted a proposal to the
Winema National Forest to develop a year-round recreational facility at
Pelican Butte as part of the proposed Salt Caves hydroelectric project.
Action on the City's proposal ceased in July 1991 in the face of
uncertainties regarding management direction for the northern spotted
owl habitat and controversy regarding the project's effect on bald
eagles. In March 1992, a community ``futuring'' process, Klamath 2002,
again identified Pelican Butte as a ``major recreation resource for
alpine skiing''.
A planning permit was issued to the Pelican Butte Corporation by
the Winema National Forest in September 1994 to prepare a conceptual
master plan for Pelican Butte. In 1995, the Forest issued a
``Prospectus and Requirements for Submitting an Application for a Ski
Area Planning Permit for Developing a Winter Sports Facility on Pelican
Butte''. In response to the prospectus, the Pelican Butte Corporation
has submitted a 10-year master plan to develop a ski area at Pelican
Butte.
The Master Development Plan (proposed action) includes the
following elements: design capacity of 4,450 skiers, with a peak
capacity of 5,560; gondola, four aerial chairlifts, and one T-bar
surface lift; 612 acres of ski terrain; snow-making on 92 acres; 15
kilometers of nordic ski trails; two day lodges; maintenance and ski
patrol buildings; and other winter activities such as snow-shoeing.
Facilities being planned are within a development area totalling
approximately 3,000 acres. Summer uses would include gondola rides, day
lodge operations, hiking and interpretive trails. A complete
description of the Proposal is available at the Winema National Forest
Supervisor's Office, Klamath Ranger District, and at the Klamath Falls
public library.
This project-level EIS will tier to the 1990 Winema National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan, as amended by the 1994 Record of
Decision for ``Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land
Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted
Owl'' (Forest Plan). The Forest Plan provides guidance for management
activities within the potentially affected area through it's goals,
objectives, management area direction, and standards and guidelines.
The project would primarily occur within the Pelican Butte Semi-
Primitive Recreation Area, and to a lesser extent in areas managed with
emphasis on late successional species and bald eagle habitat. The Semi-
Primitive Recreation Area allocation specifically provides for the
option to develop a downhill ski area, with the type and scope of
development to be determined in a site-specific EIS.
Permits and licenses required to implement the proposed Master
Development Plan will, or may, include the following: Special Use
Permit from the Forest Service; Section 404 Permit from the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers; certification from the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality for Section 401 compliance and permit for
Pollution Discharge Elimination System; approval from the Oregon
Department of Transportation for any access improvements; clearance
from the State Historic Preservation Office; and various review and
permit approvals from Klamath County.
Public participation will be important at several points during the
EIS preparation. The first point is during the scoping process (40 CFR
1501.7). The Forest Service will be seeking information and comments
from Federal, State, and local agencies, The Klamath Tribes, and other
individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by
the proposed action. This input will be used in preparation of the
draft EIS. The scoping process includes:
1. Identifying potential issues;
2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth;
3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those which have been
covered by a previous environmental analysis;
4. Exploring additional alternatives; and
5. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed
action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects
and connected actions).
Public scoping meetings will be held in Klamath Falls on October
28, in Medford/Ashland on November 4, and in Rocky Point, Oregon, on
November 6, 1996. Meetings will be advertised through a project
newsletter and the media.
A range of alternatives for the master plan will be considered
including the No Action alternative. As issues are identified other
potential alternatives will be developed.
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review in
December 1997. The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from
the date EPA's Notice of Availability appears in the Federal Register.
[[Page 54411]]
The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers
notice at this early stage of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
a draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental
review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to
the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, environmental objections
that could be raised at the draft EIS stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the final EIS may be waived or dismissed by
the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d. 1016, 1022 (9th Cir.
1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338
(E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very important
that those interested in this proposed action participate by the close
of the 45-day comment period so that substantive comments and
objections are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it
can meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final EIS.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS should
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to
specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also
address the adequacy of the draft EIS or the merits of the alternatives
formulated and discussed in the statement. (Reviewer may wish to refer
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points).
After the 45 day comment period ends on the draft EIS, the comments
will be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the
final EIS. The final EIS is scheduled to be completed by August 1998.
In the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to the
comments received (40 CFR 1503.4). The responsible official, Forest
Supervisor Bob Castaneda, will consider the comments, responses,
environmental consequences discussed in the EIS and applicable laws,
regulations, and policies in making a decision regarding this proposal.
The responsible official will document the decision and reasons for the
decision in the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to
review under 36 CFR Part 215.
Dated: October 10, 1996.
Bob Castaneda,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-26753 Filed 10-17-96; 8:45 am]
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