[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 204 (Thursday, October 22, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56604-56605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28292]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Madan Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to provide timber for the Stikine
Area timber sale program. The Record of Decision will disclose how the
Forest Service has decided to provide harvest units, roads, and
associated timber harvesting facilities. The proposed action is to
harvest up to an estimated 20-25 million board feet (mmbf) of timber on
an estimated 1,600-2,500 acres in one or more timber sales. A range of
alternatives responsive to significant issues will be developed and
will include a no-action alternative. The proposed timber harvest is
located within the Tongass Forest Plan Value Comparison Units 502 and
504 on the Southeast Alaska mainland, Wrangell Ranger District, Stikine
Area of the Tongass National Forest.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received
by November 20, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Wrangell Ranger District;
Attn: Madan EIS: P.O. Box 51, Wrangell, AK 99929.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposal and EIS should be directed to Steve Brady,
District Ranger, or Dick Cozby, TMA, Wrangell Ranger District, Tongass
National Forest, P.O. Box 51, Wrangell, AK 99929, telephone (907) 874-
2323.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public participation will be an integral
component of the study process and will be especially important at
several points during the analysis. The first is during the scoping
process. The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments, and
assistance from Federal, State, local agencies, individuals and
organizations that may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed
activities. The scoping process will include: (1) identification of
potential issues; (2) identification of issues to be analyzed in depth;
and, (3) elimination of insignificant issues or those which have been
covered by a previous environmental review. written scoping comments
are being solicited through a scoping package that will be sent to the
project mailing list. For the Forest Service to best use the scoping
input, comments should be received by November 20, 1998. Tentative
issues identified for analysis in the EIS include the potential effects
of the project on and the relationship of the project to: Old-growth
ecosystem management and the maintenance of habitat for viable
populations of wildlife species, timber supply and sale economics,
scenery, road construction/access management, and karst topography.
Based on results of scoping and the resource capabilities within
the project area, alternatives including a ``no action'' alternative
will be developed for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft
EIS). The Draft EIS is projected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) in April 1999. The final EIS is anticipated by
December 1999.
The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes
the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers
notice of several court rulings related to public participation in the
environmental review process. First, reviewers of draft environmental
impact statements 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).
Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft
environmental impact statement stage may be waived or dismissed by the
courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2nd 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
environmental impact statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns of the proposed action, comments during scoping and
comments on the draft environmental impact statement 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 environmental impact statement or the merits of
the
[[Page 56605]]
alternatives formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers 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. Comments
received in response to this solicitation, including names and
addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public
record on this proposed action and will be available for public
inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or
217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request
the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing
how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality.
Requesters should be aware that, under FOIA, confidentiality may be
granted in only very limited circumstances, such as to protect trade
secrets. The Forest Service will inform the requester of the agency's
decision regarding the request for confidentiality, and where the
request is denied, the agency will return the submission and notify the
requester that the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and
address within 7 days.
Permits: Permits required for implementation include the following:
1. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
--Approval of discharge of dredged or fill material into the waters of
the United States under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act;
--Approval of the construction of structures or work in navigable
waters of the United States under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors
Act of 1899;
2. Environmental Protection Agency
--National Pollutant Discharge Elimination system (402) Permit;
--Review Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan;
3. State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources
--Tideland Permit and Lease or Easement;
4. State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation
--Solid Waste Disposal Permit;
--Certification of Compliance with Alaska Water Quality Standards (401
Certification)
Responsibile Official: Carol J. Jorgensen, Assistant Forest
Supervisor, Stikine Area, Tongass National Forest, P.O. box 309.
Petersburg, Alaska 99833, is the responsible official. The responsible
official will consider the comments, response, disclosure of
environmental consequences, and applicable laws, regulations, and
policies in making the decision and stating the rationale in the Record
of Decision.
Dated: October 10, 1998.
Carol J. Jorgensen,
Assistant Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 98-28292 Filed 10-21-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
