[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 211 (Wednesday, November 1, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55538-55540]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26985]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 211 / Wednesday, November 1, 1995 /
Notices
[[Page 55538]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Indian River Timber Sale(s), Tongass National Forest, Chatham
Area, Sitka and Hoonah Ranger Districts, AK
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service will prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement to disclose the environmental impacts of
proposed actions within the Indian River project area. The proposed
action provides for:
(1) Construction of approximately 10.5 miles of new road from a
road pool of 23.9 miles, and reconstruction of approximately 23.5 miles
of existing road in conjunction with two or more timber sales; (2)
harvest of 91 units covering 2,358 acres of timber from a unit pool of
178 units containing 70.7 million board feet net sawlog volume over
3,355 acres, and regeneration of new stands of trees; and (3) re-
construction and use of log transfer facilities located at Sunshine
Cove (terminus of Forest Development Road 7500) and development of a
new log transfer facility in the Ten Mile area (terminus of Forest
Development Road 7502). This level of development would result in the
harvest of approximately 34 million board feet of sawlog and utility
timber volume over a three year period following approval of this
document and award of contract(s). The proposed action is one
alternative to achieve the purpose and need for the project. A map of
the unit and road pool, and proposed action is available from the
address provided.
The Forest Service is seeking information and comments from
Federal, State, and local agencies as well as individuals and
organizations who may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed
action.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received
in writing by December 8, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Indian River Planning Team, USDA
Forest Service, 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, Alaska 99835.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Linn W. Shipley, Team Leader, USDA Forest Service, 204 Siginaka Way,
Sitka, AK 99835, (907) 747-6671.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This environmental impact statement will tier to the 1979 Tongass
Land Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement, including the
1985-86 and 1991 amendments. The Tongass Land Management Plan provides
the overall guidance (Goals, Objectives, Standards, and Management Area
direction) to achieve the desired future condition for the area in
which the project is proposed.
The Indian River Project Area is located about 56 air miles north
of Sitka, Alaska, 22 miles south of Hoonah, Alaska, and 2 miles from
Tenakee Springs, Alaska on the northeastern part of Chichagof Island.
The Project Area encompasses all or part of Value Comparison Units
204, 216, 220, 221, and 222 as designated in the Tongass Land
Management Plan. These Value Comparison Units are located within
Management Areas C29, C30, and C32 as described in the Tongass Land
Management Plan. The project area is administered by the Sitka and
Hoonah Ranger Districts of the Chatham Area, Tongass National Forest,
Alaska.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
The purpose and need for the Indian River project is to implement
the Tongass Land Management Plan by making 25 million board feet to 45
million board feet of sawlog and utility timber volume available from
the project area; to provide a sustained level of wood products to meet
local, national, and international demand; and to improve the timber
productivity of the project area. A comparison of the desired future
condition for the project area (as identified in the Tongass Land
Management Plan) with the existing condition shows the need to convert
suitable stands of old-growth timber to managed productive stands
capable of long-term timber production. This environmental impact
statement may result in two or more timber sales under the independent
sale program or in offerings to the Ketchikan Pulp Company under the
terms and conditions of its long-term timber sale contract.
Decisions To Be Made
Gary A. Morrison, Forest Supervisor, Chatham Area, is the
Responsible Official and will decide whether or not to authorize timber
harvest within the Indian River Project Area. He will decide: (1) If
the design of the timber sale offerings are consistent with meeting
resource protection standards and guidelines in the Tongass Land
Management Plan; (2) how much timber volume to make available; (3) the
location and design of the collector and local road system needed to
develop the project area; (4) the location and design of timber harvest
units and log transfer facilities; (5) mitigation and monitoring
measures for sound resource management; and (6) whether there may be a
significant restriction on subsistence uses, and if so, other
determinations required by section 810 of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act.
Management Objectives
Management objectives that the Proposed Action is designed to
address:
1. Ecosystems--Design timber management and associated activities
to minimize disturbance in existing ecosystems and maintain viable,
well distributed populations of desired vertebrate species. Unit and
road designs may include partial harvest prescriptions that imitate
natural disturbance patterns, silvicultural thinning plans to maintain
structure and plant communities within managed units, and avoidance of
sensitive areas within the Project Area.
2. Critical Deer Winter Range--Design timber management and
associated activities to minimize disturbance in critical deer winter
range within the Project Area.
3. Subsistence--Design timber management and associated activities
to maintain opportunities to use subsistence resources by minimizing
reductions in the abundance and distribution of harvestable subsistence
resources, maintain reasonable access
[[Page 55539]]
and use of subsistence resources in an effective and efficient manner,
and minimize competition between users within the Project Area.
4. Karst and Cave Resources--Design timber management and
associated activities to protect and maintain, to the extent practical,
significant caves and karst resources that are vulnerable to
disturbance within the Project Area.
5. Social and Economic--Design timber harvest and associated
activities to maintain or enhance social and economic values of local
residents of Tenakee Springs and nearby communities.
6. Visual--Design timber harvest and associated activities to
maintain inventoried visual quality objectives as seen from Tenakee
Inlet near the mouth of Indian River, the area known as the mouth of
10-Mile Creek, and the coastline near Tenakee Springs.
7. Cumulative Impacts--Design timber harvest and associated
activities to mitigate cumulative resources impacts of this project and
other related management activities and adjacent to the Project Area.
Permits
To proceed with the timber harvest as proposed, various permits
must be obtained from other agencies. The agencies and their
responsibilities are as follows: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the
responsibility for approval of discharge of dredged or fill materials
into the waters of the United States (section 404 of the Clean Water
Act), and approval of construction of structures or work in navigable
waters of the United States (section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act
of 1899); the Environmental Protection Agency has responsibility for
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System review (section 402
of the Clean Water Act). Other agencies which will participate are as
follows: State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources has
responsibility for authorization for occupancy and use of tidelands and
submerged lands; State of Alaska, Department of Environmental
Conservation has responsibility for the Solid Waste Disposal Permit
(section 402 of Clean Water Act, (18 ACC 60.230)) and the Certificate
of Reasonable Assurance (section 401 of Clean Water Act); U.S. Coast
Guard has responsibility for Coast Guard Bridge Permits (in accordance
with the General Bridge Act of 1946) required for all structures
constructed within the tidal influence zone. Both the Environmental
Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will participate
as cooperating agencies in preparation of the environmental impact
statement. We are requesting authorization from the City of Tenakee
Springs for use of an existing log transfer facility site located on
city-owned tidelands at Sunshine Cove.
Process Steps
Preparation of the environmental impact statement will include the
following steps: (1) Public notification and scoping (approximately 45
days beginning on the date of publication of this Notice in the Federal
Register;) (2) identification of significant issues related to the
proposed action to be analyzed in depth; (3) development of a
reasonable range of alternatives to the proposed action which meet the
stated purpose and need for the proposed action and address significant
issues; and (4) identification of the potential environmental effects
of the alternatives.
For step 1, scoping announcements will be published during the week
of October 29, 1995 in the Juneau Empire and Sitka Daily Sentinel, and
copies of the announcement will be mailed to interested persons. This
announcement will describe the timing and location of the proposed
project and will request comments. It will also contain specific
information about the location and timing of public involvement
meetings. Scoping meetings will be held in Tenakee Springs, Angoon, and
Hoonah, Alaska in November 1995.
For step 2, the Interdisciplinary Team will review comments
received during the scoping period to determine issues which are
significant and within the scope of this project.
Step 3 will consider a range of alternatives developed to address
significant issues. One of these will be the ``No Action'' alternative,
in which there is no harvest or road building activity. Other
alternatives may consider various levels and locations of harvest and
regeneration in response to issues and non-timber objectives.
In step 4, the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of each
alternative will be analyzed and documented. In addition, site specific
mitigation measures for each alternative will be identified and their
effectiveness evaluated.
Public Participation Encouraged
In addition to commenting on the proposed action and the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement when it is released, agencies and other
interested persons or groups are invited to contact Forest Service
officials at any time during the planning process.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be filed
with the Environmental Protection Agency in June 1996. 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, at this early stage, 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 alters 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 Environmental Impact Statement stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement 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 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 and respond to them
in the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, 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 Environmental Impact Statement. Comments may also address the
adequacy of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement or the merits of
the alternatives formulated and discussed in the document. Reviewers
may wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations
for implementing the procedural provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act, 40 CFR 1503.3, in addressing these points.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision is
expected to be released in December 1996. The Forest Supervisor for the
Chatham Area of the Tongass National Forest will, as the responsible
official for the environmental impact statement, make a decision
regarding this proposal considering the comments, responses,
[[Page 55540]]
and environmental consequences discussed in the Final Environmental
Impact Statement, and applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The
decision and supporting reasons will be documented in the Record of
Decision.
Gary A. Morrison,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 95-26985 Filed 10-31-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
