[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 4407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2377]
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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.
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Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 6, 1996 /
Notices
[[Page 4407]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Swan Lake-Lake Tyee Intertie Transmission Line, Tongass National
Forest, Ketchikan Area and Stikine Area, AK
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Revised Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact
statement.
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SUMMARY: Ketchikan Public Utilities proposes to build and operate a 138
kV electric transmission line in Southeast Alaska between the
switchyard of the Swan Lake Hydroelectric Station on Revillagigedo
Island and the switchyard at the Lake Tyee Hydroelectric Station on the
Alaska mainland. The proposed new line would be a single-circuit 138 kV
line having three conductors and no shield wire. The proposed action
would intertie the electrical systems of Ketchikan Public Utilities,
Petersburg Municipal Power and Light, and Wrangell Municipal Light and
Power. The Notice of Intent published in the Federal Register on
Friday, January 6, 1995, (Vol. 60, No. 4, pages 2074-2076) identified
Acting District Ranger Linn Shipley, Ketchikan Ranger District,
Ketchikan Area of the Tongass National Forest as the responsible
official. It also identified the proposed line as a 115 kV line.
This revised Notice of Intent identifies two responsible officials:
the Ketchikan District Ranger, Ketchikan Area, Tongass National Forest,
and the Wrangell District Ranger, Stikine Area, Tongass National
Forest. These responsible officials have been delegated decision-making
authority for those segments of the proposed transmission line that
would traverse their respective Districts. The responsible officials
will coordinate their efforts though the Ketchikan District Ranger will
serve as primary liaison with Ketchikan Public Utilities. This revised
Notice of Intent also corrects the line voltage to 138 kV for the
proposed transmission line.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning the scope
of this project to Jimmy DeHerrera, District Ranger, Tongass National
Forest, Ketchikan Ranger District, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK
99901.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Questions about the proposal and the EIS should be directed to Bill
Angelus, EIS Liaison, Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Ranger
District, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901, phone: (907) 225-
2148.
supplementary information: The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is
expected to be issued in February 1996. The comment period on the draft
environmental impact statement will be a minimum of 45 days from the
date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of
availability in the Federal Register. Subsistence hearings, as required
by Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act,
are planned during this 45-day comment period.
The Forest Services 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 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
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) andWisconsin 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
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 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 statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft
environmental impact statement or the merits of the 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 of
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
Issuance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement is projected
in November 1996. The proposed transmission line would cross two
Districts on two Administrative Areas of the Tongass National Forest.
The Forest Supervisors for the Ketchikan Area and the Stikine Area have
delegated decision authority to the District Rangers for the portions
of the proposed transmission line that would cross their respective
Ranger Districts. The responsible official for the decision regarding
the segment that would cross the Ketchikan Area is the Ketchikan
District Ranger, Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Ranger District,
3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchika, AK 99901. The responsible official for
the decision regarding the segment that would cross the Stikine Area is
the Wrangell District Ranger, Tongass National Forest, Wrangell Ranger
District, P.O. Box 51, Wrangell, AK 99929.
Dated: December 17, 1995.
Bradley E. Powell,
Ketchikan Area Forest Supervisor.
Dated: January 9, 1996.
Abigail R. Kimbell,
Stikine Area Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-2377 Filed 2-5-96; 8:45 am]
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