[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 83 (Monday, May 1, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 21064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10655]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Control of Diseases, Insects, Other Animals, and Unwanted
Vegetation at the Humboldt Nursery
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) for pest management at the
Humboldt Nursery, McKinleyville, California. Initial public scoping is
underway; a public meeting will occur during the DEIS comment period.
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and be available for public review by June, 1995. The
final EIS is expected to be filed with EPA by August, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Frankel, Pathologist, Pacific Southwest Region, 630 Sansome St.
San Francisco, CA 94111. Telephone (415) 705-2651.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In preparing the EIS, the Forest Service has
identified and is considering a range of alternatives for this project.
One of those is no action. Other alternatives consider a range of
methods for the prevention and control of diseases, insects, other
animals, and unwanted vegetation at the Homboldt Nursery. The methods
under consideration include biological, chemical, manual, and
mechanical techniques. The activities that require prevention and
controls include cover cropping, seed pre-treatment, nursery seedbed
and greenhouse preparation, sowing, seedling growth from germination to
lifting, and seedling storage.
Martha Ketelle, Forest Supervisor, Six Rivers National Forest is
the responsible official.
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and be available for public review by June,
1995. The final EIS is expected to be filed with the EPA by August,
1995.
The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date
in the EPA's notice of availability appears 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 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) 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 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 at
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
Dated: April 24, 1995.
Gilbert J. Espinosa,
Acting Regional Forester.
[FR Doc. 95-10655 Filed 4-28-95; 8:45 am]
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