[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 89 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25161-25162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11975]
[[Page 25161]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Sea Level 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
Ketchikan Area Independent 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 an estimated 60 million board feet (mmbf) of
timber on an estimated 2,500 acres. A range of alternatives will be
developed and include a no-action alternative. The proposed timber
harvest is located within Tongass Forest Plan Management Area K35,
VCU's 746, 753, 745.2, 755.2, 756, 757 and 759 on Revillagigedo
(Revilla) Island, Alaska, on the Ketchikan Ranger District of the
Ketchikan Area of the Tongass National Forest.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be
received by June 15, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Please send written comments and suggestions concerning the
scope of this project to: District Ranger; Ketchikan Ranger District;
Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Area; Attn: Sea Level EIS, 3031
Tongass Avenue; Ketchikan, AK 99901.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposal and EIS should be directed to Bill
Nightingale, District Planning Staff Officer or to Jimmy Deherrera,
District Ranger, Ketchikan Ranger District, Tongass National Forest,
3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, AK 99901, telephone (907) 225-2148.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
(1) Public Participation
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, and local agencies and 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. Public scoping meetings are scheduled in Alaska
at Saxman, May 21, 1997, and Ketchikan, May 22, 1997. 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 June 15, 1997.
Tentative issues identified for analysis in the EIS include the
potential effects of the project on the relationship of the project to:
subsistence resources, old-growth ecosystem management and the
maintenance of habitat for viable populations of wildlife and plant
species, timber sale economics, timber supply, visual and recreational
resources, anadromous fish habitat, potential road connections on
Revilla Island, soil and water resources, cultural resources, Misty
Fiords National Monument wilderness values, and others.
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 December 1997. Public comment on the Draft
EIS will be solicited for a minimum of 45 days from the date the
Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in
the Federal Register. Subsistence hearings, as provided for in Section
8 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), are
planned during this 45-day comment period. The Final EIS is anticipated
by June 1998.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments during scoping and
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. 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 1503.8 in addressing these
points.
In addition, Federal court decisions have established that
reviewers of Draft EIS 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 concerns. Vermont
Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978).
Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft stage
may be waived if not raised until after completion of the Final EIS.
City of Angoon v. Hodel, Harris, (9th Circuit, 1986), and Wisconsin
Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980).
The reason for this is to ensure 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.
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.
Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the
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 Corps of Engineers
--Approval of the discharge of dredged or fill materials into 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
[[Page 25162]]
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)
Responsible Official
Bradley E. Powell, Forest Supervisor, Ketchikan Area, Tongass
National Forest, Federal Building, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901, is the
responsible official. The responsible official will consider the
comments, responses, disclosure of environmental consequences, and
applicable laws, regulations, and policies in making the decision and
stating the rationale in the Record of Decision.
Dated: May 1, 1997.
Robert L. Vaught,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 97-11975 Filed 5-7-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
