[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 172 (Friday, September 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 46941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23574]
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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. 62, No. 172 / Friday, September 5, 1997 /
Notices
[[Page 46941]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project, Northern,
Intermountain, and Pacific Northwest Regions
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[ID918-1610-00-UCRB]
Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project, States of
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada
AGENCIES: Forest Service, USDA; Bureau of Land Management, USDI.
ACTION: Notice of extension of comment period for draft environmental
impact statements (EISs).
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SUMMARY: On June 12, 1997, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land
Management published a notice of availability of two draft EISs in the
Federal Register (62 FR 32076). That notice stated that a 120-day
comment period was provided for the Eastside Draft EIS and for the
Upper Columbia River Basin Draft EIS. This notice is to inform
interested parties that the comment period has been extended.
DATES: Comments on the two draft EISs must now be submitted or
postmarked no later than February 6, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Eastside Draft EIS may be obtained from
ICBEMP, 112 E. Poplar Street, Walla Walla, WA 99362 or by calling (509)
522-4030. Copies of the Upper Columbia River Basin Draft EIS may be
obtained from ICBEMP, 304 N. 8th Street, Room 250, Boise, ID 83702 or
by calling (208) 334-1770, ext. 120. The Draft EISs are also available
via the internet (http://www.icbemp.gov).
Comments on the Eastside draft EIS should be submitted in writing
to ICBEMP, 112 East Poplar Street, P.O. Box 2076, Walla Walla, WA
99362. Comments on the Upper Columbia River Basin draft EIS should be
submitted in writing to ICBEMP, 304 N. 8th Street, Room 250, Boise, ID
83702. If your comments are in regard to both draft EISs, they may be
sent to either office. Comments may also be made electronically by
accessing the Project home page (http://www.icbemp.gov), where a
comment form is available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
EIS Team Leader Jeff Walter, 304 N. 8th Street, Room 250, Boise, ID
83702, telephone (208) 334-1770 or EIS Deputy Team Leader Cathy
Humphrey, 112 East Poplar Street, P.O. Box 2076, Walla Walla, WA 99362,
telephone (509) 522-4030.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau of Land Management's planning
regulations require that a 90-day public comment period be provided for
a draft plan and draft environmental impact statement (43 CFR
1610.2(e)). The Forest Service's planning regulations provide that the
draft environmental impact statement be available for public comment
for at least three months (36 CFR 219.10(b)). In recognition of the
complexity of the draft EISs for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem
Management Project (ICBEMP), the Bureau of Land Management and Forest
Service set a comment period of 120 days--30 days longer than required.
During the first two months of the comment period, we received
several requests for extension of the 120-day comment period. The
requestors cite the length and complexity of the two draft EISs and
point out that many who have particular interest in the management of
the public lands have little time to spare during the summer and early
fall months, since these are critical periods for making a living and
recreating. They also point out that the science information was not
all published by the time the draft EISs were made available. It has
been suggested that the comment period be extended for as little as two
months and as much as one year.
Managers of the ICBEMP sincerely want to provide adequate
opportunity for the public to read, comprehend, and comment on one or
both of the two draft EISs so that the EIS team can include needed
changes in the final EIS. The extension granted carries the comment
period past the critical work and recreation months of summer and early
fall. A much longer extension would result in higher costs of the
Project without commensurate increase in the opportunity for meaningful
public participation.
We find that a four-month extension to February 6, 1998, balances
the desire expressed by interested and affected members of the public
to comment meaningfully, and the desire of the agencies reasonably to
expedite the process to conclusion.
Dated: August 28, 1997.
Martha Hahn,
State Director, Bureau of Land Management.
Dated: August 28, 1997.
Robert W. Williams,
Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 97-23574 Filed 9-4-97; 8:45 am]
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