[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 43 (Friday, March 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10618-10619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-5430]
[[Page 10618]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Environmental Impact Statement Preparation for the Brush Creek
Project, Allegheny National Forest, Forest and Elk Counties,
Pennsylvania
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act,
notice is hereby given that the Forest Service, Allegheny National
Forest will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to disclose the
environmental consequences of the proposed Brush Creek Project.
The Allegheny National Forest is divided into Management Areas,
which are used to guide the type and intensity of management. The
majority of the Brush Creek Project Area falls into Management Area
3.0, with smaller portions falling into Management Areas 1.0 and 6.1.
The Allegheny National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest
Plan) gives the direction for forest management activities. The
following management direction was excerpted from the Forest Plan for
each of the three Management Areas included within the project area.
Management Area 1.0--Emphasize habitat management for ruffed grouse
and other wildlife species associated with early successional stages of
forest habitat.--Provide for high quality wood fiber production.--
Provide a roaded natural setting for all types of dispersed recreation
opportunities.
Management Area 3.0--Provide a sustained yield of high quality
sawtimber through even-aged management--Provide a variety of age or
size class habitat diversity in a variety of timber types.--Emphasize
deer and turkey in all timber types and squirrel in the oak type.--
Provide a roaded natural setting for all types of developed and
dispersed recreation opportunities, with an emphasis on motorized
recreation activities.
Management Area 6.1--Maintain or enhance scenic quality.--Emphasize
a variety of dispersed recreation activities in a semi-primitive
motorized setting.--Emphasize wildlife species which require mature or
overmature hardwood forests.
The purpose of this project is to move from the Existing Condition
towards the Desired Future Condition (DFC) as detailed in the Forest
Plan. In order to move towards the DFC, the early successional age
class (0-20 year age) needs to increase; healthy forested stands
capable of producing high quality, high value sawtimber need to be
maintained; and understories dominated by fern, grass or undesirable
woody vegetation need to develop seedling vegetation. Project proposals
include timber harvesting as a means for making desired changes to
forest vegetation and satisfying the demonstrated public need for wood
products. Our proposed action to meet the purpose and need includes 690
acres of regeneration harvests to bring the onset of a new forest;
herbicide, fertilizer, fencing, mechanical site preparation, and
planting to ensure seedling establishment and growth in understories;
356 acres of thinning in immature stands to reduce the competition for
light and nutrients, thereby improving the health and vigor of residual
trees; and 52 acres or hardwood release cutting designed to reduce
competition for selected trees on recent clearcuts. Activities relating
to roads in support of these silvicultural operations include
approximately 7 miles of new road construction, 2 miles of betterment,
13 miles of road restoration, 3 miles of road obliteration, and 1 mile
of road realignment. Additionally, 1 new stone pit would be developed.
This new stone pit, along with 8 existing pits, would be utilized as
sources of surfacing stone for the transportation system. Wildlife
habitat improvement measures consisting of plantings, prescribed
burning, fruit tree pruning and maintenance, and bird nesting box
placement serve to supplement the existing conditions.
After completion of the Brush Creek Environmental Impact Statement,
the responsible official will review the several alternatives analyzed,
and select the one that maximizes net public benefits for the Brush
Creek Project Area.
DATES: The public is asked to provide comments, suggestions, and
recommendations for achieving the purpose and need for the Brush Creek
Project. The public comment period will be for 30 days from the date
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes this notice of
availability in the Federal Register. Comments and suggestions should
be submitted in writing and postmarked by April 12, 1999 to ensure
timely consideration. To assist in commenting, a scoping letter
providing more detailed information on the project proposal has been
prepared and is available to interested parties.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Submit written comments and
suggestions concerning the proposed action to: ``Brush Creek Project,''
attention Ronald Neff--ID Team Leader, Marienville Ranger District, HC2
Box 130, Marienville, PA 16239. For further information, contact Ronald
Neff (814) 927-6628.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The issue of uneven-aged management often
arises during the scoping process for projects such as this. We will
therefore include at least one alternative to the Proposed Action which
will evaluate the effects of applying uneven-aged management
techniques. Issues, which are generated through the scoping process,
may generate additional alternatives.
Comments considered beyond the scope of this project and which will
not be evaluated include whether or not commercial timber harvest
should occur on National Forest System lands; the validity of the
science of silviculture and forest management; and whether or not to
allow the use of herbicides on the Allegheny National Forest on a
programmatic level.
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. In a recent legal opinion, the Forest Service's Office of
General Council (OGC) has determined that names and addresses of people
who respond to a Forest Service solicitation are not protected by the
Privacy Act and can be released to the public. The Forest Service
routinely gives notice of and requests comments on proposed land and
resource management actions accompanied by environmental documents, as
well as on proposed rules and policies. Comments received in response
to such solicitations, including names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the public record and will be
available for such inspection, upon request. 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. The
opinion states that such confidentiality may be granted in only very
limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets.
The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency and be available for public review during June of
1999. At that time, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will
publish in the Federal Register a notice of availability of the draft
environmental impact statement. The comment period on the draft will be
45 days from the date the
[[Page 10619]]
EPA notice appears in the Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers
notice at this early stage 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 proposals so that it
is meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewers 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 may be waived if not raised
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement,
City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1988), 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.
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 CEQ Regulations for implementing the procedural
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in
addressing these points). After the comment period ends on the draft
environmental impact statement, the comments received will be analyzed
and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the final
environmental impact statement.
The final environmental impact statement is scheduled to be
completed in October, 1999. In the final EIS, the Forest Service is
required to respond to the comments received (40 CFR 1503.4). The
responsible official will consider the comments, responses,
environmental consequences discussed in the environmental impact
statement, and applicable laws, regulations and policies in making a
decision regarding this proposal. The responsible official will
document the decision and reasons for the decision in a Record of
Decision. That decision will be subject to appeal under 36 CFR part
215.
The responsible official is Leon Blashock, District Ranger,
Allegheny National Forest, HC2 Box 130, Marienville, PA 16239.
Dated: February 26, 1999.
Leon Blashock,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 99-5430 Filed 3-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
