[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 59 (Monday, March 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-7191]


[Federal Register: March 28, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Comprehensive Management 
Plan Amendment #1

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare supplemental environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare a supplemental environmental 
impact statement for a proposal to revise management direction for the 
Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area, Mono Lake Ranger District, Inyo 
National Forest, Mono County, California.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
by July 15, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions concerning the scope 
of the analysis to Dennis W. Martin, Forest Supervisor, Inyo National 
Forest, 873, N. Main Street, Bishop, California, 93514-2494.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action and environmental impact statement 
should be sent to John Schuyler, Forest Planner, phone 619-873-2400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area 
Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) was completed in March 1990. The 
CMP which is a component of the 1988 Inyo Land and Resource Management 
Plan, provides direction and recommendations for the management of Mono 
Lake and the surrounding Scenic Area. The CMP places an overall 
emphasis on protecting geologic, ecological, and cultural resources, 
and recommends a lake level that ranges from 6,377 to 6,390 feet in 
elevation. Furthermore, the CMP recognizes the relationship between 
lake levels and the impacts on the natural resources of this unique 
ecosystem. For instance, lower lake levels expose dust-producing 
relicted lands, while the CMP provides specific direction to work 
closely with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Great 
Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District to bring the Mono Basin 
airshed into compliance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act.
    Since approval of the CMP, new scientific information relevant to 
the impacts of various lake levels on resource values, including 
compliance with air quality requirements, has come to the attention of 
the Forest Service.The EPA has recently classified the Mono Basin as a 
non-attainment area in respect to PM-10 emissions, with violations 
occurring primarily as a result of wind-blown dust from the relicted 
lands. Review of this new information has revealed the need to amend 
the CMP so that it can fully and adequately guide the protection and 
management of the Mono Basin ecosystem. An amendment is also necessary 
to ensure compliance with the legal mandates of the Clean Air Act.
    The Forest Service will consider a reasonable range of 
alternatives. One alternative will be no change in management 
direction. Other alternatives will examine various lake level ranges 
and prose direction or make recommendations that will address Mono 
Basin resource concerns, including air quality requirements. These 
other alternatives will be based on the new information, in addition to 
the range of alternatives previously considered in the environmental 
impact statement that supports the CMP.
    The responsible official is Dennis W. Martin, Forest Supervisor, 
Inyo National Forest, 873 North Main Street, Bishop, CA 93514-2494.
    Public participation will be especially important at several points 
during this analysis. The first point is during the scoping process (40 
CFR 1501.7). The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments, 
and assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies and other 
individuals or organizations interested in or affected by the proposed 
action. Information obtained during scoping will be used to prepare the 
draft supplemental environmental impact statement (DSEIS). The most 
useful information in preparing a DSEIS will be that pertaining to 
significant issues, reasonable alternatives, potential environmental 
effects, and identification of other agencies whose cooperation may be 
needed.
    Workshops and open houses, if held, will be announced locally. 
Federal, State, and local agencies, user groups, and other 
organizations known to be interested in this action are being invited 
to participate in the scoping process.
    The DSEIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and is expected to be available for public review by January 
1996. At that time the EPA will publish a notice of availability of the 
DSEIS in the Federal Register.
    The comment period on the DSEIS will be 45 days from the date the 
EPA publishes the notice of availability in 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 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, 533 (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 statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the DSEIS 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 DSEIS 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.
    After the comment period ends on the DSEIS, written comments will 
be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the final 
supplemental environmental impact statement (FSEIS). The FSEIS is 
scheduled to be completed by September 1996. The Forest Service is 
required to respond in the FSEIS to the comments received (40 CFR 
1503.4). The Forest Supervisor will consider the comments, responses, 
and environmental consequences discussed in the FSEIS, and applicable 
laws, regulations, and policies in making his decision regarding 
amendment of the CMP. The responsible official will document the 
decision and rationale in the Record of Decision. That decision will be 
subject to appeal under 36 CFR 217.

    Dated: March 22, 1994.
Joellen J. Keil,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 94-7191 Filed 3-25-94; 8:45 am]
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