[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21457]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 31, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 

Upper Carroll 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 Pulp Company 50-year Timber Sale Contract or 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 70 million board feet (mmbf) of timber on an 
estimated 2,200 acres. A range of alternatives will be developed to 
achieve this estimated volume and include a no-action alternative. The 
proposed timber harvest is located within Tongass Forest Plan 
Management Area K32, VCU's 737, 744, and 746, on Revillagigedo 
(Revilla) Island, Alaska, on the Ketchikan Ranger District of the 
Ketchikan Area of the Tongass National Forest.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received 
by October 28, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments and suggestions concerning the 
scope of this project to: Forest Supervisor, Tongass National Forest, 
Ketchikan Area, Attn: Upper Carroll EIS, Federal Building, Ketchikan, 
AK 99901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Questions about one proposal and EIS 
should be directed to David Arrasmith, Planning Staff Officer, Tongass 
National Forest, Ketchikan Area, Federal Building, Ketchikan, Alaska 
99901, telephone (907) 225-3101, or to Linn Shipley, 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) eliminating 
of insignificant issues or these which have been covered by a previous 
environmental review. Public scoping meetings are scheduled in Alaska 
at Ketchikan, October 4, 1994, and Saxman, October 5, 1994. 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 October 28, 
1994.
    Tentative issues identified for analysis in the EIS include the 
potential effects of the project on and 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, the Neets Bay Fish Hatchery, soil and water resources, 
cultural resources, Misty Fiords National Monument wilderness values, 
and others.
    Based on results of scoping and the resources 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 in the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) in August 1995. 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 hearing, as provided for in Section 8 
of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Acg (ANICLA), are 
planned during this 45-day comment period. The Final EIS is anticipated 
by April 1996.
    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 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 os 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.

(2) 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
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

    David D. Rittenhouse, 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: August 23, 1994.
David D. Rittenhouse,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 94-21457 Filed 8-30-94; 8:45 am]
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