[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 209 (Monday, October 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26849]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 31, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service

 

Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement Relevant to an 
Application for a Section 404 Permit, Federal Land Exchange and Ski 
Area Development; Adam's Rib Recreation Area Development Eagle County, 
Colorado

LEAD AGENCY: Department of Defense, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Sacramento District. Responsible Official: Larry Vinzant.
COOPERATING AGENCIES: U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest 
Service, White River National Forest, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601. 
Responsible Official: Veto J. LaSalle, Forest Supervisor.
U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Junction 
Field Office, 529 25\1/2\ Road, Suite B-113, Grand Junction, CO 81505. 
Responsible Official: Keith Rose.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII, One Denver Place, Suite 
13, Denver, CO 80202. Responsible Official: William Yellowtail.
Colorado Department of Natural Resources, 1313 Sherman Street, Room 
718, Denver, CO 80203. Responsible Official: Jim Lockhead.
County of Eagle, 551 Broadway, Eagle, CO 81631. Responsible Official: 
County Commissioners.

ACTION: Supplemental Notice Of Intent. Prior Notice of Intent, Federal 
Register June 17, 1993, Volume 58, No. 115, pages 33436-33437.

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SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers published in the Federal Register, on 
June 17, 1993, its intent to prepare a supplemental draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (sdEIS) relevant to an application for a Section 404 
permit to place fill material into wetlands adjacent to East Brush 
Creek, Eagle County, Colorado, for the construction of commercial/
residential development attendant to a four-season resort. This sdEIS 
is a prelude for preparing a Final EIS prior to a permit decision on 
the proposed development. The applicant, Kummer Development Corporation 
dba Adam's Rib Recreation Area, has applied for a permit to fill 
approximately 25 acres of montane wetlands pursuant to the development 
which would include 250,000 square feet of commercial space, 4,281 
residential units, and 1,440 lodging rooms, employee housing, golfing 
and skiing for 9,000 skiers-at-one-time on Adam Mountain and Mount Eve.
    The USDA-Forest Service, as a Cooperating Agency, through this 
Notice, intends to directly participate with the Corps of Engineers to 
include analyses for impacts to wetlands and waters of the U.S. for the 
ski mountain and a potential Federal land exchange with the applicant 
for NEPA compliance. Any additional analyses shall tier into this 
sdEIS. Also, the sdEIS will disclose environmental effects to public 
lands regarding development of the ski area portion of the Adam's Rib 
Recreation Area. Kummer Development Corporation dba Adam's Rib 
Recreation Area was issued a special use permit by the Forest 
Supervisor, White River National Forest, December 15, 1983 to occupy 
approximately 2,920 acres of National Forest System lands. The special 
use permit authorities construction of the ski area portion of the 
Adam's Rib Recreation Area upon acceptance of a detailed development 
plan. The impacts of the detailed development plan will be disclosed in 
the sdEIS. The existing special use permit is still in effect and will 
not be available in the sdEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and sdEIS should be directed to either, Larry Vinzant at U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Section-Room 1444, 1325 J Street, 
Sacramento, California 95814-2972, telephone (916) 557-5263 or Kit 
Buell, Project Coordinator, U.S. Forest Service, White River National 
Forest, P.O. Box 948, Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601, telephone (303) 
945-2521.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant proposes to fill approximately 
25 acres of montane wetlands dominated by various species of willow, 
sledge and rush. Nearly all wetland fill would be located on private 
land in Vassar Meadow; additional development would occur in Joe Goode 
Meadow, Woodrun, No Name drainage, adjacent to Brush Creek (i.e., golf 
course and residences) and on the ski mountain. The U.S. Forest Service 
issued a special use permit for the ski mountain in 1983. On March 3, 
1987, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a Notice of Intent in 
the Federal Register to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS). A draft titled ``Adam's Rib Recreation Area, Eagle, Colorado'' 
was published in October 1989. A Notice of Availability for this 
document was published in the Federal Register on November 3, 1989. The 
applicant's preferred alternative resulted in a request for a permit to 
fill approximately 70 acres of wetlands in the project area. This 
acreage of wetland fill was later reduced to approximately 46 acres. 
This permit was denied in February 1993.
    The applicant has since modified the proposal to fill approximately 
25 acres of wetland. To avoid wetlands, the applicant's preferred 
alternative has resulted in a relocation of the base area to the west. 
A lateral moraine known as Adam's Rib would be excavated, with the 
excavated material placed in the adjacent No Name drainage and portions 
of Vassar meadow. The reduced Adam's Rib and the No Name drainage would 
be the location of the base area. Part of the applicant's preferred 
alternative includes a land exchange with the Forest Service. This 
sdEIS will supplement and supplant information currently available in 
the draft EIS.

Alternatives (Section 404 Permit and Federal Land Exchange)

    Alternatives that will be considered for detailed evaluation will 
include:
    (1) Base area development on Adam's Rib and No Name drainage with a 
land exchange with the Forest Service (applicant's preferred 
alternative).
    (2) Same as alternative 1, but no land exchange.
    (3) Base area development in Vassar Meadow.
    (4) Reasonable variations to the applicant's preferred alternative 
that would reduce adverse impacts, for example, to wetlands.
    (5) No Action.

Alternatives (Ski Mountain Development)

    (1) Ski Area Master Development Plan as proposed to the Forest 
Service, December, 1993.
    (2) Reasonable variations to the applicant's proposal that would 
reduce adverse impacts to natural resources on National Forest System 
lands.

Scoping (Section 404 permitting)

    The Corps issued a scoping notice in conjunction with the Notice of 
Intent to prepare the draft EIS in 1987. Additionally, the Corps 
accepted comments on the draft EIS, conducted a Public Hearing in 
February, 1990 in Gypsum, Colorado, and has coordinated closely with 
resource agencies and the interested public. The Corps believes that 
additional scoping concerning wetlands is unnecessary at this time. 
However, any additional substantive information and new issues arising 
from comments to the sdEIS shall be thoroughly addressed in the Final 
EIS.
    The Army Corps of Engineers' decisions to be made will include 
WHETHER OR NOT a Section 404 permit will be issued to the applicant.

Scoping (Land Exchange and Ski Mountain Development)

    The Forest Service, in cooperation with the Corps, will conduct 
scoping in conjunction with, and subsequent to, this Notice of Intent. 
The Forest Service previously scoped for ski area development issues as 
a part of the ``Adam's Rib Recreation Area Final Environmental Impact 
Statement'' in 1982. It is believed that additional scoping is needed 
to gather information regarding a potential Federal land exchange 
associated with the permittee's current base development proposal, and 
the specific development proposal (detailed development plan) on the 
ski mountains. The existing special use permit is still in effect and 
will not be revisited in the sdEIS.
    Public participation will be fully incorporated into preparation of 
the supplemental draft EIS through public notices in local papers and 
brief information packets to known interested people, groups, local 
government, and resource agencies. Public meetings will be held in the 
Eagle and Denver, Colorado areas throughout the public involvement 
process. The exact dates and locations of these meetings will be 
published two weeks in advance in local newspapers.
    Forest Service decisions to be made will include HOW the ski 
mountains will be developed within applicable laws and guidelines, and 
WHETHER OR NOT a Federal Land Exchange will occur.

Preliminary Issues

    (1) Impacts to wetlands,
    (2) Impacts to water quality,
    (3) Impacts to fish and wildlife resources,
    (4) Socio-economic effects,
    (5) Cumulative impacts of developing a new ski area,
    (6) Impacts on outdoor recreation,
    (7) Visual impacts,
    (8) Exchange of Federal lands,
    (9) Installation of power transmission lines.

DATES FOR FILING THE sdEIS AND FINAL EIS: The sdEIS is scheduled to be 
published in June 1995, with the Final EIS estimated in December, 1995.
    The comment period on the supplemental draft environmental impact 
statement will be 60-days from the date the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes the Notice of Availability in the 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 environmental impact statements must structure their 
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is 
meaningful and alerts the agency to the reviewer's 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 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 rulings, it is 
very important that those interested in this proposed action 
participate by the close of the comment period so that substantive 
comments and objectives are made available to the Forest Service and 
Army Corps at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond 
to them in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement should be 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 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.

Other Environmental Review and Consultation

    Required review and consultation which will be conducted during 
this National Environmental Policy Act process include sections 401 and 
404 of the Clean Water Act, Fish and Wildlife Coordinating Act, 
National Historic Preservation Act, Endangered Species Act, Federal 
Land Exchange Facilitation Act, and Executive Orders 11988 (Flood Plain 
Management) and 11990 (Wetlands)
Veto J. LaSalle,
Forest Supervisor, White River National Forest.
[FR Doc. 94-26849 Filed 10-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M