[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 212 (Thursday, November 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55696-55697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-27244]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Chasina Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 40 million board feet (mmbf) of timber on an 
estimated 1,500 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 Areas K24 and K25, VCU's 674, 677, 678, 679, 680, 681, 682, 
and 686, on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, on the Craig Ranger 
District of the Ketchikan Area of the Tongass National Forest.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be 
received by November 30, 1995.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposal and EIS 
should be directed to David Arrasmith, Planning Staff Officer, Tongass 
National Forest, Ketchikan Area, Federal Building, Ketchikan, Alaska 
99901, telephone (907) 228-6304, or to Dale Kanen, District Ranger, 
Craig Ranger District, Tongass National Forest, 900 Main Street, Craig, 
Alaska 99921, telephone (907) 826-3272.

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) elimination of insignificant 
issues or those which have been covered by a previous environmental 
review. 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 
November 30, 1995.
    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, soil and water resources, cultural 
resources, cave and karst resources, and others.
    Based on results of scoping and the resource 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 with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) in May 1996. 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 hearings, as provided for in Section 
810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), 
are planned during this 45-day comment period. The Final EIS is 
anticipated by April 1997.
    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. 

[[Page 55697]]
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 Policy 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 so 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 state 
may be waived if not raised until after completion of the Final EIS. 
City of Angoon v. Hodel, Harris, (9th Circuit, 1986), 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 in 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 (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: Bradley E. Powell, 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: October 20, 1995.
Bradley E. Powell,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 95-27244 Filed 11-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M