[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 4407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2377]



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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 6, 1996 / 
Notices  

[[Page 4407]]


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Swan Lake-Lake Tyee Intertie Transmission Line, Tongass National 
Forest, Ketchikan Area and Stikine Area, AK

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: Ketchikan Public Utilities proposes to build and operate a 138 
kV electric transmission line in Southeast Alaska between the 
switchyard of the Swan Lake Hydroelectric Station on Revillagigedo 
Island and the switchyard at the Lake Tyee Hydroelectric Station on the 
Alaska mainland. The proposed new line would be a single-circuit 138 kV 
line having three conductors and no shield wire. The proposed action 
would intertie the electrical systems of Ketchikan Public Utilities, 
Petersburg Municipal Power and Light, and Wrangell Municipal Light and 
Power. The Notice of Intent published in the Federal Register on 
Friday, January 6, 1995, (Vol. 60, No. 4, pages 2074-2076) identified 
Acting District Ranger Linn Shipley, Ketchikan Ranger District, 
Ketchikan Area of the Tongass National Forest as the responsible 
official. It also identified the proposed line as a 115 kV line.
    This revised Notice of Intent identifies two responsible officials: 
the Ketchikan District Ranger, Ketchikan Area, Tongass National Forest, 
and the Wrangell District Ranger, Stikine Area, Tongass National 
Forest. These responsible officials have been delegated decision-making 
authority for those segments of the proposed transmission line that 
would traverse their respective Districts. The responsible officials 
will coordinate their efforts though the Ketchikan District Ranger will 
serve as primary liaison with Ketchikan Public Utilities. This revised 
Notice of Intent also corrects the line voltage to 138 kV for the 
proposed transmission line.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning the scope 
of this project to Jimmy DeHerrera, District Ranger, Tongass National 
Forest, Ketchikan Ranger District, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 
99901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Questions about the proposal and the EIS should be directed to Bill 
Angelus, EIS Liaison, Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Ranger 
District, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901, phone: (907) 225-
2148.

supplementary information: The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is 
expected to be issued in February 1996. The comment period on the draft 
environmental impact statement will be a minimum of 45 days from the 
date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of 
availability in the Federal Register. Subsistence hearings, as required 
by Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, 
are planned during this 45-day comment period.
    The Forest Services 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 an 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) andWisconsin 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 
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 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 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 the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
    Issuance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement is projected 
in November 1996. The proposed transmission line would cross two 
Districts on two Administrative Areas of the Tongass National Forest. 
The Forest Supervisors for the Ketchikan Area and the Stikine Area have 
delegated decision authority to the District Rangers for the portions 
of the proposed transmission line that would cross their respective 
Ranger Districts. The responsible official for the decision regarding 
the segment that would cross the Ketchikan Area is the Ketchikan 
District Ranger, Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Ranger District, 
3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchika, AK 99901. The responsible official for 
the decision regarding the segment that would cross the Stikine Area is 
the Wrangell District Ranger, Tongass National Forest, Wrangell Ranger 
District, P.O. Box 51, Wrangell, AK 99929.

    Dated: December 17, 1995.
Bradley E. Powell,
Ketchikan Area Forest Supervisor.

    Dated: January 9, 1996.
Abigail R. Kimbell,
Stikine Area Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-2377 Filed 2-5-96; 8:45 am]
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