[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58858-58859]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29526]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Motorized Vehicular Access to the Private Property Within the
Kalmiopsis Wilderness, Siskiyou National Forest, Curry County, OR
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare and environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service (Agency) will prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to disclose the
[[Page 58859]]
environmental impacts for a site-specific Proposed Action to permit,
with stipulations, motorized vehicular access over an existing 12 miles
of road, to private in-holdings inside the Kalmiopsis Wilderness,
Chetco River drainage, of the Illinois Valley Ranger District, Siskiyou
National Forest, Curry County, Oregon. The Agency gives notice of the
full environmental analysis and decision-making process that will occur
on the Proposed Actions, so that interested and affected persons are
aware of how they may participate and contribute to the analysis.
DATE: Issues with the Proposed Action must be received in writing by
January 17, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Submit written issues with the Proposed Action to Mary
Zuschlag, District Ranger, Illinois Valley Ranger District, 26568
Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, Oregon, 97523.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Direct questions about the Proposed Action and EIS to Don McLennan,
Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Illinois Valley Ranger District, 26568
Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, Oregon, 97523 or by calling (541) 592-
2166.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Wilderness Act of 1964 states that
privately owned land completely surrounded by National Forest System
lands designated by this Act as wilderness, shall be given such rights
as may be necessary to assure adequate access to the landowner and
their successors and that where valid occupancies are wholly within a
designated wilderness area, the Secretary of Agriculture shall permit
ingress and egress by means which have been or are being customarily
enjoyed with respect to other such areas similarly situated.
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act states that
subject to terms and conditions as the Secretary of Agriculture may
prescribe, the Secretary shall provide such access to non-federally
owned lands within the boundaries of the National Forest System as the
Secretary deems adequate to secure to the owner the reasonable use and
enjoyment thereof.
In preparing the EIS, the Agency will tier to the Amended Land and
Resource Management Plan for the Siskiyou National Forest, consider
submitted written issues with Proposed Action, and develop alternatives
that respond to the significant issues with the Proposed Action. In
addition, the agency will analyze a no-action alternative.
Public participation will be important at several times during the
analysis. The first time is during the scoping period [Reviewer may
wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for
implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environment
Policy Act (CFR) at 40 CFR 1501.7]. The Agency will be seeking written
issues with the Proposed Action from Federal, State, and local
agencies, any affected Indian tribes, the permit applicant, and other
individuals who may be interested in or affected by the Proposed
Action. This input will be used to develop alternatives. The scoping
process includes:
1. Contacting Federal, State, and local agencies, any affected
Indian tribes, the permit applicant, and other individuals who may be
interested in or affected by the Proposed Action.
2. Identifying potential issues.
3. Selecting significant issues with the Proposed Action, needing
in-depth analysis.
4. Eliminating insignificant issues; issues that have been analyzed
and documented in a previous EIS, issues that controvert the need for
the Proposed Action, or issues that are outside the authority of the
Responsible Official to decide.
5. Identifying resources that have a potential for being effected
by the Proposed Action.
The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and be available for review in May 1997. At
that time, EPA will publish a Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS
in the Federal Register.
A 45-day comment period for the Draft EIS will be from the date the
EPA's Notice of Availability appears in the Federal Register. To assist
the Agency, comments on the Draft EIS will need to be written, be as
specific as possible, refer to specific pages and chapters of the Draft
EIS, and address either the adequacy of the Draft EIS or the merits of
the alternatives discussed in the Draft EIS (40 CFR 1503.3).
It is important to give Reviewers notice at this early stage of
several court rulings related to public participation in the
environmental review process. First, Reviewers of a Draft EIS must
structure their participation in the environmental review process of
the Proposed Action so that it is specific, 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 early-on in the
environmental review process, but that are not raised until after
completion of the Final EIS, 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. versus 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 are available to
the Agency at a time when the Agency can meaningfully consider and
respond to them in the Final EIS.
After the 45-day comment period ends on the Draft EIS, comments
will be considered and analyzed by the Agency in preparing the Final
EIS. The Final EIS is scheduled to be completed in September 1997. In
the Final EIS, the Agency is required to respond to the comments
received (40 CFR 1503.4). The Responsible Official will be Mike Lunn,
Forest Supervisor, who will consider the Final EIS, applicable laws,
regulations, policies, and analysis files in making a decision
regarding this Proposed Action. The Responsible Official will document
the decision and rationale in the Record of Decision. That decision
will be subject to appeal under 36 CFR 215.
Dated: November 7, 1996.
J. Michael Lunn,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-29526 Filed 11-18-96; 8:45 am]
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