[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 89 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25161-25162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11975]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Sea Level 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 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 60 million board feet (mmbf) of 
timber on an estimated 2,500 acres. A range of alternatives will be 
developed and include a no-action alternative. The proposed timber 
harvest is located within Tongass Forest Plan Management Area K35, 
VCU's 746, 753, 745.2, 755.2, 756, 757 and 759 on Revillagigedo 
(Revilla) Island, Alaska, on the Ketchikan Ranger District of the 
Ketchikan Area of the Tongass National Forest.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be 
received by June 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments and suggestions concerning the 
scope of this project to: District Ranger; Ketchikan Ranger District; 
Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Area; Attn: Sea Level EIS, 3031 
Tongass Avenue; Ketchikan, AK 99901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposal and EIS should be directed to Bill 
Nightingale, District Planning Staff Officer or to Jimmy Deherrera, 
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) elimination 
of insignificant issues or those which have been covered by a previous 
environmental review. Public scoping meetings are scheduled in Alaska 
at Saxman, May 21, 1997, and Ketchikan, May 22, 1997. 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 June 15, 1997.
    Tentative issues identified for analysis in the EIS include the 
potential effects of the project on 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, soil and water resources, cultural resources, Misty 
Fiords National Monument wilderness values, 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 December 1997. 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 
8 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), are 
planned during this 45-day comment period. The Final EIS is anticipated 
by June 1998.
    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 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 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.
    Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names 
and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the 
public record on this proposed action and will be available for public 
inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and 
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have 
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or 
217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request 
the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing 
how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality. 
Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the 
FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very limited 
circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest Service 
will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding the 
request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the 
agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the 
comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within 7 
days.

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

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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: May 1, 1997.
Robert L. Vaught,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 97-11975 Filed 5-7-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M