[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 142 (Thursday, July 24, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39804-39805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19470]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Staney Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 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 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 35 million board feet (mmbf) of timber on an 
estimated 1600 acres. A range of alternatives will be developed and 
will include a no-action alternative. The proposed timber harvest is 
located within Tongass Forest Plan Management Area K07 Value Comparison 
Units 571m 587, 588, 590 and part of 577 on Prince of Wales Island, 
Alaska, on the Thorne Bay Ranger District of the Ketchikan Area of the 
Tongass National Forest.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received 
by September 30, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Pleasee send written comments to District Ranger; Thorne Bay 
Ranger District; Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Area; Attn: Staney 
EIS; P.O. Box 19001; Thorne Bay, AK 99919.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposal and EIS 
should be directed to Stephen J. Kimball, District Ranger, Thorne Bay 
Ranger District, Tongass National Forest, P.O. Box 19001, Thorne Bay, 
AK 99919 telephone (907) 828-3304.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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, local agencies, 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 significant issues or those which have been 
covered by a previous environmental review. Public scoping meetings are 
scheduled in Alaska at Thorne Bay, August 25, 1997, Whale Passage, 
August 26, 1997, Coffman Cove, August 27, 1997, Naukati, August 28, 
1997 and Klawock, September 3, 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 September 30, 1997. 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 
supply, scenery and recreational resources, anadromous and resident 
fish habitat, water resources, wetlands, cultural 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 March 1998. Subsistence hearings, as 
provided for in title VIII, Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), are planned during the comment period 
on the Draft EIS. The Final EIS is anticipated by September 1998.
    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will 
be 45 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 an agency to the reviewer's position and 
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 
553, (1978). Environmental objections that could have been raised at 
the draft environmental impact statement stage may be waived or 
dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F. 2nd 1016, 1022 
(9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin 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 45-day 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 final 
environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns of the proposed action, comment during scoping and 
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 at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
    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. 
Requesters should be aware that, under 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 Corp or Engineers
--Approval of discharge of dredged or fill material into the 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, response, disclosure of environmental 
consequences, and applicable laws, regulations, and policies in making 
the decision and stating the rationale in the Record of Decision.

    Dated: July 17, 1997.
Robert L. Vaught,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 97-19470 Filed 7-23-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M