[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 21 (Monday, February 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5350-5352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2439]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Diamond Lake Drawdown, Umpqua National Forest, Douglas County, 
Oregon

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) that addresses the impacts associated with the 
temporary drawdown of Diamond Lake in 1999. Diamond Lake is 
approximately 80 air miles northeast of Medford, Oregon, on the Diamond 
Lake Ranger District of the Umpqua National Forest. The proposed 
action, which was put forth by the Oregon Department of Fish and 
Wildlife (ODF&W), will lower the level of Diamond Lake approximately 
seven (7) feet. This drawdown will allow the ODF&W to treat the Lake 
with rotenone in September of 1999 in order to remove an undesirable 
baitfish known as the tui chub. The chub, which is believed to have 
been illegally introduced into the lake within the past ten years, has 
populated the Lake to the extent that it is adversely affecting the 
favored rainbow trout. Prior to the introduction of the tui chub, 
Diamond Lake was recognized as a premier trout fishery in Southern 
Oregon.
    The Forest Service began internal scoping of this proposal in 
November of 1997. The public was given notice of the proposal in 
January of 1998 through the Forest's Schedule of Proposed Actions. An 
informational letter with a copy of the ODF&W proposal was mailed to 
interested publics in January as part of

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the agency's external scoping effort. Following the mailing, an Open 
House was held in Roseburg and Medford, Oregon, as a continuation of 
the scoping effort.
    As a result of the scoping performed to date, a number of concerns 
have been identified. Those concerns are associated with the rate at 
which the ODF&W has proposed to lower the Lake, and the disposition of 
the dead fish after it is treated by the Department of Fish and 
Wildlife. These concerns are likely to lead to the development of one 
or more alternatives to the proposed action.
    Any alternatives to the Proposed Action must meet the need of 
lowering the level of Diamond Lake to a reasonably safe level by 
September 15 during the year the Lake is scheduled for treatment.
    The agency invites written comments on this project. In addition, 
the agency gives notice of this analysis so that interested and 
affected people are aware of how they may participate and contribute to 
the decision making process.

DATES: Comment concerning this proposal must be received by March 6, 
1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions to Don Ostby, Forest 
Supervisor, Umpqua National Forest, P.O. Box 1008, Roseburg, Oregon 
97470.
    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 each confidentiality. 
Persons requesting such 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 re-submitted with or without name and address within 10 
days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Direct questions concerning the proposed 
action and environmental analysis to Jim Leoni, Interdisciplinary Team 
Leader, Umpqua National Forest, P.O. Box 1008, Roseburg, Oregon 97470, 
phone (541) 957-3391.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The need for action is to lower the level of 
Diamond Lake to a reasonably safe level by September 15 during the year 
the lake is to be treated. The Purpose of lowering the Lake is to allow 
the ODF&W to treat the Lake with a fish toxicant known as rotenone. The 
ODF&W has proposed the use of four pumps to lower the Lake from its 
natural level of approximately 72,880 acre feet to a level of 53,000 
acre feet, which is approximately seven (7) feet below the Lake's 
natural level. The proposed pumping period is July 1 to September 15 of 
1999. A Lake level of approximately seven feet below the natural level 
is intended to prevent any treated water from escaping down Lake Creek 
where it could be harmful to non-target fish during the first 14 to 21 
days following treatment. Diamond Lake is expected to refill in April 
of 2000 and resume its normal flow down Lake Creek.
    The Forest Service is conducting this analysis as a basis for 
issuing a special use permit to the ODF&W allowing the Department to do 
the following: (a) Temporary placement of four (4) pumps, with a fifth 
pump as a backup, at the north end of Diamond Lake where the Lake 
empties into Lake Creek; (b) temporary use of Forest Service boat ramps 
and launch facilities during the storage and application of the 
rotenone; and (c) temporary drawdown of Diamond Lake.
    The application of rotenone by the ODF&W is a connected action. The 
EIS will also disclose the effects of this connected action.
    Diamond Lake is a natural lake situated at an elevation of 5,182 
feet in the Cascade mountains of southern Oregon. The Lake has a 
surface of approximately 2,930 acres and is relatively shallow, with a 
maximum depth of just over 50 feet. Diamond Lake drains into Lake 
Creek, which empties into Lemolo Lake and two other impoundments before 
the water becomes free-flowing in the upper reaches of the North Umpqua 
River. The flow of water from Lemolo Lake and the other impoundments is 
regulated by Pacific Corp and is outside the scope of this analysis.
    The ability of the tui chub to reproduce prolifically has 
interrupted the traditional food chain of the rainbow trout. As a 
result, there has been a severe decline in the survival of fingerling 
rainbow trout and the subsequent growth of the surviving trout. The 
decline in the number of rainbow trout may be responsible for the 
perceived decline in bald eagles and osprey that inhabit or visit the 
Lake. These species rely heavily on the rainbow trout as a source of 
food, and the tui chub are not large enough to provide an alternative 
food source.
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review July 
1998. Your comments and suggestions are encouraged and should be in 
writing. The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the 
date the EPA publishes the notice of availability in the Federal 
Register.
    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice at this early stage as a result 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 of the proposal so that it is meaningful and 
alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont 
Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. versus NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, 
environmental objections that could be raised at the draft EIS stage, 
but that are not raised until after completion of the final EIS, may be 
waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon versus 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 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.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, 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 1503.3 in addressing these points).
    The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in September 1998. In 
the

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final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to comments and 
responses received during the comment period that pertain to the 
environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable 
laws, regulations, and policies considered in making a decision 
regarding the proposal. Don Ostby, Forest Supervisor for the Umpqua 
National Forest, is the responsible official. The Forest Supervisor 
will document the decision and rationale for the Diamond Lake Drawdown 
decision in the Record of Decision, which will be subject to Forest 
Service Appeal Regulations 36 CFR part 215.

    Dated: January 27, 1998.
Don Ostby,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 98-2439 Filed 1-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M