[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 158 (Monday, August 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43903-43904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21977]


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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 
 appearing in this section.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 158 / Monday, August 17, 1998 / 
Notices  

[[Page 43903]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Emerald Bay Timber Sale 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 timber sale program. The Record of Decision will 
disclose how the Forest Service has decided to provide harvest units 
and associated timber harvesting facilities. The proposed action is to 
harvest an estimated 15 million board feet (mmbf) of timber on 
approximately 900 acres in a single timber sale. A range of 
alternatives responsive to significant issues will be developed, 
including a no action alternative. The proposed timber harvest is 
located within Tongass Forest Plan Value Comparison Unit 721 on 
Cleveland Peninsula, Alaska, on the Ketchikan Ranger District, 
Ketchikan Area, Tongass National Forest.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received 
by September 15, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to: Forest Supervisor's Office, 
Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Area, Attn.: Emerald Bay EIS, 
Federal Building, Ketchikan, AK 99901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pete Griffin, Acting District Ranger, Ketchikan Ranger District, 
Tongass National Forest, 3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, AK 99901, 
telephone (907) 228-4100 or Craig Trulock, Planning Silviculturist, 
Ketchikan Ranger District, 3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, AK 99901, 
telephone (907) 228-4125.

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 and 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 insignificant issues or those which have been 
covered by a previous environmental review. Written scoping comments 
will be solicited through a scoping package that will be sent to the 
project mailing list and to the local newspaper. For the Forest Service 
to best use the scoping input, comments should be received by September 
15, 1998. Preliminary issues identified for analysis in the EIS include 
the potential effects of the project on, and the relationship of the 
project to: subsistence resources, timber supply and economics, and 
others.

    Based on the results of scoping and the resource capabilities 
within the Project Area, alternatives, including a no action 
alternative, will be developed for the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is 
projected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 
January 1999. Subsistence hearings, as provided for in Title VIII, 
Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
(ANILCA), will be held during the comment period on the Draft EIS if 
needed. The Final EIS is anticipated by May 1999.
    The comment period on the Draft EIS will be a minimum of 45 days 
from the date the EPA 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 EISs 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 EIS 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 courts 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 they can be meaningfully considered and 
responded to in the Final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns of the Proposed Action, comments during scoping and on the 
Draft EIS should be as specific as possible and refer to specific pages 
or chapters. Comments may address the adequacy of the Draft EIS or the 
merits of the alternatives formulated and discussed. In addressing 
these points reviewers may wish to refer to the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural 
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act in 40 CFR 1503.3. 
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. 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. If 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 seven days.
    Permits: required for implementation include the following:

1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
    --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

[[Page 43904]]

    --Review Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan
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. In making the decision, the 
responsible official will consider the comments, responses, disclosure 
of environmental consequences, and applicable laws, regulations, and 
policies. The responsible official will state the rationale for the 
chosen alternative in the Record of Decision.

    Dated: August 6, 1998.
Bradley E. Powell,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 98-21977 Filed 8-14-98; 8:45 am]
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