[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 204 (Thursday, October 22, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56604-56605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28292]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Madan 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 Stikine 
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 up to an estimated 20-25 million board feet (mmbf) of timber on 
an estimated 1,600-2,500 acres in one or more timber sales. A range of 
alternatives responsive to significant issues will be developed and 
will include a no-action alternative. The proposed timber harvest is 
located within the Tongass Forest Plan Value Comparison Units 502 and 
504 on the Southeast Alaska mainland, Wrangell Ranger District, Stikine 
Area of the Tongass National Forest.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received 
by November 20, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Wrangell Ranger District; 
Attn: Madan EIS: P.O. Box 51, Wrangell, AK 99929.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposal and EIS should be directed to Steve Brady, 
District Ranger, or Dick Cozby, TMA, Wrangell Ranger District, Tongass 
National Forest, P.O. Box 51, Wrangell, AK 99929, telephone (907) 874-
2323.

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 insignificant issues or those which have been 
covered by a previous environmental review. 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 November 20, 1998. Tentative 
issues identified for analysis in the EIS include the potential effects 
of the project on and the relationship of the project to: Old-growth 
ecosystem management and the maintenance of habitat for viable 
populations of wildlife species, timber supply and sale economics, 
scenery, road construction/access management, and karst topography.
    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 April 1999. The final EIS is anticipated by 
December 1999.
    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 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, comments 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

[[Page 56605]]

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 of 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;
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)

    Responsibile Official: Carol J. Jorgensen, Assistant Forest 
Supervisor, Stikine Area, Tongass National Forest, P.O. box 309. 
Petersburg, Alaska 99833, 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: October 10, 1998.
Carol J. Jorgensen,
Assistant Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 98-28292 Filed 10-21-98; 8:45 am]
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