[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 222 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63007-63008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30076]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Gravina Island Timber Sales Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to provide timber for the Tongass 
National Forest timber sale program. The Record of Decision will 
disclose how the Forest Service decides to provide harvest units, 
roads, and associated timber harvesting facilities. The proposed action 
is to harvest up to an estimated 40 million board feet (mmnbf) of 
timber on an estimated 1800 acres in several timber sales. The project 
area is located within Gravina roadless area (#522) as inventoried in 
the Tongas Land and Resource Management Plan. 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 
Tongass Forest Plan Value Comparison Units 7610, 7630, 7640, 7650 on 
Gravina Island, Alaska, on the Ketchikan Ranger District/Misty Fiords 
National Monument of the Tongass National Forest.

DATES: Opportunities for comment will be made available throughout the 
process and are identified below. In order to take full advantage of 
scheduled comment periods, individuals interested in receiving a 
scoping package should contact us by December 1, 1999. Further 
opportunities for comment will be provided following development of a 
specific agency proposed action, during alternative development and 
following release of the Draft EIS.
ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to District/Monument Ranger, 
Ketchikan Ranger District/Misty Fiords National Monument, 3031 Tongass 
Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposal and EIS 
should be directed to Jerry Ingersoll, District/Monument Ranger, 
Ketchikan Ranger District/Misty Fiords National Monument, Tongass 
National Forest, 3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, AK 99901 telephone (907) 
228-4100 or Susan Marthaller, NEPA Coordinator, Ketchikan Ranger 
District/Misty Fiords National Monument, 3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, 
AK 99901 telephone (907) 228-4124.

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 and tribal 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 and (4) 
suggestions for possible alternatives.
    Opportunities to provide both written and verbal comment and to 
provide feedback on the process will be made available. A series of 
public meetings will be scheduled and a scoping package sent to the 
project mailing list. This active scoping will begin with the 
publication of the NOI and continue through preparation of a draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS).
    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 late March 2000 or early April 2000. 
Subsistence hearings, as provided for in Title VIII, Section 810 of the 
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), will be 
planned, if needed, during the comment period on the Draft EIS. The 
Final EIS is anticipated by October 2000.
    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will 
be a minimum of 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.

[[Page 63008]]

    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, 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 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 may 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)

Responsible Official

    Thomas Puchlerz, Forest Supervisor, 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: November 3, 1999.
Thomas Puchlerz,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 99-30076 Filed 11-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M