[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2576-2577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-1109]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Woodpecker Project Area Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY:  Forest Service, USDA.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY:  The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to provide timber for the 
Tongass National Forest timber sale program, to enhance recreational 
opportunities, to develop a road management plan for the project area, 
and to perform watershed restoration work. The Record of Decision will 
disclose where, if any, the Forest Service has decided to provide 
timber harvest units, roads, associated timber harvesting facilities, 
dispersed recreation sites, and watershed improvements. The proposed 
action for timber harvest is to provide multiple timber sale 
opportunities for a total of approximately 13 million board feet (mmbf) 
of timber. Timber harvest will be accomplished using a variety of 
silvicultural prescriptions to meet the standards and guidelines of the 
Forest Plan. Recreation opportunity enhancement includes dispersed 
sites for camping and picnicking, and improved turnouts for parking. 
Watershed improvements includes cordoning exposed roadside banks and 
decommissioning roads were drainage problems exist. A range of 
alternatives responsive to significant issues will be developed and 
will include a no-action alternative. These activities were first 
identified during the public involvement and analysis for the Mitkof 
Landscape Design. The proposed 33,000 acre project area is located on 
parts of Value Comparison Units 447, 448, and 452 on Mitkof Island, 
Alaska on the Petersburg Ranger District of the Tongass National 
Forest. Part of this project are is within an Inventoried Roadless Area 
(Crystal #224 as identified by the Tongass Land and Resource Management 
Plan).

DATES:  Comments concerning the scope of this project should be 
received by February 7, 2000.

ADDRESSES:  Please send written comments to the Petersburg Ranger 
District, Tongass National Forest, Attn: Woodpecker Project Area EIS, 
PO Box 1328, Petersburg, AK 99833. The FAX number is (907) 772-5995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Questions about the proposal and EIS 
should be directed to Patricia Grantham, District Ranger, Petersburg 
Ranger District, Tongass National Forest, PO Box 1328, Petersburg, AK 
9983; telephone (907) 772-3871 or Cynthia Sever, Interdisciplinary Team 
Leader, Petersburg Ranger District, PO Box 1328, Petersburg, AK 9983; 
telephone (907) 772-3871.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Public participation has been an integral 
component of the study process and will be especially important at 
several points during the analysis. The proposed activities were first 
identified during the Mitkof Landscape Design in 1995, which 
incorporated aspects of collaborative stewardship. During the last 
year, the Forest Service has been seeking information, comments, and 
assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies, Federally-
recognized Indian tribes, and individuals and organizations that may be 
interested in, or affected by, the proposed activities. Written scoping 
comments have been solicited through an informal scoping package that 
was sent to the project mailing list and available at open houses in 
Petersburg, AK, and Kake, AK. 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. For 
the Forest Service to best use the scoping input, comments should be 
received by February 7, 2000.
    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. The 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement is projected to be filed with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March 2000. Subsistence 
hearings, as provided for in Title VIII, Section 810 of the Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), will be provided, if 
necessary, during the comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement. The Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of 
Decision are anticipated to be published in July 2000.
    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 proposed 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

[[Page 2577]]

Impact Statement should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful 
if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the Draft 
Environmental Impact 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 Part 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 required for implementation include the following:

1. U.S. Army Corps 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; and
--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; and
--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; and
--Certification of Compliance with Alaska Water Quality Standards (401 
Certification).

    RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: Carol Jorgensen, Assistant Forest Supervisor, 
Tongass National Forest, P.O. Box 309, 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: December 29, 1999.
Carol J. Jorgensen,
Assistant Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 00-1109 Filed 1-14-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M