[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 64 (Monday, April 3, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17481-17482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8054]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Tuxekan Island 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 Tongass 
National Forest Timber Sale Program. The Record of Decision will 
disclose how the Forest Service has selected harvest units, designed 
roads, and planned for future stand management activities. The proposed 
action is to harvest approximately 20 MMBF of timber on Tuxekan Island. 
A range of alternatives responsive to significant issues will be 
developed and include a no-action alternative. The proposed project is 
located on Tuxekan Island west of Prince of Wales Island in townships 
69 and 70 east (T69E, T70E) and ranges 78 and 79 south (R78S, R79S), 
Copper River Meridian, on the Thorne Bay Ranger District of the Tongass 
National Forest.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received 
by May 31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to District Ranger; Thorne Bay 
Ranger District; Tongass National Forest; Attn: Tuxekan Island Timber 
Sale EIS; P.O. Box 19001; Thorne Bay, AK 99919.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposal and EIS 
should be directed to: Stan McCoy, Thorne Bay Ranger District, Tongass 
National Forest, P.O. Box 19001, Thorne Bay, AK 99919, telephone (907) 
828-3243 or E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    (1) Public Participation: 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 Native, 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. Public scoping meetings are 
scheduled in Alaska at Edna Bay, Klawock, Naukati, and Thorne Bay. 
Meeting dates are tentatively scheduled for April, 2000 and will be 
published in the Ketchikan Daily News and the Island News newspapers 
distributed in southeast Alaska. Meeting dates will also be available 
from the Thorne Bay Ranger District by calling (907) 828-3304. 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 May 31, 
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 (Draft 
EIS). The Draft EIS filing date with the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) is scheduled for January 2001. Public comment on the Draft 
EIS will be solicited for a minimum of 45 days from the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in 
the Federal Register. Subsistence hearings, as provided for in Title 
VIII, Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
Act (ANILCA), are planned during this 45-day comment period if needed. 
The Final EIS is anticipated by October 2001.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns of the proposed action, comments during scoping and 
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.
    In addition, Federal court decisions have established that 
reviewers of Draft EIS 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 concerns. 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 if not raised until 
after completion of the final environmental impact statement. 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). 
The reason for this is to ensure that subsistence comments and 
objections are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it 
can

[[Page 17482]]

meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the Final EIS.
    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 might be 
granted in only very limited circumstances, such as to protect trade 
secrets. The Forest Service will inform the requester of the agencies 
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 including 
the following:
    1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

--Approvals 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 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: March 20, 2000.
Thomas Puchlerz,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 00-8054 Filed 3-31-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M