[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 146 (Friday, July 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46423-46424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-19062]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Ray's Valley Road Realignment, Uinta National Forest, Utah 
County, Utah

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revision to Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: The Uinta National Forest will prepare an environmental impact 
statement on a proposal to realign the existing Ray's Valley Road 
(Forest Development Road #051). Ray's Valley road is an arterial road 
on the Spanish Fork Ranger District, Uinta National Forest. This is a 
revision to the Notice of Intent published in the Federal Register 
(Vol. 65, No. 104, pp. 34436-34437) on May 30, 2000.

DATES: Comments should be received in writing by August 30, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Renee Flanagan, Ray's Valley 
EIS Team Leader, Uinta National Forest, 88 West 100 North, PO Box 1428, 
Provo, Utah 84601 or sent by e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice of Intent for this project was 
originally published in the Federal Register (Volume 65, Number 104, 
pp. 34436 to 34437) on May 30, 2000. The May 20th NOI contained an 
error in the scoping dates. This Revision to the NOI provides for 
another scoping comment period, revises the anticipated completion 
dates for the Draft and Final environmental impact statements, and 
updates the name of the project leader and contact.
    The Ray's Valley Road is a heavily used travel route that connects 
with the Diamond Fork Road (Forest Development Road #029), and the 
Right Fork Hobble Creek Road (Forest Development Road #058) at 
Springville Crossing. These arterial travel routes provide access for 
the Wasatch Front to Spanish Fork Canyon, and Utah State Highway 6 via 
the Diamond Fork and Ray's Valley Roads. They also provide access to 
and from Utah State Highway 6 and the Strawberry Reservoir Recreation 
Complex via the Ray's Valley Road.
    The surface of the Diamond Fork Road and most of the Ray's Valley 
Road are asphalt pavement of gravel. However, a portion of the Ray's 
Valley Road is narrow, winding, and native-surfaced. During inclement 
weather conditions, the road surface becomes extremely hazardous to 
travel, and/or impassable.
    Some of the existing road lies directly adjacent to tributaries of 
Diamond Fork Creek. Approximately 1.8 miles of this route are located 
on soils subject to severe slumping and/or erosion. Due to the 
proximity of the road to the streams, eroding soil is easily 
transported into Diamond Fork and Sixth Water Creeks. Diamond Fork 
Creek provides habitat for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, a sensitive 
species. Operation and maintenance costs on this section of road are 
high. Existing road conditions do not meet Road Management Objectives 
for an arterial system road. The Forest Service has long planned to 
realign this road to address these concerns; however, funding has never 
been available.
    The proposed action is to construct the Ray's Valley Road on a new 
alignment and to obliterate the road on its existing alignment. The 
purpose and need of the proposed action is to reduce or eliminate these 
adverse watershed and fisheries impacts, and to provide safer driving 
conditions, while maintaining a key arterial component of the Forest's 
travel system.
    Preliminary issues: Issues identified at this time include: health 
and safety; travel management; soils; fisheries; threatened, 
endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species; and roadless areas.
    Possible Alternatives: Three possible alternatives have been 
identified: (1) No Action--Leave the road in its current condition: (2) 
Reconstruct Using the Existing Alignment--Reconstruct on the existing 
alignment and surface the road with crushed aggregate; and (3) 
Construct on a New Alignment (Proposed Action)--Reconstruct, realign, 
and obliterate portions of the Ray's Valley Road.
    The No Action Alternative would leave the road in current 
condition. Maintenance would be limited to actions required for passage 
of high clearance vehicles. The road would remain unsafe during periods 
of precipitation. Arterial system road standards for capacity and 
safety would not be addressed by this alternative. Road induced 
sediment in nearby streams would remain at current levels, or increase 
as erosion of the roadway continues.
    The Reconstruct Existing Alignment Alternative would reconstruct 
the road on its existing alignment and add a crushed aggregate surface. 
Reconstruction would provide better control of drainage from roadway 
runoff, provide safer and more comfortable vehicle travel during 
precipitation, and support a greater range of vehicle types. Road 
induced sediment in nearby streams would slightly decrease due to 
better drainage and aggregate surfacing. Road Management Objectives for 
an arterial system road will not be fully accomplished by this 
alternative due to the location.
    The Proposed Action is the Construct New Alignment Alternative. 
Under this alternative the majority of the existing Ray's Valley Road 
would be constructed on a new alignment and a small portion would be 
reconstructed on the existing alignment. The new alignment would be 
located on more stable soils, and away from streams and riparian areas. 
The abandoned portions of the existing alignment would be closed and 
rehabilitated. This proposal would result in approximately 3.6 miles of 
a double lane road with a crushed aggregate surface. Access to Forest 
Development Road 715 from the new alignment would be maintained by 
reconstructing a portion of Forest Development Road 387. This would 
ensure continued access to the west portal of the Strawberry Tunnel.
    Proposed Scoping Process: This Revised Notice of Intent extends the 
scoping process. As part of the scoping period, the Forest Services 
solicits public comment on the nature and scope of the environmental, 
social, and economic issues related to the proposed action that should 
be analyzed in depth in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. 
Comments on this proposal should be sent to the address shown earlier 
in this notice.

[[Page 46424]]

    Public participation will be solicited by notifying affected 
interests through personal contacts and by mail. This project has been 
listed in the Uinta National Forests ``Schedule of Proposed Actions'' 
(i.e. NEPA Quarterly). News releases will also be utilized to give the 
public general notice. Comments concerning the Proposed Action and EIS 
should address environmental issues to be considered, feasible 
alternatives to examine, possible mitigation, and information relevant 
to or bearing on the Proposed Action.
    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 at this early stage 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 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). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement stage, but are not raised until 
after completion of the final environmental impact statement, may be 
viewed or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F. 2d 
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 the 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 be meaningfully considered and respond to 
them in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying issues and concerns on 
the proposed action, 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 environment 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.
    Tentative Project Schedule: Begin Comment Period--April, 2000; 
Comment Period Ends--August 30, 2000; Draft EIS--December, 2000; Final 
EIS and Record of Decision--April 2001.
    Responsible Official: Jack A. Blackwell, USDA Forest Service 
Intermountain Regional Forester, 324 25th Street, Ogden, Utah 84401.
    For Further Information Contact: Renee Flanagan, (801) 342-5100 or 
at the address listed previously.

    Dated: July 17, 2000.
Peter W. Karp,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 00-19062 Filed 7-27-00; 8:45 am]
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