[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 20, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 15686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-6810]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Kirkpatrick Dam/Oklawaha River Restoration Project, Ocala 
National Forest, Putnam and Marion County Florida

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service along with the Florida Department of 
Environmental Protection (FDEP), intends to prepare a draft 
environmental impact statement to authorize continued occupancy and use 
of national forest system land for operating and maintaining portions 
of Kirkpatrick Dam, Rodman Reservoir, and Eureka Lock in conjunction 
with the implementation of the partial restoration of the Oklawaha 
River.

DATES: A draft environmental impact statement is expected to be 
completed in April 2001. The final environmental impact statement is 
scheduled to be completed in December 2001.

ADDRESSES: You may request to be placed on the project mailing list and 
direct comments to: Marsha Kearney, Forest Supervisor, USDA Forest 
Service, 325 John Knox Rd., Tallahassee, Florida 32303.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Hemingway, Special Projects 
Liaison, USDA Forest Service, 325 John Knox Rd., Tallahassee, Florida 
32303, 850-942-9364.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FDEP has applied for a permit to occupy 
and use national forest system land for operating and maintaining 
portions of Kirkpatrick Dam, Rodman Resevoir, and Eureka Lock. The FDEP 
is in the process of developing the Kirkpatrick Dam/Ocklawaha River 
Restoration Project for restoring a portion of the Cross Florida Barge 
Canal to its historic condition. The FDEP is considering four 
alternatives for this project: (1) Complete Restoration of the Oklawaha 
River, (2) Partial Restoration of the Oklawaha River, (3) Total 
Retention of the Rodman Reservoir, and (4) Partial Retention of the 
Rodman Reservoir. The FDEP has chosen the Partial Restoration of the 
Oklawaha River as its preferred alternative. This plan will restore 
river hydrology and floodplain function to historic conditions through 
breaching the dam, with limited removal and/or alteration of structures 
and topographical manipulation, and allowing for restoration by natural 
processes.
    A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement for this project was prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (COE) and published on February 6, 1996. The COE decisions 
include permitting activities for Section 9 and Section 10 of the 
Rivers and Harbors Act and for Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The 
COE permitting decisions are several years away and the Forest Service 
decision is ripe for action at this time; therefore, the Forest Service 
intends to prepare its own draft environmental impact statement to 
support its land use decision. The Forest Supervisor for the National 
Forests in Florida will decide whether or not to permit continued 
occupancy and use of national forest system land by FDEP for operating 
and maintaining portions of Kirkpatrick Dam, Rodman Reservoir, and 
Eureka Lock, and the disposition and management of currently submerged 
national forest land in conjunction with the implementation of the 
Partial Restoration of the Oklawaha River.
    The scoping process, as outlined by the Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ), will be utilized to involve Federal, State, and local 
agencies and other interested persons and organizations. Interested 
persons and organizations wishing to participate in the scoping process 
should contact the Forest Service at the above mentioned address. 
Environmental considerations include potential presence of historical 
or archeological resources, aesthetics, recreation demand, water 
quality, flood control, water supply, land use, wetlands, endangered 
and threatened species, and fish and wildlife habitats and values. 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 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). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may 
be waived 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 this proposed action 
participate by the close of the 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 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 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer 
to the CEQ for implementing the procedural provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.

    Dated: March 14, 2001.
Art Rohrbacher,
Acting Forest Supervisor, National Forests in Florida.
[FR Doc. 01-6810 Filed 3-19-01; 8:45 am]
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