[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 130 (Friday, July 6, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35583-35584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-16959]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Licking Creek 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 decides to provide harvest units, 
roads, and associated timber harvesting facilities. The proposed action 
is to harvest up to an estimated 20 million board feet (mmbf) of timber 
on an estimated 960 acres in one timber sale. 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 Unit 7460 on Revillagigedo Island, 
Alaska, on the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District 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 July 20, 2001. 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-Misty Fiords Ranger District, 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-Misty Fiords Ranger District, Tongass National Forest, 3031 
Tongass Ave. Ketchikan, AK 99901 telephone (907) 228-4100 or Kathy 
O'Connor, NEPA Coordinator, Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District, 
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

[[Page 35584]]

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 includes: (1) Identification of 
potential issues; (2) identification of issues to be analyzed in depth; 
(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 public 
meeting will be scheduled after the Draft EIS is published. This active 
scoping will begin with the publication of this Notice of Intent (NOI) 
and continue through preparation of the 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 EIS. The Draft EIS is projected to be 
filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in early December 
2001. Subsistence hearings, as provided for in Title VIII, Section 810 
of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), if 
needed, will be held during the comment period on the Draft EIS. The 
Final EIS is anticipated by March 2002.
    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.
    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, Tongas 
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: June 26, 2001.
Thomas Puchlerz,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 01-16959 Filed 7-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M