[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 226 (Friday, November 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58710-58711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-29215]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Slide Ridge 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) on a proposal to harvest timber in 
the Slide Ridge Timber Sale project area, Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger 
District, Tongass National Forest. The proposed action includes a sale 
plan to harvest 4-5 million board feet (MMBF) or approximately 40% of 
the standing timber from 300 acres of National Forest System lands in 
the Whipple Creek drainage. No new roads would be built and 
approximately 6 miles of existing road would be reconstructed to 
facilitate helicopter yarding. The purpose and need of the timber sale 
is to contribute to the production of a sustained yield of timber and 
mix of other resource activities from the Tongass National Forest, 
consistent with Forest Plan Standards and Guidelines. A range of 
alternatives responsive to key issues will be developed. The range of 
alternatives will include the no-action alternative and an alternative 
that proposes up to 3 miles of new road construction to facilitate both 
helicopter and conventional yarding. The Tongass Forest Supervisor will 
decide on whether or not to harvest timber from this area, and if so, 
how this timber would be harvested. The decision will be based on the 
information disclosed in the EIS and the goals, objectives and desired 
future conditions as stated in the Forest Plan.

DATES: Opportunities for comment are available throughout the process. 
Individuals interested in receiving a scoping package should contact us 
within 30 days of the publication of this NOI. Additional opportunities 
for comment will be provided following development of a specific agency 
proposed action, during alternative development, and after release of 
the Draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to District Ranger, Ketchikan-
Misty Fiords Ranger District, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Ingersoll, District Ranger, 
(907) 228-4100 or Eric Trimble, Project Leader, (907) 228-4127.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed timber sale is located within 
Tongass Forest Plan Value Comparison Units 7490 and 8642, Revillagigedo 
Island, Alaska. Approximately 80% of proposed sale units are located 
within the North Revilla Inventoried Roadless Area. The Forest Service 
is reevaluating its Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Roadless Rule) and 
is currently enjoined from implementing all aspects of the Roadless 
Rule by the U.S. District Court, District of Idaho. The Ketchikan-Misty 
Fiords Ranger District is preparing the Slide Ridge EIS to be 
consistent with the Forest Service Transportation; Final Administrative 
Policy (Roads Rule). Among other direction, the Roads Rule requires 
that an area-specific roads analysis to be completed and a 
determination of need for amendment or revision of the Forest Plan be 
made if any roads are to be constructed or reconstructed in inventoried 
roadless or contiguous unroaded areas, until a forest-wide roads 
analysis has been completed (FSM 7712.16(c)). This analysis and 
determination will be made for the Slide Ridge Timber Sale project. In 
Sierra Club v. Lyons (J00-0009 (CV)), the U.S. District Court, District 
of Alaska enjoined the Tongass National Forest from taking any action 
to change the wilderness character of any eligible roadless area until 
a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) has been 
completed. The SEIS is currently being prepared. Planning for the Slide 
Ridge Timber Sale Project will continue simultaneously and in 
coordination with the SEIS. The repercussions of delaying the project 
planning process regarding road building and timber harvest, even for a 
relatively short period, can have a significant effect on the amount of 
timber available for sale in the next year. The Slide Ridge Timber Sale 
Project is consistent with the 1977 Tongass Land Management Plan.
    Public participation has been and will continue to be an integral 
component of the analysis process. The Forest Service will be seeking 
additional information, comments, and assistance from Federal, State, 
local and tribal agencies, individuals and organizations that may be 
interested in, or affected by, proposed activities. The scoping process 
includes: (1) Identification of potential issues; (2) Identification of 
issues to be analyzed in depth; and (3) Suggestions for possible 
alternatives. Both written and verbal comments will be accepted during 
this process. A series of public meetings will be scheduled and a 
scoping package sent to interested individuals and/or organizations. 
Scoping began in January 2001 with a notice in the Ketchikan Daily News 
followed by a public mailing. At that time, we had anticipated 
preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for this project. As a 
result of the initial scoping we have decided to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that resulted in the publication 
of this NOI. Scoping will continue following this publication and 
through the preparation of the Draft EIS. Based on the results of 
scoping and the resource conditions within the project area, 
alternatives including a ``no action'' alternative will be developed 
for the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is scheduled to be filed with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2002. The Final EIS is 
anticipated by January 2003. The comment period on the Draft EIS will 
be a minimum of 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) publishes the notice of availability (NOA) in the Federal 
Register.
    The Forest Service believes that it is important to give reviewers 
notice of several court rulings related to public participation in the 
environmental review process. First, reviewers of Draft EIS must 
structure their participation in the environmental review of the

[[Page 58711]]

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 have been raised at the Draft EIS 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 received by the Forest Service at a time when it can 
meaningfully consider and respond to them in the Final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns of the proposed action, comments during scoping and 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 EIS. 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 (CEQ) Regulations 
for implementing the procedural provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 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. 
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 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;
2. Environmental Protection Agency
    --National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (402) Permit;
3. State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation
    --Solid Waste Disposal Permit;
    --Certification of Compliance with Alaska Water Quality Standards

    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: November 13, 2001.
Thomas Puchlerz,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 01-29215 Filed 11-21-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M