[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 114 (Friday, June 13, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35407-35408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15012]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[ER-FRL-5541-1]


Environmental Impact Statements and Regulations; Availability of 
EPA Comments

    Availability of EPA comments prepared pursuant to the Environmental 
Review Process (ERP), under section 309 of the Clean Air Act and 
section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act as amended. 
Requests for copies of EPA comments can be directed to the Office of 
Federal Activities at (202) 564-7167. An explanation of the ratings 
assigned to draft environmental impact statements (EISs) was published 
in FR dated April 4, 2003 (68 FR 16511).

Draft EISs

    ERP No. D-AFS-J65379-CO Rating EC2, Green Ridge Mountain Pine 
Beetle Analysis Project, Proposal to Reduce the Spread of Mountain Pine 
Beetle and Associated Tree Mortality, Medicine Bow-Routt National 
Forest & Thunder Basin National Grassland, Parks Ranger District, 
Jackson County, CO.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns with harvest 
activities and road construction because of potential adverse impacts 
to aquatic resources and contiguous terrestrial habitat. The final EIS 
should include additional information regarding the use of adaptive 
management techniques, mitigation measures for soil compaction, habitat 
fragmentation and impacts from new roads.
    ERP No. D-COE-F36164-IL Rating LO, Programmatic EIS--East St. Louis 
and Vicinity, Illinois Ecosystem Restoration and Flood Damage Reduction 
Project, Implementation, Madison and St. Clair Counties, IL.
    Summary: EPA has no objections to this multi-objective, multi-
agency ecological restoration and flood control project.
    ERP No. D-COE-K36136-CA Rating EC2, Lower Cache Creek Flood Damage 
Reduction Project, Implementation, City of Woodland and Vicinity, Yolo 
County, CA.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns regarding the 
project's lack of integration and consistency with the Sacramento/San 
Joaquin River Basins Comprehensive Study, impacts on sediment loading, 
air quality, water quality and transportation, as well as direct 
impacts from future operation and maintenance of existing levees, risks 
from reasonably foreseeable flooding and the costs of residual flood 
risk.
    ERP No. D-COE-K39077-CA Rating LO, East Cliff Drive Bluff 
Protection and Parkway Project, Alternatives Evaluation for Coastal 
Bluff Erosion Protection, City of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, CA.
    Summary: EPA has a lack of objections to this project. EPA provided 
recommendations to ensure full disclosure of potential PM2.5 and ozone 
air quality effects, other potential mitigation measures for visual 
impacts and project costs.
    ERP No. D-FRC-G03020-LA Rating EC2, Hackberry Liquified Natural Gas 
(LNG) Terminal and Natural Gas Pipeline Facilities, Construction and 
Operation, Cameron, Calcasieu, and Beauregard Parishes, LA
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns over potential 
impacts and requested that additional information be provided in the 
FEIS. Additional information requested included analyses of air quality 
impacts, availability of alternatives and cumulative impacts.
    ERP No. D-FRC-K05228-CA Rating EC2, Pit 3, 4, 5 Hydroelectric 
Project, (FERC No. 233-081), Application for New License, Pit River, 
Pit River Basin, Shasta-Trinity National Forest and Lassen National 
Forest, Shasta County, CA.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns regarding impacts to 
water quality and cultural resources. EPA also requested additional 
information on impacts of minimum flow on aquatic resources and 
measures for avoiding the use of herbicides to control noxious weeds.
    ERP No. D-SFW-K91011-CA Rating EC2, Programmatic EIS--San Francisco 
Estuary Invasive Spartina Project, Spartina Control Program to Preserve 
and Restore Ecological Integrity of the Estuary's Intertidal Habitats, 
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco and San Mateo, CA.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns and recommended the 
PFEIS include additional evaluation and disclosure of Clean Water Act 
Section 404 requirements; mitigation measures for biological resources 
and visual effects; the program approach for managing dredged material 
reuse, outside seed sources of Spartina, peer reviews, and funding; 
cumulative impacts and Endangered Species Act section 7 consultation.
    ERP No. D-TVA-E29001-TN Rating EC2, Rarity Pointe Commercial 
Recreation and Residential Development on Tellico Reservoir Project, 
Request for TVA's Land and Approval of Water Use Facilities, Tellico 
Reservoir, Loudon County, TN.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns regarding water 
quality impacts for the Tellico Reservoir.

Final EISs

    ERP No. F-COE-E30040-FL Lee County Beach Erosion Control Project, 
Shore Protection, Gasparilla and Estero Islands, Lee County, FL.
    Summary: EPA has no objections to the proposed project.
    ERP NO. F-FRC-D03004-00 Greenbrier Pipeline Project, (Docket Nos. 
CPO 2-396-000 and PF 01-1-00), Proposal to Construct and Operate a 
Natural Gas Pipeline and Associated Above Ground Facilities extending 
from east of Clendenin, Kanawha County, WV, VA and Granville County, 
NC.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns regarding the 
proposed project, including wetlands losses. In light of the potential 
loss of wetlands, EPA also requested additional information regarding 
the proposed wetlands mitigation plan.
    ERP No. F-FRC-L05225-OR North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project (FERC 
Project 1927), New License Issuance for

[[Page 35408]]

the existing 185.5-megawatt (MW) Facility, North Umpqua River, Douglas 
County, OR.
    Summary: No formal comment letter was sent to the preparing agency.
    ERP No. F-FRC-L05228-ID Bear River Hydroelectric Project, 
Application for a New License for Three Existing Hydroelectric 
Projects: Soda (FERC No. 20-019), Grace-Cove (FERC No. 2401-007) and, 
Oneida (FERC No. 472-017) Bear River Basin, Caribou and Franklin 
Counties, ID.
    Summary: No formal comment letter was sent to the preparing agency.
    ERP No. F-SFW-K64021-CA Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan, 
Issuance of Incidental Take Permit and the Adoption of an Implementing 
Agreement or Agreements, Natomas Basin, Sacramento and Sutter Counties, 
CA.
    Summary: EPA expressed continuing environmental concerns regarding 
the mitigation ratio and cumulative effects analysis. EPA recommended 
the ROD summarize the scientific basis for the 0.5:1 mitigation ratio, 
include a table demonstrating that the habitat values of habitats lost 
and conserved are equivalent, include a commitment to and list of all 
other mitigation requirements, and summarize cumulative impacts. EPA 
also recommended that the ROD address triggers for new effects analysis 
or revisions to the Natomas Basin HCP and ITPs, and possible suspension 
of applicable ITPs.

    Dated: June 10, 2003.
Joseph C. Montgomery,
Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 03-15012 Filed 6-12-03; 8:45 am]
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