[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 177 (Friday, September 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53728-53730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23306]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[ER-FRL-6643-7]


Environmental Impact Statements and Regulations; Availability of 
EPA Comments

    Availability of EPA comments prepared pursuant to the Environmental 
ReviewProcess (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 04, 2003 (68 FR 16511).

Draft EISs

    ERP No. D-AFS-E65065-KY Rating EC2, Daniel Boone National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan Revision, Implementation, Winchester, 
several counties, KY.
    Summary: EPA has environmental concerns related primarily to water 
quality improvement goals and objectives for the National Forest. EPA 
recommends inclusion of several forest-wide goals, objectives and 
standards to improve water quality and identifies individual, 
watershed-specific, and management prescriptions for implementation.
    ERP No. D-AFS-E65087-AL Rating LO, Forest Health and Restoration 
Project, Proposal to Determine the Desired Future Conditions of 
allExisting Loblolly Pine Stands, National Forests in Alabama, Bankhead 
National Forest, Winston,Lawrence and Franklin Counties, AL.
    Summary: EPA supports efforts to restore native upland hardwood 
forests and pine-oak woodlands. EPA has no objections to this project, 
provided mitigation measures and monitoring programs, as described in 
the Draft EIS, are implemented.

[[Page 53729]]

    ERP No. D-AFS-J65388-UT Rating EC2, North Rich Cattle Allotment, 
Grazing Authorization,Implementation, Logan District, Wasatch-Cache 
NationalNational Forest, Cache and Rich Counties, UTCounties, UT.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns regarding impacts 
from livestock grazing and motorized recreation to wetlands, streams 
and riparian zones, pathogens in streams, springs and ponds that are 
habitat for boreal toad (ESA candidate species) and rare Bonneville 
cutthroat trout. EPA recommended the Proposed Action be modified to 
eliminate grazing impacts near important aquatic resources.
    ERP No. D-AFS-L65419-ID Rating EC2, Upper and Lower East Fork 
Cattle and HorseAllotment Management Plans, Revision of Allotment Plans 
to Allow Permitted LivestockGrazing, National Forest System Lands, 
Sawthooth and Challis National Forests, Custer County, ID.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns with adverse impacts 
to riparian zones and aquatic habitat from grazing. The final EIS 
should contain measures to restore and protect critical habitat in the 
project area. The final EIS should offer a full range of alternatives 
to meet a well defined purpose and need.
    ERP No. D-AFS-L65424-ID Rating EC2, North End Sheep Allotment 
Management Plan (AMP)Revision, Authorization of ContinuedLivestock Use, 
Caribou-Targhee NationalForest, Soda Springs Ranger District, Caribou 
and Bonneville Counties, ID.
    Summary: EPA recommends that a broader range of action alternatives 
be considered in the final EIS to meet the Purpose and Need of the 
project. EPA recommends that the final EIS further analyze the 
cumulative effects, especially related to grazing, mining, and other 
recreational activities that may continue to degrade aquatic habitat.
    ERP No. D-FHW-G40175-TX Rating LO, TX-45 Highway Southeast Study, 
I-35 south at Farm-to-Market Road-1327 to TX-130/US 183,Local Regional 
Enhancements to the NationalTransportation Systems, Funding and Right-
of-WayPermit Issuance, Travis County, TX.
    Summary: EPA has no objections to the preferred alternative.
    ERP No. D-FRC-E03010-FL Rating EC2, Ocean Express Pipeline Project, 
Construction,Operation and Maintenance of an Interstate NaturalGas 
Pipeline extending from the Exclusive EconomicZone (EEZ) boundary 
between the United States and the Bahamas, (Docket No. CP02-090-001-1) 
Plan of Operations Approval, NPDES and U.S. Army COE Section 10 and 
Possible 404 Permits, Broward County, FL.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concern about potential 
impacts to Florida nearshore corals/hardbottoms and onshore mangrove 
wetlands and the uncertainty of successful Horizontal 
DirectionalDrilling crossings. Impact verification and a better 
mitigation plan to include a relocation plan for corals/hardbottoms was 
requested.
    ERP No. D-IBW-G36155-TX Rating EC2, Lower Rio Grande Flood Control 
Project,Alternative Vegetation Maintenance PracticesImpacts, 
Implementation, Portions of the RioGrande, Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy 
Counties, TX.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns regarding potential 
jurisdictional wetland impacts and requested additional information on 
this issue.
    ERP No. D-NPS-E65066-NC Rating LO, Proposed Land Exchange between 
the National ParkService and the Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians,Exchange of Land Known as Ravensford Site for Land Known as 
Waterrock Knob Site, Great SmokyMountains National Park, Cherokee, 
Graham,Jackson, Macon, Swain Counties, NC.
    Summary: EPA supports the 143-acre Revensford site exchange for the 
Waterrock Knob site; this reduced-acre site exchange would most protect 
most of the alluvial forest adjacent to the Oconaluftee River that 
constitutes the 100-year floodplain. EPA also suggested design 
modifications be considered that would minimize impacts to all 100-year 
floodplain areas.
    ERP No. D-TVA-E39062-00 Rating EC2, Programmatic EIS--Tennessee 
Valley AuthorityReservoir Operations Study, Implementation,TN, AL, KY, 
GA, MS, NC and VA.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns over the potential 
water quality impacts associated with the ``policy alternatives'' and 
recommended potential modifications to the alternatives and inclusion 
of mitigation measures.
    ERP No. D-USN-K11035-CA Rating EC2, Military Family Housing (MFH) 
in the San DiegoRegion, Construction of 1,600 MFH Units, ThreeMFH Sites 
are Located in the Marine Corps AirStation (MCAS), Miramar in the City 
of San Diego,San Diego County, CA.
    Summary: EPA raised environmental concerns with potential impacts 
to aquatic resources regulated under CleanWater Act section 404. EPA 
asked that the Final EIS and Record of Decision incorporate pollution 
prevention measures to reduce adverse mitigation to reduce 
construction-related air pollution.

Final EISs

    ERP No. F-AFS-J65368-UT Duck Creek--Swains Access (Duck/Swains), 
Management Project, Wildlife Habitat, Soil and Watershed Conditions and 
Motorized Vehicle Use Management Improvements, Dixie National Forest, 
Cedar City Ranger District, Iron, Garfield and Kane Counties, UT.
    Summary: No formal comment letter was sent to the preparing agency.
    ERP No. F-AFS-J65370-MT Management Area 11 Snowmobile Use Areas on 
the Seeley Lake Ranger District, Implementation, Lola National Forest, 
Missoula and Powell Counties, MT.
    Summary: EPA did not identify any potential environmental impacts 
requiring substantive changes to the proposal but recommended 
instituting monitoring and enforcement to prevent snowmobile use in 
unauthorized areas.
    ERP No. F-AFS-J65372-CO Trout-West Hazardous Fuels Reduction 
Project, Proposed Action to Reduce Fuels, Pike-San Isabel National 
Forest, Trout and West Creek Watersheds, Teller, El Paso and Douglas 
Counties, CO.
    Summary: The final EIS reflects project changes made to address 
EPA's concerns including measures to minimize impacts, retention of 
thermal cover and road density reduction. However, EPA continues to 
have environmental concerns about landscape-level impacts to aquatic 
resources and terrestrial habitat fragmentation.
    ERP No. F-AFS-J65377-CO Missionary Ridge Burned Area Timber Salvage 
Project, Timber Harvesting, San Juan National Forest north of Durango, 
LaPlata County, CO.
    Summary: EPA has environmental concerns about (1) soil erosion, 
soil disturbance, and soil compaction; (2) runoff and potential 
degradation of water quality and habitats in streams and affected 
reservoirs; (3) sedimentation of streams and water-storage reservoirs; 
(4) fish and wildlife impacts to sensitive species; and (5) the 
potential to establish and spread noxious weeds.
    ERP No. F-AFS-L65340-AK Finger Mountain Timber Sales, Timber 
Harvesting, Implementation, U.S. Coast Guard, NPDES and U.S. Army COE 
Section 10 and 404 Permits, Tongass National Forest, Sitka Ranger 
District, AK.

[[Page 53730]]

    Summary: No formal comment letter was sent to the preparing agency.
    ERP No. F-AFS-L65393-WA Gardin--Taco Ecosystem Restoration 
Projects, Implementation, Vegetative Restoration, Road Closures, and 
Decommissioning, and other Road Improvements, Colville National Forest, 
Newport Ranger District, Pend Oreille and Stevens Counties, WA.
    Summary: No formal comment letter was sent to the preparing agency.
    ERP No. F-FHW-D40312-00 Pennsylvania Turnpike/I-95 Interchange 
Project, Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276) and I-95 in Buck County, PA 
Connection with Proposed Interstate Improvements Extending east into 
Burlington County, NJ.
    Summary: EPA has no objections with the preferred alternative. EPA 
requests that the project team continue to work closely with the 
appropriate resource agencies to ensure incorporation of any changing 
environmental conditions as the project proceeds.
    ERP No. F-USN-D52000-00 Introduction of F/A 18 E/F (Super Hornet) 
Aircraft, Replacing the F-14 (TOMCAT) and F/A-18 C/D (Hornet) Aircraft, 
Homebasing and Operation, Possible Homebase sites include Naval Air 
Station (NAS) Oceana, VA; Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort, SC 
and MCAS Cherry Point, NC
    Summary: EPA has determined that the Department of the Navy has 
adequately addressed its comments within the FEIS.


    Dated: September 9, 2003.
Ken Mittelholtz,
Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 03-23306 Filed 9-11-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P