[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51229-51231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18915]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Kuiu 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 
and to develop a road management plan for the Kuiu Timber Sale on 
north-central Kuiu Island, on the Petersburg Ranger District, Tongass 
National Forest. The proposed action provides for multiple timber sale 
opportunities and will result in the production of approximately 35 
million board feet (mmbf) of timber from approximately 1,270 acres of 
forested land. Up to 15

[[Page 51230]]

miles of temporary road may be necessary for timber harvest; no new 
permanent roads would be constructed. A range of alternatives, 
responsive to significant issues, will be developed and will include a 
no action alternative. The Rowan Bay LTF will be used. This project is 
within the Kuiu biogeographic province. The Record of Decision will 
disclose whether and where the Forest Supervisor has decided to provide 
timber harvest units, roads and associated timber harvesting 
facilities.

DATES: An initial letter outlining the project timeline and public 
involvement opportunities was distributed during February 2004. A 
scoping letter will be mailed January of 2005. Individuals who want to 
receive this mailing should contact the Petersburg Ranger District at 
the following address. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is 
projected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 
the fall of 2004 and will begin a 45-day public comment period. The 
Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision are 
scheduled to be published in the spring of 2005.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to the Petersburg Ranger 
District, Tongass National Forest, Attn: Kuiu Timber Sale EIS, PO Box 
1328, Petersburg, AK 99833. The Fax number is (907) 772-5995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposal and EIS 
should be directed to Patricia Grantham, District Ranger, Petersburg 
Ranger District, Tongass National Forest, PO Box 1328, Petersburg, AK 
99833, telephone (907) 772-3871, or Kris Rutledge, Interdisciplinary 
Team Leader, Petersburg Ranger District, PO Box 1328, Petersburg, AK 
99833, telephone (907) 772-3871.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The 46,100-acre Kuiu project area is located within Value 
Comparison Units 399, 400, 402, and 421 on Kuiu Island, Alaska, on the 
Petersburg Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest. A portion of 
one Inventoried Roadless Areas, North Kuiu 241, as identified 
by the Forest Plan and SEIS, is located within the project area. The 
project area includes one small old-growth habitat reserve as 
designated in the Forest Plan. There will be no proposed timber harvest 
in areas of Old-Growth Reserve management prescriptions. However, roads 
may be proposed through Old-Growth reserves to access suitable and 
available forestland outside the reserves. A Forest Plan amendment 
would be required if a decision is made to modify the old-growth 
habitat reserve boundary associated with this project.
    The purpose and need for the proposed action responds to the goals 
and objectives identified by the Tongass Land Management Plan, as 
amended, and helps move the area toward the desired conditions as 
described in the forest plan. The Forest Supervisor is the Responsible 
Official for this action and will decide whether or not to harvest 
timber from the Kuiu Timber Sale area, and if so, how this timber will 
be harvested. The decision will be based on the information that is 
disclosed in the environmental impact statement.
    The responsible official will consider comments, responses, the 
disclosure of environmental consequences, and applicable laws, 
regulations, and policies in making the decision and will state that 
rationale in the Record of Decision.
    The Forest Plan goals and objectives applicable to the Kuiu Project 
Area include:
     Provisions for a vigorous and healthy forest environment, 
including management of timber resource for production of sawtimber and 
other wood products from suitable lands made available for timber 
harvest on an even-flow, long-term sustained yield basis, and in an 
economically efficient manner.
     Provisions for current and future habitat needs of endemic 
wildlife species, maintenance and enhancement of current riparian 
conditions.
     Provisions for a diversity of opportunities for resource 
uses that contribute to the local and regional economies of Southeast 
Alaska to support a wide range of natural-resource employment 
opportunities within Southeast Alaska's communities.
     Ensures the Forest Service acts in a responsible manner by 
providing a timber supply sufficient to meet the annual market demand 
for the Tongass National Forest and the demand for the planning cycle 
while maintaining a Forest-wide system of old-growth forest habitat to 
sustain old-growth associated species and resources and ensures that 
the reserve system meets the minimum size, spacing, and composition 
criteria.

Public Participation

    Public participation has been an integral component of the study 
process and will continue to be especially important at several points 
during the analysis. The Forest Service will be seeking information, 
comments, and assistance from Tribal Governments, Federal, State, and 
Local agencies, individuals and organizations that may be interested 
in, or affected by, the proposed activities. Written scoping comments 
have been solicited through an informal scoping package that was sent 
to the project mailing list and will be available at open houses in 
Petersburg, Alaska and Kake, Alaska. The scoping process includes: (1) 
Identification of potential issues; (2) identification of issues to be 
analyzed in depth; and (3) elimination of non-significant issues or 
those which have been covered by a previous environmental review. 
Tentative issues identified for analysis in the EIS include the 
potential effects of the project on, and the relationship of the 
project to, the old-growth habitat reserve system, roadless areas and 
timber sale economics.
    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 Environmental Impact Statement. 
Subsistence hearings, as provided for in Title VIII, Section 810 of the 
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), will be 
conducted, if necessary, during the comment period on the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement.
    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will 
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency published 
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 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.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.

[[Page 51231]]

    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 Environmental Impact 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 include the following:
1. U.S. Army Corps 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
     General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
Permit for Log Transfer Facilities in Alaska;
     Review Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan;
3. State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources
     Tideland Permit and Lease or Easement;
     Certification of Compliance with Alaska Water Quality 
Standards (401 Certification) Chapter 20;
4. Office of Project Management & Permitting (DNR)
     Coastal Zone Consistency Determination concurrence;
5. State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation
     Solid Waste Disposal Permit.

Responsible Official

    Forrest Cole, Forest Supervisor, Tongass National Forest, Federal 
Building, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901, is the responsible official. The 
responsible official will consider the comments, responses, disclosure 
of environmental consequences, and applicable laws, regulations, and 
policies in making the decision and state the rationale in the Record 
of Decision.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)

    Dated: August 3, 2004.
Forrest Cole,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 04-18915 Filed 8-17-04; 8:45 am]
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