[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 67 (Friday, April 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17958-17960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-7036]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Caney Recreation Facilities Development

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: Authority: The Forest Service is requesting this Revised 
Notice Of Intent be published pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality implementing regulations of the National Environmental Policy 
Act at 40 CFR 1501.7.
    Need for Revision: On September 29, 2003, the Daniel Boone National 
Forest published a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement in the Federal Register (Vol. 68, No. 188, pages 55934-
55935). The Project was entitled ``Development of Boat Ramp and 
Associated Structures at Caney Creek.'' The project included a proposal 
for development of a boat ramp, comfort station, access road, and 
associated infrastructure in the Caney Creek drainage on Cave Run Lake. 
Due to public input for the proposal, the Forest Service decided to 
revise the proposal and prepare an environmental impact statement that 
includes all reasonably foreseeable future developments at the Caney 
Site. The Caney Recreation Facilities Development proposal represents 
an expansion of the earlier proposal.
    Proposed Action: The Forest Service is proposing to allow 
construction of a boat ramp, lodge, cabins and marina within the area 
identified in the original recreational development plans for Cave Run 
Lake. Also included in the proposal will be an amendment to the Forest 
Plan.
    Decision to be Made: The Forest Supervisor will be the official 
responsible for making a decision on whether to allow development of 
recreational facilities and infrastructure in the Caney Site Project 
Area. If the Forest Supervisor determines that development is 
warranted, he will decide which facilities will be developed, where 
they will be located and where infrastructure will be located. He will 
decide which mitigation measures and monitoring requirements to include 
with the project. Finally, the Forest Supervisor will determine whether 
the Forest Land and Resource Management Plan will need to be amended.
    The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) will have a related decision 
concerning

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this project. The Responsible Official for the ACOE will decide whether 
or not to approve use of ACOE land for access to the proposed area.
    Scoping Process: Project descriptions were mailed to more than 90 
individuals and groups on April 2, 2005.
    Date Comments Are Due: Comments concerning the scope of this 
analysis should be received by May 31, 2005.
    Lead Agency: USDA Forest Service, Daniel Boone National Forest.
    Cooperating Agency: Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District.
    Responsible Officials: The Forest Supervisor for the Daniel Boone 
National Forest, located at 1700 Bypass Road, Winchester, KY 40391, is 
the responsible official for this proposed action for the Forest 
Service. The Commander and District Engineer for the Louisville 
District at PO Box 59, Louisville Kentucky 40201 is the responsible 
official for this proposed action for the Army Corps of Engineers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Send Comments to: Written comments can be mailed to: Morehead 
District Ranger, Daniel Boone National Forest, Attn: Caney Recreation 
Facilities Development, 2375 KY 801 South, Morehead, Kentucky 40351. 
Written comments can be sent by facsimile to: (606) 784-6435. 
Electronic comments should include the title line ``Caney Recreation 
Facilities Development'' and be in a common digital format and sent to: 
[email protected].
    Oral or hand-delivered comments must be provided at the District 
Ranger's office during normal business hours. Normal business hours for 
the Marched District Office in Morehead Kentucky are from 8 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m. (M-F). For submitting oral comments by telephone, call (606) 
784-6428 and identify the purpose of your call. The receptionist will 
connect you with someone who will document your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia Waller-Eling at the Daniel Boone 
National Forest, Morehead Ranger District, 2375 KY 801 S., Morehead KY 
40351; by phone at (859) 784-6428; or by e-mail at [email protected].
    Need for the Proposal: The need for this facility was identified in 
1968 in the Cave Run Composite Recreation Plan and was reaffirmed in 
1985 and 2004 in the Land and Resource Management Plans for the Daniel 
Boone National Forest. This development would provide a type of visitor 
accommodation currently unavailable at Cave Run Lake, provide 
additional marina space (existing marinas on the Lake are at current 
capacity), help to ease crowding at other boat ramps in the northern 
portion of the lake and provide better launching conditions for 
sailboats. Over the last several years, local governments and various 
publics have expressed renewed interest in developing facilities at 
Cave Run Lake. In 2003 and 2004, federal earmark money was given to the 
Daniel Boone NF specifically for analyzing the development of 
facilities at the Caney Site and complete planning for such facilities.
    Purpose of the Proposal: The purpose of this project is to meet the 
above needs of the public and the land at the Caney Site. The 2004 
Forest Plan contains direction for recreation projects based on 
research of recreation use tends and current and future demand. Goal 7 
of the Plan is to ``Provide a sustainable mix of desired uses, valued 
characteristics, and service to improve the long-term benefit to local 
communities and the public.'' Objective 7.0.A is to ``Provide an 
opportunity for development of a lodge at Cave Run Lake.''
    Additionally, USFS 2000 Strategic Plan directs the agency to work 
with communities and manage recreation areas and programs on NFS lands 
to levels compatible with ecosystem substainability objectives by:

--Working with communities to help determine recreation opportunities 
and priorities.
--Redirecting opportunities and use.
--Improving management of facilities and special places.

    Preliminary Issues: The following are preliminary issues related to 
this proposal:
    The development of facilities, access roads, and infrastructure has 
the potential to alter the hydrology of several stream head wetland 
seeps in the area, potentially causing damaging impacts to the plant 
communities present.
    The construction of a marina or boat ramp in a previously 
development cove of the lake has the potential to change the use 
patterns of the area potentially increasing user conflict and 
displacing existing types of use and users from the area.
    Permits or Licenses Required: The Forest Service will need a realty 
permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to allow use of ACOE land for 
infrastructure related to this proposal.
    Estimated Dates for DEIS and FEIS: The DEIS is expected to be filed 
with the Environmental Protection Agency and to be available for public 
review and comment by March 2006. At that time, the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) will publish a Notice of Availability (NOA) of 
the DEIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the DEIS will 
be a minimum of 45 days from the date the EPA publishes the NOA 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 that 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.2d 
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 be 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 on the proposed action, 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.
    After the comment period ends on the DEIS, the comments will be 
analyzed, considered, and responded to by the Forest Service in 
preparing the FEIS. The FEIS is scheduled for completion in September 
2006. The responsible official will consider the comments, responses, 
environmental consequences discussed in the FEIS, and applicable laws, 
regulations, and policies in

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making a decision regarding this proposed action.
    The responsible official will document the decision and reasons for 
the decision in a Record of Decision. That decision may be subject to 
appeal in accordance with 36 CFR Part 215.

    Dated: March 28, 2005.
Benjamin T. Worthington,
Forest Supervisor, Daniel Boone National Forest.
[FR Doc. 05-7036 Filed 4-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M