[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77717-77719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9847]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Central Kupreanof Timber Harvest 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 Central Kupreanof Timber 
Harvest on the northwest and central part of Kupreanof Island, on the 
Petersburg Ranger Districts, Tongass National Forest. The proposed 
action provides for multiple timber sale opportunities and will result 
in the production of approximately 40 million board feet (mmbf) of 
timber from approximately 2,025 acres of forested land. Up to 11.1 
miles of new forest system road and up to 7.0 miles of temporary road 
may be necessary for timber harvest. A range of alternatives, 
responsive to significant issues, will be developed and will include a 
no action alternative. The existing log transfer facility (LTF) at 
Little Hamilton in Hamilton Bay would be used. This project is within 
the Mitkof/Kupreanof 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: A scoping letter was mailed out in October 2006. Individuals who 
want to receive a copy of this mailing or who want to be on the project 
mailing list should contact the Petersburg Ranger District at the 
address below. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is projected to 
be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the summer 
of 2007 and will begin a 45-day public comment period. The Final 
Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision are scheduled to 
be published in late 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may comment on the project in the following ways: Send 
written comments to the Petersburg Ranger District, Tongass National 
Forest, Attn: Central Kupreanof Timber Harvest EIS, PO Box 1328, 
Petersburg, AK 99833, or hand deliver them to the Petersburg Ranger 
District, 12 N Nordic Drive, Petersburg, Alaska. The FAX number is 
(907) 772-5995. Send e-mail comments to: [email protected] with Central Kupreanof EIS on the subject line. 
Include your name, address and organization name if you are commenting 
as a representative.

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,

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telephone (907) 772-3871, or Tiffany Benna, NEPA Coordinator, 
Petersburg Ranger District, PO Box 1328, Petersburg, AK 99833, 
telephone (907) 772-3871.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: The 152,511-acre Central Kupreanof project area is 
located within Value Comparison Units 426, 427.1, 429, 436 and 438 on 
Kupreanof Island, on the Petersburg Ranger District of the Tongass 
National Forest. Portions of two roadless areas, North Kupreanof 
211 and South Kupreanof 214, as identified by the 
Forest Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, are 
located within the project area. The project area includes four small 
old-growth habitat reserves 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 small old-growth habitat reserve 
boundaries associated with this project.

Purpose and Need for Action

    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 Central Kupreanof TImber Harvest project 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 Central 
Kupreanof Timber Harvest include:
     Manage the timber resource for production of saw timber 
and other wood products from suitable timber lands made available for 
timber harvest, on an even-flow, long-term sustained yield basis and in 
an economically efficient manner.
     Seek to provide a timber supply sufficient to meet the 
annual market demand for Tongass National Forest timber and the market 
demand for the planning cycle.
     Provide a diversity of opportunities for resource uses 
that contribute to the local and regional economies of Southeast 
Alaska.
    Proposed Action: The Central Kupreanof Timber Harvest proposes 
harvest of approximately 40 million board feet (mmbf) of timber from 
approximately 2,025 acres of forested land. Up to 11.1 miles of new 
forest system road and up to 7.0 miles of temporary road may be 
necessary for timber harvest. The existing log transfer facility (LTF) 
at Little Hamilton in Hamilton Bay would be used.
    Public Participation: This notice of intent initiates the scoping 
process which guides the development of the environmental impact 
statement. 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 and 
corporations, Federal, State, and local agencies, individuals and 
organizations that may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed 
activities. Written scoping comments were solicited through an informal 
scoping package that was sent to the project mailing list on October 6, 
2006. The scoping package 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; (3) elimination of non-significant issues or those 
which have been covered by a previous environmental review.
    Preliminary Issues: Preliminary issues identified for analysis in 
the EIS include the potential effects of the project on and the 
relationship of the project to: subsistence, road management, and 
timber sale economics.
    Based on results of scoping and the resource capabilities within 
the project area, alternative, 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.
    Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review: A Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be 
prepared for comment. 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.
    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.
    Comment 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

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showing how the Freedom of Information Act of (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.
    Nature of Decision To Be Made: The Forest Supervisor is the 
Responsible Official for this action and will decide whether or not to 
harvest timber from the Central Kupreanof Timber Harvest project area, 
and if so, the amount, location and method 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.

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

    Dated: December 12, 2006.
Charley Streuli,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 06-9847 Filed 12-26-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M