[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6625-6627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2516]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Dixie National Forest, UT, Kitty Hawk Administrative Site Master
Development Plan
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) to analyze the master development plan for the Kitty
Hawk Forest Service Administrative Site within the city limits of Cedar
City, Utah. The site is administered by the Cedar City Ranger District,
Dixie National Forest, Utah. The agency gives notice of the full
environmental analysis and decision-making process that will occur on
the proposal so that interested and affected people may become aware of
how they can participate in the process and contribute to the final
decision.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by thirty days after publication of this Notice of Intent in the
Federal Register. The draft environmental impact statement is expected
in May, 2010. The final environmental impact statement is expected in
September, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Kitty Hawk Administrative Site
Master Development Plan Analysis Coordinator, Cedar City Ranger
District, Dixie National Forest, 1789 Wedgewood Lane, Cedar City, Utah
84721. Electronic comments must be submitted in rich text format
(.rtf), or Word (.doc) to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kitty Hawk Administrative Site Master
Development Plan Analysis Coordinator, Cedar City Ranger District,
Dixie National Forest, 1789 Wedgewood Lane, Cedar City, Utah 84721.
[[Page 6626]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 14-acre Kitty Hawk Administrative Site
is located in Cedar City at 1750 West Kitty Hawk Drive. The site is
owned by the USDA-Forest Service and jointly occupied by the Dixie
National Forest, the USDI-Bureau of Land Management Cedar City District
Office and the USDI-National Park Service. The site is zoned as I&M1
(Industrial and Manufacturing). Management of the site is in compliance
with City zoning as well as State and Federal regulations regarding
administrative sites. The site has been developed over the past 30
years and currently has four permanent buildings, several parking
areas, several sheds for equipment storage and open areas designated
for a variety of vehicle and equipment storage.
Recent review indicates the need for a Master Development Plan to
guide future development of the site. Preliminary analysis found that
the presence of Utah prairie dogs (a Threatened species) on the site
warranted an environmental impact statement of the new Master
Development Plan.
The Proposed Action is a Master Development Plan (MDP) for the
existing 14-acre administrative site. The MDP will detail planned
facilities, other development and uses for the site into the
foreseeable future.
Existing facilities include an Interagency Fire Center, Fire Cache,
Old Fire Center/Future Building Pad and Fire Engine Building.
New facilities to be constructed include additions to the
Interagency Fire Center, five new buildings (engine building, vehicle
wash, HAZMAT storage, maintenance shop and equipment building.
Part of the site will be hardened for outside storage for ATV's,
equipment, and supplies. Six large parking lots will also be developed.
Possible Alternatives: Two or more alternatives will be considered
in the analysis. No action. Under this alternative, the existing
administrative site will remain with no further development. This
alternative will be fully evaluated and described.
Proposed Action (as described above).
Additional Alternatives--Additional alternatives may be developed
in response to issues and resource conditions evaluated through the
analysis.
Responsible Official: The responsible official for this EIS and the
Record of Decision is: Robert G. MacWhorter, Forest Supervisor, Dixie
National Forest, 1789 Wedgewood Lane, Cedar City, Utah 84721; FAX:
(435) 865-3791.
Nature of Decision To Be Made: The Responsible Official will decide
whether the proposed Master Development Plan would be adopted and the
site developed accordingly.
Scoping Process: Public participation was initiated through scoping
in December, 2009. A scoping notice was sent to individuals and
organizations who are potentially affected parties and those that have
expressed interest in projects. Comments and issues were received in
response to scoping.
Scoping will continue. Public participation is especially important
during scoping and review of the draft EIS. Individuals, organizations,
Federal, State, and local agencies who are interested in or affected by
the decision are invited to participate in the scoping process. This
information will be used in the preparation of the draft EIS.
Preliminary Issue. The following issue was identified through
public scoping and internal resource analyses:
The site has Utah prairie dog habitat and a colony of prairie dogs.
This is a Threatened species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have concluded
that the prairie dog habitat will be adversely affected by the planned
developments. Mitigation for the habitat loss will be developed during
further consultation with USFWS.
Comments Requested. Comments will continue to be received and
considered throughout the analysis process. Comments received in
response to this notice and through scoping, including names and
addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public
record of this proposed action and will be available for public
inspection. 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. Persons requesting such confidentiality should be
aware that, under the 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 a
specified number of days.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review: A draft environmental impact statement will be
prepared for comment. The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and to be available for public
review. At that time the EPA will publish a notice of availability of
the draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period for the draft
environmental impact statement will be forty-five days from the date
the EPA's notice of availability appears in the Federal Register.
Comments on the draft EIS should be as specific as possible and may
address the adequacy of the statement or the merits of the alternatives
discussed (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).
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 reviewers' position and
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,
553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could have been 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 (9th Circuit, 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 the time it can meaningfully consider them and respond to
them in the final environmental impact statement. 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. To assist the Forest Service in
identifying and considering issues and concerns about 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 statement or the merits of the alternatives
formulated and
[[Page 6627]]
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.
In the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to
substantive comments and responses received during the comment period
that pertain to the environmental consequences discussed in the draft
EIS and applicable laws, regulations, and policies considered in making
a decision regarding the proposal. The Responsible Official will
document the decision and rationale for the decision in a Record of
Decision. The final EIS is scheduled for completion in September, 2010.
The decision will be subject to review under Forest Service Appeal
Regulations.
Dated: January 29, 2010.
Robert G. MacWhorter,
Forest Supervisor, Dixie National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2010-2516 Filed 2-9-10; 8:45 am]
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