[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 131 (Friday, July 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40322-40324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17143]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 131 / Friday, July 8, 2011 / 
Notices  

[[Page 40322]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort Parking Improvements

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Mt. Hood National Forest (Forest) will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to document and disclose the 
potential environmental effects of improving the parking at Mt. Hood 
Meadows Ski Resort. The proposed action is to construct the Twilight 
Parking Lot, an eight-acre parking lot for both downhill and Nordic 
customers at Mt Hood Meadows Ski Area. An additional 4.5 acres would be 
cleared for access roads, cut/fill slopes, storm water swales, snow 
storage, and an equipment maintenance yard. In addition, the proposed 
action includes the construction of the new Sunrise Vehicle Maintenance 
Shop on the north side of the Sunrise parking lot.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this analysis must be received 
no later than August 8, 2011 to ensure they are fully incorporated into 
the Draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: Please send your written comments to: Jennie O'Connor Card, 
Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort Parking Improvements Team Leader, 6780 
Highway 35, Parkdale, Oregon 97041; Fax: (541) 352-7365. You may also 
hand-deliver your comments to the above address during normal business 
hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 Monday through Friday, excluding federal 
holidays. Electronic comments may be submitted to [email protected] in a format such as an e-
mail message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), or Word 
(.doc).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennie O'Connor Card, Natural Resource 
Planner, Mt. Hood National Forest, 6780 Highway 35, Parkdale, Oregon 
97041 or by e-mailing [email protected] or by calling (541) 
352-1255.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Need for the Proposal

    The overall purpose of this project is to improve public and 
customer safety by increasing parking capacity and improving traffic 
flow in at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort. Parking capacity would be 
increased by building the new Twilight Parking Lot and by moving the 
vehicle maintenance operations from the main lot to an alternate 
location. Also, traffic flow would be improved by constructing a left 
turn lane for northbound traffic turning onto the Mt. Hood Meadows 
Access Road.
    Specific management objectives and underlying needs are to:
     Provide for public and customer safety by improving 
parking capacity;
     Provide for public safety on Highway 35 by constructing a 
left turn lane, with adequate vehicle capacity, for ski traffic waiting 
to turn onto the Mt. Hood Meadows Access Road;
     Provide additional parking, including area for snow 
storage, to serve the design capacity that was conceptually approved in 
the Record of Decision for the Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Area Master Plan 
published in 1997 while also minimizing environmental impact from 
parking lot construction and maintenance; and,
     Separate the industrial bus parking and vehicle 
maintenance functions away from public areas at the Mt Hood Meadows 
Main Parking lot to further improve safety and parking capacity.

Proposed Action

    The Proposed Action is to construct the Twilight Parking Lot, an 
eight-acre parking lot for both downhill and Nordic customers at Mt 
Hood Meadows Ski Area (see attached map). An additional 4.5 acres would 
be cleared for access roads, cut/fill slopes, storm water swales, snow 
storage, and an equipment maintenance yard. In order to facilitate the 
building of the new parking lot, the following actions are included in 
the proposal.
     Construct a one-half acre equipment maintenance yard 
including bus and snow equipment parking, and equipment maintenance 
building.
     Construct a Guest Services building to serve both downhill 
and Nordic customers. Services to be provided include: bathrooms, 
lockers, limited food and beverage services, guest seating, Nordic 
equipment rental, and covered bus stop.
     Construct a left turn lane with adequate vehicle storage 
for north bound traffic at the intersection of Highway 35 and the Mt. 
Hood Meadows Access Road (Forest Service Road 3545).
     Bury utility lines from existing Nordic Center to the 
Twilight Lot in two 36-inch deep trenches separated by at least 10-feet 
following existing clearings.
     Construct 0.42 miles of Nordic ski trails (to replace 
trail segments bisected by the proposed parking area). New trails would 
result in disturbance of an additional 2.75 acres. There would be no 
net loss of Nordic ski trails.
     Any live whitebark pine trees that are removed as part of 
this project would be transplanted within the MHM permit area, if 
feasible. If it is not feasible to transplant the impacted whitebark 
pine, a new rust resistant seedling would be planted within the permit 
area.
    The equipment maintenance associated with the Twilight Parking Lot 
is light maintenance and de-icing/washing of buses and snow removal 
equipment. In addition to the new Twilight Parking Lot, the Proposed 
Action includes the construction of the new Sunrise Vehicle Maintenance 
Shop on the north side of the Sunrise parking lot to provide 
maintenance services for snow cats and a location for larger 
maintenance needs (see attached map). The existing shop, built in 1967, 
is not large enough to service the number and size of the present snow 
cat, snowmobile, truck, and bus fleet. Also, the location of the 
current maintenance shop impedes traffic flow and removes potential 
parking capacity at the main lot. The new facility would include a 
fueling station and storm water management system. A water supply line 
and fiber optic communication line would be buried from the 
Administration building to the shop following the route of existing 
buried power line. The maintenance shop would provide adequate capacity 
for the size of the current and projected future fleet.
    The existing maintenance shop initially would be used for storage 
and eventually redeveloped for skier

[[Page 40323]]

services. The existing maintenance shop has three underground fuel 
storage tanks. Two of the tanks would be moved to the new maintenance 
facilities for the fueling operation at the new Sunrise Maintenance 
Shop. The area would be decommissioned per Oregon Department of 
Environmental Quality (DEQ) standards. One of the existing tanks would 
remain for fuel for the emergency power generators. It will be 
maintained, as it is now, per DEQ standards. The redevelopment of the 
building for skier services would require additional site-specific NEPA 
as required by the ROD, if any additional exterior improvements or 
changes are made to the building.
    The Proposed Action would be implemented as described below:
     Remove trees and vegetation from a 12.5-acres site near 
the state sand shed for parking for the Twilight Parking Lot, storm 
water treatment, snow storage, circulation, buildings, and access 
roads. Pile and burn stumps and slash.
     Remove trees from 2.8-acres to replace nordic trails 
impacted by parking lot construction. Flush cut or grind stumps, 
scatter or hand pile and burn slash, minimize damage to existing low 
growing vegetation.
     Remove trees from 1.8-acre site next to Sunrise Lot for 
the vehicle maintenance shop. Pile and burn stumps and slash.
     Install silt fence and other construction Best Mangement 
Practices (BMP) in compliance with erosion control plan.
     Stockpile topsoil within the disturbed areas. Grade areas 
to prepare for surfacing then place saved topsoil on cut and fill 
slopes.
     Hydro-seed disturbed areas with approved native 
vegetation. Place jute matting on steep slopes.
     Place gravel sub-grade and install asphalt.
     Construct buildings.
     Twilight utility line installation would result in 1.1-
acres of disturbance within an existing ski trail
     Sunrise utility line installation would result in 0.38-
acres of disturbance in an existing buried power line corridor.
     Include passive storm water treatment features into design 
of project.
     The fill associated with these projects would be used and 
balanced between the Twilight Park Lot, Sunrise Maintenance Shop and 
Highway 35 left turn lane.
    The total disturbance associated with this project is approximately 
18 acres. All projects would occur within the Mt. Hood Meadows Ski 
Resort Permit Area. The entire permit area occurs on A11-Winter 
Recreation Area according to the Mt. Hood National Forest Land and 
Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The proposed projects meet the 
standards and guidelines for this land use allocation. The legal 
description of these projects is: Sections 10 & 11, T3S, R 9E.

Proposed Scoping

    As directed by the National Environmental Policy Act (1969), the 
Forest Service is now seeking comments from individuals, organizations, 
local and state governments, and other federal agencies that may be 
interested in or affected by the proposed action. Comments may pertain 
to the nature and scope of the environmental, social, and economic 
issues, and possible alternatives to the proposed action. Comments will 
help the Forest Service assess the proposed action, develop 
alternatives and prepare a draft environmental impact statement.

Alternatives Considered

    The No Action alternative will serve as a baseline for comparison 
of alternatives. This alternative will offer no changes to the parking 
within the permit area. It will be fully developed and analyzed. The 
proposed action, as described above will be considered as an 
alternative. Additional alternatives may be developed around the 
proposed action to address key issues identified in the scoping and 
public involvement process.

Estimated Dates for Draft and Final EIS

    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public comment by April 
2012. The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date 
the EPA publishes 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 
the draft EIS 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 objectives 
that could be raised at the draft EIS stage but that are not raised 
until after the completion of the final EIS may be waived or dismissed 
by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F. 2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 
1986) and Wisconsin Heritage, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334 
(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 EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS should 
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if the comments refer to 
specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also 
address the adequacy of the draft EIS 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 provision of the National Environmental Policy Act (40 
CFR 1503.3).
    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 may not have 
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Part 215. 
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.
    Comments on the draft EIS will be analyzed, considered, and 
responded to by the Forest Service in preparing the final EIS. The 
final EIS is scheduled to be completed in November 2012. The 
Responsible Official will be Daina Bambe, Hood River District Ranger on 
the Mt. Hood National Forest. She will consider comments, responses, 
environmental consequences discussed in the final EIS, and applicable 
laws, regulations, and policies in making a decision regarding this 
proposed action.

[[Page 40324]]

The responsible official will document the decision and rationale for 
the decision in the Record of Decision. It will be subject to Forest 
Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR Part 215).

    Dated: June 29, 2011.
Daina L. Bambe,
Hood River District Ranger, Mt. Hood National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2011-17143 Filed 7-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P