Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 189 / Thursday, September 30, 2004 / Notices 58387

updated to reflect the strategic intent of 

that operating plan. 

Minerals 

The existing forest plan direction will 

be reviewed and modified as needed to 

improve direction related to mining 

laws and public need for mineral 

resources. Improved direction could 

provide for management of 

discretionary and non-discretionary 

mineral activities. It may also address 

the relationship between areas with 

mineral potential and uses and surface 

resources of concern where there is 

existing or potential conflict. 

Range Management 

Allotment management plans and 

current policy provide most of the 

needed direction. Forest plan direction 

needs to be reviewed and updated to 

reflect current policy and information. 

Administrative Sites 

An updated forest facility master plan 

will provide an assessment of facility 

conditions and develop forest-wide 

priorities for funding facility 

improvements and new construction. 

Issues Not Addressed In Forest Plan 

Revision 

Issues addressed adequately in the 

current forest plan will not be revisited. 

Issues that relate to site-specific actions 

are better addressed during project 

analysis. Some issues, while important, 

are beyond the authority of the Nez 

Perce and Clearwater National Forests. 

Issues that do not pertain to decisions 

to be made in forest plans are excluded 

from further consideration. In addition, 

some issues, though related to forest 

plan revision, may not be undertaken at 

this time, but addressed later as a future 

forest plan amendment.

Range of Alternatives 

The Nez Perce and Clearwater 

National Forests will consider a range of 

alternatives when revising the forest 

plans. Alternatives will provide 

different ways to address and respond to 

issues identified during the scoping 

process. A ‘‘no-action alternative’’

reflecting the effects of continuing 

current management is required. The 

range of alternatives will be defined 

within legal parameters, resource 

capability, and sustainability over the 

long-term. 

Inviting Public Participation 

The Nez Perce and Clearwater 

National Forests are now soliciting 

comments and suggestions from Federal 

agencies, governments, individuals and 

organizations on the scope of the 

analysis to be included in the draft 

environmental impact statement for the 

revised forest plan (40 CFR 1501.7). 

Government-to-government consultation 

with tribal governments is ongoing. 

Comments should focus on (1) the 

preliminary topics proposed to be 

emphasized in revising the forest plan, 

(2) possible means of addressing 

concerns associated with these topics, 

(3) potential environmental effects and 

other management outcomes that should 

be included in the analysis, and (4) any 

possible impacts associated with the 

proposal based on an individual’s civil 

rights (race, color, national origin, age, 

religion, gender, disability, political 

beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or 

family status). The Nez Perce and 

Clearwater National Forests will 

encourage public participation in the 

environmental analysis and decisionmaking process. 

Along with the release of this NOI, the 

Nez Perce and Clearwater National 

Forests are providing for additional 

public engagement through direct 

mailings, the Web site, and meetings 

when requested by individuals, groups 

or agencies. For further information, 

contact your local Forest Service office 

or Elayne Murphy at (208) 935–2513. 

Release and Review of the Draft EIS 

(DEIS) 

The DEIS is expected to be filed with 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) and to be available for public 

comment in July 2005. At that time, the 

EPA will publish a notice of availability 

in the Federal Register. The comment 

period on the DEIS will extend 90 days 

from the date the EPA publishes the 

notice of availability in the Federal 

Register. The Final EIS and decision are 

expected in October 2006.

Dated: September 16, 2004. 

Kathleen A. McAllister, 

Deputy Regional Forester.

[FR Doc. 04–21265 Filed 9–29–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service 

Santa Fe National Forest; New Mexico; 

Oil and Gas Leasing Forest Plan 

Amendment and Road Management

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The proposed action is 

intended to update the Santa Fe 

National Forest Plan by identifying 

stipulations on new oil and gas leases 

where needed to protect surface 

resources. The proposal also includes a 

new standard and guideline describing 

criteria for developing conditions of 

approval for oil and gas development, 

consistent with existing policies. A 

related action, designating specific 

roads to be decommissioned or closed 

on Cuba Ranger District, will be 

considered because they require 

unnecessary maintenance costs, pose a 

risk to sensitive resources, and/or risk 

exceeding current Forest Plan road 

density standards.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

October 20, 2004. The draft 

environmental impact statement (EIS) is 

expected July 2005 and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

expected April 2006.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: 

Ellen Dietrich, Project Manager, SAIC, 

2109 Air Park Road SE., Albuquerque, 

NM 87106.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ellen Dietrich, Project Manager, SAIC, 

2109 Air Park Road SE., Albuquerque, 

NM 87106; telephone (505) 842–7845.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action 

There is a need to have a more 

specific and up-to-date description of 

leasing availability and stipulations 

identified in the Forest Plan, as well as 

more comprehensive National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

analysis of the potential cumulative 

effects of reasonably foreseeable future 

oil and gas leasing and development on 

the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF). 

This is needed to meet the regulations 

at 36 CFR 228.102 regarding Forest Plan 

leasing analysis and decisions and the 

agency’s policy to minimize impacts to 

surface resources while facilitating 

orderly development of oil and gas 

resources. The NEPA analysis (EIS) 

would address the Expressions of 

Interest in leasing specific areas that 

have been received by the SFNF. 

The purpose and need for 

decommissioning certain roads on the 

Cuba Ranger District is to have the 

minimum system of open and closed 

roads required to meet the Forest 

Service Roads Policy, road densities 

within Forest Plan standards and 

guidelines, and roads that do not pose 

an unacceptable risk of damage to 

wildlife or fish habitat, watershed 

health, or other surface resources. 

The objectives of the amendment are 

to: 

(1) Improve the programmatic 

analysis of the effects of oil and gas 

58388 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 189 / Thursday, September 30, 2004 / Notices 

leasing and development on the SFNF, 

including a cumulative effects analysis. 

(2) Improve the timeliness and 

efficiency in processing current and 

future Expressions of Interest in oil and 

gas leasing on the SFNF, consistent with 

the national energy policy. 

(3) Improve the agency’s ability to 

protect surface resources that may not 

be adequately addressed by standard 

leasing terms and conditions. 

(4) Meet Forest Plan road density 

standards and identify which Cuba 

Ranger District roads would be 

decommissioned or closed because they 

are in excess of minimum road system 

needs for public or administrative use, 

private land access, or oil and gas 

operations. 

The current Forest Plan oil and gas 

leasing availability categories were 

developed in 1979–1982 with limited 

inventory data or analysis. The 1987 

Forest Plan leasing direction is too 

broad and does not reflect current 

resource concerns within the study area. 

For example, the Forest Plan does not 

identify the timing limitations now 

required for activities within the nesting 

habitats of Federal threatened or 

endangered species that occur in the 

study area: Mexican spotted owl 

(threatened), northern goshawk 

(sensitive), and peregrine falcon 

(sensitive). It does not identify any 

stipulations for protecting riparian 

areas, unstable steep slopes, significant 

scenic corridors or historic sites, or 

other resources that may not be 

adequately protected under standard 

leasing terms and conditions. Most of 

the oil or gas leases on the SFNF were 

issued prior to 1970 (prior to passage of 

NEPA or the National Forest 

Management Act), and oil-gas leasing 

and development in the San Juan Basin 

was authorized without full 

consideration of potential cumulative 

effects on surface resources. 

Overall, the Forest Plan needs to be 

amended so it can be used when 

providing agency approval to BLM for 

issuing new leases on SFNF lands. 

There is a need to complete this 

amendment now rather than waiting for 

Forest Plan revision, which will not be 

completed until at least 2009. The SFNF 

has three ‘‘Expressions of Interest’’ in 

oil-gas leasing on the SFNF, and over 

50% of the Forest has not yet been 

leased. The proposed amendment 

would not affect existing or transferred 

leases, and would only apply to new 

leases that may be issued in the future. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action is to update the 

Forest Plan in terms of oil and gas 

leasing availability by reviewing and 

refining the current Forest Plan leasing 

analysis and decision, in addition to 

adding specific stipulations of ‘‘no 

surface occupancy,’’ ‘‘controlled surface 

use,’’ or ‘‘timing limitation’’ where 

needed to protect surface resources. The 

proposed stipulations describe specific 

limitations regarding surface occupancy 

or use, their purpose, and the location 

and/or conditions under which they 

apply. The proposed action would only 

apply to new leases, not existing leases. 

The NEPA analysis for the proposed 

amendment will evaluate existing 

Expressions of Interest received from 

the oil and gas industry in order to 

provide timely recommendations to 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for 

issuing oil or gas leases on those SFNF 

lands. 

New proposed stipulations include: 

timing limitations to protect spotted 

owl, northern goshawk, peregrine falcon 

habitats; controlled surface use for 

certain riparian, inventoried roadless, 

and scenic areas; and no surface 

occupancy for certain unstable slopes, 

roadless recreation areas, and specific 

heritage resource sites. 

The proposal does not include any 

conditions of approval or mitigation 

measures, which are developed and 

applied during 2nd level NEPA analysis 

for Applications for Permits to Drill 

(APD). However, the proposal includes 

a Forest Plan standard/guideline that 

requires consistency with existing BLM 

and Forest Service policies for 

conditions of approval in the San Juan 

Basin (e.g., for noise, air quality, 

reclamation, visual quality).

The proposal also includes 

designating specific roads to be 

decommissioned or closed because they 

require unnecessary maintenance costs 

and pose a risk of impacts to sensitive 

resources, and/or risk exceeding Forest 

Plan road density standards. All roads 

on Cuba Ranger District will be 

considered, including the small portion 

outside the oil and gas study area, as 

they form a connected and interrelated 

travel network. Where the Coyote 

Ranger District overlaps the northeast 

portion of the oil and gas study area, the 

analysis will consider the cumulative 

effects of the Coyote Ranger District’s 

Road Decommissioning and Closure EA 

and NEPA decision (expected to be 

completed in the fall of 2004). 

Lead and Cooperating Agencies 

The USDA Forest Service is the lead 

agency and the USDI Bureau of Land 

Management is a cooperating agency in 

the preparation of this EIS. 

Responsible Official 

Gilbert Zepeda, Forest Supervisor, 

Santa Fe National Forest, 1474 Rodeo 

Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505–5630. 

Nature of Decisions To Be Made 

(1a) In accordance with 36 CFR 

228.102, the Forest Supervisor will 

decide which areas will be: 

(i) Open to development subject to 

standard oil and gas leasing terms and 

conditions. 

(ii) Open to development but subject 

to constraints that will require the use 

of lease stipulations such as No Surface 

Occupancy or specific Controlled 

Surface Use constraints, with discussion 

as to why the constraints are necessary 

and justifiable. 

(iii) Closed to leasing due to a specific 

law or regulation or Forest Service 

policy. 

(1b) The Forest Supervisor will decide 

under what conditions the Forest 

Service will authorize the Bureau of 

Land Management to modify, waive, or 

grant an exception to a stipulation. 

(1c) Per leasing analysis requirements 

in 36 CFR 228.102, the Forest 

Supervisor will consider: (i) 

Alternatives to the proposal, including 

that of: (a) Not allowing leasing; and (b) 

not changing current Forest Plan leasing 

standards/guidelines. (ii) The type and 

amount of post-leasing activity and 

associated cumulative impacts, 

consistent with a reasonably foreseeable 

oil-gas development scenario. 

(2) For specific areas currently being 

considered for leasing, the Forest 

Supervisor will determine whether oil 

or gas leasing would be consistent with 

the amended Forest Plan, and if so, will 

authorize the Bureau of Land 

Management to offer those specific 

lands for lease. 

(3) The District Ranger for the Cuba 

Ranger District will make a separate 

project-level NEPA decision as to which 

roads, if any, would be authorized for 

decommissioning or closure, consistent 

with the Forest Service Roads Policy. 

Scoping Process 

After publication of the Notice of 

Intent, a scoping letter describing the 

purpose and need for the project and the 

proposed action will be sent to a broad 

list of people who are likely to be 

interested in the EIS and the decisions 

to be made. During the scoping 

comment period and following 

distribution of the scoping letter, 

meetings will be held in Cuba and Santa 

Fe, New Mexico, with a focus on 

addressing questions and concerns. The 

Forest Service will also meet with 

agencies, organizations or groups in 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 189 / Thursday, September 30, 2004 / Notices 58389

other areas upon their request. Concerns 

regarding any of the proposed actions or 

decisions to be made may be mailed to 

SAIC (address above) or provided 

during the meetings. These comments 

will be reviewed and considered in the 

development and evaluation of 

alternatives in the EIS. 

Preliminary Issues To Be Addressed in 

the EIS 

Resource Protection: The EIS will 

address how proposed new leasing 

stipulations (and each alternative) 

would affect the protection of resources, 

such as archaeological resources, special 

status wildlife species, roadless areas, 

air quality, and water resources. 

Oil-Gas Operations Constraints: The 

EIS will address how proposed new 

leasing stipulations (and each 

alternative) would affect oil and gas 

company operations on any new lease 

issued after the Forest Plan amendment 

is approved. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process, which guides the 

development of the 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 

90 days from the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes the notice of availability of 

the DEIS 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 15-

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 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. 

Comments received, including the 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record on this proposal and will 

be available for public inspection.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21)

Dated: September 24, 2004. 

Judy Dinwiddie, 

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 04–21915 Filed 9–29–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service 

Household Water Well System 

Program Programmatic Environmental 

Assessment

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a 

programmatic environmental 

assessment. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS), an agency delivering the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s Rural 

Development Utilities Program, has 

prepared a Programmatic Environmental 

Assessment (PEA) for a new grant 

program that will implement the 

Household Water Well System Program 

(HWWSP) lending program. The PEA is 

available for a 30-day public review and 

comment period. Subsequent to the 

comment period RUS plans to issue a 

finding of no significant impact.

DATES: RUS will accept public 

comments until November 1, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark S. Plank, Senior Environmental 

Scientist, RUS, Water and 

Environmental Programs, Engineering 

and Environmental Staff, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., Stop 1571, 

Washington, DC 20250–1571, telephone: 

(202) 720–11649 or e-mail: 

mark.plank@usda.gov. Copies of the 

PEA may be obtained by contacting Mr. 

Plank.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 

13, 2002, the Farm Security and Rural 

Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) was 

signed into law as Public Law 107–171. 

Section 6012 of the Farm Bill amended 

section 306E of the Consolidated Farm 

and Rural Development Act (CONACT) 

by adding a grant program to establish 

a lending program. The program will 

provide grants to private nonprofit 

organizations for the purpose of 

providing loans to eligible individuals 

for the construction, refurbishing, and 

servicing of individual household water 

well systems in rural areas that are or 

will be owned by the eligible 

individuals. The program is called the 

Household Water Well System Program 

(HWWSP). This program was authorized 

to appropriate up to $10,000,000 for 

Fiscal Years (FY) 2003 through 2007. 

There was no funding appropriated in 

FY 2003. However, the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2004 (Pub. L. 108–

199), includes $1,000,000 for the 

program. 

The USDA, RUS, is issuing 

regulations to implement the HWWSP. 

The final rule outlines the procedures 

for providing grants to eligible 

applicants to establish a revolving loan 

fund and to pay reasonable 

administrative expenses. The revolving 

loan fund will be used to make loans to 

eligible applicants for the construction, 

refurbishing, and servicing of individual 

household water well systems in rural 

areas that are or will be owned by the 

eligible individuals. The CONACT 

defines an ‘‘eligible individual’’ as a 

person who is a member of a household 

in which all members have a combined 

income that is 100 percent or less of the 

median non-metropolitan household 

income for the State or territory in 

which the person resides. The combined 

household income must be for the most 

recent 12-month period for which the 

information is available, according to 

the most recent decennial census of the 

United States. The maximum statutory 

limit per loan per household water well 

system is $8,000. 

Certain financing actions taken by 

RUS are classified as Federal actions 

subject to compliance with NEPA, the 

Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ), Regulations for implementing the 

Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 

parts 1500–1508), and RUS