39596 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 27, 2000 / Notices

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.

After the comment period ends on the

draft EIS, the comments will be

analyzed and considered by the Forest

Service in preparing the final EIS.

Comments previously received in

response to the Airport Forest Health

Project environmental assessment will

be considered in the Final EIS. In the

Final EIS the Forest Service is required

to respond to the comments and

responses received (40 CFR 1503.4). The

Final EIS is scheduled to be completed

by September, 2000. The responsible

official will consider the comments,

responses, and environmental

consequences discussed in the Final

EIS; and applicable laws, regulations,

and policies in making a decision

regarding this project. The responsible

official will document the decision and

reasons for the decision in the Record of

Decision. That decision will be subject

to appeal pursuant to 36 CFR 215.

Dated: June 20, 2000.

John Berry,

Forest Supervisor, Eldorado National Forest.

[FR Doc. 00–16171 Filed 6–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Oil and Gas Leasing, Finger Lakes

National Forest, Seneca and Schuyler

Counties, NY

AGENCY: USDA Forest Service.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: Proponents have requested

the Bureau of Land Management Eastern

States Office to offer for lease the

Federal oil and gas resources found

within the Finger Lakes National Forest.

The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired

Lands (Act of August 7, 1947) requires

U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest

Service consent prior to the leasing of

an acquired mineral estate in National

Forest System lands. The Forest Service

further has the right to specify terms

and conditions under which a lease will

be issued to protect the surface

resources and to provide for their

continued use for other program

purposes. The BLM has requested

consent from the Forest Service to lease

these lands. The 1986 Finger Lakes

National Forest Land and Resource

Management Plan determined that these

lands are administratively available for

oil and gas leasing with certain

stipulations.

The Forest Service and BLM have

determined that an Environmental

Impact Statement is necessary to assess

the environmental impacts that may

occur as a result of leasing Federal lands

for the exploration, development and

production of oil and gas on the Finger

Lakes National Forest, and reaffirm the

availability decision. The range of

potential post-leasing impacts will be

based on the Reasonable Foreseeable

Development Scenario (RFDS).

The decision to be made by the Forest

Service is whether or not to provide

consent to the Bureau of Land

Management to offer National Forest

System lands for competitive oil and gas

leasing, and identify any stipulations

required for protection of surface

resources and for access, construction,

or use and protection of existing roads.

If consent is given, the Bureau of Land

Management will use the EIS to make

leasing decision on Finger Lake

National Forest and split estate lands.

DATES: Written comments concerning

the scope of the analysis should be

received by July 28, 2000 to ensure

timely consideration. The Forest Service

will also conduct one or more public

scoping meetings regarding this leasing

proposal. The public will be notified as

to the date, time and location of these

meetings as they are scheduled.

ADDRESSES: Please send written

comments to: Martha Twarkins, District

Ranger, Finger Lakes National Forest,

5218 State Route 414, Hector, New York

14841

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact Martha Twarkins either by

writing to her at the Finger Lakes

National Forest, 5218 State Route 414,

Hector, New York 14841 or by

telephone at (607) 546–4470 Ext: 314 if

you have questions about the project

and the preparation of the EIS or if you

would like to be on the mailing list for

this project.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

project area is located within Seneca

and Schuyler Counties of New York. It

encompasses approximately 16,176

acres of the Finger Lakes National

Forest. There are also private lands

where the United States owns the

mineral rights, except gold and silver

(split estate land). These lands

encompass 47.35 acres, more or less,

and will also be considered for leasing

and will be analyzed as part of the

project area.

The RFDS includes a reasonable

projection of post-lease oil and gas

development for each alternative. This

projection includes potential number of

wells, production facilities and

equipment, acres disturbed, and typical

operations. These reasonable foreseeable

post-leasing activities will be used to

assess potential impacts associated with

leasing Federal oil and gas resources on

the Finger Lakes National Forest.

The 1986 Finger Lakes National

Forest Land and Resource Management

Plan determined that these public and

private lands are administratively

available for oil and gas leasing with

certain stipulations. Typical restrictions

found in the Forest Plan include no

surface occupancy: (1) On open water,

streams and riparian areas; (2) on wet,

steep, and shallow soils; (3) on

municipal watersheds; (4) on

administrative sites; (5) on range; (6) on

or within 200 feet of designated trails;

(7) on developed recreational areas; (8)

on Special Areas (Management Area

8.1); and (9) on lands within

Management Area 9.2. There are no

outstanding oil and gas mineral rights or

mineral withdrawals.

Public participation has been and will

be an integral component of the study

process, and will be especially

important at several points during the

analysis. The first is during the scoping

process. The Forest Service will be

seeking information, comments and

assistance from federal, state county and

local agencies, individuals and

organizations that may be interested in

or affected by the proposed activities.

Initial public scoping was held on

March 3, 1999 and April 13, 1999, and

an open house was held on May 18,

1999. Preliminary issues identified for

analysis in the EIS include the potential

effects on: (1) Threatened, endangered

and sensitive species; including the

Federally-listed Indiana bat, Henslow’s

sparrow, and grasshopper sparrow; (2)

grazing; (3) surface and groundwater,

including the cumulative effects to the

Forest’s watersheds; (4) heritage

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 27, 2000 / Notices 39597

resources; (5) recreation opportunities;

(6) visual quality; (7) noise; (8) air

quality; (9) economic and social

conditions; and (10) public safety.

Based on the results of scoping and

the resource conditions within the

project area, alternatives (including a

no-action alternative) will be developed

for the Draft EIS. There may be

stipulations that require a minor

amendment to the Forest Plan. The Draft

EIS is expected to be filed with the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

and be available for review in March

2001. At that time, EPA will publish a

Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS in

the Federal Register. The comment

period on the Draft EIS will be 45 days

from the date EPA’s Notice of

Availability appears in the Federal

Register. The final EIS is anticipated in

August 2001.

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 objections that could be

raised at the draft environmental impact

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.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 publics

interested in this proposed action

participate by the close of the 45 day

comment period on the draft EIS, so that

substantive comments and objections

are made available to the Forest Service

at a time when the agency can

meaningfully consider 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 should be as specific as

possible. Interested parties 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.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies: The

USDA Forest Service, Finger Lakes

National Forest is the lead agency for

preparation of this document. The

Bureau of Land Management is a

cooperating agency on this project.

Responsible Officials: Paul K.

Brewster, Forest Supervisor, Green

Mountain and Finger Lake National

Forests, is the responsible Forest Service

official. James W. Dryden, Manager,

Milwaukee Field Office, Bureau of Land

Management is the responsible BLM

official. In making the decisions, the

responsible officials will consider the

comments; responses; disclosure of

environmental consequences; and

applicable laws, regulations and

policies. The responsible officials will

state the rationale for the chosen

alternative in the Records of Decision.

Dated: June 20, 2000.

Paul K. Brewster,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 00–16172 Filed 6–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3401–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Development Administration

Notice of Petitions by Producing Firms

for Determination of Eligibility To

Apply for Trade Adjustment

Assistance

AGENCY: Economic Development

Administration (EDA).

ACTION: To give firms an opportunity to

comment.

Petitions have been accepted for filing

on the dates indicated from the firms

listed below.

LIST OF PETITION ACTION BY TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR PERIOD MAY 26, 2000–JUNE 21, 2000

Firm name Address Date petition

accepted Product

Mearthan, Inc ............................ 16 Western Industrial Dr.,

Cranston, RI 02921.

5–31–2000 Custom fabricated polyurethane components for business

equipment, industrial applications, recreational products,

and automotive industries.

Environmental Elements Corp .. 3700 Koppers Street, Baltimore, MD 21227.5–31–2000 Dust collection and air purification equipment.

American Conveyor, Inc ........... Route 1 Box 46, Altavista, VA

24517.

5–31–2000 Standard and custom designed belt continuous conveyors

used in the material handling and storage industries.

Chain Technology, Inc .............. 88 Niantic Avenue, Providence, RI 02907.5–31–2000 Gold chains.

M.W. Bevins Company ............. 9903 East 54th Street, Tulsa,

OK 74146.

5–31–2000 Phasing testers for distribution circuits.

Surface Mount Depot, Inc ......... 4001 Will Rogers Pky., Oklahoma City, OK 73108.5–31–2000 Printed circuit boards.

Rolite Manufacturing Co., Inc ... 10 Wendling Court, Lancaster, NY 14086.5–31–2000 Metal stamped lamp parts including canopies, bases, arm

plates, cups, cross bars, and glass holders arm plates,

cups, cross.

Amtab Manufacturing Co., Inc .. 1747 West Grand Ave., Chicago, IL 60622.6–1–2000 Wooden tables with folding metal legs.

Adobe Air, Inc ........................... 500 South 15th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034.6–1–2000 Portable space heaters.

Thompson Dental Manufacturing Company, Inc.1201 South 6th West, Missouri, MT 59801.6–7–2000 Dental hand instruments.

Central Chair Company ............ 277 North Park Street,

Asheboro, NC 27204.

6–7–2000 Bar stools of wood.

American Folk Art Furnituure

Co.

Rt. 3, Box 1647, Afton, OK

74331.

6–21–2000 Wooden carved furniture.