This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

28666 

Vol. 72, No. 98 

Tuesday, May 22, 2007 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Uinta National Forest, UT; Indian 

Springs Road Realignment 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Uinta National Forest is 

initiating the preparation of an 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Indian Springs Road Realignment. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be postmarked or 

received within 30 days from date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register to ensure full consideration. 

The draft environmental impact 

statement is expected August 2007 and 

the final environmental impact 

statement is expected November 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit issues or 

concerns to the Responsible Official: 

Julie King, Heber District Ranger, 2460 

South Highway 40, P.O. Box 190, Heber 

City, UT 84032; by phone at 435–654– 

0470; or by fax 435–654–5772. E-mail 

comments to intermtn-heber@fs.fed.us; 

e-mails must be submitted in MS Word 

(*.doc) or rich text format (*.rtf) and 

should include the project name in the 

subject line. Oral comments as well as 

written comments may also be 

submitted at the above address during 

regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 

p.m., Monday–Friday, excluding 

Federal holidays. 

Each individual or representative 

from each organization submitting 

comments must either sign the 

comments or otherwise verify identity 

in order to attain appeal eligibility. 

Comments received in response to this 

solicitation, including names and 

addresses of those who comment, will 

be considered part of the public record 

for this project. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Information regarding this project will 

be posted on the Uinta National Forest’s 

Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/uinta/ 

projects/nepa. For additional 

information, please contact Jim Percy. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose of the Proposed Action 

is to reduce adverse impacts to 

watershed and fisheries, provide safer 

driving conditions while maintaining 

access to Strawberry Ridge from the 

south. The Proposed Action is needed 

because currently the road is a single 

lane, native surface primarily located 

within 50 feet of Indian Creek; several 

sections of the road are within the 

stream channel. 

Proposed Action 

The Proposed Action would relocate 

the existing Indian Springs Road. Work 

would include the construction of 1.9 

miles at an upland and drier location 

and obliteration and restoration of 1.6 

miles of the existing road in riparian 

area. The relocated road will be a 16 feet 

wide, single lane with turnouts, 

drainage structures and gravel surface. 

This new alignment would substantially 

improve water quality through 

reduction of sediment production, 

enhanced habitat for fauna and floral 

species, provide safe infrastructure 

though improved horizontal and vertical 

alignment and reduce short and long 

term operation and maintenance costs. 

Possible Alternatives 

Three preliminary alternatives are 

being considered: (1) No action—The 

existing native surface, single lane road 

remains at its present location, which is 

within a riparian zone. (2) Proposed 

Action—Reconstruct a single lane road 

with turnouts along a new alignment 

and obliterate the entire length of 

existing alignment. (3) Alternative A— 

Reconstruct a single lane road with 

turnouts along a new alignment and 

obliterate a large portion of the existing 

alignment. Approximately 0.5 mile of 

dead-end road would remain to allow 

access for dispersed camping and for 

access to water for the livestock 

permittee. 

Lead and Cooperating Agencies 

The Uinta National Forest is the lead 

agency. Wasatch County is a 

cooperating agency. 

Responsible Official 

Julie King, Heber District Ranger, 

2460 South Highway 40, Heber City, UT 

84032; by phone at 435–654–0470; or by 

fax 435–654–5772. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Heber District Ranger will decide 

whether to authorize construction of the 

Indian Springs Road realignment and to 

close and rehabilitate the existing road. 

Preliminary Issues 

Key issues and concerns identified 

include impacts to inventoried roadless 

areas, health, safety, and transportation, 

watershed resources, aquatic species 

and livestock management. 

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 

45-days from the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

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 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 45- 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 98 / Tuesday, May 22, 2007 / Notices 28667 

day comment period so that 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. 

Dated: May 16, 2007. 

Julie K. King, 

Heber District Ranger. 

[FR Doc. E7–9791 Filed 5–21–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Roadless Area Conservation National 

Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Roadless Area 

Conservation National Advisory 

Committee (Committee) will meet in 

Washington, DC. The purpose of this 

meeting is to review the petition 

submitted by the Governor of Colorado 

for state specific rulemaking for 

inventoried roadless area management 

in the State of Colorado under the 

authority of the Administrative 

Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(e) and 7 

CFR 1.28 and to discuss other related 

roadless area matters. 

DATES: The meeting will be held June 13 

to June 14, 2007, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

each day. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Forest Service’s Yates Building at 

201 14th Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20250. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Call, Roadless Area Conservation 

National Advisory Committee 

(RACNAC) Coordinator, at 

jessicacall@fs.fed.us or (202) 205–1056, 

USDA Forest Service, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., Mailstop 

1104, Washington, DC 20250. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 

Standard Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

meeting is open to the public and 

interested parties are invited to attend; 

building security requires you to 

provide your name to the RACNAC 

Coordinator (contact information listed 

above) by June 8, 2007. You will need 

photo identification to enter the 

building. 

While meeting discussion is limited 

to Forest Service staff and Committee 

members, the public will be allowed to 

offer written and oral comments for the 

Committee’s consideration. Attendees 

wishing to comment orally will be 

allotted a specific amount of time to 

speak during a public comment period 

at the end of the first day’s agenda. To 

offer oral comment, please contact the 

RACNAC Coordinator at the contact 

number above. 

Dated: May 16, 2007. 

Gloria Manning, 

Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 

System. 

[FR Doc. E7–9818 Filed 5–21–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Highwood Generating Station 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of record 

of decision (ROD). 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Rural 

Electrification Act of 1936, the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), and the Montana 

Environmental Policy Act, the Rural 

Utilities Service (RUS), an Agency 

delivering the United States Department 

of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural 

Development Utilities Programs, 

hereinafter referred to as Rural 

Development and/or Agency, and the 

Montana Department of Environmental 

Quality (DEQ) announce the availability 

of the ROD for the EIS for the Highwood 

Generating Station (HGS), proposed to 

be located near Great Falls, Montana. 

The Administrator, Utilities Programs, 

USDA Rural Development, and the 

Director, DEQ, have signed the ROD, 

which is effective upon signing. 

ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the HGS 

ROD, or for further information, contact: 

Richard Fristik, Senior Environmental 

Protection Specialist, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Rural Development 

Utilities Programs, 1400 Independence 

Ave., SW, Stop 1571, Washington, DC 

20250, phone (202) 720–5093 

(richard.fristik@wdc.usda.gov); 

or,Kathleen Johnson, Environmental 

Impact Specialist, Montana Department 

of Environmental Quality, P. O. Box 

200901, Helena MT 59620–0901, phone 

406–444–1760 (katjohnson@mt.us). A 

copy of the ROD can be viewed online 

at: http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/ees/ 

eis.htm#Southern%20Montana%

20Electric%20Cooperative,%20Inc and 

http://www.deq.mt.gov/eis.asp. 

The document is in a portable 

document format (pdf); in order to 

review or print the document, users 

need to obtain a free copy of Acrobat 

Reader. The Acrobat Reader can be 

obtained from http://www.adobe.com/

prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Southern Montana Electric Generation 

and Transmission Cooperative, 

Incorporated (SME) proposes to build 

and operate a 250 (net) megawatt (MW), 

Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB), coalfired electric power plant—called the 

Highwood Generating Station (HGS)—

and 6 MW of wind generation at a site 

near Great Falls, Montana. SME will 

lose its principal supply of power from 

the Bonneville Power Administration 

beginning in part in 2008 and in full in 

2011; thus, the purpose and need of the 

proposal is for SME to replace that 

power supply with another source of 

reliable, long-term, affordable electric 

energy and related services in order to 

fulfill its obligations to its member rural 

electric cooperatives. In order to meet 

the projected electric power deficit, 

SME formally applied to Rural 

Development in 2004 for a loan 

guarantee for the construction of an 

electric generating source, the proposed 

HGS, and related transmission facilities. 

In September 2005, SME submitted a 

draft air quality permit application to 

DEQ and formally applied for an air 

quality permit in November 2005. The 

application was reviewed and a draft 

preliminary determination (PD) was 

released for public review and comment 

on March 30, 2006. Comments on the 

draft PD resulted in a supplemental PD 

that was included in the Draft and Final 

EIS. A solid waste management license 

application was submitted to the DEQ 

on March 20, 2006. In accordance with 


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