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

43501

Vol. 62, No. 157

Thursday, August 14, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Control Lake Timber Harvest

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a

Supplement to the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: The Tongass National ForestKetchikan Area will prepare a

Supplement to the Control Lake Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

The Supplement will address several

changed conditions including; a) the

closure of the Ketchikan Pulp Mill, b)

that timber would no longer be offered

to Ketchikan Pulp Company under its

long term timber sale contract with the

Forest Service, and c) issuance of the

Revised Tongass National Forest Land

Management Plan. The Supplement will

also address public comments received

on the Control Lake DEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions about the project can be

directed to: Forest Supervisor, Tongass

NF-Ketchikan Area, Attn: Control Lake

SDEIS, Federal Building, Ketchikan, AK

99901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Supplemental DEIS is expected to be

available to the public during the Fall of

1997. The comment period on the

Supplement 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).

Environmental objections that could

have been raised at the draft

environmental impact statement stage

may be waived or dismissed by the

courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803

F.2nd 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-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 of the proposed action,

comments on the Supplement to 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 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 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 will not have standing to

appeal the subsequent decision under

36 CFR Parts 215 or 217. 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. Requesters should be

aware that, under 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 7 days.

Permits: Permits required for

implementation include the following:

1. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers

—Approval of discharge of dredged or

fill material into the waters of the

United States under Section 404 of

the Clean Water Act;

—Approval of the construction of

structures or work in navigable waters

of the United States under Section 10

of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899;

2. Environmental Protection Agency

—National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (402) Permit;

—Review Spill Prevention Control and

Countermeasure Plan;

3. State of Alaska, Department of

Natural Resources

—Tideland Permit and Lease or

Easement;

4. State of Alaska, Department of

Environmental Conservation

—Solid Waste Disposal Permit;

—Certification of Compliance with

Alaska Water Quality Standards (401

Certification)

RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: Bradley E.

Powell, Forest Supervisor, Ketchikan

Area, Tongass National Forest, Federal

Building, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901, is

the responsible official. The responsible

official will consider the comments,

response, disclosure of environmental

consequences, and applicable laws,

regulations, and policies in making the

decision and stating the rationale in the

Record of Decision.

Dated: July 25, 1997.

Bradley E. Powell,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–21544 Filed 8–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Sand Ecosystem Restoration,

Wenatchee National Forest, Chelan

County, Washington

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.