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contains documents other than rules or

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Notices Federal Register

44635

Vol. 62, No. 163

Friday, August 22, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Mount Snow Ski Area Snowmaking

Water Source Alterations, Green

Mountain National Forest, Windham

County, VT

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service,

will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) for Mount Snow’s

proposal to upgrade its existing

snowmaking system to insure more

reliable and consistent snow surfaces

throughout the ski season regardless of

weather conditions. Existing

snowmaking water withdrawals, storage

facilities and on-mountain pipelines

will be modified, a new water source(s)

and storage facility(ies) will be designed

into the system. An indirect benefit

from this proposal will be to retrofit the

existing system and design the new

facilities so as to reduce adverse impacts

on fisheries, water quality and aquatic

biota which currently exist. Based upon

preliminary information from a

snowmaking needs and alternatives

study, conducted pursuant to Vermont

Water Quality Regulations, Somerset

Reservoir, Harriman Reservoir and the

Howe Farm have been identified in

addition to eight other possible sites as

potentially viable candidates for new

water sources and/or storage facilities.

Presently, the Mount Snow snowmaking

system utilizes three artificial ponds for

water storage: Snow Lake, fed by the

North Branch of the Deerfield River, and

Carinthia Pond, fed by an unnamed

tributary to the North Branch of the

Deerfield River, are both in-stream

impoundments. Mirror Lake at Haystack

Ski Area, fed by Cold Brook, is an offstream impoundment. All water sources

are approved and operate under

Vermont Act 250 permits or State of

Vermont Water Quality Regulations, but

are not consistent with current

guidelines for winter conservation

flows. The goal of the proposed action

is to design an approach for

withdrawing water from a new source,

and/or to create new storage capacity,

thereby allowing the current

withdrawals to be brought up to present

flow guidelines, and enabling Mount

Snow to take Snow Lake and Carinthia

Pond off-stream. This would have

significant beneficial impacts to

fisheries, water quality, and aquatic

biota on the North Branch of the

Deerfield River. The combined water

available from the new source and the

existing modified sources must enable

Mount Snow to increase snowmaking

production from the current coverage of

83% to 100% of the existing ski trail

network.

Mount Snow has been operating

under a Special Use Permit from the

USDA Forest Service since it opened for

business in 1956. Presently, alpine

skiing/snowboarding and other four

season resort activities are provided to

the public through a permit issued by

the United States Forest Service and

administered through the Green

Mountain National Forest. The current

forty term permit was issued on

December 29, 1989. In 1995, Mount

Snow, Ltd. acquired the nearby

Haystack Ski Area and constructed a

pipeline connecting the two

snowmaking systems.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of the analysis must be received by

October 13, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

and suggestions concerning the scope of

the analysis to Beth LeClair, District

Ranger, Green Mountain National

Forest, RR #2, Box 35, Rochester,

Vermont 05767.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding the proposed

action and environmental impact

statement to Nancy Burt, Project

Coordinator, Green Mountain National

Forest, 231 N. Main Street, Rutland,

Vermont 05701, phone: 802–747–6700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need

Mount Snow/Haystack ski area has a

combined ski trail network of 635

skiable acres of which 527 acres (83%

of total) are currently served by

snowmaking. As currently configured,

the combined snowmaking system at

Mount Snow/Haystack ski area has a

storage capacity of approximately 22

million gallons and utilizes a total

seasonal water volume of about 300

million gallons. This existing system is

not adequate to provide snowmaking

coverage on the 527 acres of ski trails

currently serviced. The snowmaking

system cannot meet target dates for

initial trail opening, does not provide

sufficient depth of snow coverage and

cannot recover rapidly following thaw

and melt-off events. Natural snowfall is

inconsistent and often inadequate

during a typical Vermont winter.

Predictable snow coverage is needed if

Mount Snow is to consistently provide

quality winter sports recreation

opportunities, be attractive to skiers/

snowboarders and remain competitive

with other major ski areas in New

England.

Additionally, with significantly

improved and upgraded snowmaking

capacities at competing resorts in recent

years, Mount Snow has been unable to

compete effectively during periods of

insufficient natural snowfall. Upgrading

capacities would promote repeat

visitation and continue the long-term

viability of the ski area and Deerfield

Valley businesses. Unless Mount Snow

remains viable, the economic health of

the region could be adversely affected.

The financial success of the resort has

a substantial bearing on the continued

ability of USDA Forest Service and

Mount Snow to provide quality winter

sports recreation to the public as called

for in the Forest Plan and Mount Snow’s

Special Use Permit.

Development of a new water

withdrawal system would be designed

to result in current withdrawals being

brought up to present flow guidelines.

This would enable Mount Snow to take

Snow Lake and Carinthia Pond offstream, thereby having significant

beneficial impacts to fisheries, water

quality, and aquatic biota on the North

branch of the Deerfield River.

The Proposed Action

The proposed action is (1) to identify

and develop new water sources and/or

storage options and pump water for

snowmaking through a buried pipeline

to the Mount Snow system, (2) to

upgrade existing water withdrawal and

storage facilities to bring them into

compliance with current state and
44636 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 163 / Friday, August 22, 1997 / Notices

federal regulatory guidelines, and (3) to

install air and water pipelines on

existing ski terrain to increase

snowmaking coverage from 527 to 635

acres. No new ski terrain is proposed.

Management Direction

The proposed action is consistent

with the long-range goals for this area as

defined in the Land and Resource

Management Plan for the Green

Mountain National Forest. That Forest

Plan was approved on January 15, 1987.

Under that Forest Plan, the area

encompassed by the Mount Snow Ski

Area is assigned to management under

prescription 7.1A. This management

prescription emphasizes highly

developed recreation, including

downhill ski areas. The purpose of

prescription 7.1A is to provide

opportunities for recreation requiring

highly developed structures and

facilities, maintain a visually appealing

landscape, and manage for other

resource uses in a compatible way. The

Forest Service does not anticipate the

need for any amendments to the Land

and Resource Management Plan as a

result of this snowmaking proposal

since all new snowmaking will be

located within the boundary of the

existing SUP or on private land.

The Forest Service will consider a

range of alternatives to meet the

objectives of this proposal. One of these

will be the ‘‘no action’’ alternative, in

which none of the proposed activities

would be implemented. Additional

alternatives will examine varying levels

and locations for the proposed activities

to achieve the proposal’s purposes, as

well as to respond to the issues and

other resource values. Proposed

alternatives have been determined by

the proponent based on a preliminary

Snowmaking Water Supply Needs and

Alternatives Analysis, which is

currently being finalized, in which

twelve water sources have been studied.

Various screening factors were analyzed

including water availability, on-site

development costs, pond volume, and

environmental impacts.

The EIS will analyze the direct,

indirect, and cumulative environmental

effects of the alternatives. Past, present,

and projected activities on both private

and National Forest lands will be

considered. The EIS will disclose the

analysis of site-specific mitigation

measures and their effectiveness.

Public participation is an important

part of the analysis, commencing with

the initial scoping process (40 CFR

1501.7), which will occur upon

publication of this notification. In

addition, the public is encouraged to

visit with Forest Service officials at any

time during the analysis and prior to the

decision. The Forest Service will be

seeking information, comments, and

assistance from Federal, State, and local

agencies and other individuals or

organizations who may be interested in

or affected by the proposed action. The

proposed project will be presented at an

Open House in the local area, where

representatives from the Green

Mountain National Forest will be

available to discuss the proposed project

and provide additional information.

Comments from the public and other

agencies will be used in preparation of

the Draft EIS. Please note that comments

will be regarded as public information.

The scoping process will be used to:

1. Identify potential issues.

2. Identify major issues to be analyzed

in depth.

3. Eliminate minor issues or those

which have been covered by a relevant

previous environmental analysis, such

as the Green Mountain Forest Plan EIS.

4. Identify alternatives to the

proposed action.

5. Identify potential environmental

effects of the proposed action and

alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and

cumulative effects).

6. Determine potential cooperating

agencies and task assignments.

Preliminary issues identified to date

include:

• Is the project consistent with the

Deerfield River Settlement?

• Potential effects of increased snow

deposition on stream runoff.

• Potential effects on aquatic habitat.

• Potential effects on Mount Snow’s

ability to compete in the marketplace.

Other issues commonly associated

with ski area development include:

effects on cultural resources, water

quality, soils, sensitive species, and

scenery values. This list may be

verified, expanded, or modified based

on public scoping for this proposal.

The Draft EIS is expected to be filed

with the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) and available for public

review in March, 1998. At that time, the

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 the EPA’s

notice of availability appears in the

Federal Register. It is very important

that those interested in management of

the Mount Snow Ski Area participate at

that time. To be most helpful, comments

on the Draft EIS should be as sitespecific as possible. The Final EIS is

scheduled to be completed by June

1998.

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 US 519.553 (1978). Also,

environmental objections that could be

raised at the draft environmental impact

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-day

scoping 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

developing issues and alternatives.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues on

the proposed action, comments should

be as specific as possible. 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.

Dated: August 14, 1997.

James W. Bartelme,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–22388 Filed 8–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR

SEVERELY DISABLED

Procurement List; Proposed Additions

and Deletions

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From

People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled.

ACTION: Proposed additions to and

deletions from procurement list

SUMMARY: The Committee has received

proposals to add to the procurement list

services to be furnished by nonprofit

agencies employing persons who are

blind or have other severe disabilities,

and to delete services previously

furnished by such agencies.

COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR

BEFORE: September 22, 1997.