Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 197 / Friday, October 10, 1997 / Notices 52965

Information received will be used in

preparation of the draft EIS and final

EIS. For the most effective use,

comments should be submitted to the

Forest Service within 30 days from the

date of publication of this Notice in the

Federal Register.

The Responsible Official is Robert W.

Ross, Jr., Director of Recreation and

Lands, Intermountain Region, Ogden,

Utah. The decision to be made is

whether to exchange National Forest

System lands for private lands that

would be of equal appraised value and

of benefit to the public. The draft EIS is

expected to be available for public

review in February 1998, with a final

EIS estimated to be completed in May

1998. The comment period on the draft

EIS 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 EIS’s 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 EIS stage but that are

not raised until after completion of the

final EIS 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 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 EIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed action,

comments on the draft EIS should be as

specific as possible. It is also helpful if

comments refer to specific pages or

chapter of the draft EIS. Comments may

also address the adequacy of the draft

EIS or the merits of the alternatives

formulated and discussed in the draft

EIS. 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 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. Persons requesting such

confidentially should be aware that,

under the FOIA, confidentiality may be

granted in only 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 10 days.

Dated: October 3, 1997.

Jack A. Blackwell,

Deputy Regional Forester, Intermountain

Region, USDA Forest Service.

[FR Doc. 97–26790 Filed 10–9–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Big Bend Road Access, Wenatchee

National Forest, Kittitas County,

Washington

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Cancellation of an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: On May 19, 1994, a Notice of

Intent (NOI) to prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS)

for the Big Bend Road Access on the Cle

Elum Ranger District of the Wenatchee

National Forest was published in the

Federal Register (59 FR 26205). Forest

Service has combined this access with

another environmental analysis process.

There will be no EIS for this specific

road access project. The NOI is hereby

rescinded.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this

cancellation to Susan Carter,

Environmental Coordinator, Wenatchee

National Forest, 215 Melody Lane,

Wenatchee, Washington 98801 or

telephone 509–662–4335.

Dated: October 3, 1997.

Sonny J. O’Neal,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–26981 Filed 10–9–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Plum Creek Checkerboard Access

Project, Wenatchee National Forest,

Kittitas County, Washington

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service,

will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose

the environmental impacts of a sitespecific proposal to issue easements and

authorize construction of roads across

National Forest System (NFS) lands

located in the Yakima River Basin. The

action is proposed in response to an

application from Plum Creek Timber

Company (PCTC) who seeks legal access

to approximately 45 parcels of PCTC

land within the Wenatchee National

Forest boundary, on the Cle Elum and

Naches Ranger Districts. The proposed

access locations range from

approximately 5 to 20 miles south and

southeast, and 5 to 25 miles north and

northeast of the town of Cle Elum,

Washington, and both north and south

of Interstate 90, east of Snoqualmie Pass.

The purpose of the EIS will be to

develop and evaluate a range of

alternatives including a No Action

Alternative, to respond to issues

identified during the scoping process.

The proposed project will be in

compliance with direction in the

Wenatchee National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan (March

1990) as amended by the Northwest

Forest Plan (April 1994), which

provides the overall guidance for

management of the area. The nonFederal lands involved are covered by

PCTC’s Cascade Habitat Conservation

Plan (1996).

The agency invites written comments

on the scope of this project. In addition,

the agency gives notice of this analysis

so that interested and affected people

are aware of how they may participate

and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of this proposal must be received by

November 5, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

and suggestions to Sonny J. O’Neal,

Forest Supervisor, Wenatchee National