Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 60 / Friday, March 28, 1997 / Notices 14881

Forest Service

Extension of Currently Approved

Information Collection for Senior

Community Service Employment

Program (SCSEP) Application

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Forest Service announces its intent to

request an extension of a currently

approved information collection. Under

the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42

U.S.C. 3056 et seq.) the Forest Service

cooperates with the Department of

Labor to provide part-time training and

employment opportunities, for

economically disadvantaged persons

aged 55 or older, through the

Department of Labor Senior Community

Service Employment Program (SCSEP).

As part of this effort, the Forest Service

collects information from applicants in

order to evaluate their eligibility for

employment with the agency through

the Program.

DATES: Comments must be received in

writing on or before May 27, 1997.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be

addressed to: Director, Human Resource

Programs (MAIL STOP 1136), Forest

Service, USDA, P.O. Box 96090,

Washington, D.C. 20090–6090.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Priscella McCray, Human Resource

Programs Staff, at (703) 235–8860.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description of Information Collection

The following describes the

information collection to be extended:

Title: FS–1800–21b Application for

the Senior Community Service

Employment Program.

OMB Number: 0596–0099.

Expiration Date of Approval: June 30,

1997.

Type of Request: Extension of a

previously approved information

collection.

Abstract: Under the Older Americans

Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3056 et seq.) the

Forest Service cooperates with the

Department of Labor to provide parttime training and employment

opportunities, for economically

disadvantaged persons aged 55 or older,

through the Department of Labor Senior

Community Service Employment

Program (SCSEP). The Department of

Labor is the grantor for the Senior

Community Service Employment

Program and provides the guidelines for

the program’s operation, which runs

July 1 through June 30.

Applicants seeking training and

employment with the Forest Service

through this program use the FS–1800–

21b Application for the Senior

Community Service Employment

Program Form. The applicants respond

to questions requesting their name, age,

annual income, State of residence,

gender, education level, ethnic group,

veteran’s status, disability status, and

English-speaking status. The Form

becomes part of the applicant’s official

personnel folder.

The Forest Service uses the

information to determine the applicant’s

eligibility for the program, to re-certify

their eligibility on an annual basis, and

to prepare quarterly progress reports,

which highlight the agency’s program

accomplishments and demographic

efforts. The Forest Service submits the

reports to the Department of Labor on a

quarterly basis.

Data gathered in this information

collection is not available from other

sources.

Estimate of Burden: 10 minutes.

Type of Respondents: Economically

disadvantaged individuals, including

legal aliens, over age 55.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

6,500.

Estimated Number of Responses per

Respondent: 1.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 1,083 hours.

The agency invites comments on the

following: (a) Whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including the use of

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology.

Use of Comments

All comments received in response to

this notice will be summarized and

included in the request for Office of

Management and Budget approval. All

comments also will become a matter of

public record.

Dated: March 21, 1997.

Barbara C. Weber,

Acting Chief.

[FR Doc. 97–7956 Filed 3–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P

Liberty Forest Health Improvement

Project, Tahoe National Forest, Sierra

County, CA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service, Tahoe

National Forest will prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS)

for a proposed forest health

improvement project within the

boundaries of the Liberty Analysis Area.

This area is identified by watershed

boundaries that encompass about 12,769

total acres. The analysis area is located

on the Sierraville Ranger District and is

about eight miles south and east of

Sierraville, California. It is located

within all or portions of T18N and

T19N, R14E and R15E, MDB&M.

The primary objectives of the project

are to improve the forest health and to

reduce the risk of stand-destroying fires

by treating about 3,100 acres within the

analysis area. The project proposal

focuses on reducing stocking levels of

existing weakened and overcrowded

stands that are mixed with dead and

dying trees. The trees to be removed are

relatively small second-growth,

evenaged timber, averaging 10 inches to

18 inches in diameter, 50 to 90 feet tall,

and 80 to 110 years old.

The agency invites comments and

suggestions on the scope of the analysis.

In addition, the agency gives notice of

the full environmental analysis and

decision-making process that will occur

on the proposal so that interested and

affected people are aware of how they

may participate and contribute to the

final decision.

DATES: Comments should be made in

writing and received by April 23, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments

concerning the project should be

directed to Sam Wilbanks, District

Ranger, Sierraville Ranger District, P.O.

Box 95, Sierraville, CA 96126.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sam Wilbanks, District Ranger,

Sierraville Ranger District, Sierraville,

CA 96126, telephone (916) 994–3401, or

Phil Horning, Project Team Leader, at

(916) 478–6210.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Liberty analysis area is mixed

ownership with about 8,262 acres of

National Forest System lands and 4,507

acres of lands of other ownerships that

are located in the upper reaches of the

Little Truckee River watershed, a

tributary to the Truckee River. Most of

the area is accessible by either National

Forest or County roads; however, about
14882 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 60 / Friday, March 28, 1997 / Notices

1.8 miles of new road construction and

4.5 miles of temporary construction are

proposed. The 3,100 acres of proposed

activities are located in the eastern twothirds of the analysis area, primarily

west of State Highway 89 and south of

Fiberboard road.

In preparing the environmental

impact statement, the Forest Service

will identify and analyze a range of

alternatives that address the issues

developed for this area. One of the

alternatives will be no treatment. Other

alternatives will consider differing

levels of implementation of commercial

timber stand thinning treatments, fuels

reduction, pre-commercial thinning in

plantations, watershed restoration, road

obliteration, wildlife habitat

improvement, and new road

construction and reconstruction. An

ecological approach will be used to

achieve multiple-use management of the

Liberty Analysis area. It also means that

the needs of people and environmental

values will be blended in a such way

that this area’s desired condition would

represent a diverse, healthy, productive,

and sustainable ecosystem.

Public participation will be important

during the analysis, especially during

the review of the draft environmental

impact statement. The Forest Service is

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. This

input will be used in preparation of the

draft environmental impact statement.

The scoping process includes:

1. Identifying potential issues.

2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in

depth.

3. Eliminating insignificant issues or

those which have been covered by a

relevant previous environmental

analysis.

4. Exploring additional alternatives.

5. Identifying potential environmental

effects of the proposed action and

alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect, and

cumulative effects and connected

actions).

6. Determining potential cooperating

agencies and task assignments.

The following list of issues has been

identified through initial scoping:

(1) To what extent can the potential

for future large, catastrophic wildfires

be reduced within the project area?

(2) To what extent can the forest

health be restored within the project

area?

(3) What level of timber commodities

could be removed economically from

the forest health restoration projects?

(4) To what extent will long-term soil

productivity be affected by equipment

compaction by the proposed activities.

(5) To what extent will water quality

in the Truckee River watershed be

affected by proposed activities? To what

extent will cumulative watershed

effects, e.g., channel erosion, stream

sedimentation, occur and what

opportunities exist to reduce or mitigate

these potential effects?

Comments from other Federal, State

and local agencies, organizations, and

individuals who may be interested in, or

affected by the decision, are encouraged

to identify other significant issues.

Public participation will be solicited

through mailing letters to potentially

interested or affected mining claim

owners, private land owners, and

special use permittees on the Sierraville

Ranger District; posting information in

local towns; and mailing letters to local

timber industries, politicians, school

boards, county supervisors, and

environmental groups. Continued

participation will be emphasized

through individual contacts. Public

meetings, depending on interest, will be

used as a method of public involvement

during preparation and review of the

draft environmental impact statement

and will be announced in newspapers of

general circulation in the geographic

area well in advance of scheduled dates.

The draft EIS is expected to be filed

with the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) and to be available for

public review by June, 1997. The

comment period on the draft EIS will be

45 days from the date the EPA 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 EIS stage but that are

not raised until after completion of the

final EIS may be waived on 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 the 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

chapters 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

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.

The final EIS is expected to be

available by August, 1997. The

responsible official is John H. Skinner,

Forest Supervisor, Tahoe National

Forest.

Dated: March 21, 1997.

John H. Skinner,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–7893 Filed 3–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Willamette Provincial Interagency

Executive Committee (PIEC), Advisory

Committee

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Meeting.

SUMMARY: The Willamette PIEC

Advisory Committee will meet on

Thursday, April 17, 1997. The meeting

will be held at the Mt. Hood National

Forest Supervisor’s Office; 16400

Champion Way; Sandy, Oregon 97055;

phone (503) 688–1700. The meeting is

scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. and

conclude at approximately 12:30 p.m.

Topics tentatively scheduled on the

agenda include: (1) A panel addressing

recreation, tourism issues related to the

Northwest Forest Plan; (2) A PAC

discussion of recreation related issues;

(3) Brief updates on the status of

proposals from the February PAC

meeting (Monitoring and Little Sandy

Watershed Subcommittees); and (4)

Roundtable Information Sharing.

The meeting is open to the public and

opportunity will be available to address

the Advisory Committee during the

public forum. The public forum is

tentatively scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

Time allotted for individual

presentations to the committee will be

limited to 3–5 minutes each. Written

comments are encouraged and can be

submitted prior to the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: