[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 88 (Thursday, May 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25197-25198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12161]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Rocky Mountain Region; Telluride Ski Area Expansion--Supplemental 
Analysis, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, San 
Miguel County, CO

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service will 
prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SFEIS) to the 
Final Environmental Impact Statement Telluride Ski Area Expansion 
(FEIS) to address the adequacy of the FEIS and to disclose new 
information. The Final Record of Decision (ROD) on the Telluride Ski 
Area Expansion released in July 1996 was subsequently withdrawn pending 
further analysis required by the Appeal Deciding Officer and a civil 
complaint. The SFEIS will address the points raised by the Appeal 
Deciding Officer and the civil complaint as well as any applicable new 
information. The FEIS disclosed potential impacts on a proposal to 
develop six new ski lifts with associated runs and five new restaurants 
at the Telluride Ski Area on the Norwood District of the Grand Mesa, 
Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests within San Miguel County, 
Colorado.

DATES: The draft SFEIS is scheduled for publication in June 1998 and 
the final in September 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Dick Cook, Norwood Ranger District, 
Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, P.O. Box 388, 
Norwood, Colorado 81423. Robert L. Storch, Forest Supervisor, Grand 
Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, is the Responsible 
Official for this EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Arthur Bauer, Project Coordinator, Norwood Ranger District--(970) 728-
9351 or (970) 327-4261.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS process for the Telluride Ski Area 
Expansion began with a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on June 
18, 1993. The proposal includes the construction of six new lifts and 
associated trails, five new restaurants, and the expansion of 
additional off-season recreational activities. A draft EIS was 
published in March 1994 and a supplement to the draft EIS was published 
in December 1994. The FEIS for the Telluride Ski Area Expansion was 
prepared and released in February 1996 and the ROD was released in July 
1996.
    The ROD was the subject of an appeal to the Rocky Mountain Regional 
Forester on September 6, 1996. The ruling made on October 22, 1996 by 
the Appeal Deciding Officer directed the Forest Supervisor to: (1) 
Disclose the socio-economic impacts, including community infrastructure 
and services, to communities outside of San Miguel County but within 
the employee commuting area of Telluride; (2) specify the required best 
management practices for erosion and sedimentation control; (3) 
disclose the instream flows of the San Miguel River resulting from the 
proposed action with the existing flows, the associated effects 
including cumulative effects of water depletions, and specify required 
mitigation; and (4) analyze and disclose the environmental effects of 
off-season operation and use of any chairlift, other than Lift #10.
    Subsequent to the ruling by the Appeal Deciding Officer, a civil 
complaint was filed against the USFS in March 1997 and was subsequently 
amended on April 22, 1997. The claims made by the plaintiffs included 
four counts which dealt with potential inadequacies in the FEIS, the 
exclusion of two transportation exhibits in the Appeal Record, concerns 
that potential bias in the analysis may have tainted the process, and 
the possible violation of the Clean Air Act by the issuance of the 
conformity Determination.
    On June 30, 1997, the Forest Supervisor of the GMUG National 
Forests withdrew the decision on the Telluride Ski Area expansion 
pending further analysis required by the Appeal Deciding Officer and 
the points raised in the civil complaint. The ROD released in July 1996 
is no longer considered valid. Once the Supplement has been finalized, 
a new decision will be issued by the Forest Supervisor. The new 
decision will consider all the findings of the Supplement as well as 
those released in the FEIS. All elements and alternatives displayed in 
the FEIS will be reconsidered in the Record of Decision associated with 
the supplement.
    The Deciding Official will be Robert L. Storch, Forest Supervisor, 
Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison

[[Page 25198]]

National Forests, 2250 Highway 50, Delta, Colorado 81416.

    Dated: April 27, 1998.
Robert L. Storch,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 98-12161 Filed 5-6-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M