33318 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 117 /Thursday, June 18, 1998 / Notices

Statement (Draft EIS). The Draft EIS is

projected to be filed with the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

in May 1999. Subsistence hearings, as

provided for in Title VIII, Section 810 of

the Alaska National Interest Lands

Conservation Act (ANILCA), are

planned during the comment period on

the Draft EIS. The Final EIS is

anticipated by April 2000.

The comment period on the draft

environmental impact statement 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.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 environmental impact

statement.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns of the proposed action,

comments during scoping and

comments on 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 draft 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 Standard (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: June 9, 1998.

Bradley E. Powell,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 98–16222 Filed 6–17–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Comprehensive Management Plan,

Wallowa-Whitman, Nez Perce, and

Payette National Forests, Baker and

Wallowa Counties in Oregon and Nez

Perce, Idaho, and Adams Counties in

Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a

Revised Environmental Impact

Statement.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the USDA, Forest Service will prepare a

revised draft environmental impact

statement for the Hells Canyon National

Recreation Area Comprehensive

Management Plan. The decision to

revise the draft environmental impact

statement is based on two factors: (1)

Over two years have passed since the

release of the draft environmental

impact statement and new information

has been released from the Interior

Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management

Project that may affect the project area,

thus warranting a review. This new

information will be evaluated in the

context of the affected environment to

determine if proposed management

direction should be modified; and (2) an

additional alternative should be

analyzed in detail that was submitted by

interest groups in 1995 and was never

fully analyzed in the February 1996

draft environmental impact statement.

This alternative proposes management

direction to manage the Hells Canyon

National Recreation Area to thrive as a

healthy native ecosystem that is an

integral component of a larger bioregion.

The proposed action is unchanged from

that described in the November 16, 1994

issue of Federal Register (59 FR 59203).

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of the analysis should be received in

writing, no later than June 30, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, P.O.

Box 907, Baker City, Oregon 97814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this notice of

intent and its modification to Kurt

Wiedenmann, Ecosystem Planning Staff

Officer at 541–523–1296 or e-mail at:

kwiedenmann/

r6pnwlwallowawhitman@fs.fed.us.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 117 /Thursday, June 18, 1998 / Notices 33319

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

proposes to amend the Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan (Forest

Plan) to modify management direction

for the Hells Canyon National

Recreation Area (HCNRA) and affirm

continuation of other existing

management direction. The planning

process will be guided by the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) with

implementation scheduled for January

2000.

This modified or affirmed direction

will provide programmatic management

direction for the next 10 to 15 years. The

changes will reflect the intent of the

HCNRA Act (Pub. L. 94–199), public

and private land use regulations (36

CFR Part 292), Forest Service directives,

changing social values, agency emphasis

on ecosystem sustainability, new

information and research findings, and

results from the monitoring and

evaluation process.

The proposed action would integrate

management direction from the HCNRA

within the framework of Forest Plan

decisions and would establish:

management goals; management

objectives; standards and guidelines;

management area direction; and

monitoring and evaluation. Management

goals, objectives, standards, and

guidelines will be developed for the

following resource areas: recreation;

access and facilities; wild and scenic

rivers; wilderness; heritage resources;

scientific; vegetation; biologically

unique habitat; soil; air; fire; fish

habitat; wildlife habitat; heritage

resources/pre-historic sites; heritage

resources/historic sites; minerals;

landownership; and tribal trust

responsibilities.

The HCNRA consists of an estimated

652,488 acres. The HCNRA is comprised

of the following management areas:

wilderness, wild and scenic rivers,

dispersed recreation/native vegetation,

forage, dispersed recreation/timber

management, research natural areas, and

developed recreation and administrative

facilities.

The analysis will consider a range of

alternatives, including no-action.

Public participation will be especially

important at several points during the

analysis, beginning with the scoping

process (40 CFR 1501.7). The Forest

Service will be seeking information,

comments, and assistance from Federal,

State, local agencies and other

individuals, organizations, or

governments who may be interested in

or affected by the proposed project. This

input will be used in preparation of the

draft EIS. The scoping process includes:

1. Identifying potential issues.

2. Identifying major issues to be

analyzed in depth.

3. Identifying issues which have been

covered by a relevant previous

environmental analysis.

4. Exploring additional alternatives

based on themes which will be derived

from issues recognized during scoping

activities.

5. Identifying potential environmental

effects of this project and alternatives

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

effects and connected actions).

6. Determining potential cooperating

agencies and task assignments.

7. Notifying interested publics of

opportunities to participate through

meetings, personal contacts, or written

comment. Keeping the public informed

through the media and/or written

material (i.e., newsletters,

correspondence, etc.).

The draft EIS will be filed with the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

and is expected to be available for

public review by January 1999. 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 final EIS is expected to be

available for public review by June

1999.

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 have been raised at the draft

stage may be waived or dismissed by the

court if not raised until after completion

of the final EIS. 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 the

proposed action participate by the close

of the 30-day comment period so that

substantive comments and objections

are made available to the Forest Service

at a time when it can meaningfully be

considered and responded to in the final

EIS.

To be most helpful, comments on the

draft EIS should be as specific as

possible and may address the adequacy

of the statement or the merit of the

alternatives discussed. 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.

In the final EIS, the Forest Service is

required to respond to comments and

responses received during the comment

period that pertain to the environmental

consequences discussed in the draft EIS

and applicable laws, regulations, and

policies considered in making the

decision regarding the proposal. Karyn

L. Wood, Forest Supervisor, is the

Responsible Official. As the Responsible

Official, she will decide whether to

implement the proposal or a different

alternative. The Responsible Official

will document the decision and reasons

for the decision in the Record of

Decision. That decision will be subject

to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36

CFR 217).

Dated: June 18, 1998.

William R. Gast, Jr.,

Deputy Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 98–16199 Filed 6–17–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

Municipal Interest Rates for the Third

Quarter of 1998

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of municipal interest

rates on advances from insured electric

loans for the third quarter of 1998.

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service

hereby announces the interest rates for

advances on municipal rate loans with

interest rate terms beginning during the

third calendar quarter of 1998.

DATES: These interest rates are effective

for interest rate terms that commence

during the period beginning July 1,

1998, and ending September 30, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carolyn Dotson, Loan Funds Control

Assistant, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service,

Room 0227–S, Stop 1524, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250–1500.

Telephone: 202–720–1928. FAX: 202–

690–2268. E-mail:

CDotson@rus.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Rural

Utilities Service (RUS) hereby

announces the interest rates on

advances made during the third

calendar quarter of 1998 for municipal

rate electric loans. RUS regulations at 7

CFR 1714.4 state that each advance of

funds on a municipal rate loan shall