Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 149 /Tuesday, August 4, 1998 / Notices 41543

Supplement to the FEIS for a period of

at least 45 days from the date the EPA

publishes the Notice of Availability in

the Federal Register. Public meeting

dates during the public comment period

will be advertised in the media. Please

note that comments in response to this

NOI and in response to the draft

supplement will be regarded as public

information.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, it is important to give

reviewers notice of court rulings related

to public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of draft environmental impact

statements (in this case a draft

supplement to the environmental

impact statement) 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 supplement

stage but that are not raised until after

completion of the final supplement 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 they can meaningfully consider

them and respond to them in the final

supplement.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed action and

alternatives, comments on the draft

supplement should be as specific as

possible. It is also helpful if comments

refer to specific pages or chapters of the

draft supplement. Comments may also

address the adequacy of the draft

supplement 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.

After the comment period ends on the

Draft Supplement to the FEIS, the

comments will be analyzed and

considered by the Forest Service in

preparing the Final Supplement to the

FEIS. The Final Supplement to the FEIS

is scheduled to be completed by the

Spring of 1999. The Forest Service is

required to respond to the comments

received in the Final Supplement to the

FEIS (40 CFR 1503.4).

The Responsible Official will consider

the comments, responses, and

environmental consequences discussed

in the Final Supplement to the FEIS,

and applicable laws, regulations, and

policies when making a decision

regarding this proposal. The

Responsible Official will document the

decision and reasons for the decision in

the Record of Decision. The decision

will be subject to appeal under 36 CFR

217 and 36 CFR 251.

Dated: July 28, 1998.

Donna Hepp,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 98–20744 Filed 8–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Intergovernmental Advisory

Committee Subcommittee Meeting

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Intergovernmental

Advisory Committee will meet on

August 6, 1998, at the Double Tree

Hotel, Columbia River, Portland,

Oregon. The purpose of the meeting is

to continue discussions on the

implementation of the Northwest Forest

Plan. The meeting will begin at 9:15

a.m. and continue until 3:00 p.m.

Agenda items to be discussed include,

but are not limited to: continued

discussion of future agenda topics;

review ongoing and potential activities

for the coming year; and progress

reports on effectiveness monitoring and

information issues. The IAC meeting

will be open to the public and is fully

accessible for people with disabilities.

Interpreters are available upon request

in advance. Written comments may be

submitted for the record at the meeting.

Time will also be scheduled for oral

public comments. Interested persons are

encouraged to attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions regarding this meeting may

be directed to Don Knowles, Executive

Director, Regional Ecosystem Office, 333

SW 1st Avenue, P.O. Box 3623,

Portland, OR 97208 (Phone: 503–808–

2180).

Dated: July 29, 1998.

Donald R. Knowles,

Designated Federal Official.

[FR Doc. 98–20718 Filed 8–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.;

Notice of Intent

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to hold scoping

meeting and prepare an Environmental

Assessment and/or Environmental

Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the Rural Utilities Service (RUS),

pursuant to the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C.

4321 et seq.), the Council on

Environmental Quality (CEQ)

Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40

CFR Parts 1500–1508), and RUS

Environmental Policies and Procedures

(7 CFR Part 1794) proposes to prepare

an Environmental Assessment and/or an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

for its Federal action related to a

proposal by Associated Electric

Cooperative, Inc., to construct two, 100

megawatt simple cycle electric turbines

in Northwest Missouri.

MEETING INFORMATION: RUS will conduct

a scoping meeting in an open house

forum on Tuesday, September 8, 1998,

from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m at the

headquarters of United Electric

Cooperative in Maryville, Missouri. The

headquarters is located on Highway 136

East approximately 2.5 miles east of

Maryville.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Quigel,

Engineering and Environmental Staff,

Rural Utility Service, Stop 1571, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250–1571, telephone

(202) 720–0468. Bob’s E-mail address is

bquigel@rus.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.,

proposes to construct the plant at one of

two potential sites. These sites are in the

Nodaway County, Missouri. One site is

approximately 5.5 miles southeast of

Maryville about 0.5 miles south of the

intersection of County Highways N and

F along County Highway N. The other

site is located approximately 1.5 miles

east of Graham along County Highway

A then 1 mile north up a gravel road.

The proposed project will be

composed of two nominal 100 megawatt

simple cycle combustion turbines. They

will be primarily gas-fired combustion

turbines with the option to burn fuel oil.

The combustion turbines will be used

for peaking capacity. The hours of

operation of the combustion turbines

will be limited. The number of

operating hours will depend on the

emission rates ultimately guaranteed by