This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

28084

Vol. 60, No. 103

Tuesday, May 30, 1995

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Aspen Highlands EIS, Ski Area

Improvement and Expansion Analysis,

White River National Forest; Pitkin

County, Colorado

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service will prepare

an Environmental Impact Statement to

disclose effects of alternative decisions

it may make to allow upgrading and/or

expansion of recreational facilities

within the existing permit boundaries of

the Aspen Highlands Ski Area, on the

Aspen Ranger District of the White

River National Forest.

DATES: Written comments concerning

the scope of the analysis should be

received on or before July 28, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

Rob Iwamoto, Aspen District Ranger,

White River National Forest, 806 West

Town, Aspen, CO 81611. Veto J.

LaSalle, Forest Supervisor, White River

National Forest, is the Responsible

Official for this EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Arthur Bauer, Project Coordinator,

Aspen Ranger District—(970) 544–0082

or (303) 925–3445.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May

12, 1995, Special Use Permittee Aspen

Skiing Company submitted a proposal

to amend their Master Development

Plan for the Aspen Highlands Ski Area.

The scope of the proposal includes

replacing two lifts with a new moderate

capacity, high speed quad chairlift;

extending a catwalk to serve additional

expert terrain within the Loge Bowl

area; adding a new lift and additional

terrain to the Steeplechase area;

replacing the existing mid-mountain

restaurant with a new restaurant in the

same location; relocating the Ski Patrol

Headquarters; adding two new ski lifts

into two separate Bowl Areas; and the

addition of approximately 300 acres of

snowmaking. Actions proposed on

National Forest System Lands fall

within the existing permit area

boundary. The applicant’s proposal also

would involve development on adjacent

private lands which have land use

jurisdictions outside of Forest Service

control.

The applicant’s proposal is consistent

with governing programmatic

management direction contained in the

Rocky Mountain Regional Guide and

FEIS for Standards and Guidelines

(1983) and in the final EIS and Land

and Resource Management Plan for the

White River National Forest (‘‘LMP,’’

1984). These documents direct that first

priority for ski area development is the

expansion of existing areas. The LMP

allocated the proposed expansion area

to downhill skiing use and assigned a

potential development capacity of 4,500

skiers-at-one-time (SAOT). The sitespecific environmental analysis

provided by the EIS will assist the

Responsible Official in determining

which improvements are needed to

meet the following objectives:

Accommodate predicted short and longterm demand for skiing; continue the

supply of high quality recreational

opportunities at Aspen Highlands;

maintain the attractiveness and viability

of the permittee’s operation; and,

sustain the resource uses and amenity

values which local communities depend

on and enjoy. Alternative development

plans will be carefully examined for

their potential impacts on the physical,

biological, and social environments so

that tradeoffs are apparent to the

decisionmaker.

Public participation will be fully

incorporated into preparation of the EIS.

The first step is the scoping process,

during which the Forest Service will be

seeking information, comments, and

assistance from Federal, State, and local

agencies, and other individuals or

groups who may be interested or

affected by the proposed action. This

information will be used in preparing

the EIS.

Several public meetings will be held

in the Aspen, CO area throughout the

public involvement process. The exact

dates and locations of these meetings

will be published in local newspapers at

least two weeks in advance. The first

scoping meeting is currently slated for

late-June.

Preliminary issues include the

potential effects of proposed actions and

related off-site developments on the

following elements of the biological,

physical and social environments:

Wildlife populations, big game habitats,

and overall biological diversity;

vegetation, wetlands and riparian areas;

streamflow and fisheries habitat; scenic

quality; air quality; noise levels;

wilderness resource values; four-season

recreational resource opportunities;

surface erosion and landslide hazards;

quality of and capacity for downhill

skiing; traffic and transportation

systems; the cost and supply of public

utilities and services; local commercial

establishments; housing availability and

cost; personal income and revenue base

to local and state governments;

development in surrounding areas;

health and human safety; and, the

overall quality of life for local residents.

The direct, indirect, cumulative, shortterm, and long-term aspects of impacts

on national forest lands and resources,

and those of connected or related effects

off-site, will be fully disclosed.

Preliminary alternatives include the

applicant’s proposal (described above)

and No Action, which in this case is

continuing current administration of the

ski area. Additional alternatives will be

developed after the significant issues are

clarified and management objectives

carefully defined. The Responsible

Official will be presented with a range

of feasible and practical alternatives.

Permits and licenses required to

implement the proposed action will, or

may, include the following: Amended

Special Use Permit from the Forest

Service; Section 404 Permit from the

Army Corps of Engineers; consultation

with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for

compliance with section 7 of the

Threatened & Endangered Species Act;

certification from the Colorado

Department of Health Air Pollution

Control Division that air quality

standards would be met; certification

from the Water Quality Control Division

for Section 401 compliance and permit

for Pollution Discharge Elimination

System, certification from the Tram

Board; review from the Colorado

Department of Natural Resources

Division of Wildlife, Colorado Geologic

Survey, Colorado Natural Area Office,

Water Conservation Board, and Division
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 103 / Tuesday, May 30, 1995 / Notices 28085

of Water Resources; approval from

Colorado Department of Highways for

any state highway redesign or access

improvement; clearance from the

Colorado State Historic Preservation

Office; and various review, zoning,

subdivision and permit approvals from

Pitkin County and the Town of

Snowmass Village.

The Forest Service predicts the draft

environmental impact statement will be

filed during the winter of 1995/96 and

the final environmental impact

statement during the summer of 1996.

The Forest Service predicts the draft

environmental impact statement will be

filed during the winter of 1995/96 and

the final environmental impact

statement during the summer of 1996.

The Forest Service will seek

comments on the draft environmental

impact statement for a period of 45 days

after its publication. Comments will

then be summarized and responded to

in the final environmental impact

statement.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed action,

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 environmental

impact 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 is addressing these points.)

The Forest Service believes it is

important to give reviewers notice at

this early stage of several court rulings

related to public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of draft 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 DEIS stage but that are not

raised until after completion of the Final

EIS may be waived or dismissed by the

courts. City of Anqoon 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 environmental impact

statement.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed action,

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.

Dated: May 23, 1995.

Veto J. LaSalle,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 95–13112 Filed 5–26–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–11–M

Rural Housing and Community

Development Service

Industry Interface Pilot

AGENCY: Rural Housing and Community

Development Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing and

Community Development Service

(RHCDS) announces a pilot test of

software to provide an automated

interface between RHCDS and

borrowers with Multiple Family

Housing (MFH) projects to exchange

MFH tenant information. The objective

of the automated interface is to

dramatically reduce reporting burden

and streamline internal processing.

DATES: Borrowers who have projects in

the pilot servicing offices and wish to

participate in the pilot should contact

their servicing office after June 1, 1995.

Servicing offices participating in the

pilot will receive informational

packages for distribution by June 1,

1995.

ADDRESSES: RECD servicing offices

participating in the pilot are as follows:

RECD State Office, 3003 North Central

Avenue, Suite 900, Phoenix, Arizona

85012.

RECD District Office, 4362 North Lake

Boulevard, Suite 105, Palm Beach

Gardens, Florida 33410.

RECD District Office, 3260 Eagle Park

Drive, Suite 101C, Grand Rapids,

Michigan 49505.

RECD District Office, 1600 Valley River

Drive, Suite 270, Eugene, Oregon

97401.

RECD District Office, PO Box Drawer

1328, 1809 Furgeson Road, Suite E,

Mt. Pleasant, Texas 75456.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Larry Anderson, Senior Loan Specialist,

Multiple Family Housing Servicing and

Property Management Division

(MHSPM), RHCDS, Room 5321 South

Agriculture Building, Washington, DC

20250, telephone (202) 720–1611. (This

is not a toll free number.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The pilot

test is scheduled to begin during June

1995, and will be conducted in five

local servicing offices. The pilot will

determine if software developed by

RHCDS can effectively transmit tenant

data from borrower management sites to

the servicing office. No ending date for

the pilot has been established at this

time.

During a later phase of the pilot,

software developed by private vendors

will be permitted to transmit

information through the pilot system.

To assist private software developers

who wish to participate in the second

phase of the pilot, the RHCDS National

Office will provide a copy of the official

information transmission format upon

request. On June 1, 1995, at 2:00 PM, a

meeting with RHCDS and interested

software and housing industry

representatives will be held in Room

0204, South Agriculture Building, 14th

and Independence Avenue, Washington,

DC, to discuss the pilot and other

automation issues. Any individual or

group interested in MFH automation is

welcome to attend.

During the pilot period, RHCDS will

work closely with borrowers to assure

the successful completion of the pilot.

Administrative flexibility will be

provided to accommodate tenant data

submission in a pilot environment.

Borrowers interested in participating in

the pilot may contact the appropriate

servicing office address above for more

information.

Dated: May 19, 1995.

Maureen Kennedy,

Acting Administrator, Rural Housing and

Community Development Service.

[FR Doc. 95–13162 Filed 5–26–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–07–M