[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 87 (Thursday, May 4, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25903-25904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9951]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Fanshaw Project Environmental Impact Statement; Notice of Intent

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revision of Notice of Intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY:  This document revises the Notice of Intent to prepare and 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Port Houghton/Cape Fanshaw 
timber harvest as originally published in the Federal Register on 
September 12, 1994 (Federal Register Vol. 59, No. 175, pp. 46819-
46820). A revised NOI was published on August 14, 1995 (Federal 
Register Vol. 60, No. 156, p. 41862) stating that two decisions-makers 
will sign the Record of Decision. A NOI to prepare a Revised Draft EIS 
was published on September 23, 1997 (Federal Register Vol. 62, No. 184, 
pp. 49665-49666). This revision to the NOI is necessary because a new 
Record of Decision (ROD) for the Tongass Land and Resource Management 
Plan was signed by Under-Secretary of Agriculture Jim Lyons in April 
1999, which changed some of the existing Forest Plan Land Use 
Designations (LUD) within the project area. Most of the Forest Plan 
LUDs within the Port Houghton/Cape Fanshaw EIS were changed to Non-
Development LUDs. This NOI revision includes changes in the proposed 
action, the size of the project area, the name of the project as well 
as changes in the project schedule to reflect the changes in the new 
Forest Plan ROD.
    The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to provide a supply of timber for 
the Tongass National Forest timber sale program, to identify 
recreational opportunities and potential watershed project needs and to 
develop a road management plan for the project area. The Record of 
Decision will disclose where, if any, the Forest Service has decided to 
provide timber harvest units, roads, associated timber harvesting 
facilities, identify dispersed recreation opportunities, and potential 
watershed projects. The proposed action is to harvest timber on a 
estimated 2100 acres and to provide multiple timber sale opportunities 
for the total of approximately 41 million board feet (mmbf) of timber. 
Timber harvest will be accomplished using a variety of silvicultural 
prescriptions and harvest methods that meet the standards and 
guidelines of the Tongass Forest Plan. This project would include the 
construction of up to 33 miles of road and one new log transfer 
facility (LTF) within the project area. This project may also include 
an analysis and decision for a nonsignificant amendment to the Forest 
Plan to revise the location of small Old Growth Reserve(s) within the 
study area. Recreational opportunities for enhancement may include 
dispersed sites for camping, and improved access for hunting and 
subsistence users. Potential watershed projects may include existing 
land slide restoration and fish enhancement. A range of alternatives 
responsive to significant issues will be developed and will include a 
no-action alternative. The Fanshaw project area is approximately 92,000 
acres in size and is located on parts of Value Comparison Units 820, 
830, 840, 850, 860, 870, 880, 890, and 900 on the mainland on the 
Petersburg and Juneau Ranger Districts of the Tongass National Forest. 
Part of this project area is within Inventoried Roadless Areas Fanshaw 
#201, Windham--Port Houghton #308 and Spires #202 as identified by the 
Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received 
by June 15, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to the Petersburg Ranger 
District; Tongass National Forest; Attn: Tom Parker; Fanshaw Project 
EIS; PO Box 1328; Petersburg, AK 99833.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposal and EIS 
should be directed to Patricia Grantham, District Ranger, Petersburg 
Ranger District, Tongass National Forest, PO Box 1328, Petersburg, AK 
99833; telephone (907) 772-3871 or Tom Parker, Interdisciplinary Team 
Leader, Petersburg Ranger District, PO Box 1328, Petersburg, AK 99833; 
telephone (907) 772-3871.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public participation has been an integral 
component of the study process and will be especially important at 
several points during the analysis. The proposed activities were first 
identified during the Port Houghton/Cape Fanshaw EIS, which 
incorporated aspects of collaborative stewardship. During the last 
year, the Forest Service has been seeking information, comments, and 
assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies, Federally-
recognized Indian tribes, and individuals and organizations that may be 
interested in, or affected by, the proposed activities. Written scoping 
comments have been solicited through a scoping package that was sent to 
the project mailing list and available at open houses in Petersburg, 
Juneau and Kake, Alaska. The scoping process includes: (1) 
identification of potential issues; (2) identification of issues to be 
analyzed in depth; and, (3) elimination of insignificant issues or 
those which have been covered by a previous environmental review. For 
the Forest Service to best use the scoping input, comments should be 
received by June

[[Page 25904]]

15, 2000 (30 days from expected publication).
    Based on results of scoping and the resource capabilities within 
the project area, alternatives, including a ``no action'' alternatives, 
will be developed for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement is projected to be filed with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the summer 2000. Subsistence 
hearings, as provided for in Title VIII, Section 810 of the Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), will occur, if 
necessary, during the comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement. The Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of 
Decision are anticipated to be published in February 2001.
    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.2nd 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 Environmental Impact Statement. Comments 
may also address the adequacy of the Draft Environmental 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 which may be required for implementation of the project 
include the following:

1. U.S. Army Corps 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 Standards 
(401 Certification)

Responsible Official

    Carol Jorgensen, Assistant Forest Supervisor, Tongass National 
Forest, PO BOX 309, Petersburg, Alaska 99833, 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: April 10, 2000.
Carol J. Jorgensen,
Assistant Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 00-9951 Filed 5-3-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M