Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 106 / Friday, June 1, 2001 / Notices 29765

development of alternatives to the

proposed actions. One of the purposes

of this notice of intent is to solicit input

from the public as part of the overall

scoping effort. In addition to this notice,

the public has been notified of the

environmental impact statement

through the Umpqua National Forest’s

April 2001 Schedule of Proposed

Actions (SOPA). Scoping for this project

will also include a public field trip in

the Fish Creek watershed on June 9,

2001. Based on the preliminary issues,

the Responsible Official has determined

that it is appropriate to proceed with an

environmental impact statement.

Public comments are appreciated

throughout the analysis process. The

draft EIS is expected to be filed with the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

and be available for public review by

December 2001. 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 scheduled to be available in

March 2002.

The Forest Service believes it is

important to give reviewers notice of

this early stage of public participation

and of several court rulings related to

public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of a draft EIS 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 this

proposed action participate by the close

of the 45-day comment period so

substantive comments and objections

are made available to the Forest Service

at a time when it can meaningfully

consider and respond to them in the

final EIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed actions,

comments on the draft EIS 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 EIS 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 of 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing

these points.)

In the final EIS, the Forest Service is

required to respond to substantive

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 a

decision regarding the proposal. The

Responsible Official is Don Ostby,

Forest Supervisor for the Umpqua

National Forest. The Responsible

Official will document the decision and

rationale for the decision in a Record of

Decision. The decision will be subject to

appeal regulations (36 CFR part 215).

Dated: May 22, 2001.

Don Ostby,

Forest Supervisor, Umpqua National Forest.

[FR Doc. 01–13732 Filed 5–31–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

[01–01–C]

Opportunity To Comment on the

Applicants for the Fostoria (OH) Area

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: GIPSA requests comments on

the applicants for designation to provide

official services in the geographic area

currently assigned to Fostoria Grain

Inspection, Inc. (Fostoria).

DATES: Comments must be postmarked,

or sent by telecopier (FAX) by June 30,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be

submitted in writing to USDA, GIPSA,

Janet M. Hart, Chief, Review Branch,

Compliance Division, STOP 3604, Room

1647–S, 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, DC 20250–3604.

Telecopier (FAX) users may send

comments to the automatic telecopier

machine at 202–690–2755, attention:

Janet M. Hart. All comments received

will be made available for public

inspection at the above address at 1400

Independence Avenue, SW., during

regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet M. Hart at 202–720–8525, e-mail

janhart@gipsadc.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

Action has been reviewed and

determined not to be a rule or regulation

as defined in Executive Order 12866

and Departmental Regulation 1512–1;

therefore, the Executive Order and

Departmental Regulation do not apply

to this action.

In the March 8, 2001, Federal Register

(66 FR 13874), GIPSA asked persons

interested in providing official services

in the Fostoria area to submit an

application for designation. There were

three applicants for the Fostoria area:

Fostoria, Columbus Grain Inspection,

Inc. (Columbus), and Michigan Grain

Inspection Services, Inc. (Michigan).

Fostoria applied for designation to

provide official services in the entire

area currently assigned to them.

Columbus and Michigan, both

designated official grain inspection

agencies operating in Ohio and

Michigan, applied for designation to

provide official services in all or part of

the Fostoria geographical area.

GIPSA is publishing this notice to

provide interested persons the

opportunity to present comments

concerning the applicants. Commenters

are encouraged to submit reasons and

pertinent data for support or objection

to the designation of the applicants. All

comments must be submitted to the

Compliance Division at the above

address. Comments and other available

information will be considered in

making a final decision. GIPSA will

publish notice of the final decision in

the Federal Register, and GIPSA will

send the applicants written notification

of the decision.

Authority: Pub. L. 94–582, 90 Stat. 2867,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.).

Dated: May 4, 2001.

David R. Shipman,

Acting Administrator, Grain Inspection,

Packers and Stockyards Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–13583 Filed 5–31–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

[01–02–A]

Opportunity for Designation in the

Columbus (OH), Farwell (NM), and

Northeast Indiana (IN) Areas, and

Request for Comments on the Official

Agencies Serving These Areas

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)

USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The designations of the

official agencies listed below will end in