30158 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

North Fork Burnt River WatershedMining Projects; Wallowa-Whitman

National Forest, Baker County, Oregon

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service

will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) on a proposed action to

approve Proposed Plans of Operations

on mining claims located on the North

Fork of the Burnt River and its

tributaries, located in the North Fork

Burnt River Watershed. The project area

is located on the Unity Ranger District,

approximately 20 air miles northwest of

Unity, Oregon.

The proposed action is a compilation

of plans submitted by claimants

operating within the analysis area.

These plans describe the type of mining

operations proposed and how they

would be conducted, the type and

standard of access routes, the means of

transportation to be used, the period

during which the proposed mining

activity will take place and measures to

be taken to meet the requirements for

environmental protection. Operations

include the exploration and extraction

of valuable minerals from placer and

lode deposits. Methods range from the

hand panning to more complex

operations utilizing mechanical

equipment. The 1990 Land and

Resource Management Plan final EIS for

the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest,

as amended, provides overall guidance

for management of this area. Some of

the operations planned in the proposed

action may not be in compliance with

this plan.

DATES: Written comments concerning

the scope of the analysis should be

received by July 15, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and

suggestions to Jean Lavell, Unity District

Ranger, P.O. Box 38, Unity, Oregon

97884.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Katie Countryman, Project Team Leader,

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Supervisor’s Office. Phone: (541) 523–

1264.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

planning area is within the boundary of

the North Fork Burnt River Watershed.

The legal description of the decision

area is as follows: T9–11S, R35E, 35–1/

2E, 36E, W.M. surveyed.

Since 1996, sections of the North Fork

of the Burnt River and its tributaries

have been listed as water quality

impaired under section 303(d) of the

Clean Water Act. The Forest Service has

determined that mining operations have

the potential to affect water quality.

Accordingly, the effects of new,

existing, or modified Plans of

Operations prepared under regulations

at 36 CFR 228.4 and 228.5, will be

analyzed in the EIS.

Mining operations are associated with

the extraction of precious metals from

placer and lode deposits. A number of

different practices are being proposed

on the various claims within the

analysis area. These may include one or

more of the following practices:

Suction Dredging: Portable suction

dredges would be used in streams

during the period specified by the State

of Oregon, generally July 1 to October

31.

Test Pits: Holes are dug either by hand

or mechanical equipment to sample subsurface deposits.

Drilling: Portable drills are used as

part of the exploration process to

sample sub-surface mineral deposits.

Placer Mining: This includes a wide

variety of practices to extract minerals

from placer deposits. The techniques

include handwork with shovels and

pans, small sluice boxes and more

complex operations that use mechanical

equipment. On the more heavily worked

claims backhoes and front end loaders

are used for digging, and power

trommels for separation and extraction.

Water, to varying degrees, is used in all

these techniques. Some minor road

maintenance and maintenance of

existing structures is also planned.

Lode Mining: This includes tunneling

or other mechanical methods used to

extract lode deposits.

Activities, which would occur in

association with mining operation,

include mitigation practices such as

construction or maintenance of settling

ponds, and reclamation activities such

as recontouring, seeding, and treatment

of noxious weeds.

Preliminary issues include effects of

proposed activities on—water quality

and fish habitat.

The Forest Service will consider a full

range of alternatives, including a ‘‘noaction’’alternative. The no-action

alternative is evaluated in order to

establish a baseline condition of existing

and future environmental conditions in

the project area. Based on the issues

gathered through scoping, the action

alternatives may vary in the type of

operations permitted, the timing of

permitted operations and the types of

mitigation required. Action alternatives

include—the proposed mining activities

and alternatives that modify the

proposed plans with additional

mitigation to address effects of mining

on water quality and fisheries habitat.

Public participation will be especially

important at several points during the

analysis, beginning with the scoping

process (40 CFR 1501.7). This

environmental analysis and decision

making process will enable additional

interested and affected people to

participate and contribute to the final

decision. The public is encouraged to

take part in the process and is

encouraged to visit with Forest Service

officials at any time during the analysis

and prior to the decision. The Forest

Service will be seeking information,

comments, and assistance from Federal,

State, local agencies, tribes, and other

individuals or organizations that may be

interested in, or affected by the

proposal. This input will be used in

preparation of the draft EIS. The scoping

process includes:

Identifying potential issues;

Identifying major issues to be analyzed

in depth;

Identifying issues which have covered

by a relevant previous environmental

analysis;

Considering additional alternatives

based on themes which will be

derived from issues recognized during

scoping activities; and

Identifying potential environmental

effects to this project and alternatives

(i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative

effects and connected actions).

The draft EIS is expected to be filed

with the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) and to be available to the

public for a 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. It is important that

those interested in the management of

the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

participate at that time.

Comments received in response to

this notice, 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. 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. Persons requesting such

confidentiality should be aware that,

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2001 / Notices 30159

under the 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 a specified

number of days.

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 EIS’s must structure

their participation in the environmental

review of the proposal so that it is

meaningful and alerts the 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 EIS stage but that are

not raised until completion of the final

EIS 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 the 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 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 EIS or 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).

The final EIS is scheduled for

completion July 2002. 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 a

decision regarding the proposal.

The Forest Service is the lead agency.

Jean Lavell, District Ranger, is the

Responsible Official. As the Responsible

Official, she will decide which, if any,

of the proposed plans will be

implemented. She 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 Part 215).

Dated: May 30, 2001.

Karyn L. Wood,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 01–14049 Filed 6–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Reconstruction of Meadows Road #205

and Issuance of a Road Easement for

Access to Private Land

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement in

conjunction with issuance of a road

easement and reconstruction of the

Meadows Road #205 through an

inventoried roadless area Dolores

County, Colorado.

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will

prepare an environmental impact

statement in conjunction with a

proposal to issue a road easement to a

private landowner and the reconstruct

an existing classified roadway, the

Meadows Road #205, across a portion of

an inventoried roadless area to access

the landowners property.

This notice describes known issues

with the proposed road reconstruction

project, estimated dates for filing the

environmental impact statement,

information concerning public and

tribal participation, and the names and

addresses of the agency officials who

can provide additional information.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of the analysis should be received in

writing by July 6, 2001. The agency

expects to file a draft environmental

impact statement with the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

and make it available for public, agency,

and tribal government comment in late

summer of 2001. A final environmental

impact statement is expected to be filed

in November of 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to:

James Powers, Forest Planner, San Juan

National Forest, 15 Burnett Court,

Durango, CO 81301.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Reidinger, Forester, Mancos-Dolores

Ranger District, P.O. Box 210 Dolores,

Co. 81323 (970–882–7296).

Responsible Official: Rick Cables,

Rocky Mountain Regional Forester at

P.O. Box 25127, Lakewood, CO 80225–

0127.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to part 36 Code of Federal Regulations

(CFR) 219.10(g), the Regional Forester

for the Rocky Mountain Region gives

notice of the agency’s intent to prepare

an environmental impact statement for

road reconstruction and issuance of an

easement across such road in an

inventoried roadless area for the

purpose of providing the applicant

access to non-federally owned lands

within the boundaries of the National

Forest System.

The Regional Forester gives notice

that the Forest is initiating an

environmental-analysis and decisionmaking process for this proposed action

so that interested or affected people can

participate in the analysis and

contribute to the final decision.

Opportunities will be provided to

discuss the road reconstruction and

easement issuance proposal openly with

the public. The public is invited to help

identify issues and define the range of

alternatives to be considered in the

environmental impact statement.

Written comments identifying issues for

analysis and the range of alternatives

will be encouraged.

The public has already identified a

number of issues. Additional issue

identification (scoping) will continue in

the summer of 2001. Requests to be on

the mailing list should be sent to: John

Reidinger, Forest, P.O. Box 210, Dolores,

Co. 81323 (970) 882–7296.

This project is being undertaken to

provide access to a private, nonfederally owned land as required by the

Alaska Native Interest Lands

Conservation Act (Pub. L. 96–487).

Private land inholders are to be

provided access across National Forest

System land to private land that is

adequate to secure the owners thereof of

reasonable use and enjoyment of their

land. The private landowner has

proposed use of the existing road across

the inventoried roadless area to meet

their access needs.

Major Issues

Lizard Head Roadless Area

This RARE II area is an area of

approximately 4,940 acres that is

immediately south of the Lizard Head

Wilderness and north of Colorado

Highway 145. It has a low wilderness

attribute rating because of its proximity

to the highway and the West Dolores

road and was excluded from the Lizard