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

19880

Vol. 60, No. 77

Friday, April 21, 1995

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Zulu Smoot EIS; Kootenai National

Forest; Lincoln County, Montana;

Cancellation of Environmental Impact

Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Environmental impact statement

cancellation notice.

Notice is hereby given that the Three

Rivers Ranger District, Kootenai

National Forest is withdrawing its plan

to prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement for the Zulu Smoot project. A

portion of the project proposal within

this area will be incorporated into the

South Fork Yaak Environmental Impact

Statement for fire and insect mortality

recovery.

The Notice of Intent, published in the

Federal Register of January 14, 1994 (59

FR 2353) is hereby rescinded (FR

document is FR 94–915 Filed 1–13–94).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack

Zearfoss, South Fork Yaak EIS Team

Leader, Three Rivers Ranger District

(406) 295–4693.

Robert L. Schrenk,

Forest Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest.

[FR Doc. 95–9864 Filed 4–20–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Eight Fathom Timber Sale(s), Tongass

National Forest, Chatham Area, Sitka,

AK

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service will prepare

an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS) to disclose the environmental

impacts of proposed actions within the

Eight Fathom project area. This notice is

an amendment to the original notice of

intent for this project, published in the

Federal Register on April 22, 1993 (Vol.

58, No. 76, pages 21559 and 21560).

Planning activities for the proposed

project have been delayed by the

collection of inventory data and the

termination of the Alaska Pulp

Corporation Long-term Timber Sale

Contract. A revision of the Notice of

Intent is necessary because over six

months have passed since notification

of this proposal and the purpose of the

project has changed, in part.

The proposed action provides for: (1)

construction of about 37 miles of road;

(2) harvest of about 3,382 acres of

timber, and regeneration of new stands

of trees; and (3) reuse of existing Log

Transfer Facility sites at Eight Fathom

Bight and Salt Lake Bay. This level of

development would result in the harvest

of about 117 million board feet (MMBF)

of sawlog and utility timber volume.

DATES: The Draft EIS is expected to be

filed with the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) during July 1995 and the

Final EIS and Record of Decision during

January 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions about the proposed action

should be directed to: Michael J. Weber,

Team Leader, Chatham Area, 204

Siginaka Way, Sitka, Alaska 99835,

(907) 747–6671.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Eight Fathom project area is

located about 60 air miles north of Sitka,

Alaska, and 8 miles west of Hoonah,

Alaska, on the northern part of

Chichagof Island within Value

Comparison Units (VCUs) 193, 194, 195,

196, 197, 198, 200, 201, 202, 222, and

223 as designated in the Tongass Land

Management Plan (TLMP). These VCUs

are located within Management Areas

C27, C28, and C29 as described in the

TLMP on pages 57, 58, and 59. All three

Management Areas are part of the

former Alaska Pulp Corporation contract

area.

This EIS will tier to the 1979 Tongass

Land Management Plan (TLMP) Final

EIS and the 1985–86 and 1991

amendments. The TLMP provides the

overall guidance (Goals, Objectives,

Standards, and Management Area

direction) to achieve the desired future

condition for the area in which the

project is proposed.

A Notice of Intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement for the

Eight Fathom Timber Sales(s) was

published in the Federal Register on

April 22, 1993 (Vol. 58, No. 76, pages

21559 and 21560). Public comments

were received during the scoping period

that concluded on June 7, 1993.

Inventory information was collected

from the project area from May to

August 1993 and again from May to

August 1994.

The April 1993 Notice of Intent stated

that the purpose and need for the

proposed action was to make timber

available to meet requirements of the

Alaska Pulp Corporation 50-year Timber

Sale Contract (APC Contract). On April

14, 1994, Regional Forester Michael

Barton made the decision to terminate

the APC Contract. Termination ended

APC Contract volume obligations. An

independent sale program market

assessment was completed in May 1994

to help define market demand for timber

in Southeast Alaska in the absence of

the APC Contract.

Proposed Action

The proposed action is to build about

37 miles of road; harvest about 3,382

acres of timber and regenerate new

stands of trees; and utilize existing Log

Transfer Facility sites located at Eight

Fathom Bight and Salt Lake Bay within

the Eight Fathom project area on

Chichagof Island. This level of

development would result in the harvest

of approximately 117 MMBF of sawlog

and utility volume to support local

mills. The proposed action is one

alternative to achieve the purpose and

need for the project.

Purpose of the Proposed Action

The purpose and need for the

proposed action is to make 60 to 170

million board feet of timber available

from the project area to implement the

Tongass Land Management Plan; to

provide a sustained level of wood

products to meet local, national, and

international demand; and to improve

the timber productivity of the project

area. A comparison of the desired future

condition for the project area (as

identified in the TLMP) with the

existing condition shows the need to

convert suitable stands of old-growth

timber to managed productive stands

capable of long-term timber production.

This EIS may result in two or more

timber sales under the independent sale

program or in offerings to the Ketchikan
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 77 / Friday, April 21, 1995 / Notices 19881

Pulp Company under the conditions of

its long-term timber sale contract.

Gary A. Morrison, Forest Supervisor,

Chatham Area, will decide whether or

not to authorize timber harvest within

the Eight Fathom project area and, if so,

the design of any timber sale offerings

consistent with meeting resource

protection standards and guidelines in

the TLMP. He will decide: (a) how

much volume to make available; (b) the

location and design of the arterial and

collector road system needed to develop

the Eight Fathom area; (c) the location

of timber harvest units; (d) mitigation

and monitoring measures for sound

resource management, and (e) whether

there may be a significant restriction on

subsistence uses, and if so, other

determinations required by section 810

of the Alaska National Interest Lands

Conservation Act.

Analysis of Public Scoping

A number of public comments were

received in response to the April 1993

timber sale proposal. Based on

comments from the public and other

agencies during the scoping effort, the

following significant issues have been

identified:

1. Project effects on recreation and

tourism

2. Subsistence Impacts

3. Potential Economic Impacts

4. Protection of Fish and Wildlife

Resources

5. Cultural and Historical Resource

Protection

6. Protection of Caves and Karst

Features

7. Concerns about Impacts and

Alternatives to Clearcutting.

These issues are being used to design

alternatives to the proposed action and

to identify the potential environmental

effects of the proposed action and

alternatives.

Continued Public Participation

Encouraged

Public participation is an important

part of the environmental analysis

process. The Forest Service will be

seeking comments from Federal, State,

and local agencies as well as individuals

and organizations who may be

interested in, or affected by, the

proposed timber sale(s) when the Draft

EIS is released. The Draft EIS is

expected to be filed with the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

during July 1995. The comment period

on the Draft EIS will be 45 days from the

date the Environmental Protection

Agency publishes the notice of

availability in the Federal Register.

Agencies and other interested persons

or groups are invited to visit with Forest

Service officials at any time during the

process.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, it is important to alert

reviewers about 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). Also,

environmental objections that could be

raised at the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement stage but that are not

raised until after completion of the Final

Environmental Impact Statement 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 important that

those interested in this proposed action

participate by the close of the Draft EIS

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 EIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed action,

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, 40 CFR 1503.3, in addressing these

points.

The Final EIS is expected to be

released in January 1996. The Forest

Supervisor for the Chatham Area of the

Tongass National Forest will, as the

responsible official for the EIS, make a

decision regarding this proposal

considering the comments, responses,

and environmental consequences

discussed in the Final EIS, and

applicable laws, regulations, and

policies. The decision and supporting

reasons will be documented in a Record

of Decision.

Dated: April 7, 1995.

John C. Sherrod,

Planning Staff Officer.

[FR Doc. 95–9798 Filed 4–20–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

Opportunity for Designation in the

Cairo (IL) Area

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The United States Grain

Standards Act, as amended (Act),

provides that official agency

designations shall end not later than

triennially and may be renewed. The

designation of Cairo Grain Inspection

Agency, Inc. (Cairo), will end October

31, 1995, according to the Act, and

GIPSA is asking persons interested in

providing official services in the

specified geographic area to submit an

application for designation.

DATES: Applications must be

postmarked or sent by telecopier (FAX)

on or before May 30, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Applications must be

submitted to Janet M. Hart, Chief,

Review Branch, Compliance Division,

GIPSA, USDA, Room 1647 South

Building, P.O. Box 96454, Washington,

DC 20090–6454. Telecopier (FAX) users

may send applications to the automatic

telecopier machine at 202–720–1015,

attention: Janet M. Hart. If an

application is submitted by telecopier,

GIPSA reserves the right to request an

original application. All applications

will be made available for public

inspection at this address located at

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.,

during regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet M. Hart, telephone 202–720–8525.

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.

Section 7(f)(1) of the Act authorizes

GIPSA’s Administrator to designate a

qualified applicant to provide official

services in a specified area after

determining that the applicant is better

able than any other applicant to provide

such official services.

GIPSA designated Cairo, main office

located in Cairo, Illinois, to provide

inspection and Class X and Class Y