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

27044

Vol. 61, No. 105

Thursday, May 30, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Pest Management Program at the R5

Genetic Resource Center, Chico in the

Pacific Southwest Region, California,

in Butte County

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare

Environmental Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare

a draft and final environmental impact

statement (EIS) on a proposed action to

develop an integrated pest management

(IPM) program at the R5 Genetic

Resource Center, Chico which is

administered by the Mendocino

National Forest. The Forest Service

began an analysis for the nursery

portion of the site in 1989; however, the

project was canceled in the May 1, 1995

Federal Register Notice. The scope of

the current proposed action includes the

nursery and seed orchard operations,

arboretums, and research areas. The

administrative site is approximately 209

acres in size, and the analysis area is

approximately 121 acres. Areas on the

administrative site which are excluded

from this analysis are the office

buildings and work areas, residential

buildings, boundary fence lines,

Comanche Creek wildlife and recreation

area, intermittent stream area in the

northern portion of the site, the

diversion channel, and other small

wildlife habitat areas. The excluded area

is estimated to be approximately 88

acres in size. The Forest Service invites

written comments on the scope of the

analysis. In addition, the Forest Service

gives notice of the environmental

analysis and decisionmaking process

that will occur on the proposed action

so that interested and affected people

are aware of how they may participate

and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of the analysis should be received in

writing by July 1, 1996, to ensure timely

consideration.

ADDRESS: Send written comments to:

Lynne ́ Hartman, Director, USDA Forest

Service, R5 Genetic Resource Center,

Chico, 2741 Cramer Lane, Chico, CA

95928.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Hank Switzer, Horticulturist, R5 Genetic

Resource Center, Chico, CA 95928, (916)

895–1176.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The scope

of the analysis will consist of a

container nursery, approximately one

acre in size, which has the capacity to

grow 1.2 million seedlings a year, and

120 acres that are in production as seed

orchards for restoration of forest

ecosystems or arboretums that are active

in growing plant material for a variety

of biological, chemical and clinical

research programs. Other areas on the

site such as the administrative

buildings, residential buildings, and the

recreational and wildlife areas are not

within the scope of this analysis.

The Forest Service will conduct an

environmental analysis to determine

what type of pest management program

will be used at the center. The pest

management practices that will be

analyzed include, but are not limited to,

control of unwanted vegetation by

mechanical and chemical methods;

control of diseases using sanitation,

biological control organisms, and

fungicides; control of insect pests with

biological and chemical insecticides,

and use of sanitation; and control of

animal pests through mechanical,

chemical, and preventative measures.

In preparing the environmental

impact statement, the Forest Service

will identify and consider a range of

alternative pest management programs

including an alternative that will be

based on the principles of integrated

pest management as required by the

Forest Service Manual. The ‘‘no action’’

alternative will be described as the

continuation of current pest

management practices.

Public participation will be especially

important at several points during the

analysis. The first point is during the

scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7), which

includes:

1. Defining the scope of the analysis

and nature of the decision to be made.

2. Identifying the issues and

determining the significant issues for

consideration and analysis within the

environmental impact statement.

3. Defining the proper make-up of the

interdisciplinary team.

4. Exploring possible alternatives.

5. Identifying potential environmental

effects.

6. Determining potential cooperating

agencies.

7. Identifying groups or individuals

interested or affected by the decision.

The Forest Service will be seeking

information, comments, and assistance

from Federal, State and local agencies

and other individuals or organizations

interested in or affected by the proposed

action.

Public participation will be solicited

by personal notification of known

interested and affected publics. In

addition, news releases will be used to

keep the public informed. Input from

interested people and organizations will

be used in preparation of the draft

environmental impact statement.

The draft environmental impact

statement is expected to be filed with

the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) and to be available for public

review by September 1996. At that time,

EPA will publish a notice of availability

of the draft environmental impact

statement in the Federal Register.

The comment period on the draft

environmental impact statement will be

45 days from the date the EPA’s notice

of availability appears in the Federal

Register. It is very important that those

interested in the proposed action

participate at that time. To be most

helpful, comments on the draft

environmental impact statement should

be as specific as possible and may

address the adequacy of the statement or

the merits of the alternatives discussed

(see Council on Environmental Quality

Regulations for implementing the

procedural provisions of the National

Environmental Policy Act 40 CFR

1503.3)

In addition, Federal court decisions

have established that reviewers of draft

environmental impact statements must

structure their participation in the

environmental review of the proposal so

that it is meaningfull and alerts an

agency to the reviewers’ position and

contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear

Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553

(1978). Environmental objections that
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 1996 / Notices 27045

could have been raised at the draft stage

may be waived if not raised until after

completion of the final environmental

impact statement. City of Angoon v.

Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Circuit,

1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v.

Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D.

Wis. 1980). The reason for this is to

ensure 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.

Following the comment period on the

draft environmental impact statement,

comments will be analyzed, considered,

and responded to by the Forest Service

in preparing the final environmental

impact statement. The final

environmental impact statement is

scheduled to be completed by July 1997.

The responsible official will consider

the comments and responses;

environmental consequences discussed

in the environmental impact statement;

and applicable laws, regulations and

policies in making a decision regarding

this proposal. The decision and reasons

for the decision will be documented in

the Record of Decision.

Daniel K. Chisholm, Forest

Supervisor, Mendocino National Forest,

is the responsible official.

Dated May 22, 1996.

Daniel K. Chisholm,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 96–13517 Filed 5–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

Designation for the Barton (KY) and

North Dakota (ND) Areas

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: GIPSA announces the

designation of J. W. Barton Grain

Inspection Service, Inc. (Barton), and

North Dakota Grain Inspection Service,

Inc. (North Dakota), to provide official

services under the United States Grain

Standards Act, as amended (Act).

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Janet M. Hart, Chief, Review

Branch, Compliance Division, GIPSA,

USDA, Room 1647 South Building, P.O.

Box 96454, Washington, DC 20090–

6454.

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.

In the December 27, 1995, Federal

Register (60 FR 66958), GIPSA asked

persons interested in providing official

services in the geographic areas

assigned to Barton and North Dakota to

submit an application for designation.

Applications were due by January 30,

1996. Barton and North Dakota, the only

applicants, each applied for designation

to provide official inspection services in

the entire areas currently assigned to

them.

Since Barton and North Dakota were

the only applicants, GIPSA did not ask

for comments on the applicants.

GIPSA evaluated all available

information regarding the designation

criteria in Section 7(f)(l)(A) of the Act;

and according to Section 7(f)(l)(B),

determined that Barton and North

Dakota are able to provide official

services in the geographic areas for

which they applied. Effective July 1,

1996, and ending June 30, 1999, Barton

and North Dakota are designated to

provide official services in the

geographic areas specified in the

December 27, 1995, Federal Register.

Interested persons may obtain official

services by contacting Barton at 502–

683–0616 and North Dakota 701–293–

7420.

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

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

Dated: May 10, 1996

Neil E. Porter

Director, Compliance Division

[FR Doc. 96–13201 Filed 5–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–F

Opportunity for Designation in the

Aberdeen (SD) Area and the State of

Missouri

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 will end not later than

triennially and may be renewed. The

designations of Aberdeen Grain

Inspection, Inc. (Aberdeen), and the

Missouri Department of Agriculture

(Missouri) will end November 30, 1996,

according to the Act, and GIPSA is

asking persons interested in providing

official services in the Aberdeen and

Missouri areas to submit an application

for designation.

DATES: Applications must be

postmarked or sent by telecopier (FAX)

on or before June 29, 1996.

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 202–690–2755,

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

Aberdeen, main office located in

Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Missouri,

main office located in Jefferson City,

Missouri, to provide official inspection

services under the Act on December 1,

1993.

Section 7(g)(1) of the Act provides

that designations of official agencies

shall end not later than triennially and

may be renewed according to the

criteria and procedures prescribed in

Section 7(f) of the Act. The designations

of Aberdeen and Missouri end on

November 30, 1996.

Pursuant to Section 7(f)(2) of the

USGSA, the following geographic area,

in the States of North Dakota and South

Dakota, is assigned to Aberdeen.

Bounded on the North by U.S. Route

12 east to State Route 22; State Route 22

north to the Burlington-Northern (BN)

line; the Burlington-Northern (BN) line

east to State Route 21; State Route 21

east to State Route 49; State Route 49

south to the North Dakota-South Dakota

State line; the North Dakota-South

Dakota State line east to U.S. Route 83;

U.S. Route 83 north to State Route 13;

State Route 13 east and north to

McIntosh County; the northern