South Bend Weigh and Safety Station, Deschutes National Forest, Deschutes County, OR

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

South Bend Weigh and Safety Station, Deschutes National Forest,

Deschutes County, OR

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) to evaluate a request by Oregon Department of

Transportation (ODOT) to construct and operate a vehicle weigh and

safety inspection station on Deschutes National Forest under authority

of a Special Use Permit. The proposed area is located on the northbound

lane of Highway 97, south of Bend, Oregon, between milepost 145 and

148. The legal location is Township 19S, Range 11E, Section 1, NE\1/4\,

Willamette Meridian.

DATES: Issues and comments concerning the scope of analysis of the

Proposed Action should be received by February 14, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments regarding the Proposed Action to

Mollie Chaudet, Project Team Leader, Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District,

1230 NE 3rd Street, Suite A-262, Bend, Oregon 97701.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the Proposed

Action and EIS to Chris Mickle, Attention: South Bend Weigh and Safety

Station, Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, 1230 NE 3rd Street, Suite A-

262, Bend, Oregon 97701, phone 541-383-4721.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service Proposed Action would

include clearing of approximately one acre of brush and trees to

accommodate construction of a building, bypass lanes for vehicle

acceleration and deceleration, and related areas for parking and

inspections. The size of the trees to be removed would average 14

inches diameter at chest height. The building is approximately 210

square feet and 12 feet high. The bypass lanes would measure 16 feet by

3,800 feet. The maximum width of the asphalt lanes, building, and

gravel shoulder would be 60 feet, tapering to 16 feet on both the

approach and exit lanes. A fuel break would be created east of the

cleared area for a perimeter of 10 feet around the facility where dead

fuels would be removed, trees would be pruned of limbs to at least

eight feet in height. Brush would be mechanically treated as needed.

Noxious weed control would emphasize early prevention and detection.

A Weigh in Motion (WIM)/Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI)

system would be sited within one mile of the weigh station facility.

Equipment would include in-road sensors, a roadside computer cabinet

(77 inches x (44 inches x 26 inches), two overhead detectors (10

inches x 10 inches x 10 inches) mounted on two overhead detector

poles (14 feet 2 inches high x 4 inches diameter), an AVI cabinet (24

inches x 2 inches x 10 inches) mounted on a 5 foot tall AVI cabinet

pole (10 inches diameter), and two AVI poles that overhang the highway

spaced 600 feet apart from each other. Power would be supplied by

extending less than two miles of underground service in the existing

right-of-way along the east side of Highway 97. Highway signing would

include information about distances to the upcoming weigh station and

whether the facility is open, or not.

The Forest Service has agreed to consider a weigh station on

National Forest System lands based on the public need for the facility.

The facility cannot reasonably be served by the development on non-

National Forest System land. Analysis has indicated a high violation

rate in Central Oregon, especially trucks with a Bend and/or Redmond

destination that originate locally. The proposed location of the weigh

station and WIM sensors are within the Deschutes National Forest

boundary and cannot be easily bypassed via other routes. The Deschutes

National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) presently

allocates the proposed location to a management area that emphasizes

Scenic Views (Retention). The location is outside the boundary of the

Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

Alternatives to be considered will include the no action

alternative plus action alternatives that may include a modification of

the design or location of the proposed site. The selected alternative

may result in an amendment to the LRMP (Forest Plan).

[[Page 2372]]

Preliminary issues that have been identified include: (1) Placement

of a truck scale at this location could unnecessarily subject nearby

property owners and the High Desert Museum to an increased risk of

fire. (2) The proposed site could introduce hazardous traffic weaving

movements and speed differentials, and could promote traffic

congestion. (3) The truck scale could be contrary to Forest Plan Visual

Quality Objectives under the current land allocation (scenic views) and

could be an eyesore.

Public scoping will include a 30 day comment period in response to

a scoping letter mailed to interested people and posted on the

Deschutes National Forest website (www.fs.fed.us/r6/dechutes), and open

house, and additional public meetings as needed.

The public is invited to offer suggestions and comments in writing.

Comments received in response to this notice, including the names and

addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public

record on this proposal and will be available to 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 part 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 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 draft EIS is expected to be completed in September, 2000. 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.

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

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 be raised at the draft EIS stage but that are not

raised until after 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 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 at

40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.)

The final EIS is scheduled to be completed by January, 2001. 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 the decision

regarding the South Bend Weigh and Safety Station.

The Forest Service is the lead agency. Sally Collins, Forest

Supervisor, is the Responsible Official. The Responsible Official will

determine which alternative best meets the purpose and need for this

project and addresses the key issues raised about this project. The

decision and rationale will be documented in the Record of Decision.

That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36

CFR Part 215).

Dated: January 6, 2000.

Rebecca Heath,

Deputy Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 00-914 Filed 1-13-00; 8:45 am]

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