Sasse/Bell Ridge Road Access, Wenatchee National Forest, Kittitas County, WA

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Sasse/Bell Ridge Road Access, Wenatchee National Forest, Kittitas

County, WA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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

statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the environmental impacts of a

site-specific proposal to issue a permit and authorize use of an

existing road and construction of additional roads across National

Forest System (NFS) lands located in the Bell Creek and Little Salmon

La Sac Drainages. The action is proposed in response to an application

seeking legal access to approximately 1000 acres in three separate

sections of non-Federal land located within the Forest Boundary on the

Cle Elum Ranger District. The proposed action is located approximately

12 miles northwest of Cle Elum, Washington. The purpose of the EIS will

be to develop and evaluate a range of alternatives including a no

action Alternative, and possible additional alternatives to respond to

issues identified during the scoping process. The proposed project will

be in compliance with the direction in the Wenatchee National Forest

Land and Resource Management Plan (March 1990) which provides the

overall guidance for management of the area. The agency invites written

comments on the scope of this project. In addition, the agency gives

notice of this analysis 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 this proposal must be received

by June 10, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions to Sonny J. O'Neal,

Forest Supervisor, Wenatchee National Forest, P.O. Box 811, Wenatchee,

Washington 98807.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions and comments about this EIS should be directed to Douglas

Campbell, Lands Specialist, Cle Elum Ranger District, 803 West Second,

Cle Elum, Washington 98922; phone (509) 674-4411.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Wenatchee National Forest is initiating

this action in response to an application filed by Plum Creek Timber

Company. The applicant requests rights-of-way across NFS lands for the

purpose of establishing temporary legal access to approximately 1000

acres in three sections of land owned by the applicant. The sections of

land to be accessed are surrounded by NFS lands and no legal road

access to the sections currently exists.

The applicant seeks legal access pursuant to the Alaska National

Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). The ANILCA directs the Forest

Service to grant access to inholdings of non-Federal land within the

National Forest boundary for the reasonable use and enjoyment of those

lands by the landowner. The applicant has stated that it intends to

manage the lands to be accessed for long term timber production

utilizing conventional ground based logging systems. The applicant

intends to build roads on the permitted rights-of-way sufficient to

support the intended use of the land. The access involves approximately

3511 feet of road on 3 acres of NFS land for the Sasse sections, and

3000 feet of road on 2.4 acres of NFS land for the Bell Ridge sections.

A range of alternatives will be considered, including a no action

alternative. Other alternatives will be developed in response to issues

received during scoping.

The major issues that have been identified to date include the

following: water quality; fisheries; Snoqualmie Pass Adaptive

Management Area; Teanaway Recreation Area; habitat for spotted owl,

peregrine falcon and the gray wolf; cumulative effects of both the road

access and the management of the private land and Forest Service.

Public participation will be especially important at several points

during the analysis. The Forest Service will be seeking information,

comments, and assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies, and

other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected

by the proposed actions. This information will be used in preparation

of the draft EIS. The scoping process includes:

1. Identifying potential issues.

2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth.

3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those which have been

covered by a relevant previous environmental process.

4. Exploring additional alternatives.

5. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed

action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects

and connected actions).

6. Determining potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.

The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by

January 31, 1995. At that time, copies of the draft EIS will be

distributed to interested and affected agencies, organizations, and

members of the public for their review and comment. EPA will publish a

notice of availability of the draft EIS in the Federal Register.

The comment period on the draft EIS will be no less than 45 days

from the date the EPA notice appears in the Federal Register. It is

very important that those interested in the management of the Wenatchee

National Forest participate at that time.

The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important

to give reviewers notice 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 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 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 EIS. 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 May 1, 1995. 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 this proposal. Sonny J. O'Neal, Forest Supervisor, Wenatchee

National Forest is the responsible official. As the responsible

official he 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 215).

Dated: May 10, 1994.

Sonny J. O'Neal,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 94-12250 Filed 5-18-94; 8:45 am]

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