Taneum/Peaches Road Access Project, Wenatchee National Forest, Kittitas County Washington

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Taneum/Peaches Road Access Project, Wenatchee National Forest,

Kittitas County Washington

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplement to a draft

environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, USDA, will prepare a supplement to the

draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Taneum/Peaches Road

Access Project on the Wenatchee National Forest, which was released for

public

[[Page 38433]]

review in January 1996 (66 FR 2508). This supplement will document the

environmental analyses of additional information that was not included

in the original road access draft EIS. This new information includes:

change in the road access right-of-way; two additional alternative road

locations will be considered; and a third road access will be added.

The Forest Service gives notice of this analysis so that interested and

affected people are aware of how they may participate and contribute to

the final decision.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions and comments about this supplement 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 additional right-of-way across National

Forest System (NFS) lands for the purpose of establishing legal access

to their lands. The information to be included in the supplement

includes a change in the road access right-of-way application from

temporary road permit to permanent road right-of-way; the addition of

two new alternatives for road locations in the Taneum and in the

Peaches Ridge project areas; and the addition of a third road access

project area, Big Bend, in the Little Creek drainage of the Yakima

River watershed. The proposed access involves approximately 38 feet of

road on .1 acres of NFS land for the Peaches section; 432 feet of road

on .7 acres of NFS land for the Tarneum section; and .6 miles of road

on 4.3 acres of NFS land for the Big Bend section.

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 in-holdings 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 supplement will be prepared and circulated in the same manner

as the draft EIS (40 CFR 1502.9). The supplement to this draft EIS is

expected to be released to the public for review in August 1996. The

comment period on the draft supplement will be 45 days from the date

the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability appears 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 supplement to the 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

Yankees Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also,

environmental objections that could be raised at the draft supplement

stage but that are not raised until after completion of the final EIS

may be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angood 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 supplement

should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer

to specific pages or chapters of the draft supplement. Comments may

also address the adequacy of the supplemental EIS or the merits of the

alternatives formulated and discussed in the statement. (Reviewer may

wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environment

Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.).

After the 45 day comment period ends on the draft supplement, the

comments will be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in

preparing the final supplement. The final EIS is scheduled to be

completed by October 1996.

In the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to the

comments received (40 CFR 1503.4). The responsible official, Forest

Supervisor Sonny J. O'Neal, will consider the comments, responses,

environmental consequences discussed in the EIS and applicable laws,

regulations, and policies in making a decision regarding this proposal.

The responsible official will document the decision and reasons for the

decision in the Record of Decision. The Forest Service decision will be

subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR Part 215).

Dated: July 15, 1996.

Sonny J. O'Neal,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 96-18769 Filed 7-23-96; 8:45 am]

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