Sea Level Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Sea Level Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to provide timber for the

Ketchikan Area Independent Timber Sale Program. The Record of Decision

will disclose how the Forest Service has decided to provide harvest

units, roads, and associated timber harvesting facilities. The proposed

action is to harvest an estimated 60 million board feet (mmbf) of

timber on an estimated 2,500 acres. A range of alternatives will be

developed and include a no-action alternative. The proposed timber

harvest is located within Tongass Forest Plan Management Area K35,

VCU's 746, 753, 745.2, 755.2, 756, 757 and 759 on Revillagigedo

(Revilla) Island, Alaska, on the Ketchikan Ranger District of the

Ketchikan Area of the Tongass National Forest.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be

received by June 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments and suggestions concerning the

scope of this project to: District Ranger; Ketchikan Ranger District;

Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Area; Attn: Sea Level EIS, 3031

Tongass Avenue; Ketchikan, AK 99901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions about the proposal and EIS should be directed to Bill

Nightingale, District Planning Staff Officer or to Jimmy Deherrera,

District Ranger, Ketchikan Ranger District, Tongass National Forest,

3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, AK 99901, telephone (907) 225-2148.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

(1) Public Participation

Public participation will be an integral component of the study

process and will be especially important at several points during the

analysis. The first is during the scoping process. The Forest Service

will be seeking information, comments, and assistance from Federal,

State, and local agencies and individuals and organizations that may be

interested in, or affected by, the proposed activities. The scoping

process will include: (1) identification of potential issues; (2)

identification of issues to be analyzed in depth; and, (3) elimination

of insignificant issues or those which have been covered by a previous

environmental review. Public scoping meetings are scheduled in Alaska

at Saxman, May 21, 1997, and Ketchikan, May 22, 1997. Written scoping

comments are being solicited through a scoping package that will be

sent to the project mailing list. For the Forest Service to best use

the scoping input, comments should be received by June 15, 1997.

Tentative issues identified for analysis in the EIS include the

potential effects of the project on the relationship of the project to:

subsistence resources, old-growth ecosystem management and the

maintenance of habitat for viable populations of wildlife and plant

species, timber sale economics, timber supply, visual and recreational

resources, anadromous fish habitat, potential road connections on

Revilla Island, soil and water resources, cultural resources, Misty

Fiords National Monument wilderness values, and others.

Based on results of scoping and the resource capabilities within

the project area, alternatives including a ``no action'' alternative

will be developed for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft

EIS). The Draft EIS is projected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) in December 1997. Public comment on the Draft

EIS will be solicited for a minimum of 45 days from the date the

Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in

the Federal Register. Subsistence hearings, as provided for in Section

8 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), are

planned during this 45-day comment period. The Final EIS is anticipated

by June 1998.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

and concerns on the proposed action, comments during scoping and

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 1503.8 in addressing these

points.

In addition, Federal court decisions have established that

reviewers of Draft EIS 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 concerns. Vermont

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

Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft stage

may be waived if not raised until after completion of the Final EIS.

City of Angoon v. Hodel, Harris, (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 EIS.

Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names

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

public record on this proposed action and will be available for 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 Parts 215 or

217. 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 7

days.

Permits

Permits required for implementation include the following:

1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

--Approval of the discharge of dredged or fill materials into waters of

the United States under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act

--Approval of the construction of structures or work in navigable

waters of the United States under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors

Act of 1899

2. Environmental Protection Agency

--National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (402) Permit

--Review Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan

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3. State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources

--Tideland Permit and Lease or Easement

4. State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation

--Solid Waste Disposal Permit

--Certification of Compliance with Alaska Water Quality Standards (401

Certification)

Responsible Official

Bradley E. Powell, Forest Supervisor, Ketchikan Area, Tongass

National Forest, Federal Building, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901, is the

responsible official. The responsible official will consider the

comments, responses, disclosure of environmental consequences, and

applicable laws, regulations, and policies in making the decision and

stating the rationale in the Record of Decision.

Dated: May 1, 1997.

Robert L. Vaught,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97-11975 Filed 5-7-97; 8:45 am]

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