Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the AT&T Corporation P140 Coaxial Cable Removal Project, Soccoro County, New Mexico, Clark County, Nevada, and Kern and San Bernardino Counties, California

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[DES 97-46]

Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the

AT&T Corporation P140 Coaxial Cable Removal Project, Soccoro County,

New Mexico, Clark County, Nevada, and Kern and San Bernardino Counties,

California

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969 the National Park Service announces the availability

of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The Superintendent

of Mojave National Preserve, is the Department of the Interior's

designated lead federal agency official in accordance with 516 DM

2.4(A), the Bureau of Land Management, Riverside District Office, is

the designated cooperating agency; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (USFWS), Ventura Office, is a coordinating agency. This notice

also announces public meetings for the purpose of receiving public

comments on the DEIS.

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Bureau of Land Management

(BLM) received a request from AT&T Corp. to remove portions of a

telecommunications system, that is non-supportive to their fiber optic

network and to relinquish associated rights-of-way easements. As

jurisdictional agencies of federal Iands crossed by the project, the

NPS and the BLM are responsible for determining terms and conditions of

any removal activity and rehabilitation actions to promote restoration

of the land. AT&T owns and maintains approximately 709 miles of coaxial

communications cable and equipment generally between Mojave, California

and Socorro, New Mexico known as the P140 cable system consisting of

underground cable, repeater huts, manholes, cable markers, other

electronic equipment and access corridor. The project addresses a 220

mile portion of the system including 7.7 miles in New Mexico, 7.4 miles

in Nevada, and 205.2 miles in California.

Alternatives

The DEIS describes and analyzes four alternatives in response to

AT&T's request to remove cable and to terminate the associated rights-

of-way. The original right-of-way grants for public and state lands in

New Mexico and private and state lands in California provide AT&T a

right to remove cable and equipment; so it was necessary to assume

cable and equipment removal in these areas. The proposed action, and

two additional action alternatives have been developed to reduce or

avoid adverse effects on desert vegetation, wilderness, the desert

tortoise and recreational access. The No Action alternative is included

as a baseline for comparison of the action alternatives. To varying

degrees all action alternatives include cable and structure removal

along with rehabilitation of the access corridor and repeater hut

sites.

The No Action Alternative includes no cable or structural removal

nor any rehabilitation action. AT&T would retain its right-of-way

easements and would continue to patrol and maintain the access

corridor. The Proposed Action-Alternative A, includes the removal of

174.5 miles of cable, repeater huts and manholes along 220 miles of the

right-of-way. Removal of marker posts along 174.2 miles and elimination

of 39.8 miles of the access corridor and 4 miles of dual track. In

addition, the proposed action includes rehabilitation actions to

promote restoration and habitat recovery at the repeater hut sites and

along portions of the access corridor. Alternative B, was developed to

protect desert tortoise critical habitat on federal lands by not

removing cable from these areas and eliminating more of the access

corridor within critical habitat. Cable would be removed along 113.7

miles outside of critical habitat on federal lands, repeater huts and

manholes would be removed along 174.7 miles, and 51.6 miles of the

access corridor and 4 miles of dual track would be eliminated and

rehabilitated. Alternative C, was developed to minimize construction

related impacts on desert vegetation and desert tortoise on federal

lands by not removing any cable on federal lands and by eliminating the

access corridor in wilderness areas only. Cable would be removed along

72.3 miles on primarily state and private lands. Repeater huts and

manholes would be removed along 220 miles, marker posts would be

removed along 174.7 miles, and 5.4 miles of the access corridor and 4

miles

[[Page 67657]]

of dual tract would be eliminated and rehabilitated.

Environmental Consequences

In general, the Proposed Action would involve trade-offs between

long term, adverse affects on desert resources as a result of cable

removal activities and permanent gains or benefits associated with

removal of structures and rehabilitation actions at the repeater hut

sites and along the access corridor. Removal and rehabilitation

activities would result in unavoidable, long term adverse effects on

desert vegetation, animal species of concern, soil productivity, and

visual aesthetics. Construction activities would also result in

temporary adverse air quality and noise impacts. Removal of marker

posts along 220 miles would enhance desert tortoise habitat by

eliminating predator perches and removal of repeater huts would enhance

desert aesthetics. Rehabilitation actions along the access corridor

would have an unavoidable, permanent adverse effect on recreational

access to open desert areas on federal land. Rehabilitation action

along the access corridor and at the repeater hut sites, overall, would

have a beneficial impact on desert resources. Alternative B would

result in long term losses of desert vegetation and desert tortoise

habitat due to 113.7 fewer miles of cable removal activities, but would

affect 61 fewer miles than the Proposed action. The enhancement of

desert tortoise habitat by eliminating predator perches would be the

same as the proposal. Elimination of 12 more miles of the access

corridor would result in a greater permanent gain to desert tortoise

habitat by eliminating the vehicle related impacts, but would have

greater impacts on recreation access than the proposal. The permanent

enhancement of habitat values at the repeater hut sites would be the

same as the proposal. The permanent visual enhancement associated with

removal of aboveground structures would be the same as the proposal.

Impacts of Alternative C would result in long term loss of desert

vegetation and desert tortoise habitat due to 72.3 fewer miles of cable

removal, but would affect 102 miles less than the proposal. The

enhancement of desert tortoise habitat by eliminating predator perches

along 220 miles would be the same as the proposal. Eliminating 34 fewer

miles of the access corridor as compared with the proposal would result

in a smaller permanent gain to desert tortoise habitat but would avoid

the recreational access impacts of the proposal. The permanent

enhancement of habitat values at the repeater hut sites would be the

same as the proposal. The permanent visual enhancement associated with

removal of the aboveground structures would be the same as the

proposal.

The DEIS was prepared in order to evaluate a range of alternatives,

assess the impacts of these alternatives and to provide the public with

an opportunity to comment. This document will be on public review for

at least 60 days. The NPS and the BLM would appreciate any comments on

the project.

DATES: Comments on the Draft EIS should be received no later than March

27, 1998. Two public meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, January 14,

1998 (10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.) at the Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor

Center within the Mojave National Preserve; and (7:00 p.m.--9:00 p.m.)

at the Holiday Inn, 1511 E. Main Street, in Barstow, California.

Further information can be obtained by contacting Joan DeGraff of the

NPS at (303) 969-2464.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Draft EIS should be submitted to

Joan DeGraff National Park Service, Denver Service Center, P.O. BOX

25287, Denver, CO. 80225-0287.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of the DEIS are available on the

Internet at the NPS web site http://www.nps.gov/planning/index.html.

Public reading copies of the DEIS are available for review at local NPS

and BLM Offices and at local public libraries. For information on these

locations contact: Joan DeGraff at (303) 969-2464.

Dated: December 19, 1997.

Willie R. Taylor,

Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.

[FR Doc. 97-33650 Filed 12-24-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 2310-67-P