Keystone Resort, Jones Gulch Development; White River National Forest, Summit County, Colorado

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Keystone Resort, Jones Gulch Development; White River National

Forest, Summit County, Colorado

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement,

correction.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service published a Notice of Intent to

prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on November 10, 1998,

63 FR 63024-63025. Under the Public Involvement and Scoping section on

page 63025, an error was made by not identifying specific months for

anticipated completion of both the draft and final EIS. In addition,

the length of the comment period for the Draft EIS was incorrect.

Finally, the standard paragraphs required in Notices of Intent was also

inadvertently omitted. This document corrects those errors.

DATES: Written scoping comments and suggestions should be postmarked or

received by the Dillon Ranger District no later than December 10, 1998.

Send comments to Michael Liu, Attn: Keystone, Dillon Ranger District,

P.O. Box 620, Silverthorne, Colorado, 80498, fax (970) 468-7735.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Liu, Special Projects Coordinator, Dillon Ranger District,

phone (970) 262-3440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Make the following correction in the Notice

of Intent published on November 10, 1998. On page 63025, the last

paragraph under the Public Involvement and Scoping section should be

deleted and the following sections inserted.

Estimated Dates For Filing

The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review by April 1999.

At that time, EPA will publish a Notice of Availability of the Draft

EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the Draft EIS will

be a minimum of 45 days from the date the EPA publishes the Notice of

Availability in the Federal Register.

The Final EIS is scheduled to be completed by June 1999. 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 a decision

regarding the proposal.

Reviewers Obligations

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 court's. 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 Draft EIS 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 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.

Responsible Official

The Responsible Official for this project is Martha Ketelle, Forest

Supervisor for the White River National Forest. The Responsible

Official will document the decision and reasons for the decision in the

Record of Decision issued concurrently with the release of

[[Page 65746]]

the final EIS. That decision will be subject to appeal under 36 CFR

215.

Dated: November 19, 1998.

Martha J. Ketelle,

Forest Supervisor, White River National Forest.

[FR Doc. 98-31697 Filed 11-27-98; 8:45 am]

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