Environmental Impact Statements and Regulations; Availability of EPA Comments, 8364 [05-3188]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 33 (Friday, February 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 8364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3188]



[[Page 8364]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[ER-FRL-6660-7]


Environmental Impact Statements and Regulations; Availability of 
EPA Comments

    Availability of EPA comments prepared pursuant to the Environmental 
Review Process (ERP), under Section 309 of the Clean Air Act and 
Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended. 
Requests for copies of EPA comments can be directed to the Office of 
Federal Activities at (202) 564-7167. An explanation of the ratings 
assigned to draft environmental impact statements (EISs) was published 
in FR dated April 2, 2004 (69 FR 17403).

Draft EISs

    ERP No. D-AFS-J65428-CO Rating EC2, Vail Valley Forest Health 
Project, Proposed Landscape-Scale Vegetation Management and Fuels 
Reduction, White River National Forest, Holy Cross Ranger District, 
Eagle County, CO.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about potential 
effects to aquatic and terrestrial resources from large scale 
management activity, and requested additional information on the 
ongoing beetle epidemic, especially its impact on meeting project 
goals.
    ERP No. D-AFS-J65431-UT Rating EC2, Duck Creek Fuels Treatment 
Analysis, To Reduce Fuels, Enhance Fire-Tolerant Vegetation and Provide 
Fuel Breaks, Dixie National Forest, Cedar City Ranger District, Kane 
County, UT.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about the potential 
for adverse impacts to water quality and aquatic habitat, degradation 
of soils and impacts to wildlife from reduction of old growth habitat. 
The Final EIS should discuss additional mitigation measures to reduce 
impacts in important wildlife habitat and back-country areas.
    ERP No. D-AFS-J65434-CO Rating EC2, County Line Vegetation 
Management Project, Salvaging Spruce Beetle Infected Trees and Thinning 
Spruce-Fir Stand, Rio Grande National Forest, Conejos Peak Ranger 
District, Conejes County, CO.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about soil 
disturbance and erosion, runoff, sedimentation, and habitat impacts in 
streams that have a population of genetically pure Rio Grande cutthroat 
trout, and wildlife impacts to sensitive species such as threatened 
Canada Lynx, Northern Goshawk, and Boreal Owl. EPA recommended that the 
Preferred Alternative be modified to protect critical, older-growth 
spruce-fir wildlife habitats.
    ERP No. D-AFS-K65277-CA Rating EC2, Modoc National Forest Noxious 
Weed Treatment Project, Proposes to Implement a Control and Eradication 
Project, Lassen, Modoc and Siskiyou Counties, CA.
    Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about integration of 
weed treatments, impacts to water quality, toxicity of herbicides to 
wildlife, and addressing tribal concerns regarding herbicide use.
    ERP No. D-USA-L11037-AK Rating EC2, Battle Area Complex (BAX) and a 
Combined Arms Collective Training Facility (CACTF) Construction and 
Operation, U.S. Army Training Lands in Alaska.
    Summary: EPA expressed concerns related to water resource, wetland, 
and habitat impacts, and recommended that additional criteria could be 
used to expand the range of alternatives in order to minimize 
environmental impacts.
    ERP No. DR-IBR-K39048-CA Rating EC2, Truckee River Operating 
Agreement (TROA) Modify Operations of Five Federal and Two Non-Federal 
Reservoirs to Facilitate Distribution of Water, Truckee River Basin, EL 
Dorado, Nevada, Placer and Sierra Counties, CA and Douglas, Lyon, 
Storey and Washoe Counties, NV.
    Summary: EPA expressed concerns about potential impacts to water 
quality and sensitive resources, and requested additional information 
in the Final EIS on water quality, alternatives, biological resources, 
cumulative impacts, water conservation, and program monitoring and 
reporting measures.

Final EISs

    ERP No. F-AFS-J65399-00 High Mountains Heli-Skiing (HMH) Project, 
Issuance of a New 5-Year Special Use Permit (SUP) to Continue Operating 
Guided Helicopter Skiing in Portions of the Bridger-Teton National 
Forest and Caribou-Targhee National Forest (CTNF), Teton and Lincoln 
Counties, WY and Teton and Bonneville Counties, ID.
    Summary: EPA expressed no objections to the proposed action.
    ERP No. F-BIA-C60004-NY St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, Mohawk Mountain 
Casino and Resort, Proposed Transfer of 66 Acres of Land into Federal 
Trust Status, Fee-to-Trust Acquisition, Sullivan County, NY.
    Summary: EPA continues to express concern about the project's 
cumulative effects and air quality analyses.
    ERP No. F-FHW-G40174-TX Eastern Extension of the President George 
Bush Turnpike (PGBT) from TX-78 to I-30, New Controlled Access Tollway 
Construction at a New Location, Cities of Garland, Sachse, Rowlett and 
Dallas, Dallas County, TX.
    Summary: No comment letter was sent to the preparing agency.
    ERP No. FA-AFS-L67028-AK Kensington Gold Project, Proposed 
Modifications of the 1998 Approved Plan Operation, NPDES, ESA and US 
COE Section 10 and 404 Permits, Tongass National Forest, City of 
Juneau, AK.
    Summary: This EIS has addressed EPA's objections about toxicity in 
the lake and the NPDES discharge. EPA is continuing to work through the 
404(b)(1) process.
    ERP No. F1-AFS-J65308-UT Wasatch Powerbird Guides Permit Renewal, 
Authorization to Continue Providing Guided Helicopter Skiing Activities 
on National Forest System (NFS) Land on the Wasatch-Cache and Uinta 
National Forests, Special-Use Permit (SUP), Provo and Salt Lake City, 
UT.
    Summary: EPA expressed no objections to the proposed action.
    ERP No. F1-FHW-F40361-MI MI-59 Livingston County Widening Project 
between I-96 and US 23, Recommended Alternative was Selected, Right-of-
Way Preservation Center Corridor, Funding, NPDES and U.S. Army COE 
Section 404 Permits Issuance, Livingston County, MI.
    Summary: EPA has environmental concerns about the project regarding 
invasive species control, and also requests additional information in 
the Record of Decision concerning wetlands impacts and secondary land 
use changes.

    Dated: February 15, 2005.
Robert W. Hargrove,
Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 05-3188 Filed 2-17-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P