Ketchikan-Misty FiordsFiords Ranger District; Tongass National Forest; Alaska; Central Gravina Timber Sale Environmental Impact Statement, 25642-25644 [E8-9929]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 89 / Wednesday, May 7, 2008 / Notices
STORAGE:
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Records are stored in paper and
electronic format.
Forest Service
Ketchikan-Misty FiordsFiords Ranger
District; Tongass National Forest;
Alaska; Central Gravina Timber Sale
Environmental Impact Statement
RETRIEVABILITY:
Records are retrieved by a unique
control number, assigned by the Dairy
Import Licensing Group.
All records containing personal
information are maintained in secured
file cabinets or in restricted areas, in
which access is limited to authorized
personnel. Access to computerized data
is password-protected and under the
responsibility of the system manager
and subordinates. The database
administrator has the ability to review
audit trails, thereby permitting regular
ad hoc monitoring of computer usage.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Records are maintained for a period of
5 years, as required by 7 CFR part 6. The
records are then destroyed in
accordance with USDA procedures.
SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
Brenda Lawson, Chief, Application
Development Branch, USDA/FAS/OAO/
ITD, Mail Stop 1064, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250–1064.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
Individuals seeking to determine
whether this system of records contains
information about themselves should
address written inquiries to the Privacy
Act Officer, William Hawkins, Director,
Program Management Division, USDA/
FAS/OAO, Mail Stop 1065, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250–1065.
Individuals must identify DAIRIES in
their inquiries.
RECORDS ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals who wish to gain access
to or amend their own records should
contact the Dairy Import Licensing
Group, Mail Stop 1021, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250–1021.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
These records contain information
obtained from the individual who is the
subject of these records.
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EXEMPTION CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
Date: April 25, 2008.
Michael W. Yost,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.
[FR Doc. E8–10006 Filed 5–6–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–10–M
VerDate Aug<31>2005
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement.
AGENCY:
SAFEGUARDS:
21:00 May 06, 2008
Jkt 214001
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture will prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement
(ETS) on a proposal to construct roads
and harvest timber in central Gravina
Island on the Ketchikan Misty Fiords
Ranger District, Tongass National
Forest. Two Alternatives have been
developed for the public to comment
on. These Proposed Alternatives would
harvest between 18 and 38 million
board feet (MMBF) of timber on between
515 and 1,250 acres and would
construct between 7 and 16 miles of
road respectively.
DATES: Opportunities for comments are
available throughout the analysis
process. Comments concerning the
scope of the analysis will be most
helpful if received within 30 days of the
date of this notice. Additional
opportunities for comment will be
provided after release of both the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement which
is expected to be published November
2008 and the Final Environmental
Impact Statement and Record of
Decision are expected in May 2009.
ADDRESSES: Send or hand deliver
written comments to the Ketchikan
Misty Fiords Ranger District, Attn:
Central Gravina ElS, Tongass National
Forest, 3031 Tongass Avenue,
Ketchikan, AK 99901; telephone (907)
225–2148. The FAX number is (907)
225–8738.
Send e-mail comments to: commentsalaska-tongass-ketchikanmistyfiord@fs.fed.us with Central
Gravina EIS on the subject line. Include
your name, address, and organization
name if you are commenting as a
representative.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information, mail
correspondence to Lynn Kolund,
District Ranger, Ketchikan Misty Fiords
Ranger District, Tongass National
Forest, 3031 Tongass Avenue,
Ketchikan, AK 99901, telephone (907)
228–4100 or Linda Pulliam,
Interdisciplinary Team Leader,
Ketchikan Misty Fiords Ranger District,
Tongass National Forest, 3031 Tongass
Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901,
telephone (907) 228–4124.
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This EIS
will tier to the 2008 Tongass Land and
Resource Management Plan (Forest
Plan) that provides overall guidance,
goals, objectives, and management area
direction to achieve the desired
condition for the project area.
The project area is administered by
the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger
District of the Tongass National Forest,
Ketchikan, Alaska and occurs in Value
Comparison Units (VCUs) 7610 and
VCU 7630 as designated by the Forest
Plan. The Central Gravina project area is
located between Bostwick Inlet and
Vallenar Bay on Gravina Island, which
is located approximately 5 miles west of
Ketchikan. The land use designation
(LUD) for the project area is Timber
Production. As part of the Forest Plan
update certain LUDs on Gravina Island
were adjusted based on comments
received from the public during the
Forest Plan draft EIS review. LUDs to
the south and west of the Central
Gravina project area have been adjusted
and allocated to more restrictive non
development LUDs. The proposed
timber harvest units and roads are
within the Gravina Inventoried Roadless
Area #522. Slightly over three-quarters
of inventoried roadless acres are
included in non-development LUDS.
The Forest Plan allocates 24% of the
inventoried roadless acres to
development LUDs; only three percent
of the land in inventoried roadless areas
would be included in the suitable land
base. The Central Gravina project area
falls within this three percent inventory
roadless area that lies within a Timber
LUD. The 2008 Forest Plan Timber Sale
Program Adaptive Management Strategy
identified three phases of projected
timber development. The Central
Gravina project area falls within the
Phase 1, which includes most of the
roaded portion of the ASQ land base
and most of the lower valued
inventoried roadless areas.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose and need for the
proposed action responds to the goals
and objectives identified by the 2008
Tongass Land and Resource
Management Plan, and helps move the
area toward the Forest Plan desired
conditions. Forest Plan goals, objectives,
and desired conditions that apply to the
project include:
1. Maintain and promote wood
production from suitable forest lands,
providing a continuous supply of wood
to meet society’s needs.
2. Manage Forest lands for sustained
long-term timber yields.
3. Seek to provide a supply of timber
that meets the annual and planning-
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07MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 89 / Wednesday, May 7, 2008 / Notices
cycle market demand, consistent with
the standards and guidelines for this
LUD.
Proposed Action (Alternative 3)
The Central Gravina Timber Harvest
proposed action (Alternative 3) is to
harvest approximately 38 million board
feet (MMBF) of timber volume from
approximately 1,250 acres of forested
land in 53 harvest units while meeting
Forest Plan standards. The proposed
action includes using ground-based
shovel, cable, helicopter yarding
systems. Areas suitable for groundbased or cable logging would be
harvested with even-aged (clearcut)
harvest prescriptions. Helicopter logging
areas would be harvested either with
even-aged (clearcut) or uneven-aged
(group or single tree selection) harvest
prescriptions depending on terrain, tree
species, economics, or environmental
concerns. All timber harvest will use
silviculture prescriptions suited to meet
the standards and guidelines for the
Tongass Forest Plan.
The proposed action includes
construction of approximately 14 miles
of National Forest System and 2 miles
of temporary road would be
constructed. All logs would be hauled
by truck to a privately owned log
transfer facility located near Pacific Log
and Lumber on Tongass Narrows.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Alternative 2
An alternative to the proposed action
is to build roads to harvest timber units
only on the east side of the central
valley on Gravina Island. This
alternative would harvest approximately
515 acres from 25 Units yielding 18
MMBF of timber volume. This proposes
construction of approximately 6 miles of
National Forest System and 1 mile of
temporary road would be constructed.
All logs would be hauled by truck to a
marine access facility located near
Pacific Log and Lumber on Tongass
Narrows. Alternative 2 provides an
option for roadless area concerns.
Public Participation
This notice initiates the scoping
process which guides the development
of the environmental impact statement.
The Forest Service will be seeking
information, comments, and assistance
from Tribal Governments, Federal,
State, and local agencies, individuals
and organizations may be interested in,
or affected by, the proposed activities.
In addition to this Notice of Intent, legal
notices and display ads will be placed
in the Ketchikan Daily News. The
Ketchikan Daily News is the official
newspaper of record for this project.
Written scoping comments are being
VerDate Aug<31>2005
21:00 May 06, 2008
Jkt 214001
solicited through a scoping letter that
was mailed to interested individuals
and agencies on May 6, 2008. The
scoping process includes: (1)
Identification of potential issues; (2)
identification of issues to be analyzed in
depth; and (3) elimination of nonsignificant issues or those that have
been covered by a previous
environmental review. 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.
Subsistence hearings, as provided for in
Title VIII, Section 810 of the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation
Act (ANILCA), will be conducted, if
necessary, during the comment period
on the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement.
Importance of Public Participation in
Subsequent Environmental Review
A Draft Environmental Impact
Statement will be prepared for
comment. The comment period on the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
will be 45 days from the date the
Environmental Protection Agency
publishes the notice of availability in
the Federal Register.
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 Environmental
Impact Statement 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 Environmental
Impact Statement stage but that are not
raised until after completion of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement may
be waived or dismissed by the courts,
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 45day 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
Environmental Impact Statement.
To assist the Forest Service in
identifying and considering issues and
concerns on the proposed action,
comments on the Draft Environmental
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25643
Impact Statement should be as specific
as possible. It is also helpful if
comments refer to specific pages or
chapters of the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement. Comments may also
address the adequacy of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement 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.
Comments received, including the
names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the
public record on this proposal 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 215 or 217.
Permits or Licenses Required
1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Approval of discharge of dredge or
fill material into the waters for 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 Harbor Act of 1899;
2. Environmental Protection Agency
• General National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System for Log
Transfer Facilities in Alaska;
• Review Spill Prevention Control
and Countermeasure Plan;
3. State of Alaska, Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC)
• Tideland Permit and Lease or
Easement;
• Certification of Compliance with
Alaska Water Quality Standards (401
Certification) Chapter 20
4. Alaska State Division of Natural
Resources (DNR)
• Division of Coastal and Ocean
Management (DCOM)—ACMP
Consistency Determination
Comment Requested
This notice of intent initiates the
scoping process which guides the
development of the environmental
impact Statement.
Responsible Official
Forrest Cole, Forest Supervisor,
Tongass National Forest, Federal
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 89 / Wednesday, May 7, 2008 / Notices
Building, 648 Mission Street, Ketchikan,
Alaska 99901.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The Forest Supervisor will decide:
1. If the project will proceed under a
chosen alternative, as a modified
alternative, or not at all.
2. The design criteria, mitigations and
monitoring requirements the Forest
Service will apply to the project.
The responsible official will consider
the comments, responses, disclosure of
environmental consequences, and
applicable laws, regulations and
policies in making the decision and
state his rationale in the Record of
Decision.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22;
Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section
21)
Dated: April 29, 2008.
Forrest Cole,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. E8–9929 Filed 5–6–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–M
register by contacting Corrine Sanders of
the Central Regional Office and TTY/
TDD telephone number, by 4:00 p.m. on
May 16, 2008.
Members of the public are entitled to
submit written comments. The
comments must be received in the
regional office by May 16, 2008. The
address is U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights, 400 State Avenue, Suite 908,
Kansas City, Kansas 66101. Comments
may be e-mailed to
frobinson@usccr.gov. Records generated
by this meeting may be inspected and
reproduced at the Central Regional
Office, as they become available, both
before and after the meeting. Persons
interested in the work of this advisory
committee are advised to go to the
Commission’s Web site, https://
www.usccr.gov, or to contact the Central
Regional Office at the above e-mail or
street address.
The meetings will be conducted
pursuant to the provisions of the rules
and regulations of the Commission and
FACA.
Agenda and Notice of Public Meeting
of the Missouri Advisory Committee
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
Dated in Washington, DC, May 2, 2008.
Christopher Byrnes,
Chief, Regional Programs Coordination Unit.
[FR Doc. E8–10155 Filed 5–6–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6335–01–P
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to
the provisions of the rules and
regulations of the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights (Commission), and the
Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA), that a planning meeting of the
Missouri Advisory Committee to the
Commission will convene by conference
call at 10 a.m. and adjourn at
approximately 12 p.m. on Thursday,
May 22, 2008. The purpose of this
meeting is to conduct SAC orientation
and plan future activities.
This meeting is available to the public
through the following toll-free call-in
number: (866) 364–7584, conference call
access code number 42559706. Any
interested member of the public may
call this number and listen to the
meeting. Callers can expect to incur
charges for calls they initiate over
wireless lines, and the Commission will
not refund any incurred charges. Callers
will incur no charge for calls they
initiate over land-line connections to
the toll-free telephone number. Persons
with hearing impairments may also
follow the proceedings by first calling
the Federal Relay Service at 1–800–977–
8339 and providing the Service with the
conference call number and contact
name Farella E. Robinson.
To ensure that the Commission
secures an appropriate number of lines
for the public, persons are asked to
VerDate Aug<31>2005
21:00 May 06, 2008
Jkt 214001
COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
Agenda and Notice of Public Meeting
of the Rhode Island Advisory
Committee
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to
the provisions of the rules and
regulations of the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights (Commission), and the
Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA), that orientation and planning
meetings of the Rhode Island Advisory
Committee to the Commission will
convene at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday,
May 14, 2008, at the Urban League of
Rhode Island, located at 246 Prairie
Ave. in Providence Rhode Island. The
purpose of these meetings is to provide
an orientation to new members and plan
future activities of the committee. After
the meeting, the committee will hear
from presenters who will discuss fair
housing issues in Rhode Island.
Members of the public are entitled to
submit written comments; the
comments must be received in the
regional office by June 13, 2008. The
address is Eastern Regional Office, 624
9th St., NW., Washington, DC 20425.
Persons wishing to e-mail their
comments, or who desire additional
information should contact Alfreda
Greene, Secretary, at 202–376–7533 or
by e-mail to: agreene@usccr.gov.
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Hearing-impaired persons who will
attend the meetings and require the
services of a sign language interpreter
should contact the Regional Office at
least ten (10) working days before the
scheduled date of the meetings.
Records generated from these
meetings may be inspected and
reproduced at the Eastern Regional
Office, as they become available, both
before and after the meetings. Persons
interested in the work of this advisory
committee are advised to go to the
Commission’s Web site, https://
www.usccr.gov, or to contact the Eastern
Regional Office at the above e-mail or
street address.
The meetings will be conducted
pursuant to the provisions of the rules
and regulations of the Commission and
FACA.
Dated in Washington, DC, May 2, 2008.
Christopher Byrnes,
Chief, Regional Programs Coordination Unit.
[FR Doc. E8–10075 Filed 5–6–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6335–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
The Department of Commerce will
submit to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for clearance the
following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35).
Agency: Bureau of Economic Analysis
(BEA).
Title: Survey of International Travel
Expenditures.
OMB Control Number: None.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission.
Burden Hours: 1,000.
Number of Respondents: 6,000.
Average Hours per Response: 10
minutes.
Needs and Uses: The proposed survey
of international travel expenditures is
authorized by the Bretton Woods
Agreements Act, Section 8, and
Executive Order 10033, as amended.
The Act allows the DOC/BEA to collect
the data necessary to produce the U.S.
international transactions accounts
(ITAs), which are part of the U.S.
obligations to the International
Monetary Fund.
The survey will collect information
on travel expenditures by method of
payment (cash, credit card, etc.) from
U.S. travelers returning from abroad and
foreign travelers leaving the United
States.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 7, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25642-25644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9929]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Ketchikan-Misty FiordsFiords Ranger District; Tongass National
Forest; Alaska; Central Gravina Timber Sale Environmental Impact
Statement
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture will
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (ETS) on a proposal to
construct roads and harvest timber in central Gravina Island on the
Ketchikan Misty Fiords Ranger District, Tongass National Forest. Two
Alternatives have been developed for the public to comment on. These
Proposed Alternatives would harvest between 18 and 38 million board
feet (MMBF) of timber on between 515 and 1,250 acres and would
construct between 7 and 16 miles of road respectively.
DATES: Opportunities for comments are available throughout the analysis
process. Comments concerning the scope of the analysis will be most
helpful if received within 30 days of the date of this notice.
Additional opportunities for comment will be provided after release of
both the Draft Environmental Impact Statement which is expected to be
published November 2008 and the Final Environmental Impact Statement
and Record of Decision are expected in May 2009.
ADDRESSES: Send or hand deliver written comments to the Ketchikan Misty
Fiords Ranger District, Attn: Central Gravina ElS, Tongass National
Forest, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901; telephone (907) 225-
2148. The FAX number is (907) 225-8738.
Send e-mail comments to: comments-alaska-tongass-ketchikan-
mistyfiord@fs.fed.us with Central Gravina EIS on the subject line.
Include your name, address, and organization name if you are commenting
as a representative.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, mail
correspondence to Lynn Kolund, District Ranger, Ketchikan Misty Fiords
Ranger District, Tongass National Forest, 3031 Tongass Avenue,
Ketchikan, AK 99901, telephone (907) 228-4100 or Linda Pulliam,
Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Ketchikan Misty Fiords Ranger District,
Tongass National Forest, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901,
telephone (907) 228-4124.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS will tier to the 2008 Tongass Land
and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) that provides overall
guidance, goals, objectives, and management area direction to achieve
the desired condition for the project area.
The project area is administered by the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords
Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan, Alaska and
occurs in Value Comparison Units (VCUs) 7610 and VCU 7630 as designated
by the Forest Plan. The Central Gravina project area is located between
Bostwick Inlet and Vallenar Bay on Gravina Island, which is located
approximately 5 miles west of Ketchikan. The land use designation (LUD)
for the project area is Timber Production. As part of the Forest Plan
update certain LUDs on Gravina Island were adjusted based on comments
received from the public during the Forest Plan draft EIS review. LUDs
to the south and west of the Central Gravina project area have been
adjusted and allocated to more restrictive non development LUDs. The
proposed timber harvest units and roads are within the Gravina
Inventoried Roadless Area 522. Slightly over three-quarters of
inventoried roadless acres are included in non-development LUDS. The
Forest Plan allocates 24% of the inventoried roadless acres to
development LUDs; only three percent of the land in inventoried
roadless areas would be included in the suitable land base. The Central
Gravina project area falls within this three percent inventory roadless
area that lies within a Timber LUD. The 2008 Forest Plan Timber Sale
Program Adaptive Management Strategy identified three phases of
projected timber development. The Central Gravina project area falls
within the Phase 1, which includes most of the roaded portion of the
ASQ land base and most of the lower valued inventoried roadless areas.
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose and need for the proposed action responds to the goals
and objectives identified by the 2008 Tongass Land and Resource
Management Plan, and helps move the area toward the Forest Plan desired
conditions. Forest Plan goals, objectives, and desired conditions that
apply to the project include:
1. Maintain and promote wood production from suitable forest lands,
providing a continuous supply of wood to meet society's needs.
2. Manage Forest lands for sustained long-term timber yields.
3. Seek to provide a supply of timber that meets the annual and
planning-
[[Page 25643]]
cycle market demand, consistent with the standards and guidelines for
this LUD.
Proposed Action (Alternative 3)
The Central Gravina Timber Harvest proposed action (Alternative 3)
is to harvest approximately 38 million board feet (MMBF) of timber
volume from approximately 1,250 acres of forested land in 53 harvest
units while meeting Forest Plan standards. The proposed action includes
using ground-based shovel, cable, helicopter yarding systems. Areas
suitable for ground-based or cable logging would be harvested with
even-aged (clearcut) harvest prescriptions. Helicopter logging areas
would be harvested either with even-aged (clearcut) or uneven-aged
(group or single tree selection) harvest prescriptions depending on
terrain, tree species, economics, or environmental concerns. All timber
harvest will use silviculture prescriptions suited to meet the
standards and guidelines for the Tongass Forest Plan.
The proposed action includes construction of approximately 14 miles
of National Forest System and 2 miles of temporary road would be
constructed. All logs would be hauled by truck to a privately owned log
transfer facility located near Pacific Log and Lumber on Tongass
Narrows.
Alternative 2
An alternative to the proposed action is to build roads to harvest
timber units only on the east side of the central valley on Gravina
Island. This alternative would harvest approximately 515 acres from 25
Units yielding 18 MMBF of timber volume. This proposes construction of
approximately 6 miles of National Forest System and 1 mile of temporary
road would be constructed. All logs would be hauled by truck to a
marine access facility located near Pacific Log and Lumber on Tongass
Narrows. Alternative 2 provides an option for roadless area concerns.
Public Participation
This notice initiates the scoping process which guides the
development of the environmental impact statement. The Forest Service
will be seeking information, comments, and assistance from Tribal
Governments, Federal, State, and local agencies, individuals and
organizations may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed
activities. In addition to this Notice of Intent, legal notices and
display ads will be placed in the Ketchikan Daily News. The Ketchikan
Daily News is the official newspaper of record for this project.
Written scoping comments are being solicited through a scoping letter
that was mailed to interested individuals and agencies on May 6, 2008.
The scoping process includes: (1) Identification of potential issues;
(2) identification of issues to be analyzed in depth; and (3)
elimination of non-significant issues or those that have been covered
by a previous environmental review. 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. Subsistence hearings, as provided for in Title VIII,
Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
(ANILCA), will be conducted, if necessary, during the comment period on
the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent Environmental Review
A Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared for
comment. The comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
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 Environmental Impact Statement 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
Environmental Impact Statement stage but that are not raised until
after completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement may be
waived or dismissed by the courts, 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 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 Environmental Impact Statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement should be as specific as possible. It is
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Comments may also address the
adequacy of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 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.
Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal
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 215 or 217.
Permits or Licenses Required
1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Approval of discharge of dredge or fill material into the
waters for 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 Harbor Act of 1899;
2. Environmental Protection Agency
General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
for Log Transfer Facilities in Alaska;
Review Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan;
3. State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Tideland Permit and Lease or Easement;
Certification of Compliance with Alaska Water Quality
Standards (401 Certification) Chapter 20
4. Alaska State Division of Natural Resources (DNR)
Division of Coastal and Ocean Management (DCOM)--ACMP
Consistency Determination
Comment Requested
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides
the development of the environmental impact Statement.
Responsible Official
Forrest Cole, Forest Supervisor, Tongass National Forest, Federal
[[Page 25644]]
Building, 648 Mission Street, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The Forest Supervisor will decide:
1. If the project will proceed under a chosen alternative, as a
modified alternative, or not at all.
2. The design criteria, mitigations and monitoring requirements the
Forest Service will apply to the project.
The responsible official will consider the comments, responses,
disclosure of environmental consequences, and applicable laws,
regulations and policies in making the decision and state his rationale
in the Record of Decision.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, Section 21)
Dated: April 29, 2008.
Forrest Cole,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. E8-9929 Filed 5-6-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
