[Federal Register: March 12, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 49)]
[Notices]
[Page 11852-11853]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12mr04-49]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[ER-FRL-6649-3]
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 04, 2003 (68 FR 16511).
Draft EISs
ERP No. D-AFS-J65016-UT Rating EC2, Bear Hodges II Timber Sale
Management Plan. Selective Timber Harvest of Spruce Stands With or
Without Road Construction, Implementation, Wasatch National Forest
(WCNF), Logan Ranger District, Cache and Rich Counties, UT.
Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns with adverse impacts
to soil and vegetation, the potential for impacts to aquatic resources,
and need for more specific information on mitigation of these impacts.
ERP No. D-AFS-J65399-00 Rating EC2, 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 environmental concerns regarding impacts to
wildlife and reduced likelihood that proposed wilderness areas would be
designated as Wilderness. EPA requested additional information on
refueling sites, avalanche control activities and winter range impacts.
ERP No. D-AFS-J65400-UT Rating EC2, East Fork Fire Salvage Project
Timber Harvesting of Dead and Dying Trees, Implementation. Wasatch-
Cache National Forest, Evanston Ranger District, Summit County, UT.
Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns with soil erosion,
soil disturbance and soil compaction; runoff and potential degradation
of water quality and aquatic habitats; sedimentation of streams and
water-storage reservoirs; fish and wildlife impacts to sensitive
species; and the potential to establish and spread noxious weeds. EPA
recommended the selected alternative restrict harvest to the lands
accessible with existing roads to minimize impact to water quality.
ERP No. D-BLM-J65393-CO Rating LO, Colorado Canyons National
Conservation Area and Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Resource
Management Plan, Implementation, Mesa County, CO.
Summary: EPA expressed lack of objections however, EPA suggest
additional analysis of compliance with land health standards, increased
use of the adaptive management to address recreational use and
additional monitoring for water quality, erosion and levels of
vegetative cover.
ERP No. D-BLM-L65440-OR Rating EC2, Upper Deschutes Resource
Management Plan, Implementation, Deschutes, Klamath, Jefferson and Cook
Counties, OR.
Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about ongoing water
quality problems on streams in the planning area. EPA recommended that
the final EIS include goals for the restoration of water quality
through planned revision of grazing management, or other appropriate
means.
ERP No. D-DOE-L02032-OR Rating EC2, COB Energy Facility,
Construction of a 1,160-megawatt (MW) Natural Gas-Fired and Combined-
Cycle Electric Generating Plant, Right-of-Way Grant across Federal Land
under the Jurisdiction of BLM, Klamath Basin, Klamath County, OR.
Summary: EPA raised environmental concerns related to the lack of
detailed evaluation of alternatives to the proposed site for the energy
generation facility and the route of the proposed transmission line.
EPA recommended that additional evaluation and discussion of
alternatives to the proposed project be included in the final EIS.
ERP No. D-FHW-C40161-NY Rating EC2, NY-17 Parksville/SH-5223,
Liberty-County Line, Part 1 Construction and Reconstruction to
Interstate Standards, Funding and U.S. Army COE Section 404 Permit
Issuance, Town of Liberty, Sullivan County, NY.
Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns regarding indirect
impacts to wetlands. EPA requested additional information on these
impacts and on the proposed wetlands and water quality mitigation plan.
ERP No. D-FHW-J40161-UT Rating LO, I-15, 31st Street in Ogden to
2700
[[Page 11853]]
North in Farr West, Reconstruction, Widening and Interchange
Improvements, Funding and U.S. Army COE Section 404 Permit, Weber
County, UT.
Summary: While EPA has no objections to the proposed project, EPA
did request clarification regarding the impacts to perrenial streams in
the Weber River watershed as well as on the impacts to air quality.
ERP No. D-IBW-G39039-00 Rating LO, Rio Grande Canalization Project
(RGCP), Long-Term River Management Alternatives Practices,
Implementation, from below Percha Dam in Sierra County, NM to American
Dam in El Paso, TX.
Summary: EPA had no objections to the proposed action.
ERP No. D-NOA-E90018-GA Rating LO, Gray's Reef National Marine
Sanctuary Draft Management Plan (DMP), Address Current Resource
Conditions and Compatible Multiple Uses, Located 17.5 Nautical miles
off Sapelo Island, GA.
Summary: EPA supports the National Ocean Service Preferred
Alternatives on anchoring prohibitions and fishing gear restrictions to
rod, reel and handline to protect the resources in the Gray's Reef
National Marine Sanctuary.
ERP No. D-NPS-C65004-NY Rating LO, Saratoga National Historical
Park General Management Plan, Implementation, Hudson River Valley,
Towns of Stillwater and Saratoga, Saratoga County, NY.
Summary: EPA has no objections to the proposed management plan.
ERP No. D-NRC-F06023-IL Rating EC2, Dresden Nuclear Power Station,
Unit 2 and 3, Supplement 17, NUREG 1437, Renewal of a Nuclear Power
Plan Operating License, Grundy County, IL.
Summary: EPA has environmental concerns regarding the information
provided on the radiological impacts, cooling water system impacts on
aquatic organisms, thermal impacts, risk estimates and on-site storage.
Final EISs
ERP No. F-COE-C39016-NJ Union Beach Community Project, Provision of
Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction to Residential, Commercial and
Recreational Resources, Located along the Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook
Bay Shoreline, Monmouth County, NJ.
Summary: EPA raised environmental concerns over the adequacy of the
proposed wetlands mitigation plan and requested that appropriate
information on mitigation be provided to EPA prior to the issuance of
the Record of Decision (ROD). In addition, a Clean Air Act General
Conformity Determination needs to be prepared prior to the issuance of
the ROD.
Dated: March 9, 2004.
Ken Mittelholtz,
Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 04-5648 Filed 3-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M