[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 250 (Friday, December 27, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68285-68287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32926]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Preparation of a joint Environmental Impact Statement /
Environmental Impact Report for Federal and State Actions Associated
with Furthering the Purposes of the September 28, 1996, Agreement
Between the United States, State of California, and MAXXAM, Inc. and
its Subsidiary, Pacific Lumber Company
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. (Lead Agency)
Cooperating Agencies:
National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Commerce.
Environmental Protection Agency
Forest Service, Agriculture
Bureau of Land Management, Interior
California State Resources Agency
California State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
California State Department of Fish and Game
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively ``the
Services''), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and California Resources
Agency (Agency), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CDF), and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) intend to
gather information necessary for the preparation of an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS)/ Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The EIS/EIR
will consider the Federal and State actions associated with the
September 28, 1996 agreement, (agreement) namely:
(1) Transfer of the Headwaters Forest and the Elk Head Forest and
adjacent forest lands, totaling approximately 7,500 acres, to the
United States and California in exchange for (i) the Elk River Exchange
Property (described below), and (ii) property and other consideration
from both the United States and California (including cash) having an
aggregate fair market value of $300 million;
(2) Acquisition by the United States and California of the
approximately 9,600-acre Elk River Timber Company property through
exchange for up to 10,000 acres of National Forest System lands in the
Eldorado, Plumas, Stanislaus, and Tahoe National Forests or other
considerations;
(3) Transfer of approximately 7,775 acres of the Elk River Timber
Lands (the Elk River Exchanged Property) to the Pacific Lumber Company
and its parent MAXXAM, Inc. in return for acquisition of the Headwaters
Forest and Elk Head Forest; with the remaining approximately 1,825
acres of the Elk River Timber lands becoming part of the Headwaters-Elk
Head Reserve;
(4) Issuance of an incidental take permit under the Endangered
Species Act (Act) by the Services in anticipation of a permit
application by The Pacific Lumber Company (a subsidiary of MAXXAM,
Inc.) to take federally listed species and requesting assurances
regarding other species occurring or potentially occurring on the
remaining lands of The Pacific Lumber Company, the Elk River Property,
and any other timberlands or timber harvesting rights acquired by
Pacific Lumber and its parent MAXXAM, Inc. as a result of the above
described transactions; and
(5) Approval of The Pacific Lumber Company's Sustained Yield Plan
(SYP) by CDF including consideration of conservation measures or plans
addressing State-listed species.
The EIS/EIR will also consider any actions by other Federal or
State agencies that are necessary or appropriate to perform the
agreement.
This notice is being furnished pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing The Procedural
Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Regulations
(40 CFR sections 1501.7 and 1508.22) to obtain suggestions and
information from other agencies and the public on the scope of issues
and alternatives to be considered in preparation of the EIS.
To satisfy both Federal and State environmental policy act
requirements, the above Federal agencies and California agencies are
conducting a joint scoping process for the preparation of environmental
documents. In order to expedite the planning process, the above
agencies request all scoping
[[Page 68286]]
comments to this notice be received by February 10, 1997.
DATES: As an opportunity for interested persons to comment on the scope
of the EIS, public scoping meetings are scheduled as follows:
Thursday, January 16, 1997, Oakland Convention Center,
West Hall, 550 Tenth Street (at Broadway), Oakland, California
Thursday, January 23, 1997, Red Lion Hotel, 3100 Camino
del Rio Court, Bakersfield, California
Tuesday, January 28, 1997, Red Lion Hotel, 1830 Hilltop
Drive, Redding, California
Thursday, January 30, 1997, Radisson Hotel, 500 Leisure
Lane, Sacramento, California
Wednesday, February 5, 1997, Redwood Acres Fairgrounds,
Franceschi Hall, 3750 Harris Street, Eureka, California
All scoping meetings will be held from 1:00 p.m. to no later than
4:00 p.m., and from 6:00 p.m. to no later than 9:00 p.m.
ADDRESS: Comments regarding the scope of the EIS should be addressed to
Mr. Bruce Halstead, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1125 16th Street,
Room 209, Arcata, CA 95521-5582. Comments should be received on or
before January 31, 1997, at the above address. Written comments may
also be sent by facsimile to (707) 822-8136. Comments received will be
available for public inspection by appointment during normal business
hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) at the above
office; please call for an appointment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Mackey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 911 NE 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181, Telephone:
(503) 231-6241. Specific information regarding the location of the
National Forest System lands proposed for exchange may be obtained from
Phil Bayles, 630, Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94111, (415) 705-
2772.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: MAXXAM, Inc. and its subsidiary, Pacific
Lumber Company own and manage approximately 200,000 acres of commercial
forest land in Northern California. Pacific Lumber Company and MAXXAM
Corporation signed an agreement on September 28, 1996, with the United
States, and the State of California. The agreement calls for transfer
of approximately 7,500 acres of private forest lands in the Headwaters
and Elk Head forests to State and Federal ownership in exchange for the
Elk River Exchange Property and a combination of cash and yet to be
determined assets, valued at $300 million. The Federal and State assets
currently proposed for exchange include the following, however, it
should be noted these may change during the planning process and any
changes would be disclosed in the appropriate environmental documents:
Approximately 2,967 acres of timber land in Humboldt
County, California (estimated to contain 11 million board feet of
timber) managed by the BLM,
Federal mineral interests in California, managed by BLM,
many of which are located in Kern County,
Approximately 30 acres of excess land adjacent to Chet
Holifield Federal Office in Laguna Niguel, California,
Not more than 17,000 acres of National Forest System lands
are proposed for exchange to Elk River Timber Company for a portion of
the lands known as the Elk River Timber Company property. The 17,000
acres are identified on four National Forests, including 7,000 on the
Eldorado National Forest, 2,000 on the Plumas National Forest, 7,000 on
the Stanislaus National Forest , and 1,000 on the Tahoe National
Forest. The precise acreage that would actually be exchanged will be
that amount equaling approximately $30,000,000 in value based on actual
appraisal, current at the time of decision. Cash or other valuable
considerations up to $30,000,000 in value may be substituted, and
Approximately 9,013 acres of State property within the
Latour State Forest, 1,100 acres of State agricultural land in San
Bernardino County, approximately 1,313 acres (in 18 parcels, 13 of
which are less than 40 acres) of State General Surplus property,
including the 488- acre California Department of Forestry (CDF) Black
Mountain property, 140-acre CDF Deadwood Camp property, and 415-acre
Rector Canyon property, 5 parcels approximating 110 acres within the
city limits of Eureka, and 25 parcels of surplus Caltrans property (24
of which are less than 10 acres), including the Transbay Bus Terminal.
The USFS, pursuant to National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of
1976, and BLM, pursuant to Federal Land Policy and Management Act
(FLPMA) of 1976 are agencies authorized to acquire, excess, exchange,
and transfer Federal lands and will be the agencies primarily
responsible for furthering the federal realty actions.
The agreement also calls for the expedited development and
submission by Pacific Lumber Company and processing by the Services of
an application for an incidental take permit, which would be
accompanied by a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), pursuant to the
provisions of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. Under the terms of the
agreement, Pacific Lumber Company is to develop a multi-species habitat
conservation plan for forested lands currently within their ownership,
as well as other lands which would be acquired by Pacific Lumber under
the agreement. It is anticipated that the permit application for
incidental take will include the threatened northern spotted owl (Strix
occidentalis caurina), the threatened marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus
marmoratus marmoratus), the threatened bald eagle (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus), and the endangered American peregrine falcon (Falco
peregrinus anatum) as well as an agreement covering conservation of
unlisted species including the proposed threatened steelhead
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) and proposed threatened coho salmon (Oncorhynchus
kisutch).
Once completed, it is expected that Pacific Lumber Company will
submit the HCP as part of the incidental take permit application
process, as required under the provisions of section 10(a)(2)(A) of the
Act. The Service and NMFS will evaluate the incidental take permit
application and associated HCP in accordance with section 10(a)(2)(B)
of the Act, and its implementing regulations. The environmental review
of the HCP will be conducted in accordance with the Act and the
requirements of NEPA and its implementing regulations. A No Action/No
Project alternative will be considered consistent with the requirements
of NEPA and CEQA. As a cooperating agency EPA will also review the plan
for consistency with the provisions of the Clean Water Act. Several
streams in watersheds in which Pacific Lumber owns land are listed as
water quality limited under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. If
feasible, EPA will work with Pacific Lumber Company, sister Federal
Agencies, the State, and the public to address water quality issues of
these limited waterbodies at the same time the HCP and SYP are
developed.
As a party to the agreement, the Agency has agreed to the expedited
development and submission by Pacific Lumber and processing by the CDF
of a Sustained Yield Plan pursuant to the provisions under Article 6.75
of the California Forest Practice Rules including consideration of
conservation measures or plans addressing State-listed species under
the California Endangered Species Act. Land transactions proposed under
the agreement may be subject to the approval of the Eureka City
Council, California Transportation Commission,
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or the State of California legislature. The State-sponsored actions are
being reviewed under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Dated: December 19, 1996.
Michael J. Spear,
Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 96-32926 Filed 12-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P