[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 161 (Friday, August 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45502-45504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21635]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Wolf Creek Ditch Special Use Permit, Okanogan National Forest,
Okanogan County, WA
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) on a proposal to issue an easements and special use
permits to the Wolf Creek Reclamation District to
[[Page 45503]]
operate and maintain the Wolf Creek and Little Wolf Creek irrigation
ditches and access the ditches over Forest Service roads. In addition
to issuing easements and special use permits, the proposed action
includes replacing the existing log diversion structure with a concrete
structure, which will allow for fish passage, and realigning the
existing culvert at the beginning of the ditch. The EIS will develop a
range of alternatives for operation and maintenance of the ditch. The
alternatives will include the No Action alternative, whereby no
easements or special use permits would be issued to the Wolf Creek
Reclamation District, and no water would be allowed to flow down the
ditch, and alternatives that respond to issues identified during the
scoping process. The proposed action is consistent with the direction
in the 1989 Okanogan National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan
(Forest Plan), as amended by the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, which
provide overall guidance for management of the area. Implementation of
this proposal is scheduled to begin in summer 2000. The Forest Service
invites written comments on this project. In addition, the agency gives
notice of this environmental analysis so that interested and affected
people are aware of how they may participate and contribute to the
decision making process.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope and implementation of the proposal
should be received in writing by September 10, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning this
project to Sonny J. O'Neal, Forest Supervisor, Okanogan National
Forest, 1240 S. Second Ave., Okanogan, Washington, 98840.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the proposed
action and the scope of analysis to Jan Flatten, Project Team Leader at
1240 South Second Avenue, Okanogan, WA, (509) 826-3277.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Wolf Creek Reclamation District has held
a special use permit to operate and maintain the Wolf Creek irrigation
ditch since 1921. The Reclamation District provides both domestic and
agricultural water to residents, businesses and public agencies along
the ditch. The portion of the ditch on National Forest System lands
(NFS) is located in Sections 1 and 2 of Township 34 North, Range 20
East, Willamette Merdian. The ditch on NFS lands spans approximately
one mile, from the headgate on Wolf Creek just below the boundary of
the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness, across Little Wolf Creek to
private land. The ditch eventually empties into Patterson Lake, where
it is then channeled around Patterson Mountain to service private lands
and the Methow Valley School District. The ditch currently has a log
diversion dam and a temporary flat fish screen installed in the summer
of 1999 at the headgate on Wolf Creek. The headgate is currently
inaccessible by road and is located at the edge of the Sawtooth
inventoried Roadless Area. The Reclamation District currently holds a
temporary special use permit for operation and maintenance of the
ditch. In 1997, steelhead were listed as an endangered species under
the Endangered Species Act. Bull trout were listed as a threatened
species in 1998, and Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook Salmon were
listed as an endangered species in 1999. All three species are found in
Wolf Creek. The Wolf Creek Reclamation District does not hold a special
use permit for the little Wolf Creek ditch.
The analysis area is located entirely in matrix lands under the
Northwest Forest Plan, and is managed for wildlife (MA-5; 30%) under
the Okanogan National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest
Plan). This EIS will tier to the Forest Plan, as amended by the
Northwest Forest Plan. The amended Forest Plan provides forest-wide
standards and guidelines, management area standards and guidelines,
management area standards and guidelines, and desired future conditions
for the various lands on the Forest. This direction is provided for
management practices that will be utilized during the implementation of
the amended Forest Plan.
In the early 1990s, the Wolf Creek Reclamation District applied for
an easement for the ditch under Public Law 99-545 (Colorado Ditch
Bill), which makes issuance of the easement to qualifying irrigation
ditches non-discretionary.
The proposed action for the Wolf Creek Ditch easements and special
use permits would permit the Wolf Creek Reclamation District to
continue to operate and maintain the Wolf Creek and Little Wolf Creek
irrigation ditches. Not allowing continued operation and maintenance of
the ditches might have adverse social and economic impacts. Access to
the Wolf Creek headgate would be via helicopter, all terrain vehicles
and a \1/4\ to \1/2\ mile long tractor trail to allow for replacement
of the headgate and diversion structure and realignment of the culvert.
The proposed action would be adjusted between draft and final EIS to
comply with any terms and conditions identified by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) as a result of a Biological Opinion on the listed species.
The following preliminary issues have been identified for this
project: (1) Species listed under the Endangered Species Act
(steelhead, bull trout and spring Chinook salmon) reside in Wolf Creek
and may be adversely affected; (2) The headgate for the ditch is
located near the boundary of an inventoried roadless area and building
an access trail could potentially substantially alter the unroaded and
undeveloped character of that portion of the roadless area; (3) The
Lake-Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness boundary is approximately 500 feet
upstream from the existing headgate and reconstruction activities may
have short term impacts on wilderness users; and (4) Trail construction
and stream crossings of heavy equipment, headgate replacement, culvert
re-alignment, and diversion dam construction may increase sedimentation
in Wolf Creek.
The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments and
assistance from Federal, State, local agencies, tribes, and other
individuals or organizations who may be interested or affected by the
proposed project. This information will be used to determine the issues
significant to the development and analysis of alternatives, to
determine the appropriate range of alternative ways of implementing the
proposed action, and to guide the analysis of effects.
The scoping process will include the following:
Identification of potential issues;
Identification of issues to be analyzed in depth;
Elimination of insignificant issues or those which have
been covered by a relevant previous environmental process;
Exploration of alternative ways to implement the proposed
actions based on the issues identified during the scoping process; and
Determination of environmental effects of the proposed
action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects
and connected actions).
The analysis will develop a range of alternatives from No Action to
alternatives allowing for operation and maintenance of the irrigation
that respond to the significant issues.
The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for
[[Page 45504]]
public review by January 2000. The comment period on the draft EIS will
be 45 days from the date EPA publishes the notice of availability of
the draft EIS in the Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers
notice at this early stage of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, a reviewer of
a draft EIS 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 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
objectives are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it
can meaningfully consider them 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).
Individuals and organizations who write to comment on projects may
have their letters released in their entirety, if requested under the
Freedom of Information Act.
The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in March 2000. 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 the decision
regarding this proposal. Sonny O'Neal, Forest Supervisor, is the
responsible official. As responsible official, he will document the
project decision and rationale in a Record of Decision. That decision
will be subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR Part 215
and 36 CFR 251).
Dated: August 13, 1999.
Stuart Woolley,
Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor, Okanogan National Forest.
[FR Doc. 99-21635 Filed 8-19-99; 8:45 am]
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