Chugach National Forest; Alaska; Notice of a Proposed Amendment to the Chugach National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, Applying Only to the Sterling Highway Milepost 45-60 Project |
|---|
|
Gregory C. Smith
Department of Agriculture
28 September 2018
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 189 (Friday, September 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49060-49062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21153]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Chugach National Forest; Alaska; Notice of a Proposed Amendment
to the Chugach National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan,
Applying Only to the Sterling Highway Milepost 45-60 Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; project-specific amendment to the Chugach National
Forest 2002 Land and Resource Management Plan.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On May 31, 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation,
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) signed a Record of Decision for
the Sterling Highway MP 45-60 Project, which involves highway
construction and reconstruction near Cooper Landing, Kenai Peninsula
Borough, Alaska. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
participated as a cooperating agency with FHWA and Alaska Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities in the preparation of the draft
and final Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). To support the FHWA
decision, the Forest Service proposes a project-specific Land and
Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) amendment to make the selected
route consistent with the Chugach Forest Plan.
DATES: Publication of this notice marks the initiation of a public
comment period for the proposed action. Comments concerning the scope
of the analysis must be received by November 13, 2018. The agency
expects to release a draft Record of Decision for the proposed
amendment in late 2018.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Chugach National Forest
Supervisor's Office, Attn: Sterling Highway Plan Amendment, 161 East
1st Avenue, Door 8, Anchorage, AK 99501. Comments may also be sent via
email to comments-alaska-chugach@fs.fed.us, or via facsimile to 907-
743-9476.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Detailed information about the
Sterling Highway Project, including the FHWA's Record of Decision,
FEIS, and related reports, is available at http://sterlinghighway.net/.
For information related specifically to the Forest Plan amendment,
please contact David Fitz-Enz, Forest Planner, Chugach National Forest
at 907-743-9595 or dfitzenz@fs.fed.us.
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This notice is specific to the Forest Service. The FHWA was the
lead Federal agency for the Sterling Highway Mile 45-60 Project EIS and
Record of Decision, which was signed on May 31, 2018. The decision,
implementing the ``Juneau Creek Alternative,'' requires 3.3 miles of
new road construction across lands managed by the Chugach National
Forest in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. The Forest Service must
determine whether to consent to the transfer of a highway easement for
these lands under 23 U.S.C. 317. This consent is conditioned on the
Forest Service completing a project-specific plan amendment because the
new route is inconsistent with a Forest Plan standard prohibiting new
road construction within a certain type of brown bear habitat. This
notice pertains only to this project-specific plan amendment.
The policy for project consistency with prior plans amended using
the 2012 Planning Rule is set out at FSH 1909.12, Chapter 20, Section
21.33. For a plan developed or revised under a prior planning
regulation (1982 Planning Rule) that is amended pursuant to the 2012
Planning Rule, the consistency requirement is that the 2012 Planning
Rule consistency provisions at 36 CFR 219.15(d) apply only to plan
component(s) added or modified in conformance with, and as defined by,
the 2012 Planning Rule. With respect to other plan provisions, the
Forest Service's prior interpretation of consistency applies, that
projects need only be consistent with plan standards and guidelines.
(See 2012 Final Rule 77 FR 21162, 21241 (April 9, 2012); 1991 Advanced
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 56 FR 6508, 6519-6520 (Feb 15, 1991) and
the 1995 Proposed Rule, at 60 FR 18886, 18902, 18909 (April 13, 1995).)
As analyzed and disclosed in the Sterling final EIS, this project
is also inconsistent with one guideline related to brown bear habitat.
This inconsistency does not require a plan amendment (Forest Plan, p.
3-22), but is
[[Page 49061]]
briefly mentioned here because it will be documented in the Forest
Service's Record of Decision.
Purpose and Need for Action
The FHWA decision for the Sterling Highway MP 45-60 Project
approves construction of new highway that crosses 3.3 miles of National
Forest System land. The Forest Service must determine whether to
consent to the transfer of a highway easement for construction and
maintenance of the highway on these lands under 23 U.S.C. 317. This
consent is conditioned on the Forest Service completing a project-
specific Forest Plan amendment because the new route is inconsistent
with a Forest Plan standard prohibiting new road construction within
important brown bear feeding areas.
These feeding areas were mapped for this project in collaboration
with Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the new highway employs
many design features to minimize effects to brown bear habitat. The
purpose of this plan amendment is to provide a project-specific
variance exempting the requirement for full consistency with this one
forestwide standard related to brown bear habitat. The variance would
apply only to this project. Completion of this amendment is required
for the Forest Service to consent to the appropriation of lands for
highway construction.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is to exempt the Sterling Highway MP 45-60
Project from the following standard in the 2002 Chugach Forest Plan
(Forest Plan, p. 3-29):
``Standard 1, Brown Bear Habitat Management. On the Kenai Peninsula
geographic area, manage areas of forest cover approximately 750-feet
from both sides of important bear feeding areas in specific areas of a
stream where salmon are concentrated in pools, below falls, or where
broad spawning flats result in localized feeding concentrations of
bears to provide cover for brown bears while feeding, or between brown
bears and humans. Important brown bear feeding areas will be located
with the advice of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Within the
750-foot brown bear management zone the following activities will not
be allowed: a. new road construction; b. any vegetation management not
intended to maintain or improve ecological conditions for brown bear.
This standard does not prohibit relocation, reconstruction, or
maintenance of existing roads and trails in these areas. During the
process of reconstruction or relocation, emphasize opportunities to
locate roads or trails outside of these brown bear zones.''
The amendment would exempt this standard only for the Sterling
Highway MP 45-60 Project. It is considered a project-specific amendment
because it would not change the applicability of Forest Plan
requirements for other projects.
The Forest Service's decision will be supported by the
environmental analysis contained within the FHWA final EIS. The FHWA
has selected the ``Juneau Creek Alternative'' in their Record of
Decision. The draft and final EIS issued by FHWA include a discussion
of Forest Plan consistency, including the need for this project-
specific amendment. They also disclose the environmental effects of
this project on brown bear habitat. The draft and final EIS is
available at http://sterlinghighway.net/SHWPI_New.html. The following
are selected sections of the final EIS describing the effects of the
selected alternative related to the need for the plan amendment and to
effects on brown bear habitat: the Executive Summary, Section 3.2--Land
Use Plans and Policies (pp. 3-50--52; 3-56), Section 3.7--Cumulative
Effects (pp. 3-589--390), Section 3.22--Wildlife (pp. 3-456--457; 3-
472--477; 3-478-482; 3-488--3-491).
Responsible Official
The Forest Supervisor for the Chugach National Forest is the
Responsible Official for amending the 2002 Revised Land and Resource
Management Plan.
Nature and Scope of Decision To Be Made
The Responsible Official will decide whether the project warrants a
project-specific plan amendment and if so, the content of the
amendment.
The scope of this amendment is a one-time exemption from Standard
1, Brown Bear Habitat Management, for the Sterling Highway MP 45-60
Project.
The scale of this amendment is limited to the important brown bear
feeding areas where the Juneau Creek Alternative route impacts land
mapped as Areas 8, 9, and 11 on Map 3.22-1 of the EIS (Chapter 3.22
Wildlife, p. 3-513). The highway easement would encompass less than 100
acres within the mapped feeding area of approximately 1,000 acres. The
decision includes extensive mitigation, including a wildlife overpass
and several underpasses, to mitigate the effects to wildlife.
The Responsible Official must ensure that the amendment is
consistent with 36 CFR 219 regulations, as described below.
Planning Rule Requirements for Forest Plan Amendments
On December 15, 2016, the Department of Agriculture Under Secretary
for Natural Resources and Environment issued a final rule that amended
the 36 CFR 219 regulations pertaining to National Forest System Land
Management Planning (Planning Rule) (81 FR 90723, 90737). The amendment
to 36 CFR 219 clarified the Department's direction for amending Forest
Plans. The Department also added a requirement for the responsible
official amending a plan to provide notice ``about which substantive
requirements of Sec. 219.8 through 219.11 are likely to be directly
relate to the amendment'' (36 CFR 219.13(b)(2), 81 FR 90738). Whether a
rule provision is directly related to an amendment is determined by any
one of the following: The purpose for the amendment, a beneficial
effect of the amendment, a substantial adverse effect of the amendment,
or a lessening of plan protections by the amendment.
The substantive requirements of Sec. 219.8 through 219.11 that are
likely to be directly related to amending the above standard are:
Sec. 219.9(a): (a) Ecosystem plan components. (1) Ecosystem
integrity. As required by Sec. 219.8(a), the plan must include plan
components, including standards or guidelines, to maintain or restore
the ecological integrity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and
watersheds in the plan area, including plan components to maintain or
restore their structure, function, composition, and connectivity.
Sec. 219.10(a)(3): Appropriate placement and sustainable
management of infrastructure, such as recreational facilities and
transportation and utility corridors
Sec. 219.10(a)(5): Habitat conditions, subject to the requirements
of 219.9, for wildlife, fish, and plants commonly enjoyed and used by
the public; for hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, observing,
subsistence and other activities
If the proposed amendment is determined to be ``directly related''
to a substantive rule requirement, the Responsible Official must apply
that requirement within the scope and scale of the proposed amendment
and, if necessary, make adjustments to the proposed amendment to meet
the rule requirement (36 CFR 219.13(b)(5) and (6)).
[[Page 49062]]
Opportunities for Public Participation
The FHWA provided opportunities for public comment throughout the
development of this project, including public comment periods and
public meetings following issuance of the draft EIS and Final EIS. A
history of public participation, including all public comments, is
available at: http://sterlinghighway.net/SHWPI_New.html. Both the draft
and final EIS disclosed the need for a Forest Plan amendment, depending
on the alternative selected.
This notice initiates a 45-day comment period on the proposed
amendment. This will be the final comment period for this proposed
amendment prior to issuing the record of decision for administrative
review. Instructions on how to provide comment, and where to find
additional information, are described in the beginning of this notice.
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and
addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record for
this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted
and considered, however.
Administrative Review of Forest Plan Amendment Decisions
The decision for a plan amendment will be documented in a record of
decision issued by the Forest Service. The decision will be subject to
the predecisional administrative review process per 36 CFR 219 subpart
B. Objections will be accepted only from those who have previously
submitted substantive formal comments specific to the proposed plan
amendment. The Reviewing Official for any objection is the Regional
Forester for the Alaska Region.
Dated: September 7, 2018.
Gregory C. Smith,
Acting Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2018-21153 Filed 9-27-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P