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Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation Construction Into the Powder River Basin
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[Federal Register: December 22, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 247)]
[Notices]
[Page 80987-80988]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22de00-150]
[[Page 80987]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Finance Docket No. 33407]
Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation Construction
Into the Powder River Basin
AGENCY: Lead: Surface Transportation Board. Cooperating: U.S.D.A Forest
Service; U.S.D.I. Bureau of Land Management; U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers; U.S.D.I. Bureau of Reclamation; U.S. Coast Guard.
ACTION: Extension of public comment period on Draft Environmental
Impact Statement.
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On September 27, 2000, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) was issued in this proceeding. The Draft EIS provided a 90-day
period (to and including January 5, 2001) for interested parties to
submit comments.
The Board's Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) and the
cooperating agencies\1\ have received requests from a wide variety of
groups and individuals, including several public officials and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, to extend the January 5, 2001 comment
due date. The majority of the requests ask for a 90-day extension,
generally citing the length of the Draft EIS and the scope and
complexity of the proposal. While a few commenters argue that no
extension is necessary, others have asked for as much as a 6-month or
1-year extension of time.
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\1\ U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service; the U.S.
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management; the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers; the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Reclamation; and the U.S. Coast Guard.
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Discussion and Conclusions
In establishing a 90-day comment period--which is twice as long as
the minimum set forth in the Council on Environmental Quality's
Guidelines (40 CFR 1506.10)--SEA believed that all interested parties
would have sufficient time to review and comment on the Draft EIS.
However, during the same time the public is reviewing and preparing
comments on the Draft EIS, SEA and the cooperating agencies are also
seeking public comment on the other documents contained in it (U.S.
Forest Service Forest Plan Amendments, the Programmatic Agreement and
Identification Plan, the Memorandum of Agreement, and the Biological
Assessment). In addition, the comment period is running on Dakota,
Minnesota & Eastern Railroad's (DM&E's) two permit applications to the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (Section 404 permit
applications). Many of the requests for additional time stated that it
has been difficult to review simultaneously all of these documents.
Moreover, at the recent public meetings on the Draft EIS, including the
Native American Tribal meeting on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, a
number of participants argued that environmental justice communities
could participate more effectively with more time to file comments.
It is important to move the environmental review process in this
and every case forward without undue delay. But those requesting an
extension here have made a strong case that more time is needed to
provide an adequate opportunity for meaningful review and comment by
the public, including environmental justice communities, on the Draft
EIS and the other related documents in this particularly complex case.
In these circumstances, the comment period will be extended for an
additional 60 days, or until March 6, 2001. The extension will apply to
the Draft EIS itself, the documents appended to it (the Forest Plan
Amendments, the Programmatic Agreement and Identification Plan, the
Memorandum of Agreement, and the Biological Assessment), and the
Section 404 permit applications.\2\ Comments on all of these documents
must be postmarked by March 6, 2001. In order to issue the Final EIS in
a timely manner, no further extensions will be granted absent
compelling, unforeseen circumstances.
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\2\ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has notified SEA that it
will issue a decision extending the comment period on DM&E's Section
404 permit applications to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to March
6, 2001, to coincide with the due date for comments on the Draft EIS
and associated documents.
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We note that, at the recent public meetings conducted to hear
comments on the Draft EIS, a number of participants contended that
additional mitigation measures are needed to adequately protect
residents of the communities potentially impacted by DM&E's proposal.
The extended comment period will provide an opportunity for DM&E and
the affected communities to explore mutually acceptable ways to reduce
potential impacts on communities, and to submit any agreements that are
reached to the Board. The Board encourages railroads and communities to
negotiate private solutions addressing specific local environmental
concerns because these agreements are generally more effective, and in
some cases, more far-reaching than environmental mitigation options we
could impose unilaterally. In the absence of negotiated agreements
submitted to the Board,\3\ SEA, in preparing the Final EIS, will give
careful consideration to what measures it should recommend for
mitigating adverse impacts to community residents if, following the
completion of environmental review, we give final approval to this
project.
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\3\ Our practice is to impose as a condition to our decisions
approving railroad transactions a requirement that the railroad
comply with the terms of all negotiated agreements developed with
states, local communities, and other entities regarding
environmental issues. These agreements substitute for specific local
mitigation for a community that otherwise would be imposed. However,
we cannot impose conditions based on negotiated agreements without
knowing the terms of those agreements.
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How to Submit Comments
Comments on the Draft EIS must be postmarked by March 6, 2001, and
mailed to the address below. For comment letters over 5 pages, please
mail a signed original plus 10 copies. For comment letters 5 pages or
less, a signed original is sufficient. Comments must be mailed to:
Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, STB Finance Docket No.
33407, Surface Transportation Board 1925 K Street, NW, Washington, DC
20423-0001, Please write the following in the lower left hand corner of
the envelope: Attention: Victoria Rutson, Environmental Project
Director, Environmental Filing.
Comments on the Forest Plan Amendments should be filed directly
with the U.S. Forest Service. Please send written comments on the
Forest Plan Amendments to Wendy Schmitzer, USFS Project Coordinator,
Douglas Ranger District, 2250 East Richards Street, Douglas, WY 82633,
or call (307) 358-1634. You may email comments on the Forest Plan
Amendments to: wschmitzer@fs.fed.us.
Comments on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting
requirements, specifically on DM&E's Section 404 permit applications,
should be filed directly with the appropriate Corps of Engineers
district office. Please send comments on the Section 404 permit
application relating to Minnesota to Mr. Timothy Fell, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, St. Paul District, 190 5th Street East, St. Paul, MN
55101-1638. Please send comments on the Section 404 permit application
relating to South Dakota and Wyoming to Mr. Jerry Folkers, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, 215 North 17th Street, Omaha, NE
68102-4978.
When submitting comments, please be as specific as possible and
[[Page 80988]]
substantiate your concerns and recommendations.
By the Board, Chairman Morgan, Vice Chairman Burkes, and
Commissioner Clyburn.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-32716 Filed 12-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P