September 1998

Dear Reviewer:

Enclosed for your review is the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Cross Cascade Pipeline Project. The proponent, Olympic Pipe Line Company, has requested a right-of-way through National Forest land and lands managed by other state and federal agencies on a route between Snohomish County and the City of Pasco, Washington.

The Forest Service and the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council have completed this DEIS under contract with Jones & Stokes Associates, Inc. The analysis was undertaken to meet the direction of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other relevant federal laws and regulations as they pertain to fuel pipeline easement requests on federal lands and the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) for state and private lands.

Based on comments received during the scoping phase of this project, issues were identified. A No Action and Action Alternative, and alternative components, including mitigation measures, are discussed in detail in the DEIS.

To ensure a complete analysis, we are asking you to help by reviewing this DEIS and providing comments. The comment period for this document closes on December 17, 1998. We have scheduled four public meetings to discuss the DEIS. The public meetings will be as follows:

Please send your comments to either: Floyd J. Rogalski, Olympic Pipeline Team Leader, Cle Elum Ranger District, 803 West Second Street, Cle Elum, WA 98922, or to Allen Fiksdal, Manager, Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, P.O. Box 43172, Olympia, WA 98504-3172. Comments on this document must be postmarked by December 17, 1998.

For further information regarding this proposal, you may also contact Floyd Rogalski at (509)674-4411 or Allen Fiksdal at (360)956-2152. For copies of the DEIS, please contact Allen Fiksdal or you may access it on the Internet at www.efsec.wa.gov.

Please Note: Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposed action and will be available for public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or 217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality. Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest Service will inform the requester of the agencys decision regarding the request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within 14 days.

Please remember, for a comment to be considered to have substance, it needs to:

1. Provide new information pertaining to the proposed action or an alternative;

2. Identify a new issue or expand upon an existing issue;

3. Identify a different way to meet the underlying need;

4. Provide an opinion regarding an alternative, including the basis or rationale for the opinion;

5. Point out a specific flaw in the analysis; or

6. Identify a different source of credible research which, if used in the analysis, could result in different effects.

Note to Reviewers: Reviewers should provide the Forest Service and EFSEC with their comments during the review period of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. This will enable the lead agencies to analyze and respond to the comments at one time and to use information acquired in the preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, thus avoiding undue delay in the decision making process. Reviewers have an obligation to structure their participation in the National Environmental Policy Act process so that it is meaningful and alerts the agency to the reviewers= position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft stage may be waived if not raised until after completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement. City of Angoon v. Hodel (9th Circuit, 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. V. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement should be specific and should address the adequacy of the statement and the merits of the alternatives discussed (40 CFR 1503.3).

The policy of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or political affiliation. Persons believing they have been discriminated against in any Forest Service related activity should write to: Chief, Forest Service, USDA, P.O. Box 96090, Washington, DC 20090-6090, or call 202-720-7327 (voice), or 202-720-1127 (TTY).

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