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Fact Sheet: November 1999 MINERAL
KING AND THE ENVIRONMENT |
Scheduled to be released some time in the year 2003 is the Sequoia General Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement. The EIS reports will strongly affect decisions regarding the future of the Mineral King Historic Living Community.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
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WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT?
An environmental impact statement (EIS) is a report on studies conducted
to define all possible impacts that proposed development and/or management
plans may have on an area's surrounding environment.
*
HOW IS AN EIS CONNECTED WITH THE MINERAL KING COMMUNITY?
In Sequoia's General Management plan, an EIS must be presented on all
areas affected by the plan including Mineral King. It is required by law
that any major plans formulated for public lands include an EIS. The National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 mandates every EIS fully disclose the
key impacts or consequences of any proposed major federal actions.
*
WHAT LAWS AND REGULATIONS GUIDE THE STUDIES UNDERTAKEN
FOR AN EIS?
Included are National Park Service and Forest Service Management Acts;
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); Title 36, Code of Federal
Regulations; Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations; the Endangered
Species Act; Wilderness Act; Clean Water Act; National Historic Preservation
Act; and National Park Service and Forest Service directives.
*
WHAT INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS AND AGNECIES MAY PARTICIPATE IN FORMULATION
OF AN EIS?
Examples include national, regional and local Park Service and Forest
Service teams; the state Lands Commission; state Department of Parks and
Recreation; state Department of Transportation; Water Quality and Control
Board; U.S. Fish and Wildlife; regional and county planning departments;
affected organizations and communities (for the 1983 Mineral King Land
Protection Plan the Mineral King District Homeowners Association was consulted);
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the state Historic Preservation
Officer.
*
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN AN EIS?
A summary of proposed development and/or management plans. Reports
of a plan's possible impacts on resource protection including air quality;
soils; watersheds, wetlands and flood plains; fisheries; natural growth
including sensitive plants; wildlife including sensitive, endangered or
threatened species; scenic resources; human environment including societal
aspects and aesthetic experiences; heritage resources (sites, structures,
buildings, districts and objects associated with or representative of
peoples, cultures and human activities and events; historical resources
(logging, ranching, grazing, mining and seasonal recreationists including
cabin communities such as Mineral King); adverse environmental effects
which can not be avoided should the proposal be implemented; relationships
between short term uses and long term effects on resources; irreversible
or irretrievable commitment of resources in which lost opportunities or
depleted resources can not be recovered.
WHAT
IS THE TYPICAL PROCESS OF AN EIS?
*Study teams are employed to research various environmental concerns of
proposed plans and prepare reports on Environmental Assessments (EA)
*A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is formulated.
*The DEIS is presented to individuals, organizations and agencies with
an interest in the proposed plans. (e.g. Mineral King cabin owners, National
Parks and Conservation Assoc., Tulare County Board of Supervisors etc.)
*A comment and evaluation period follows with input requested from the
public and affected parties.
*The DEIS is re-evaluated and appropriate changes made. A revised DEIS
may be presented for further comment and evaluation.
*The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is printed and presented
for inclusion in any proposed plan (e.g. Sequoia's GMP). It does not decide
the outcome of the proposed plan to be implemented but its guidelines
must be considered as part of the plan.
Part II : THE MINERAL KING COMMUNITY'S INFLUENCE ON THE EIS
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