[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 154 (Thursday, August 8, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 41383-41384] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-20132] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [I.D. 072596C] Development of the Commencement Bay Natural Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Plan, Pierce County, WA AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (RP/EIS) and public meeting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the draft RP/EIS for the Commencement Bay Natural Resource Damage Assessment (CB/NRDA) restoration planning process is available for public review. Comments are requested and a public meeting will be held. DATES: Written comments are requested by October 7, 1996. A public meeting will be held on September 10, 1996, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the World Trade Center, Port of Tacoma Road, Tacoma, WA. Written comments on the draft RP/EIS, requests for inclusion on the RP/EIS mailing list, and requests for copies of any documents associated with the draft RP/ [[Page 41384]] EIS should be directed to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3704 Griffin Lane SE., Suite 102, Olympia, WA 98501-2192, or NOAA/NMFS Restoration Center NW, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judy Lantor, FWS, (360) 753-6056, or Dr. Robert Clark Jr., NOAA/NMFS Restoration Center, (206) 526-4338. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A notice of availability will be mailed to all agencies, organizations, and individuals who participated in the scoping process or were identified during the RP/EIS process. Copies of the draft RP/EIS have been sent to all participants who have already requested copies. A. Background Study Area Commencement Bay is a deep-water embayment that occupies approximately 5,700 acres in south Puget Sound, WA. The study area for the RP/EIS includes the Bay, the watershed, its main tributaries, and the Puget Sound coastal areas adjacent to the Bay, focusing on those areas that serve as habitat for or otherwise support the natural resources of Commencement Bay. Commencement Bay was placed on a national interim list of 115 highest priority hazardous waste sites on October 23, 1981. The Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats site was added to the National Priorities List after fish, shellfish, and sediments within the waterways were found to have elevated concentrations of hazardous substances. Commencement Bay Natural Resource Damage Assessment (CB/NRDA) The CB/NRDA is being conducted by Federal and state agencies and tribal governments identified as Natural Resource Trustees (Trustees) for the Commencement Bay environment pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9601, et seq., the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. 2701-2761, and other applicable laws. The Trustees have the authority to recover damages from parties that have caused injury through the releases of hazardous substances or a discharge of oil to Commencement Bay natural resources and to use those damages to restore, rehabilitate, replace and/or acquire the equivalent of those injured natural resources and services. The RP/EIS will be used to guide decision-making regarding the implementation of CB/NRDA restoration activities. Because the planning, selection, design, construction, monitoring, and funding of specific restoration measures will unfold over a period of many years, a tiered EIS process has been selected for environmental compliance. Project-specific National Environmental Policy Act documents will be prepared for each project proposed under the selected restoration approach. Cooperating Agencies Cooperating Agencies are the Washington Department of Ecology (as lead State trustee), the Washington State Departments of Natural Resources and Fish and Wildlife, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe (Trustees), along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. B. Development of the Draft RP/EIS The Trustees have initiated actions during the RP/EIS process to assure compliance with the purpose and intent of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. A Notice of Intent to prepare the RP/EIS was published in the Federal Register (59 FR 44711- 2, August 30, 1994). Formal and informal scoping meetings were held to provide the public with an early opportunity to participate in discussions regarding the RP/EIS and to provide oral and written comments. C. Alternatives Analyzed in the Draft RP/EIS During the informal and formal scoping meetings for the RP/EIS, eight initial restoration concepts were presented to the public to stimulate discussion. Those concepts and other potential approaches were identified and discussed during scoping meetings. Subsequent to evaluation of the public scoping comments, a preliminary screening was performed by the Trustees using evaluation criteria developed to evaluate how well each approach met the identified purpose and needs of the CB/NRDA restoration program. The alternatives selected for further evaluation are presented in the RP/EIS no action, a species-specific approach, habitat function approach, acquisition of equivalent natural resources and services, and an integrated approach. The draft RP/EIS evaluates the environmental impacts of the various restoration alternatives and presents a proposed conceptual restoration management plan. Key issues addressed in this draft RP/EIS are identified as the effects that implementation of various alternatives would have upon fish and wildlife and their habitats and physical environmental factors, and the degree to which various alternatives are able to meet the purpose and need of the CB/NRDA program. The draft RP/EIS concludes, based on those evaluations, that the preferred alternative is the integrated approach, which is a comprehensive plan based upon the best features of the other alternatives. This alternative best meets the needs of the CB/NRDA restoration goals and principles by maximizing ecological benefits for a wider range of natural resources and their associated services. Dated: July 22, 1996. William F. Shake, Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, OR. Dated: August 1, 1996. Charles Karnella, Acting Director, Office of Information and Management, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 96-20132 Filed 8-7-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-F