[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]


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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.

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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]
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