[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 83 (Wednesday, April 30, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 23479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11151]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Availability, Restoration Plan and Environmental 
Assessment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), on behalf of the 
Department of the Interior and the State of New Hampshire, announces 
the release for public review of the draft Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) for the Coakley Landfill Superfund 
Site. The RP/EA describes the trustees' proposal to restore natural 
resources injured as a result of the release of hazardous substances 
from the Coakley Landfill.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before May 30, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the RP/EA may be made to: U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, New England Field Office, 22 Bridge Street, Unit 
#1, Concord, New Hampshire 03301.
    Written comments or materials regarding the RP/EA should be sent to 
the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Molly B. Sperduto or Kenneth C. Carr, Environmental Contaminants 
Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 22 Bridge Street, Unit #1, 
Concord, New Hampshire 03301.
    Interested parties may also call (603) 225-1411 for further 
information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coakley Landfill Superfund Site, located 
in Greenland and North Hampton, New Hampshire, was an active landfill 
from 1972 until 1985. Contaminants associated with municipal and 
industrial wastes disposed of at the Site include volatile organic 
compounds, lead, mercury, zinc, aluminum, and nickel. As a result of 
contaminant releases from the Site, approximately 40 acres of adjacent 
wetland habitat were damaged. These wetlands were impaired due to food 
web contamination or the reduction and/or loss of their biological 
diversity and productivity. In turn, injury to wetland-dependent 
wildlife, primarily migratory birds, occurred.
    In 1995, the United States of America and the State of New 
Hampshire settled claims for natural resource damages associated with 
the Coakley Landfill Superfund Site under the authority of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA) of 1980. The settlement proceeds will be used to compensate 
for injury, destruction, or loss of natural resources under trusteeship 
of the Department of the Interior and the State of New Hampshire. The 
RP/EA is being released in accordance with the Natural Resource Damage 
Assessment Regulations found at 15 CFR, part 990. It is intended to 
describe the trustees' proposals to restore natural resources injured 
as a result of releases of contaminants from the Site.
    The RP/EA describes a number of habitat restoration and protection 
alternatives and discusses the environmental consequences of each. 
Restoration efforts which have the greatest potential to restore 
wetlands and the services those wetlands provide to wetland-dependant 
wildlife are preferred. Opportunities to restore degraded salt marsh 
habitats are proposed. The trustees believe that the proposed actions 
will not have significant impacts on the quality of the physical, 
biological, and cultural environment.
    Interested members of the public are invited to review and comment 
on the RP/EA. Copies of the RP/EA are available for review at the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service's New England Field Office in Concord, New 
Hampshire (22 Bridge Street, Unit #1, Concord, New Hampshire). 
Additionally, the RP/EA will be available for review at the North 
Hampton Public Library. Written comments will be considered and 
addressed in the final RP/EA at the conclusion of the restoration 
planning process.

    Author: The primary author of this notice is Ms. Molly B. 
Sperduto, New England Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
22 Bridge Street, Unit #1, Concord, New Hampshire 03301.

    Authority: The authority for this action is the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as 
amended (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C.

    Dated: April 17, 1997.
Cathy Short,
Acting Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 97-11151 Filed 4-29-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M