[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 39 (Monday, February 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 10542]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4630]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Renouncement, Notice of Availability of the Final General 
Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for Missouri 
National Recreational River (59-Mile District), Nebraska and South 
Dakota

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the National Park Service (NPS) is 
reannouncing the availability of a final environmental impact statement 
(FEIS) and general management plan (GMP) for the Missouri National 
Recreational River 59-mile district located in portions of Clay, Union, 
and Yankton counties, South Dakota; and Cedar, Dixon, and Knox counties 
in Nebraska.
    The original NPS notice of availability for this document was 
previously published in the Federal Register (64 FR 56215, Oct. 18, 
1999). A record of decision for the project was signed on December 17, 
1999, and also was published in the Federal Register (64 FR 72359, Dec. 
27, 1999). However, it recently was discovered that the FEIS was 
inadvertently not filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
as required by 40 CFR 1506.9.
    Accordingly, the NPS is suspending the record of decision and 
implementation of the plan. The FEIS has been filed with the EPA. No 
action will be taken towards implementation of the GMP until 30-days 
after the EPA's notice of availability is published in the Federal 
Register.

DATES: The no action period for review of the FEIS will end 30-days 
after the EPA publishes its notice of availability in the Federal 
Register. A revised record of decision will be issued following the no 
action period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Hedren, Superintendent, Missouri 
National Recreational River, P.O. Box 591, O'Neill, Nebraska 68763, or 
by e-mail to [email protected], or call 402-336-3970.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The draft environmental impact statement and 
general management plan for the recreational river was on public review 
from October 5 to December 18, 1998. The FEIS responds to Public Law 
95-625 (1978), which amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by adding a 
59-mile reach of the Missouri River below the Gavins Point Dam to the 
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The NPS prepared this FEIS to 
update a previous management plan written in 1980 by the Heritage 
Conservation and Recreation Service and only partially implemented. 
Cooperating agencies included the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service; Nebraska Game and Parks Commission; South 
Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department; South Dakota Region Three 
Planning; and Nebraska Lewis and Clark Planning District. The NPS's 
preferred alternative for the Missouri National Recreational River is 
identified in the FEIS as alternative 2. The preferred alternative 
would provide for maintenance and restoration of biologic values and 
would seek to minimize the effects of the mainstem dams. It also would 
provide for management activities that would emphasize the history and 
culture of the river and its surroundings. In this preferred 
alternative, as well as alternative 3, the Corps of Engineers (COE) and 
the NPS would manage the area through a cooperative agreement. The COE 
would function as the day-to-day manager of the water-related 
resources, while the NPS would administer the land-related resources. 
The agencies would work together where their responsibilities 
overlapped. Two other alternatives were also considered. The no-action 
alternative (alternative 1) would continue a current cooperative 
agreement and otherwise provides a baseline for comparison of the other 
alternatives; and alternative 3, providing increased recreational 
emphasis on the river. Partnerships with local entities would be sought 
to provide services in all alternatives.
    The boundary in alternatives 2 and 3 is the same. It differs 
slightly from the existing boundary in alternative 1, chiefly by adding 
several historic sites. Both boundaries include important examples of 
the river's outstandingly remarkable resources.

    Dated: February 16, 2000.
Catherine A. Damon,
Acting Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 00-4630 Filed 2-25-00; 8:45 am]
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