[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 190 (Friday, September 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58560-58561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24980]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Availability of the Report of Injury Assessment and Injury 
Determination: Coeur d'Alene Basin Natural Resource Damage Assessment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe (collectively, the Trustees) 
have undertaken a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) to assess 
injuries resulting from releases of hazardous substances from mining 
and mineral processing operations in the Coeur d'Alene River basin, 
Idaho. Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) [42 U.S.C. 9607], section 311 
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1321], and the 
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan [40 
CFR part 300] provide authority to the conduct the NRDA.
    The Trustees evaluated injuries to natural resources in the Coeur 
d'Alene River basin resulting from releases of mining-related hazardous 
substances and summarized their findings in the Report of Injury 
Assessment and Injury Determination: Coeur d'Alene Basin Natural 
Resource Damage Assessment (Report). Trustees used the Coeur d'Alene 
Basin Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan, Injury Determination--
Phase I, released in October 1993, and the Coeur d'Alene Basin Natural 
Resource Damage Assessment Plan, Phase II--Injury Quantification/Damage 
Determination, released in June 1996, guide the NRDA process.
    Natural resources of the Coeur d'Alene River basin that were 
assessed for injury include: surface water; groundwater; bed, bank, and 
shoreline sediments; riparian and floodplain soils; aquatic biota, 
including both fish and aquatic invertebrates; wildlife, including 
birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians; and vegetation. The areas 
assessed for natural resource injuries includes the South Fork Coeur 
d'Alene River basin, tributary drainages to the South Fork Coeur 
d'Alene River in which mining and milling occurred, the mainstem Coeur 
d'Alene River and associated lateral lakes and wetlands, and Coeur 
d'Alene Lake from the area near Conkling Point to the Spokane River.
    The Report sets forth the data and analysis of information obtained 
by the

[[Page 58561]]

Trustees during the Phase I and II injury determination studies 
combined with a comprehensive review and analysis of previously 
existing information concerning the natural resources in the Coeur 
d'Alene Basin. Authorized Trustee representatives adopted the Report 
and its findings in September 2000 and are now making it available for 
use by other agencies and the public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Trustee contact for the Department 
of the Interior is Mr. Bob Foley, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 
NE 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181, (503) 231-6223. The 
Trustee contact for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe is Mr. Phillip Cernera, 
Coeur d'Alene Tribe NRDA Office, 424 Sherman Avenue, Suite 306, Coeur 
d'Alene ID 83814, (208) 667-4119.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Document Availability

    You may view this document at the Administrative Record repository 
at the Coeur d'Alene Tribe NRDA Office, 424 Sherman Avenue, Suite 306, 
Coeur d'Alene ID. You may obtain copies of these documents by 
contacting Mr. Michael Faber at the Coeur d'Alene Tribe NRDA Office, 
424 Sherman Avenue, Suite 306, Coeur d'Alene ID 83814 or by calling 
(208) 667-4119.

    Dated: September 21, 2000.
Anne Badgley,
Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 00-24980 Filed 9-28-00; 8:45 am]
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