[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 8, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 41606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-19850]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Availability, Final Restoration Plan and Environmental 
Assessment

AGENCY: U.S. 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 (DOI), as a Natural Resource Trustee 
(Trustee), announces the release of the Final Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) for Operable Unit 3 (OU-3) of the 
Asbestos Dump Superfund Site, Morris County, New Jersey. The Final RP/
EA describes the DOI's selected action to restore natural resources 
injured as a result of chemical contamination at the Asbestos Dump 
Superfund Site.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Final RP/EA may be made to: U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, New Jersey Field Office, 927 North Main 
Street, Pleasantville, New Jersey, 08232.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clay Stern, Environmental Contaminants 
Branch, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Jersey Field Office, 927 
North Main Street, Pleasantville, New Jersey, 08232. Interested parties 
may also call 609-646-9310, x27 or send electronic mail to clay--
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 
1980 as amended, commonly known as Superfund, (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), 
* * * ``[Trustees] may assess damages to natural resources resulting 
from a discharge of oil or a release of a hazardous substance * * * and 
may seek to recover those damages.'' Natural resource damage 
assessments are separate from the cleanup actions undertaken at a 
hazardous waste site, and provide a process whereby the Trustees can 
determine the proper compensation to the public for injury to natural 
resources. At OU-3 of the Asbestos Dump Superfund Site in Morris 
County, New Jersey, DOI was the sole natural resource trustee involved 
in the Federal government's settlement with the National Gypsum 
Corporation (NGC). The Service, acting on behalf of the DOI, determined 
that contamination at OU-3 had degraded and injured trust resources 
within the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The injuries resulted 
from the deposition of asbestos containing materials, and mercuric and 
lead based compounds at the 5.58-acre site.
    As part of a Consent Decree requiring remedial actions at OU-3, DOI 
settled with NGC for natural resource damages. The settlement of 
approximately $3.6 million was designated for restoration, replacement, 
or acquisition of the equivalent natural resources injured by the 
release of contaminants at the site.
    The Final RP/EA is being released in accordance with the Natural 
Resource Damage Assessment Regulations found at Title 43 of the Code of 
Federal Regulation Part 11. The Final RP/EA describes several natural 
resource restoration, acquisition, and protection alternatives 
identified by the DOI, and evaluates each of the possible alternatives 
based on all relevant considerations. The DOI's Preferred Alternative 
is to use the settlement funds in a combination of projects aimed to 
restore, enhance, and protect in perpetuity, fish and wildlife habitat 
within the Great Swamp Watershed. Details regarding the proposed 
projects are contained in the Final RP/EA.
    The Final Revised Procedures for the DOI in implementing the 
National Environmental Policy Act were published in the Federal 
Register on January 16, 1997. Under those procedures the DOI has 
determined that the Preferred Alternative will not have significant 
environmental effects as described in the Draft RP/EA and the attached 
Finding of No Significant Impact Statement. Accordingly, the Preferred 
Alternative described in the Draft RP/EA will not require preparation 
of an Environmental Impact Statement.

Author

    The primary author of this notice is Clay Stern, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, New Jersey Field Office, 927 North Main Street, 
Pleasantville, New Jersey, 08232.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 as amended, 
commonly known as Superfund, (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).

    Dated: July 24, 2001.
Mamie A. Parker,
Acting Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 01-19850 Filed 8-7-01; 8:45 am]
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