[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 210 (Tuesday, October 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54775-54776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-26988]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Availability, Draft 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 & Wildlife Service (Service), on behalf of the 
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as a Natural Resource Trustee 
(Trustee), announces the release for public review of the Draft 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) for the Charles 
George Landfill Superfund Site in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. The 
Draft RP/EA describes the DOI's proposal to restore natural resources 
injured as a result of chemical contamination at the Charles George 
Landfill Superfund Site.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 14, 
2001.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Draft RP/EA may be made to: Laura 
Eaton-Poole, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New England Field Office 
c/o Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, 
Massachusetts, 01776. Copies are also available on the internet at: 
http:// greatmeadows.fws.gov/charlesgeorge.html.
    Written comments or materials regarding the Draft RP/EA should be 
sent to the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Eaton-Poole, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, New England Field Office c/o Great Meadows National 
Wildlife Refuge, Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, Massachusetts, 01776. 
Interested parties may also call 978-443-4661, extension 17, or send 
email to [email protected] for further information.

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 * * *

[[Page 54776]]

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.
    Three natural resource trustees settled with the Potentially 
Responsible Parties for injuries to natural resources due to releases 
of hazardous substances from the Charles George Landfill Superfund 
Site: DOI recovered $299,916 for injuries to migratory birds that use 
wetlands; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recovered 
$134,624 for potential injuries to anadromous and catadromous fish in 
the Merrimack River; and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts recovered 
$918,900 for injuries to wetlands and groundwater. The total recovery 
of damages and future oversight expenses for all the Trustees was 
$1,353,440. The three Trustees signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) 
in recognition of the common interests to restore, replace and/or 
acquire the equivalent natural resources which were injured, destroyed, 
or lost by the releases of hazardous substances. The MOA provides a 
framework for the development of a Trustee Council that cooperatively 
develops and implements a Restoration Plan.
    The Draft RP/EA is being released in accordance with section 111(i) 
of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9611(i) and the National Environmental Policy Act. 
The Draft RP/EA describes a number of natural resource restoration, 
acquisition, and protection alternatives identified by the Charles 
George Natural Resources Trustee Council (Trustee Council), and 
evaluates each of the possible alternatives based on all relevant 
considerations. The Trustee Council's Preferred Alternative has two 
parts: (1) The settlement funds will be used to protect properties 
adjacent to or near the areas of impact and; (2) the settlement funds 
will be used to contribute to the anadromous fish restoration effort in 
the Merrimack River Watershed through the funding of stocking and 
monitoring of alewife in the Concord River in Massachusetts, and 
contributing to the funding of the construction of a fish ladder at a 
dam on the Concord River which is an impediment to upstream migration 
of migratory fish. Details regarding the proposed projects are 
contained in the Draft RP/EA.
    Interested members of the public are invited to review and comment 
on the Draft RP/EA. Copies of the Draft RP/EA are available from the 
Service's New England Field Office c/o Great Meadows National Wildlife 
Refuge, Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, Massachusetts, 01776, or from the 
Tyngsborough Public Library, 25 Bryants Lane, Tyngsborough, 
Massachusetts, 01879. All comments received on the Draft RP/EA will be 
considered and a response provided either through revision of the Draft 
RP/EA and incorporation into the Final Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment, or by letter to the commentor.
    Author: The primary author of this notice is Laura Eaton-Poole, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New England Field Office, c/o Great 
Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, 
Massachusetts, 01776.

    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: October 10, 2001.
Joseph J. Dowhan,
Acting Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 01-26988 Filed 10-29-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P ]