[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4732-4733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2286]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Record of Decision/Statement of Findings: Issuance of Permits, 
Which Would Allow for Safety Improvements at the Provincetown Municipal 
Airport, Provincetown, MA

ACTION: Notice of approval of Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to subsection 102(2) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, and the regulations promulgated by the Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1505.2), the National Park Service, U.S. 
Department of the Interior has prepared a Record of Decision and 
Statement of Findings for Executive Orders 11988 (``Floodplain 
Management'') and 11990 (``Protection of Wetlands'').

DATES: The Record of Decision was recommended by the Superintendent of 
Cape Cod National Seashore, and approved by the Director of the 
Northeast Region on November 28, 2001. The Statement of Findings was 
also recommended by the Superintendent of Cape Cod National Seashore, 
certified for technical adequacy and servicewide consistency by both 
the Chief of the Water Resources Division and the Northeast Region 
Compliance Officer and approved by the Director of the Northeast Region 
on November 28, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Inquires regarding the Record of Decision or the Statement 
of Findings should be submitted to the Superintendent, Cape Cod 
National Seashore, 99 Marconi Site Road, Wellfleet, Massachusetts 
02667. Telephone (508) 349-3785 or e-mail to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The summary of the Record of Decision/
Statement of Findings follows:
    The Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS) has 
prepared this Record of Decision (ROD)/Statement of Findings (SOF) 
concerning the issuance of special use permits, which would allow for 
safety improvements at the Provincetown Municipal Airport, 
Provincetown, Massachusetts. This ROD/SOF responds to and references 
the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), of April 7, 2000, for 
the Provincetown Municipal Airport, Provincetown, Massachusetts, and 
Department of Transportation Section 4(F) Statement as prepared by the 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This ROD provides a statement of 
the decision made; a summary description of the alternatives analyzed 
by FAA in their

[[Page 4733]]

FEIS; the decision rationale; identification of the environmentally 
preferable alternative; a description of mitigation measures; and a 
discussion of impairment.
    The U.S. Department of the Interior owns the land under the 
airport. Two twenty-year Special Use Permits have been issued and/or 
updated to the Town of Provincetown, as of 6/01/98 and 6/19/98, to 
operate a municipal airport within a prescribed permit area boundary 
indicated in the NPS permit(s) for aviation operations. One covers the 
runway area and operational facilities and the other relates to 
navigational lighting and instrumentation facilities. Section 4(f) of 
the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 (recodified at 49 U.S.C. 
303) requires ``that the Secretary shall not approve any program or 
project which requires the use of any public park, recreation area, or 
wildlife and waterfowl refuge of national, state, or local significance 
as determined by the officials having jurisdiction thereof unless there 
is no feasible and prudent alternative to the use of such land and such 
program or project includes all possible planning to minimize harm 
resulting from the use.'' The pending issuance of permits covered by 
this ROD for safety improvements necessitated an impact analysis of 
4(f) land, as parkland beyond that currently permitted for the various 
airport purposes was requested by FAA. A Statement of Findings on 
wetland protection was also prepared to address wetland and floodplain 
impacts.
    The FEIS for the Provincetown Municipal Airport was prepared by the 
FAA to cover their actions related to implementing the airport Master 
Plan. The NPS cooperated in the development of the FEIS by providing 
technical input and review/commentary on impact analysis. The Airport 
Master Plan is basic to FAA's procedures to develop an Airport Layout 
Plan that guides physical airport development and improvement such as 
alterations to runway safety areas, the apron area, and replacement of 
an approach light system.
    A runway extension was evaluated in the FEIS on the basis of 
current development interests and currently feasible alternative 
considerations; however, funding for the project is not being approved 
at this time and further evaluation of this action will be pursued 
according to conditions outlined in a General Agreement prepared by the 
FAA and NPS, the essential text of which is presented in the FEIS. The 
inclusion of the runway extension in the FEIS and the Airport Layout 
Plan was for planning consideration only. Basically, the agreement 
between NPS and FAA states that when the FAA detects a need to further 
consider runway extension, the FAA will fully document the need and 
initiate re-evaluation of the several factors that affect the Federal 
decision making process for identifying and selecting the runway 
extension alternatives and the adequacy of the FAA ROD, by way of an 
Environmental Assessment (EA). Section 4(f) and Executive Order 11990 
compliance for runway extension will be duly accomplished at that time. 
NPS decision-making on the runway extension is also deferred to that 
time.

Decision (Selected Action)

    The National Park Service will adjust the parkland area permitted 
for airport use based only on the proposed actions related to the 
Runway Safety Area, parking aprons, and lighting system as described 
for safety improvements in the FEIS for the Provincetown Municipal 
Airport issued in April 2000 and the FAA's ROD, signed November 21, 
2000. This will involve exchange and re-designation of the airport land 
use footprint, by returning two acres of previously permitted land, 
back to parkland use, and permitting 0.96 acres (incorrectly described 
in the FAA FEIS and FAA ROD as 0.69 acres) of parklands needed to serve 
navigational localizer relocation and its associated critical area use. 
The two acres of previously permitted parklands are being relinquished 
by FAA to revert to parkland uses, in compensation for the new acreage 
provided for the localizer. These two acres are located in a 
surficially undisturbed dune area which possess greater ecological 
value than the portion of land being exchanged, located between the 
eastern end of the runway and Race Point Road.

    Dated: November 28, 2001.
Marie Rust,
Northeast Regional Director, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 02-2286 Filed 1-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-76-P