[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 4734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2306]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Schuylkill River Valley National Heritage, Management Plan Update

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Schuylkill River Valley National Heritage Management Plan 
Update.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, the National Park Service is preparing an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for the Management Plan for the Schuylkill River Valley 
National Heritage Area. The Schuylkill River Valley National Heritage 
Act of 2000 requires the Schuylkill River Greenway Association, with 
guidance from the National Park Service, to prepare an update of their 
1995 Schuylkill Heritage Corridor Management Action Plan. The 
Management Plan Update is expected to include: (A) actions to be 
undertaken by units of government and private organizations to protect 
the resources of the Heritage Area; (B) an inventory of the resources 
contained in the Heritage Area, including an list of any property in 
the Heritage Area that is related to the themes of the Heritage Area 
and that should be preserved, restored, managed, developed, or 
maintained because of its natural, cultural, historical, recreational, 
or scenic significance; (C) a recommendation of policies for resource 
management that considers and details application of appropriate land 
and water management techniques, including the development of 
intergovernmental cooperative agreements to protect the historical, 
cultural, recreational, and natural resources of the Heritage Area in a 
manner consistent with supporting appropriate and compatible economic 
viability; (D) a program for implementation of the management plan by 
the management entity; (E) an analysis of ways in which local, State, 
and Federal programs may best be coordinated to promote the purposes of 
this title; and (F) an interpretation plan for the Heritage Area.
    The study area, designated as the Schuylkill River Valley National 
Heritage, includes parts of the counties of: Schuykill, Berks, Chester, 
Montgomery and Philadelphia in southeastern Pennsylvania as associated 
with the Schuylkill River corridor.
    The National Park Service (NPS) maintains two parks sites within 
the region: Valley Forge National Historical Park and the Hopewell 
Furnace National Historic Site. Otherwise the majority of land is non-
federal and the NPS assumes a management role only within their park 
units. Instead, conservation, interpretation and other activities are 
managed by partnerships among federal, state, and local governments and 
private nonprofit organizations. The Schuylkill River Greenway 
Association manages the national heritage area. The National Park 
Service has been authorized by Congress to provide technical and 
financial assistance for a limited period (up to 10 years from the time 
of the designation in 2000).
    The EIS will address a range of alternatives--they include a no-
action alternative and other action alternatives. The impacts of the 
alternatives will be assessed through the EIS process.
    A scoping meeting will be scheduled and notice will be made of the 
meeting through a broad public mailing and publication in the local 
newspapers.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Samuel, Project Leader, 
Philadelphia Support Office, National Park Service, US Custom House, 
200 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, [email protected], 215-
597-1848.
    If you correspond using the internet, please include your name and 
return address in your e-mail message. Our practice is to make 
comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available 
for public review. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their home address from the record, which we will honor or the extent 
allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would 
withhold from the record a respondent's identify, as allowable by law. 
If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state 
this prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not 
consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials or organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: December 18, 2001.
Dale Ditmanson,
Associate Regional Director, Park Operations and Education, Northeast 
Region.
[FR Doc. 02-2306 Filed 1-30-02; 8:45 am]
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