[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 2, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61917-61918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-24982]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
Construction of the Shepard Point Oil Spill Response Facility and 
Access Road in Cordova, AK

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration 
and the Eyak Native Corporation, intends to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Shepard Point Oil Spill 
Response Facility (Shepard Point Project) in Cordova, Alaska. The 
purpose of the project is to meet the need for a deep-port, emergency 
response docking and staging facility in the Prince William Sound 
region. Descriptions of the project area and of the proposed action are 
provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. This notice also 
announces a public scoping meeting for the content of the EIS.

DATES: Comments on the scope and content of the EIS must arrive by 
November 1, 2002. The public scoping meeting will be held on Thursday, 
October 17, 2002, at 7 p.m.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any 
one of several methods. You may mail written comments to the BIA Branch 
of Roads, Alaska, Project Code ``SPOSRF,'' P.O. Box 25520, Juneau, 
Alaska 99802, or hand deliver them to the BIA Regional Office, 709 West 
9th, 3rd Floor, Federal Building, Juneau, Alaska. You may also comment 
via e-mail to [email protected]. Please avoid the use of 
special characters and any form of encryption in e-mail comments. If 
you do not receive confirmation from the system that your e-mail 
message was received, contact Ms. Kate Williams directly at (907) 424-
7738. Four additional means to submit comments are by telefax to the 
BIA, at (907) 586-7142, by voice mail to the BIA, at (907) 586-7301, 
through the public scoping meeting or through a ``Public Comment'' 
feature on the Shepard Point Project Web site at http://www.nativevillageofeyak.gov.
    The public scoping meeting will be held at the Masonic Temple, 400 
1st Street, Cordova, Alaska.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark A. Boatwright, (907) 586-
7301, or Ms. Kate Williams, (907) 424-7738.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On behalf of the Native Village of Eyak, in 
accordance with the Agreement and Consent Decree in the Exxon Valdez 
Case (Case No. A89-095 CI [consolidated] and Case No. A92-175 CI [Ex. 
A]) and as mandated by the State of Alaska in the 1993, Alyeska 
settlement (HB 165), the BIA proposes to design and build a deep-water 
port and oil spill response facility at Shepard Point. The purpose of 
the facility is to provide, in the event of an emergency, the 
capability for rapid deployment of oil spill recovery equipment that 
could be flown into Cordova and subsequently transported by ocean-
going, deep draft vessels (defined as having a draft of 25 feet) to an 
oil spill site in Prince William Sound. To accomplish this, the 
proposed construction components must address the following:
    1. A heavy-duty freight dock with the dock face having a bottom 
elevation of minus 35' Mean Lower Level Water (MLLW); e.g., required 
elevation at periods of low tides.
    2. A staging area sufficient for storage of oil spill recovery 
equipment. This is proposed to be contiguous to the dock.
    3. A clear channel to the Prince William Sound with a minimum 
elevation of minus 35' MLLW.
    4. Road access between the oil spill response dock and the Cordova 
Airport. As mandated, a new road segment would be constructed between 
Shepard Point and the existing road that serves the vicinity of the 
Orca Cannery.
    The BIA will have primary responsibility for the planning, design,

[[Page 61918]]

environmental documentation and permit acquisition for the project. The 
BIA will also be responsible for any utility relocation, right-of-way 
acquisition, and construction of the deep-water port and the access 
road.
    Alternatives to the proposed action include variations in project 
design and the no action alternative. Topics so far identified to be 
addressed in the EIS include air quality, geology, alterations of 
shoreline and channel floor, water resources and quality, terrestrial 
and aquatic habitats, flora and fauna (including effects on anadromous 
fish species), land use, historic properties, coastal management, 
economy, transportation, human health and safety (including spill 
prevention and response), visual environment, environmental justice and 
cumulative effects. These alternatives and topics may be elaborated, 
and others may be added through the scoping process.

Public Comment Availability

    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the mailing address shown in the 
ADDRESSES section, during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents may 
request confidentiality. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or 
address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of 
your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent 
allowed by law. We will not, however, consider anonymous comments. All 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

Authority

    This notice is published in accordance with Section 1503.1 of the 
Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 
1508) implementing the procedural requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 
the Transportation Equity Act Department for the 21st Century (Pub. L. 
105-178), and the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and 
is in the exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--
Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.1.

    Dated: September 13, 2002.
Neal A. McCaleb,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 02-24982 Filed 10-1-02; 8:45 am]
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