[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 1 (Thursday, January 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 127-128]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-32257]


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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, U.S. 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 of the Final Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) for the Charles George Land 
Reclamation Trust Superfund Site in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. The 
Final RP/EA describes the Trustees' selected action to restore natural 
resources injured as a result of chemical contamination at the Charles 
George Landfill.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Final 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.

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 e-
mail 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 * * * 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; National Oceanic 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 Final 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 
(NEPA). The Final RP/EA describes a

[[Page 128]]

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 consideration. The Trustee Council's 
Preferred Alternative has three parts: (1) The settlement funds will be 
used to protect properties adjacent to or near the areas of impact; (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 herring 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; and (3) pending engineering 
estimates that determine that the work is cost-effective, the Upper 
Flint Pond Dam will be repaired to prevent migration of contaminated 
sediments into the Merrimack River. Details regarding the proposed 
projects are contained in the Final RP/EA.
    The Final Revised Procedures for the DOI in implementing the NEPA 
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 an 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 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 18, 2002.
Mamie A. Parker,
Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 02-32257 Filed 12-31-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M