[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 67 (Tuesday, April 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 17082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8493]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


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

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area 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 Update for Lackawanna Valley 
National Heritage Area. The Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area 
Act of 2000 requires the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA), 
with guidance from the National Park Service, to prepare an update of 
their 1991 Plan for the Lackawanna Heritage Valley. The Management Plan 
Update is expected to include: (A) An inventory of the resources 
contained in the Heritage Area, including a list of any property in the 
Heritage Area that is related to the purposes of the Heritage Area and 
that should be preserved, restored, managed, developed, or maintained 
because of its historical, cultural, natural, recreational, or scenic 
significance. (B) 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, natural, 
and recreational resources of the Heritage Area in a manner that is 
consistent with the support of appropriate and compatible economic 
viability. (C) A program for implementation of the management plan by 
the management entity, including (i) plans for restoration and 
construction; and (ii) specific commitments of the partners for the 
first 5 years of operation. (D) An analysis of ways in which local, 
State, and Federal programs may best be coordinated to promote the 
purposes of this Act. (E) An interpretation plan for the Heritage Area.
    The study area, designated as the Lackawanna Valley National 
Heritage Area, shall be comprised of all or parts of Lackawanna County, 
Luzerne County, Wayne County, and Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania in 
northeastern Pennsylvania as associated with the Lackawanna Valley 
River corridor.
    The National Park Service (NPS) maintains one park site within the 
region: Steamtown National Historical Park. Otherwise the majority of 
land is non-Federal and the NPS assumes a management role only within 
the park unit. Instead, conservation, interpretation and other 
activities are managed by partnerships among Federal, State, and local 
governments and private nonprofit organizations. The Lackawanna 
Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA) 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, U.S. Customs 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 to the extent 
allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would 
withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. 
If you wish us to withhold your name/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: January 28, 2003.
Pat Phelan,
Associate Regional Director, Administration, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 03-8493 Filed 4-7-03; 8:45 am]
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