[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 95 (Friday, May 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26645-26646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-12341]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Final Environmental Impact Statement, Personal Watercraft Rule-
Making, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona and Utah

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement, Personal Watercraft Rule-Making, Glen Canyon National 
Recreation Area.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec.  102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub L. 91-190, as amended) and the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR part 1500-1508), the National 
Park Service (NPS), Department of the Interior, announces the 
availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), 
Personal Watercraft (PWC) Rule-Making, Glen Canyon National Recreation 
Area (NRA), Arizona and Utah. The FEIS assesses the potential impacts 
of PWC use for Glen Canyon NRA. The FEIS describes and analyzes three 
alternatives to manage PWC on Lake Powell to provide for the long-term 
protection of park resources while allowing a range of recreational 
opportunities to support visitor needs. Each alternative identifies 
proposed actions related to visitor use zones and accessible developed 
areas, facilities and recreational services, visitor safety and 
conflicts, resource protection, and park operations.
    The FEIS will be used to make reasoned decisions about whether to 
continue PWC use at Glen Canyon NRA. The NPS determination will be 
based on the unit's enabling statute, mission, management objectives, 
resources, values, and other uses, as well as impacts from PWC on the 
unit. Consistent with Bluewater Network v. Stanton, No. CV002093 
(D.D.C. 2000) and the settlement agreement approved by the court on 
April 11, 2001, the FEIS includes an evaluation of various PWC use 
alternatives to determine their effects on water quality, air quality, 
the soundscape, wildlife, wildlife habitat, shoreline vegetation, 
visitor conflicts, safety, and other appropriate topics.
    Public meetings were initiated in August 2001 to solicit early 
input into the scope and range of issues to be analyzed. A notice of 
intent announcing the decision to prepare the environmental impact 
statement was published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2001. 
Scoping comments continued to be accepted and considered within the 
planning process.
    During this comment period, the NPS facilitated several hundred 
discussions and briefings with congressional delegations, local elected 
officials, tribal representatives, public service organizations, 
educational institutions, and other interested members of the public. 
Over 3,500 letters and e-mail messages concerning PWC use on Lake 
Powell were received. The major issues raised during this period are 
summarized in Chapter 1, Purpose of and Need for Action.
    The FEIS includes two ``action'' alternatives and one ``no action'' 
(existing conditions) alternative. Under each of the action 
alternatives, a Special Regulation would be promulgated to address the 
continued use of PWC in the NRA, in accordance with the settlement 
agreement signed by the United States District Court for the District 
of Columbia on April 11, 2001. This agreement between the NPS and 
Bluewater Network requires all park units wishing to continue PWC use 
to promulgate special regulations after an environmental analysis is 
conducted in accordance with the 1969 National Environmental Policy 
Act.
    The alternatives presented in the draft environmental impact 
statement (DEIS) were modified in the FEIS in response to over 30,000 
public and agency comments received on the DEIS. The primary 
modifications to Alternatives A and B include conducting a 3-year pilot 
study to identify and develop conflict resolution techniques and 
preparing a comprehensive lake management plan to address all uses of 
Lake Powell. Additionally, Alternative B was modified to include 
compliance with 2006 emission standards (described below) and with more 
geographic restrictions. The alternatives in the FEIS are summarized as 
follows.
    Alternative A, Continue PWC Use as Currently Managed under a 
Special Regulation, would allow PWC use identical to that before 
September 2002 under a special regulation. PWC use would be authorized 
for all areas of the recreation area above Glen Canyon Dam except where 
prohibited by the Superintendent's Compendium, 2002. Alternative A 
would also include a 3-year pilot study to identify the techniques and 
area restrictions that would be most effective in reducing visitor 
conflicts. The pilot study would support the development of a 
comprehensive lake management plan which would consider all activities 
on Lake Powell, including the potential impacts of all watercraft, to 
better protect recreation area resources, improve visitor safety, and 
reduce conflicts.
    Alternative B (the modified preferred alternative), Promulgate a 
Special Regulation to Continue PWC Use with Additional Management 
Restrictions, would be similar to Alternative A. However, it would 
include additional geographic restrictions on PWC use in portions of 
the Colorado, Escalante, Dirty Devil, and San Juan Rivers to increase 
protection of environmental values and reduce visitor conflict and 
would implement a flat wake zone. This alternative would also require 
that PWC in the recreation area meet the 2006 U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency emissions standards by the end of 2012 and in 
subsequent years. PWC not meeting the standards would no longer be 
permitted to operate within Glen Canyon NRA beginning in 2013. In 
addition, Alternative B also would include strategies to better protect 
recreation area resources, improve visitor safety, and reduce 
conflicts. These strategies would include conducting a 3-year pilot 
study to identify the techniques and area restrictions that would be 
most effective in reducing conflicts and preparing a comprehensive lake 
management plan addressing all uses.
    Under Alternative C, No Action (PWC Use Eliminated), the NPS would 
not take action to promulgate a special regulation that would allow PWC 
use. Therefore, under the provisions of the March 21, 2000 final rule, 
all PWC use would be permanently eliminated from the recreation area.

DATES: The National Park Service will execute a Record of Decision 
(ROD) no sooner than 30 days following publication of the notice of 
availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal 
Register by the Environmental Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review at the Carl 
Hayden Visitor Center, Glen Canyon Dam, 1000 Hwy. 89, Page, Arizona 
86040, (928) 608-6404, in the office of

[[Page 26646]]

the Superintendent, Park Headquarters, 691 Scenic View Drive, Page, 
Arizona 86040, (928) 608-6200, and at the following Web site, http://www.nps.gov/glca/plan.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Wright, Glen Canyon National 
Recreation Area, (928) 608-6272.

    Dated: May 1, 2003.
Karen Wade,
Director, Intermountain Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 03-12341 Filed 5-15-03; 8:45 am]
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