[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 142 (Thursday, July 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43741-43742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18798]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Availability of the Final Joint Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment for the Lower Fox River and Green Bay Area and 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

AGENCIES: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior, lead; Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Interior, cooperating agency; National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, Commerce, cooperating agency.

ACTION: Notice of Release of Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) 
and Final Restoration Plan and EA.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public and other agencies of the 
availability of the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and the 
document titled ``Joint Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment 
for the Lower Fox River and Green Bay Area'' (``The Plan'') upon which 
it is based. The Fish and Wildlife Service formally selected 
Alternative C of The Plan through signing of the FONSI. Alternative C 
provides for natural resource-based restoration within and beyond the 
Assessment Area.

ADDRESSES: Persons may obtain copies of the final document by writing, 
telephoning, faxing, or e-mailing: Colette S. Charbonneau, 2661 Scott 
Tower Drive, New Franken, Wisconsin 54229, Telephone: (920) 866-1726, 
Fax: (920) 866-1710, e-mail: [email protected]. The document 
is also available at the following Internet address: http://midwest.fws.gov/nepa/.
    Copies of the document will be available for onsite review at the 
Appleton Public Library, 225 N. Oneida St., Appleton, Wisconsin; Brown 
County Library, 515 Pine St., Green Bay, Wisconsin; Door County 
Library, 104 S. Fourth Ave., Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; Oneida Community 
Library, 201 Elm St., Oneida, Wisconsin; Oshkosh Public Library, 106 
Washington Ave., Oshkosh, Wisconsin and the Escanaba Public Library, 
400 Ludington Street, Escanaba, Michigan.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The objective of the Natural Resource Damage 
Assessment and Restoration process in the Lower Fox River and Green Bay 
area is to compensate the public, through environmental restoration, 
for losses to natural resources that have been caused by historic 
releases of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the environment. The 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act 
(CERCLA, more commonly known as the federal ``Superfund'' law) [42 
U.S.C. 9601, et seq.] and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (CWA, 
commonly known as the Clean Water Act) [33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.] 
authorize States, federally recognized Tribes, and certain federal 
agencies that have authority to manage or control natural resources, to 
act as ``trustees'' on behalf of the public, to restore, rehabilitate, 
replace, and/or acquire natural resources equivalent to those harmed by 
hazardous substance releases.
    The U.S. Department of the Interior (represented by the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs), U.S. Department 
of Commerce (represented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration), Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, Menominee Indian 
Tribe of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Michigan 
Attorney General, and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality 
(``Trustees'') are trustees for natural resources considered in this 
Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) project, 
pursuant to subpart G of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances 
Pollution Contingency Plan (40 CFR 300.600 and 300.610) and Executive 
Order 12580.
    The Trustees have a Memorandum of Agreement which establishes a 
Trustee Council to develop and implement a restoration plan for 
ecological restorations in the Fox River valley and Green Bay 
watershed. The Trustees followed the NRDAR regulations found at 43 CFR 
part 11 for the development of The Plan. The Plan addresses the 
Trustees' overall approach to restore, rehabilitate, replace or acquire 
the equivalent of natural resources injured by the release of PCBs into 
the Lower Fox River and Green Bay environment. Signing of the FONSI 
completed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and 
allows the Plan to be implemented, as described in Alternative C.
    The Trustees have worked together, in a cooperative process, to 
determine appropriate restoration activities to address natural 
resource injuries caused by historic releases of PCBs into the Lower 
Fox River and Green Bay

[[Page 43742]]

environment. The results of this administrative process are contained 
in a series of planning and decision documents that have been published 
for public review under CERCLA and the CWA. Natural resource damages 
received, either through negotiated settlements or adjudicated awards, 
must be used to restore, rehabilitate, replace and/or acquire the 
equivalent of those natural resources that have been injured. The Plan 
addresses the Trustees' overall approach to restore, rehabilitate, 
replace or acquire the equivalent of natural resources injured by the 
release of PCBs into the Lower Fox River and Green Bay environment.
    On September 19, 2002, the Service published in the Federal 
Register (67 FR 59073) a Notice of Availability commencing a 30-day 
public comment period on the draft document entitled, ``Joint 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Lower Fox River 
and Green Bay Area''. Comments received during the above public comment 
period were incorporated into a final document (The Plan). This current 
Notice of Availability informs the public that the Service has formally 
selected Alternative C of the The Plan through the signing of a Finding 
of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347.

    Dated: June 24, 2003.
T.J. Miller,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Region 3, Fort 
Snelling, MN.
[FR Doc. 03-18798 Filed 7-23-03; 8:45 am]
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