[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 78045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28498]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Availability, Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental 
Assessment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), on behalf of the 
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), and New York State Department of Environmental 
Conservation (New York), as natural resource trustees, announces the 
release for public review of the Draft Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) for the Love Canal, 102nd Street, and 
Forest Glen Mobile Home Subdivision Superfund sites. The Draft RP/EA 
presents a preferred alternative, consisting of a variety of 
restoration projects, that compensates for impacts to natural resources 
caused by contaminant releases and remedial activities associated with 
the three mentioned sites.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 15, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the RP/EA may be made to: U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, New York Field Office, 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, 
New York 13045.
    Written comments or materials regarding the RP/EA should be sent to 
the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne L. Secord, Environmental 
Contaminants Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New York Field 
Office, 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, New York 13045. Interested parties 
may also call 607-753-9334 or e-mail [email protected] for further 
information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: During the period of March 1996 through 
December 2000, natural resource damage settlements were achieved for 
the Love Canal, 102nd Street, and Forest Glen Mobile Home Subdivision 
Superfund sites. NOAA was a settling Trustee with DOI on all three 
settlements; the State of New York was a settling Trustee for the 102nd 
Street and Forest Glen settlements. These three sites discharged a 
variety of hazardous chemicals into wetlands, uplands, streams, and 
rivers in Niagara County, including the Niagara River, Cayuga Creek, 
East Gill Creek, Bergholtz Creek, and Black Creek. Chemical releases 
and remedial activities at the three sites adversely affected natural 
resources such as warmwater fish, migratory birds, amphibians, and 
reptiles. The funds available from these settlements for restoration 
activities total approximately $1.3 million.
    A combined restoration initiative is proposed to allow for a 
larger, more effective and meaningful resource restoration.
    The RP/EA is being released in accordance with the Compensation, 
and Liability Comprehensive Environmental Response Act (CERCLA) of 1980 
as amended, commonly known as Superfund, (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the 
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations found at 43 CFR part 11, 
and the National Environmental Policy Act. It is intended to describe 
the Trustees' proposals to restore natural resources injured at the 
sites and evaluate the potential impacts of each.
    The RP/EA describes a number of habitat restoration and protection 
alternatives and discusses the environmental consequences of each. 
Restoration efforts which have the greatest potential to restore 
natural resources and services that were injured by contaminants or 
remedial activities are preferred. Based on an evaluation of the 
various restoration alternatives, the preferred alternative consists of 
a suite of restoration projects, including wetland restoration and 
protection, grassland restoration, stream restoration, urban stream/
river restoration, common tern habitat restoration, walleye 
propagation, oak savannah restoration, and further contaminant 
characterization.
    Interested members of the public are invited to review and comment 
on the RP/EA. Copies of the RP/EA are available for review at the 
Service's New York Field Office at 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, New York. 
Additionally, the RP/EA will be available for review at the following 
Web site (http://nyfo.fws.gov) and at the Niagara Falls Library. 
Written comments will be considered and addressed in the final RP/EA at 
the conclusion of the restoration planning process.
    Comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review during regular business hours. 
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.
    Author: The primary author of this notice is Anne Secord, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, New York Field Office, 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, 
New York 13045.

    Authority: The authority for this action is the CERCLA of 1980 
as amended, commonly known as Superfund, (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), 
and the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations found at 43 
CFR part 11.

    Dated: November 30, 2004.
Dawn Comish,
Acting Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
U.S. Department of the Interior, DOI Designated Authorized Official.
[FR Doc. 04-28498 Filed 12-28-04; 8:45 am]
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