[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8614-8615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2310]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Restoration Plan/Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement for Seagrass Restoration Within Biscayne 
National Park

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of Section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the National Park Service (NPS) is 
preparing a Seagrass Restoration Plan/Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (RP/PEIS) to guide all future seagrass restoration activities 
performed within Biscayne National Park (BISC).
    NPS is undertaking restoration planning and impact analysis to 
identify and assess the potential impacts of performing restoration 
activities on injured seagrass at vessel grounding sites within BISC. 
As part of this process NPS will evaluate a range of alternatives for 
seagrass restoration to determine the potential impacts of those 
alternatives, including those on land use, water quality, biological 
resources, geology, cultural resources, human health and safety, and 
aesthetics. The purpose of the RP/PEIS is to develop a restoration plan 
that can be used by the NPS to restore seagrass beds. This plan is 
needed to remedy injuries caused by vessel groundings.
    Preliminary alternatives that may be evaluated for seagrass 
restoration include sediment placement, sediment stabilization, 
seagrass transplantation, fertilizer use, protective measures, and 
monitoring.

[[Page 8615]]

    To facilitate sound planning and consideration of environmental 
resources, the NPS intends to gather information necessary for the 
preparation of the seagrass RP/PEIS and to obtain suggestions and 
information from other agencies and the public on the scope of issues 
to be addressed in the RP/PEIS.
    Vessel groundings and propeller dredging are common occurrences in 
BISC due to shallow water conditions outside marked channels. When a 
vessel runs aground on a seagrass bed, its propellers usually cut or 
uproot seagrasses, leaving a ``scar.'' It can take years for seagrasses 
to recover from such damage, and in some areas it may never grow back. 
When vessels attempt to ``power off,'' they blow large holes 
(``blowholes'') in the bottom of the bay displacing large volumes of 
sediment and seagrass. Displaced sediment often smothers bottom-
dwelling organisms.
    Seagrass beds are a valuable natural resource because they provide 
a variety of important services to the marine environment including 
enhancing sediment stability, decreasing wave energy, providing nursery 
habitat and feeding grounds for fish and invertebrates, providing 
feeding grounds for wading and diving birds, providing food and habitat 
for endangered species, and creating habitat and substrate diversity. 
BISC seagrass beds are natural resources that the NPS preserves and 
protects for the education, inspiration, recreation, and enjoyment of 
present and future generations. The vessel groundings cause injury to 
those natural resources in BISC. The Park System Resource Protection 
Act (PSRPA) authorizes the NPS to seek compensation for injuries to 
park system resources and use the recovered funds to restore, replace, 
or acquire equivalent resources, and to monitor such resources.
    It is the intent of NPS to prepare this seagrass RP/PEIS so that a 
tiered process can be used to facilitate future restoration actions 
within BISC. The seagrass RP/PEIS will facilitate subsequent 
environmental compliance and the development of individual restoration 
plans.

DATES: NPS will accept comments on the scope of the RP/PEIS within 60 
days of the publication of this notice. In addition, NPS is seeking 
comments on the issues and alternatives to be addressed in the RP/PEIS. 
Full public participation by Federal, State, and local agencies as well 
as other concerned organizations and private citizens is invited 
throughout the preparation process of this document.
    The draft Seagrass RP/PEIS is expected to be completed and 
presented at a public meeting anticipated for November 2006. The 
location, date, and time of that public meeting will be announced in 
the local press and on the park Web site (http://www.nps.gov/bisc). 
They may also be obtained by contacting BISC. The purposes of the 
public meeting will be to obtain both written and verbal questions and 
comments on the issues and alternatives to assist NPS in finalizing the 
Seagrass RP/PEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Written comments and information 
concerning the scope of the seagrass RP/PEIS may be directed to the 
address below. Requests to be added to the project mailing list should 
be sent to the same address. Amanda Bourque, Damage Recovery Program 
Manager, National Park Service, Biscayne National Park, 9700 SW., 328th 
Street, Homestead, FL 33033, (305) 230-1144, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment during the scoping 
process on any issues associated with the plan, you may use any one of 
several methods. Comments should be received within 60 days of the 
publication of this notice. You may mail comments to the address listed 
above. You may also comment on the Internet at the Planning, 
Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) at http://parkplanning.nps.gov. 
Please submit Internet comments as a text file avoiding the use of 
special characters and any form of encryption. Please put in the 
subject line ``Seagrass Restoration Plan/PEIS'' and include your name 
and return address in your Internet message.
    It is the practice of the NPS to make all comments, including names 
and addresses of those who comment, available for public review, after 
the close of the NEPA process. Anonymous comments will not be 
considered. NPS will make all submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available 
for public inspection in their entirety. However, individuals not 
representing businesses or organizations may request that the NPS 
withhold their name and/or address from the record. NPS will honor this 
request to the extent allowable by law.
    If you would like your name and/or address withheld and are using 
PEPC to comment, but would still like future mailings/information on 
the project, you may fill in the name and address field, and mark 
``keep my contact information private.'' Or, if you do not want to 
receive additional information on the project, you may put N/A in the 
name and address field.
    The authority for publishing this notice is 40 CFR 1506.6.
    The responsible party for this EIS is the Regional Director for the 
Southeast Region, Patricia Hooks.

    Dated: January 11, 2006.
Victor Knox,
Acting Deputy Regional Director, NPS Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6-2310 Filed 2-16-06; 8:45 am]
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