[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 116 (Friday, June 16, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34964-34965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5485]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, 
Flight 93 National Memorial, Pennsylvania

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park 
Service announces the availability of the Draft General Management Plan 
and Environmental Impact Statement (Draft GMP/EIS) for Flight 93 
National Memorial, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Consistent with 
National Park Service laws, regulations, and policies, and the mission 
of Flight 93 National Memorial, the Draft GMP/EIS describes and 
analyzes two alternatives to guide the management of the national 
memorial over the next 15 to 20 years. The alternatives incorporate 
various management prescriptions to ensure protection and enjoyment of 
the park's resources. Alternative 1 is a no action alternative. 
Alternative 2 is the National Park Service's preferred alternative. 
Alternative 2 is based upon the selected design from the Flight 93 
National Memorial International Design Competition. The Draft GMP/EIS 
evaluates potential environmental consequences of implementing the 
alternatives. Impact topics include cultural and natural resources, 
transportation, and the socioeconomic environment. This notice also 
announces that a public meeting will be held to solicit comments on the 
Draft GMP/EIS during the public review period.

DATES: The Draft GMP/EIS will be available for public review until 
August 15, 2006. Comments on the Draft GMP/EIS must be received at one 
of the addresses below during the public review period. The National 
Park Service will hold a public meeting to solicit comments during the 
public review period. The public meeting will be held on Thursday, July 
20, 2006, at the Shanksville-Stonycreek School in Shanksville, 
Pennsylvania, from 7 to 9 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft GMP/EIS may be submitted on the 
Internet at: http://www.flight93memorialproject.org. Comments may also 
be mailed to: Superintendent, Flight 93 National Memorial, 109 W. Main 
Street, Suite 104, Somerset, PA 15501. It is the practice of the NPS to 
make all comments, including names and addresses of respondents who 
provide that information, available for public review following the 
conclusion of the NEPA process. Individuals may request that the NPS 
withhold their name and/or address from public disclosure. If you wish 
to do this, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your 
comments. NPS will honor such requests to the extent allowable by law, 
but you should be aware that NPS may still be required to disclose your 
name and address pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Draft GMP/EIS is available on the 
Internet at http://www.flight93memorialproject.org. Copies are 
available upon request by writing to: Jeff Reinbold, Flight 93 National 
Memorial, 109 W. Main Street, Suite 104, Somerset, PA 15501. The Draft 
GMP/EIS is also at the Flight 93 National Memorial project office at 
the same address, during regular business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Flight 93 National Memorial Act (Pub. L. 
107-226) was enacted on September 24, 2002. The Act authorized ``a 
national memorial to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight 93 
who, on September 11, 2001, courageously gave their lives thereby 
thwarting a planned attack on our Nation's Capital. * * *'' This 
legislation created the Flight 93 National Memorial and specifically 
designated the crash site of Flight 93, located in Stonycreek Township, 
Somerset County, Pennsylvania, as the site to honor the passengers and 
crew of Flight 93. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized by the 
Act to administer the Memorial as a unit of the National Park System.
    The Act created the Flight 93 Advisory Commission and tasked it 
with: (1) Advising the Secretary on the boundary of the memorial site, 
(2) submitting to the Secretary a report containing recommendations for 
the planning, design, construction, and long-term management of a 
permanent memorial at the crash site by September 24, 2005; and (3) 
advising the Secretary in the development of a management plan for the 
site.
    The Commission recommended to the Secretary a boundary for the 
memorial on July 30, 2004 and the Secretary approved the 
recommendations on January 14, 2005. The boundary was published in the 
Federal Register in March 2005. The boundary includes 1,355 acres that 
comprise the crash site, the areas where human remains were found, the 
debris field, and lands necessary for viewing and accessing the 
national memorial. Approximately 907 additional acres comprise the 
perimeter viewshed and would ideally remain in private ownership and be 
protected through the acquisition of conservation or scenic easements 
by partners or other governmental agencies.
    The Partners agreed that an international competition was the most 
democratic, inclusive, and transparent way to generate designs for a 
permanent memorial. The competition began on September 11, 2004 and 
more than 1,000 design professionals and members of the public 
submitted design concepts. Five final designs were selected by a jury 
of professionals, family members and local leaders after extensive 
public comment and review. The five final designs were refined and 
after public review and comment, a second jury selected the design that 
best fulfilled the mission of the national memorial. The selected 
design was announced to the public on September 7, 2005 and is the 
basis of the preferred alternative in the Draft GMP/EIS.
    Alternative 2, the Preferred Design Alternative, would transform 
the reclaimed mining site where the plane crashed into a designed 
memorial landscape. The memorial landscape would enhance the natural 
topography of the site to focus attention on the crash site as the 
actual memorial. The agency would also develop a visitor center to

[[Page 34965]]

explain the story of Flight 93 and the events of September 11, 2001. 
Site development would also include infrastructure, access roads, and 
visitor parking areas.
    The Environmental Impact Statement assesses the potential 
environmental impacts of implementing the alternatives. To support the 
plan, the National Park Service prepared a cultural landscape inventory 
and reports on transportation, geotechnical conditions, visitor and 
economic projections, natural resources, hazardous materials, and 
visual resources. The National Park Service conducted public scoping of 
the alternatives, including consultations with local, state, and 
federal agencies.
    After public review of the Draft GMP/EIS, the National Park Service 
will consider comments, and a Final GMP/EIS, followed by a Record of 
Decision, will be prepared. The Final GMP/EIS is scheduled for 
completion in 2006.

    Dated: May 11, 2006.
Linda Canzanelli,
Regional Director, Northeast Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 06-5485 Filed 6-15-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-25-M