[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 207 (Friday, October 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60885-60886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5304]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Final General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement; 
Record of Decision; Flight 93 National Memorial, Pennsylvania

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Final 
General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Flight 93 
National Memorial.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, Pub. L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 852, 853, codified as 
amended at 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service announces 
the availability of the Record of Decision for the Final General 
Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Final GMP/EIS) for 
the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania. On July 23, 2007, the 
Regional Director, Northeast Region, approved the Record of Decision 
for the project, selecting Alternative 2--Preferred Design Alternative, 
which was described on pages II-14 to II-23 of the Final GMP/EIS and 
announced to the public in a Notice of Availability published in the 
Federal Register on June 21, 2007.
    The selected alternative and one other alternative, Alternative 1--
No Action, were analyzed in the Draft and Final Environmental Impact 
Statements. Each alternative was evaluated as to how it would guide the 
development and future management of the national memorial over the 
next 15 to 20 years with regard to the following issues: (1) The types 
of management actions required for the development, protection and 
preservation of park resources; (2) The types and general intensities 
of development (including the memorial features, visitor facilities, 
transportation and access requirements) associated with the public 
enjoyment and use of the area, including general locations, timing of 
implementation and anticipated costs; (3) Visitor carrying capacities 
and implementation commitments for major aspects of the memorial; and 
(4) Potential modifications to the external boundaries of the park, if 
any, and the reasons for the proposed changes. The full range of 
foreseeable environmental consequences was assessed and disclosed for 
historic and cultural resources, natural resources, land use, 
transportation, socioeconomic impacts, visual and aesthetic impacts, 
energy requirements, and public health and safety.
    The NPS has selected Alternative 2 because it best fulfills the 
goals of the Flight 93 National Memorial's Missions Statement, as well 
as the purpose and intent of the Flight 93 National Memorial Act. The 
selected alternative commemorates the actions of the passengers and 
crew by creating a designed memorial landscape, which blends with the 
contour of the land and enhances the physical features of the site. It 
protects the final resting places of the passengers and crew and places 
special attention on providing an appropriate setting for the memorial. 
A new visitor facility will provide for interpretive exhibits, public 
education and outreach, and visitor services. The public will have a 
broader range of opportunities to learn about the deeds of the 
passengers and crew members and the events that occurred on September 
11, 2001. The selected alternative also provides a venue for visitors 
to get closer to the crash site while removing parking and other 
visitor support facilities from the views around the crash site. Under 
the selected alternative, visitor traffic will be contained within the 
site and removed from the neighboring villages to create safer roadway 
conditions and significantly improve conditions for residents living 
along these routes. The selected alternative will not result in the 
impairment of resources and values. The construction costs to build the 
memorial features and the related infrastructure would be shared 
through a partnership involving the public, the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, and the federal government.
    The Record of Decision includes a statement of the decision made, 
synopses of other alternatives considered, the basis for the decision, 
a finding of no impairment of park resources and values, and an 
overview of public involvement in the decision-making process. This 
decision is the result of a public planning process that began with 
publication of a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on December 
10, 2003. The official responsible for this decision is the NPS 
Regional Director, Northeast Region.

ADDRESSES: The Record of Decision for the Final GMP/EIS for the Flight 
93 National Memorial is available online at http://www.flight93memorialproject.org or http://www.planning.nps.gov/plans.cfm. Copies may be obtained by contacting the Superintendent, 
National Parks of Western Pennsylvania, National Park Service, 109 W. 
Main St., Suite 104, Somerset, PA 15501.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanne Hanley, Superintendent, 
National Parks of Western Pennsylvania, National Park Service, 109 W. 
Main St., Suite 104, Somerset, PA 15501, phone (814) 443-4557, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Flight 93 National Memorial Act (Pub. L. 
107-226; 116 Stat. 1345), enacted on September 24, 2002, 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 
enabled the creation and development of the new Flight 93 National 
Memorial in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania and 
specifically designated the crash site of Flight 93 as the site to 
honor the passengers and crew of Flight 93. Pub. L. 107-226 authorized 
the Secretary of the Interior to administer the Flight 93 National 
Memorial as a unit of the national park system. This Act also created 
the Flight 93 Advisory Commission and charged 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; and (3)

[[Page 60886]]

advising the Secretary in the development of a management plan for the 
site.
    On January 14, 2005, the Secretary of the Interior approved a 
boundary recommendation for the memorial presented by the Flight 93 
Advisory commission. The details of the boundary were published in the 
Federal Register (70 FR 13538) on March 21, 2005. The boundary includes 
1,355 acres, which comprises the crash site, the debris field and areas 
where human remains were found, and lands necessary for viewing and 
accessing the national memorial. Approximately 907 additional acres 
comprise the perimeter viewshed, which would be protected through 
conservation or scenic easements acquired by partners, nonprofit 
organizations or other governmental agencies.
    Four partner organizations (the Partners) participated in the 
planning of a permanent memorial for Flight 93: (1) The Flight 93 
Advisory Commission, (2) the Families of Flight 93, a nonprofit 
organization, (3) the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force, and (4) the 
National Park Service, the Federal agency responsible for compliance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as 
amended). On September 11, 2004, the Partners opened a two-stage 
international design competition to solicit a broad range of concepts 
for the design of the new memorial. During Stage 1 of the competition, 
five top designs were selected by a jury of professionals, family 
members and local leaders after extensive public exhibit of the 
designs. A Stage 2 design jury selected the final design that best 
achieved the mission of the new memorial. The selected design was 
announced to the public on September 7, 2005, and is the basis of the 
preferred alternative in the Draft and Final GMP/EIS. After public 
announcement of the final design, the National Park Service received 
comments criticizing the design's principal landscape feature, a curved 
all[eacute]e or pathway lined with red maple trees, comparing it to an 
Islamic crescent symbol. The design was refined and again presented to 
the public in November 2005. The design refinements were generally 
well-received by the public; however, a sector of the public continued 
to assert that the design contained Islamic symbolism. In response, the 
partners met with religious scholars, design professionals, and other 
family members and toured the site with the principal critic of the 
design. At the conclusion of these activities and consultations, it was 
determined that the perceptions of religious symbolism in the design 
had been adequately addressed by the architect and that the details of 
the design do not affect the Final GMP/EIS. The NPS, along with the 
other Partners, were satisfied that the design properly honors the 
passengers and crew and that the refinements showed the architects' 
sensitivity and responsiveness to public comments.

    Dated: October 4, 2007.
Dennis R. Reidenbach,
Regional Director, Northeast Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 07-5304 Filed 10-25-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-25-M