[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 24050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10455]



[[Page 24050]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2310-0003-422]


Coral Reef Restoration Plan, Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement, Biscayne National Park, FL

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Coral Reef Restoration Plan, Biscayne National 
Park.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) announces 
the availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Coral Reef Restoration Plan (Plan/FEIS) for Biscayne National 
Park, Florida. The Plan/FEIS provides a systematic approach to 
addressing injuries to coral reefs caused by vessel groundings within 
Biscayne National Park.

DATES: The NPS will execute a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days 
from the date of publication of the Notice of Availability of the FEIS 
in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: The Plan/FEIS is available in electronic format online at 
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/bisc. A limited number of compact discs and 
hard copies of the Plan/FEIS are available at Biscayne National Park 
Headquarters, 9700 SW. 328th Street, Homestead, Florida 33033. You may 
also request a CD or hard copy by contacting Mark Lewis, Superintendent 
of Biscayne National Park, 9700 SW. 328th Street, Homestead, Florida 
33033, 305-230-1144.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Many vessel groundings occur annually in 
Biscayne National Park, causing injuries to submerged resources. The 
goal of coral reef restoration actions in Biscayne National Park is to 
create a stable, self-sustaining reef environment of similar topography 
and surface complexity to that which existed prior to injury, such that 
natural recovery processes, enhanced through mitigation, if needed, 
will lead to a fully functioning coral reef community with near natural 
complexity, structure, and make-up of organisms. The Plan/FEIS provides 
a systematic approach to addressing injuries to coral reefs caused by 
vessel groundings within Biscayne National Park. It analyzes two 
alternatives, the No Action alternative (Alternative 1) and Restoration 
Using a Programmatic Approach (Alternative 2).
    Alternative 1 would not change the existing approach to coral reef 
restoration planning and implementation, including NEPA compliance. 
Currently, Biscayne National Park resource managers evaluate the 
impacts of coral reef restoration actions and specific restoration 
methods when planning and implementing restoration at each grounding 
incident. In contrast, to address each coral injury under Alternative 
2, the most appropriate restoration actions and specific restoration 
methods would be selected from a ``toolbox'' of methods that already 
have had their impacts evaluated programmatically. Under Alternative 2, 
10 reasonable and common coral reef restoration actions were identified 
and evaluated for inclusion in the toolbox.
    Alternative 2 (Restoration Using a Programmatic Approach) was 
identified as the NPS's preferred alternative. The time required to 
evaluate environmental impacts of restoration actions after site-
specific injuries would be minimized substantially under Alternative 2, 
resulting in fewer adverse effects and/or more beneficial effects to 
park resources.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Lewis, Superintendent, Biscayne 
National Park, 9700 SW. 328th Street, Homestead, FL 33033; Telephone 
305-230-1144.

    Authority:  The authority for publishing this notice is 
contained in 40 CFR 1506.6

    The responsible official for this Final EIS is the Regional 
Director, Southeast Region, National Park Service, 100 Alabama Street 
SW., 1924 Building, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

    Dated: April 22, 2011.
Gordon Wissinger,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-10455 Filed 4-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-ML-P