[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38077-38078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15581]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-NCR-GWMP-1202-9483: 3310-0250-471]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on 
a Proposed Boat-House Facility for Non-Motorized Boats, George 
Washington Memorial Parkway

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec.  102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service 
(NPS) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess 
the impacts of constructing a boathouse facility and floating docks for 
non-motorized boats at possible locations along the Virginia shoreline 
of the Potomac River in the vicinity of Arlington County. This 
announcement updates the Notice of Intent (NOI) on the same project 
published in the Federal Register on May 21, 2004.

DATES: The NPS will conduct scoping during the coming months which will 
include a public scoping meeting. The NPS will announce details about 
the scoping period and the public meeting on the NPS's Planning, 
Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site: http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/gwmp, as well as through announcements in the 
local media. NPS is seeking public comment about the proposal and 
comments will be accepted through August 27, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The NPS will conduct a public scoping meeting at a public 
site in Arlington County. When the public scoping meeting has been 
scheduled, its location, date, and time will be announced through local 
media and published on the PEPC Web site: http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/gwmp at least 15 days in advance of the 
meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent, George Washington

[[Page 38078]]

Memorial Parkway, Turkey Run Park, McLean, Virginia 22101, at (703) 
289-2500.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NPS is preparing an EIS to identify a 
preferred site for construction of an environmentally sustainable 
facility for non-motorized boats on the Virginia shoreline of the 
Potomac River.
    Scoping for the EIS will consider four possible site locations 
within George Washington Memorial Parkway. Two proposed sites are 
downstream of the Key Bridge, one proposed site is near Gravelly Point 
and the 14th Street Bridge, and one proposed site is on Daingerfield 
Island. The boathouse facility and its amenities would enhance public 
waterfront access in the vicinity of Arlington County for non-motorized 
recreational activities.
    This project was initiated when, at the direction of Congress, the 
NPS prepared a site analysis (feasibility study) for a boathouse 
facility in 2002. The purpose of the study was to eliminate any sites 
that were not feasible due to engineering or financial constraints and 
to use that information for the preparation of an EIS. On May 21, 2004, 
an NOI to prepare that EIS was published in the Federal Register. In 
2004, the NPS held a public scoping meeting and preliminary surveys 
which were completed.
    With the participation of Arlington County as a cooperating agency, 
internal scoping was reinitiated in 2011, and the NPS has determined 
that an EIS remains the most appropriate level of environmental 
documentation for the proposed project. NPS is issuing this NOI so that 
the public has a clear understanding of the agency's intention to 
complete preparation of this EIS.
    Public Involvement: Public involvement will be a key component in 
preparation of the EIS. Interested individuals, organizations, and 
agencies are encouraged to provide written comments or suggestions to 
assist the NPS in determining the scope of issues to be addressed in 
the EIS, to identify significant issues related to the project, and to 
identify other reasonable alternatives.
    The NPS will conduct a public scoping meeting at a public site in 
Arlington County. When the public scoping meeting has been scheduled, 
its location, date and time will be announced through local media and 
published on the NPS's PEPC Web site: http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/gwmp no later than 15 days in advance of the date of the meeting.
    If you wish to submit issues or provide input on this initial phase 
of developing the EIS, you may submit comments by [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS 
FROM THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE] through the PEPC Web site at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/gwmp, by hand-delivery or mail to: 
Superintendent, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Turkey Run Park, 
McLean, Virginia 22101, or by providing comments to NPS staff at the 
scoping meeting.
    We will make all submissions from organizations or business, and 
from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials 
of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in 
their entirety. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be 
advised that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask in your comments to withhold from public review your personal 
identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do 
so.

    Dated: March 5, 2012.
Stephen E. Whitesell,
Regional Director, National Capital Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-15581 Filed 6-25-12; 8:45 am]
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