[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 178 (Thursday, September 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56671-56672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22557]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-MWR-INDU-10034; 6065-4000-409]


Draft Shoreline Restoration Management Plan and Environmental 
Impact Statement for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C., Section 4332(2)(c), the National Park 
Service announces the availability of the Draft Shoreline Restoration 
Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Indiana Dunes 
National Lakeshore, Indiana.

DATES: The Draft Shoreline Restoration Management Plan and 
Environmental Impact Statement (SRMP) will be available for public 
comment for a 60-day public review period. Comments must be received no 
later than 60 days after the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
its notice of availability in the Federal Register. Public meetings 
will be held; specific dates, times, and locations will be announced in 
the local media, on the Internet, and will also be available by 
contacting the park's headquarters at (219) 926-7561, extension 225.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the SRMP is available on the internet on the NPS

[[Page 56672]]

Planning, Environment, and Public Comment Web site at: http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/indu. It can also be accessed through the 
Park's home page at http://www.nps.gov/indu. Copies may be obtained by 
making a request in writing or picked up in person at Indiana Dunes 
National Lakeshore, 1100 N. Mineral Springs Road, Porter, Indiana 
46304; telephone (219) 926-7561, extension 225.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent Constantine Dillon, 
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, at the address above, or by telephone 
at (219) 926-7561, extension 225.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Park Service (NPS) has prepared 
a draft SRMP for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The SRMP prescribes 
the resource conditions and restoration activities intended to maintain 
the shoreline over the next 15 to 20 years. The project area consists 
of four reaches of shoreline, Reaches 1 through 4, in an east-to-west 
direction. The park shoreline is not contiguous because of industrial 
and navigational structures, state park land, and other non-federal 
property.
    The SRMP presents a range of reasonable management alternatives. 
Alternative A, the No-Action alternative, describes a continuation of 
current management practices, and is included as the baseline for 
comparing consequences of each alternative. Alternatives B, C, and D 
represent variations on beach nourishment activities. Alternatives B-1 
and B-5 discuss beach nourishment using material from an upland source 
in 1- and 5-year frequencies. Beach nourishment using dredged materials 
in 1- and 5-year frequencies is described in Alternatives C-1 and C-5, 
and Alternative D outlines nourishment activities by way of a permanent 
sediment bypass system. Finally, the use of submerged beach-stabilizing 
structures is discussed in Alternative E.
    The alternatives presented in this plan focus on balancing the 
quantities of sediment flowing through the shoreline reaches. Over the 
course of developing the SRMP, the alternatives were fine-tuned to 
accomplish this task and also address the protection of the shoreline 
from critical eroding areas, providing habitat opportunities, allowing 
for natural processes to continue, and rehabilitating the shoreline in 
a cost-effective manner.
    For Reaches 1 and 2, the SRMP considered all alternatives and 
Alternative E has been selected as the Preferred Alternative. The NPS 
believes that this alternative provides the best combination of 
strategies to protect the park's unique resources and visitor 
experience, while improving the park's operational sustainability. 
Implementation of the Preferred Alternative in Reaches 1 and 2 would 
offer a high level of protection of natural resources along the 
shoreline while providing for a wide range of beneficial uses of the 
environment.
    For Reaches 3 and 4, only dredged sources and the sediment bypass 
system were viable alternatives (no submerged beach-stabilizing 
structures in these reaches), and Alternative C-5 has been selected as 
the Preferred Alternative because the NPS believes that it provides for 
the most cost efficient and greatest potential for both foredune 
creation and providing protection from major storm events.
    The SRMP describes the potential environmental consequences of the 
alternatives on coastal processes, including sediment transport and 
dune formation, aquatic fauna, terrestrial habitat, threatened and 
endangered plant and animal species, wetlands and pannes, soundscape, 
visitor experience, and park operations.
    The SRMP also presents a discussion on terrestrial management 
practices as they relate to the visitor experience. As the park is a 
popular destination for millions of people, the impacts of human 
activities on the natural resources of the park are ever-present and 
additive.
    We welcome comments on the SRMP. Before including your address, 
telephone number, electronic mail address, or other personal 
identifying information in your comments, you should be aware that your 
entire comment (including your personal identifying information) may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comments to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will make 
all submissions from organizations or businesses, from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials, of 
organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

    Dated: July 27, 2012.
Michael T. Reynolds,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-22557 Filed 9-12-12; 8:45 am]
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