[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57875-57876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22953]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-ES-2013-N194; FXHC11300300000-134-FF03E00000]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Southeast Missouri Ozarks 
Regional Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States Department of the Interior (DOI), acting 
through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); the United States 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), acting through the U.S. Forest 
Service (USFS); and the State of Missouri, acting through the Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources have written a Draft Southeast Missouri 
Regional Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (Plan), which 
describes proposed alternatives for restoring injured natural resources 
in the Southeast Missouri Ozarks region, and an environmental 
assessment as required pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA). The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the 
availability of the Draft Plan and to seek written comments. This 
notice is provided pursuant to Natural Resource Damage Assessment and 
Restoration (NRDAR) regulations and NEPA regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be postmarked no later than November 4, 
2013.

ADDRESSES: Reviewing Documents: Interested members of the public are 
invited to review the Plan.
     Internet: Copies of the Plan can viewed online at:
    [cir] http://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/SEMONRDA/index.html or
    [cir] http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/hwp/sfund/nrda.htm.
     U.S. mail: Copies of the Plan can be requested from:
    [cir] John Weber, Restoration Coordinator, U.S. Fish & Wildlife

[[Page 57876]]

Service, 101 Park DeVille Dr. Suite A, Columbia, MO 65203, or
    [cir] Tim Rielly, Natural Resource Damages Coordinator, Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 
65102-0176.
     Email: You may request copies of the Plan by sending 
electronic mail (email) to [email protected] or 
[email protected]. Do not use any special characters or forms of 
encryption in your email.
     On-site review: Available at the Columbia, MO, address 
above or at Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 1730 E. Elm St., 
Jefferson City, Missouri.
    Submitting Comments: Submit all comments by U.S. mail to Tim 
Rielly, Natural Resource Damages Coordinator, Missouri Department of 
Natural Resources, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176.
    See Public Involvement under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 
information on public availability of comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Technical Information: John Weber, (573) 234-2132 (x177)
    State of Missouri Natural Resource Damages Assessment Manager: Tim 
Rielly (573) 526-3353.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOI (represented by the FWS), the USDA 
(represented by the USFS), and the State of Missouri, acting through 
the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, together are trustees 
(Trustees) for natural resources considered in this restoration plan, 
pursuant to subpart G of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances 
Pollution Contingency Plan (40 CFR 300.600 and 300.610) and Executive 
Order 12580. The Memorandum of Understanding Between the Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Department of the Interior, and 
U.S. Department of Agriculture establishes a Trustee Council charged 
with developing and implementing a restoration plan for ecological 
restoration in the Southeast Missouri Ozarks.
    The Trustees followed the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and 
Restoration (NRDAR) regulations found at 43 CFR part 11 for the 
development of the Plan. The draft Southeast Missouri Ozarks Regional 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment will be finalized prior 
to implementation after all public comments received during the public 
comment period are considered. Any significant additions or 
modifications to the Plan as restoration actions proceed will be made 
available for public review before any additions or modification are 
undertaken.
    The objective of the NRDAR process in the Southeast Missouri Ozarks 
is to compensate the public, through environmental restoration, for 
losses of natural resources that have been injured by releases of 
hazardous substances into the environment. The Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, more 
commonly known as the Federal ``Superfund'' law) [42 U.S.C. 9601 et 
seq.] and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as 
the Clean Water Act (CWA)) [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.] authorize States, 
federally recognized tribes, and certain Federal agencies that have 
authority for natural resources ``belonging to, managed by, controlled 
by or appertaining to or otherwise controlled by the United States '' 
to act as ``trustees'' on behalf of the public, to restore, 
rehabilitate, replace, and/or acquire natural resources equivalent to 
those injured by releases of hazardous substances.
    The Trustees worked together in a cooperative process to identify 
appropriate restoration activities to address natural resource injuries 
caused by releases of hazardous substances into the Southeast Missouri 
Ozarks environment. The results of this administrative process are 
contained in the planning and decision document being published for 
public review under CERCLA. Natural resource damages received, either 
through negotiated settlements or adjudicated awards, must be used to 
restore, rehabilitate, replace and/or acquire the equivalent of those 
injured natural resources. The Plan addresses the Trustees' overall 
approach to restore, rehabilitate, replace and/or acquire the 
equivalent of natural resources injured by the release of hazardous 
substances into the Southeast Missouri Ozarks environment.

Public Involvement

    Interested members of the public are invited to review and comment 
on the Plan. Copies can be requested from the addresses and Web sites 
listed above. Comments on the Plan should be sent to the Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources at the address listed above.
    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will provide copies of all 
comments to the other Trustees. All comments received from individuals 
become part of the official public record. Requests for such comments 
will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and 
the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations (40 CFR 
1506.6(f)), as well as the State of Missouri's Sunshine Law (Chapter 
610, RSMo.).
    The Trustees' practice is to make comments, including names and 
home addresses of respondents, available for public review during 
regular business hours. Individual respondents may request that their 
home address is withheld from the record, which each agency will honor 
to the extent allowable by law. If a respondent wishes to withhold his/
her name and/or address, this must be stated prominently at the 
beginning of the comment.

Authority

    This notice is provided pursuant to NRDAR regulations (43 CFR 
11.81(d)(4)) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: September 6, 2013.
Charlie Wooley,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Region 3.
[FR Doc. 2013-22953 Filed 9-19-13; 8:45 am]
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