[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 187 (Friday, September 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57974-57975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22945]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-MWR-INDU-16199;PPMWMWROW2/PMP00UP05.YP0000]


Notice of Availability of the Final 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: The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of 
the Final Shoreline Restoration Management Plan and Environmental 
Impact Statement (SRMP), Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana.

DATES: The Final SRMP will remain available for public review for 30 
days following the publication of the Notice of Availability in the 
Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the Final SRMP is available on the internet on the 
NPS Planning, Environment, and Public

[[Page 57975]]

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 Paul Labovitz, Indiana 
Dunes National Lakeshore, at the address above, or by telephone at 
(219) 926-7561, extension 225.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NPS has prepared a Final SRMP for 
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The Final 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 Draft SRMP presented a range of reasonable management 
alternatives. Alternative A, the No-Action alternative, described a 
continuation of current management practices, and was included as the 
baseline for comparing consequences of each alternative. Alternatives 
B, C, and D represent variations on beach nourishment activities. The 
use of submerged beach-stabilizing structures was discussed in 
alternative E.
    In response to public comment on the Draft SRMP, the NPS has made 
changes to our preferred alternatives. Due to public and agency concern 
with alternative E in reaches 1 and 2, identified as our preferred 
alternative, the NPS has prepared a hybrid alternative F that 
incorporates the benefit of the gravel and rock materials from 
alternative E using inland mined and hauled sources described in 
alternative B-1 with the hydraulically dredged sands described in 
alternative C-1. This new hybrid alternative, our new preferred 
alternative, would provide the identical materials to the shoreline as 
alternative E only through a direct placement process. The majority of 
material used for beach nourishment would be obtained from fine and 
medium grained sediments that could be hydraulically dredged as in 
alternative C-1. The additional gravel and rock component would be 
obtained by implementing a portion of alternative B-1, hauled to the 
beach and mixed on-site with the hydraulically dredged sediments.
    For reaches 3 and 4, the alternative C-5 which provided beach 
nourishment every five years was identified as the preferred 
alternative as stated in the Draft SRMP. In response to public and 
agency concerns, the preferred alternative has been changed to 
alternative C-1 that provides for beach nourishment annually.
    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. 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.
    The NPS will make no decision on the Final SRMP until after the 
expiration of the 30-day period announced above.

    Dated: July 14, 2014.
Patricia S. Trap,
Acting Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-22945 Filed 9-25-14; 8:45 am]
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