[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 177 (Monday, September 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55144-55146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23016]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-EC-2015-N157; FVHC98120300940-XXX-FF03E16000]


Draft Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement for Restoration Resulting From the Kalamazoo River Natural 
Resource Damage Assessment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Michigan Department 
of

[[Page 55145]]

Environmental Quality, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 
and the Michigan Attorney General, collectively acting as Trustees for 
natural resources, announce the availability of the Draft Restoration 
Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Restoration 
Resulting from the Kalamazoo River Natural Resource Damage Assessment. 
Publication of this notice begins the public comment period for this 
Draft Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(Draft RP/PEIS). The purpose of the Draft RP/PEIS is to present the 
Trustees' proposed approach to restoration to compensate the public for 
losses to natural resources resulting from the release of 
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and to evaluate, in compliance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the potential direct, 
indirect, and cumulative impacts of implementing the alternative 
programmatic approaches to restoration in the Kalamazoo River 
watershed.

DATES: Written comments must be received by October 29, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submitting Comments: Written comments for the Trustees to 
consider should be sent to Lisa Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, East Lansing Field Office, 2651 Coolidge Road, East Lansing, 
MI 48823. Comments may also be submitted electronically to 
[email protected], with ``Kalamazoo River RP/PEIS'' in the subject 
line. For more information, see Public Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.
    Viewing the Administrative Record: Contact Judith Alfano, at (517) 
373-7402 or [email protected]; selected documents are also available 
at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/KalamazooRiver.
    Viewing EPA's Comments on the PEIS: For how to view comments on the 
PEIS from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), or for information 
on EPA's role in the EIS process, see EPA's Role in the EIS Process 
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Williams, USFWS, by email at 
[email protected] or by phone at (517) 351-8324, or Julie Sims, 
NOAA Restoration Center, by email at [email protected] or by phone at 
(734) 741-2385.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 
and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the Michigan 
Department of Natural Resources, and the Michigan Attorney General, 
collectively acting as Trustees for natural resources, have prepared 
this Draft Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (Draft RP/PEIS) for restoration in the Kalamazoo River 
watershed pursuant to both CERCLA NRDA regulations and the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347 et 
seq.; NEPA), and its implementing regulations in the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. NEPA requires Federal 
agencies to conduct environmental reviews of proposed actions to 
consider the potential impacts on the environment.
    In the Draft RP/PEIS, the Trustees describe restoration projects 
that could compensate for injuries to natural resources from 
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) released at and from the Allied Paper, 
Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site (Superfund Site). 
These include both general types of restoration projects as well as two 
specific projects to restore aquatic connectivity on the Kalamazoo 
River by removing dams in and near Otsego, Michigan. The public is 
invited to provide comments to the Trustees on the Draft RP/PEIS, 
including the proposed restoration projects and techniques, the 
programmatic restoration alternatives, and the potential impacts of the 
alternatives on the environment.
    Industrial activities in the Kalamazoo area have released PCBs into 
the environment. Recycling of carbonless copy paper at several area 
paper mills was the primary source of PCB release. Waste from the 
recycling of such paper conducted at Kalamazoo-area paper mills also 
contained PCBs, and the waste was disposed of by several methods that 
resulted in releases of PCBs into the environment. These PCBs have 
contaminated sediments, the water column, and biota in and adjacent to 
downstream sections of Portage Creek, the Kalamazoo River, and Lake 
Michigan.
    Based on the risks that PCBs pose to the environment and to human 
health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed the 
Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site on the 
National Priorities List on August 30, 1990. PCBs are listed as 
hazardous substances under CERCLA. EPA and MDEQ currently describe the 
site being addressed by the Superfund remedial investigation as 
including: (1) Five disposal areas and six paper mill properties; (2) a 
3-mile stretch of Portage Creek from Cork Street in the City of 
Kalamazoo to where the creek meets the Kalamazoo River; and (3) an 
approximately 80-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River, from Morrow Dam 
to Lake Michigan, with adjacent floodplains, wetlands, and in-stream 
sediments.
    As defined in the Stage 1 Assessment Report (MDEQ et al. 2005; 
available at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/KalamazooRiver), the 
Trustees are using the term Kalamazoo River Environment (KRE) to 
represent the entire natural resource damage assessment area. The KRE 
encompasses the area being addressed by the Superfund remedial 
investigations for the site's operable units, along with any area where 
hazardous substances released at or from the Superfund site have come 
to be located, and areas where natural resources or the services they 
provide may have been affected by the site-related hazardous substances 
releases (MDEQ et al. 2005).
    The Trustees expect to have opportunities to settle natural 
resource damage claims for the KRE with willing parties. The Draft RP/
PEIS will provide an ecological framework, with public input, to 
maximize the benefits of specific restoration projects to the affected 
resources in the KRE that might be included in or funded by future 
settlements or past bankruptcy settlements. The Draft RP/PEIS will 
provide criteria and guidance for Trustees to use in selecting feasible 
restoration projects.
    In compliance with 40 CFR part 1505 et seq., the Trustees will 
include in the NRDA Administrative Record (Record) documents that the 
Trustees rely upon during the development of the Draft RP/PEIS. The 
hard copy Record is on file at MDEQ (contact Judith Alfano; see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

CERCLA

    Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and 
Liability Act (CERCLA; 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), parties responsible for 
releasing hazardous substances into the environment are liable both for 
the costs of responding to the release (by cleaning up, containing, or 
otherwise remediating the release) and for damages arising from 
injuries to publicly owned or managed natural resources resulting from 
the release. CERCLA's Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) 
regulations (43 CFR 11) describe the process of assessing the nature 
and extent of the resulting injury, destruction, or loss of natural 
resources and the services they provide. Carrying out of the NRDA 
process also includes determining the compensation required to make the 
public whole for such injuries, destruction, or loss. CERCLA

[[Page 55146]]

authorizes certain Federal and State agencies and Indian tribes to act 
on behalf of the public as Trustees for affected natural resources. 
Under CERCLA, these agencies and tribes are authorized to assess 
natural resource injuries and to seek compensation, referred to as 
damages, from responsible parties, including the costs of performing 
the damage assessment. The Trustees are required to use recovered 
damages for the following purposes only: To restore, replace, or 
acquire the equivalent of the injured or lost resources and services.

EPA's Role in the EIS Process

    In addition to this Federal Register notice, EPA is publishing a 
notice announcing the PEIS, as required under section 309 of the Clean 
Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.; CAA).
    The EPA is charged under the CAA to review all Federal agencies' 
EISs and to comment on the adequacy and the acceptability of the 
environmental impacts of proposed actions in the EISs. EPA also serves 
as the repository (EIS database) for EISs prepared by Federal agencies 
and provides notice of their availability in the Federal Register. The 
EIS database provides information about EISs prepared by Federal 
agencies, as well as EPA's comments concerning the EISs. All EISs are 
filed with EPA, which publishes a notice of availability on Fridays in 
the Federal Register.
    For more information, see http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/eisdata.html. You may search for EPA comments on EISs, along with EISs 
themselves, at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.

Public Comments

    Comments are specifically requested regarding the alternatives, 
proposed restoration techniques and projects, scope of analysis, and 
assessment of impacts. Please see the ADDRESSES section for how to 
submit information.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, 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 comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Dated: August 24, 2015.
Charles Wooley,
Acting Regional Director, Midwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-23016 Filed 9-11-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P