[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 239 (Monday, December 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77375-77376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31330]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-APPFL-19524; PPWODESCP1, PMP00SLY05.YP0000]


Manhattan Project National Historical Park

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Execution of Agreement and Establishment of Park.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces that the Secretary 
of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy have entered into an 
agreement governing the administration of facilities, land, or 
interests in land under the jurisdiction of the Department of Energy 
(DOE) that are to be initially included in the Manhattan Project 
National Historical Park (Park) and setting out the specific 
responsibilities of each of the Secretaries with regard to the Park. 
This agreement satisfies the legal requirements to establish the Park. 
This new unit of the National Park System is located in Oak Ridge, 
Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

DATES: The agreement governing the management of Park was signed by the 
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy on November 10, 
2015. The law directing the establishment of the Park requires that 
notice of the establishment of the Park be published in the Federal 
Register not later than 30 days after the date on which the agreement 
is executed.

ADDRESSES: The Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of the 
Interior and the Department of Energy and the associated boundary map 
are available for public review on the NPS's Planning, Environment and 
Public Comment Web site at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/MPNHP. A copy 
of the boundary map is available on the Web site at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=482&projectID=57561&documentID=69146.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victor Knox, Associate Director, Park 
Planning, Facilities, and Lands by phone at 202-208-3264.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3039 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. 
``Buck'' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 
(Pub. L. 113-291) includes specific provisions relating to the 
establishment of this unit of the National Park System as follows:
    a. Section 3039(d) of Public Law 113-291 requires the Secretary of 
the Interior and the Secretary of Energy, not later than one year after 
the date of enactment of the act (December 19, 2014), to enter into an 
agreement governing the administration of facilities, land, or 
interests in land under the DOE's jurisdiction that are to be included 
in the Park and setting out the specific responsibilities of each of 
the Secretaries with regard to the Park.
    b. Section 3039(e)(2) of Public Law 113-291 also requires the 
Secretary of the Interior to publish in the Federal Register notice of 
the establishment of the Park, including a boundary map, not later than 
30 days after the agreement is executed.
    Beginning in February 2015 representatives of the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of Energy met to discuss a framework for 
managing the Park and to determine which of the eligible areas 
identified in the authorizing legislation would be initially included 
in the Park. Over the course of several months the agency 
representatives visited all three DOE locations, toured the eligible 
areas, and met with interested members of the public in each location. 
As a result of those discussions, tours, and meetings, the Secretaries 
determined that the areas shown on the map published with this notice 
would be initially included in the Park. On July 28, 2015, the draft 
agreement and a proposed boundary map were posted on the NPS's public 
park-planning Web site, and members of the public were allowed 30 days 
to comment on them. The agency representatives then analyzed those 
comments and modified the draft agreement and the boundary map 
accordingly. Although the NPS and DOE recognize the historical 
significance of the other eligible areas identified in the authorizing 
legislation, those facilities either are not currently safe for 
visitation or are needed to support ongoing DOE mission work. They are 
therefore not included in the Park at this time; however, the agencies 
will periodically reevaluate them to determine if they can be included 
in the Park at a later date.
    The Secretary of the Interior has determined that the execution of 
the agreement satisfies the legal requirements to establish this new 
unit of the National Park System. Accordingly, effective on the date of 
publication of this notice, the Park is established as a new unit of 
the National Park System and is subject to the laws and policies 
governing such units.

    Authority: Section 3039 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ``Buck'' 
McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, 
Public Law 113-291.


[[Page 77376]]


    Dated: December 4, 2015.
Peggy O'Dell,
Deputy Director, Operations.
[FR Doc. 2015-31330 Filed 12-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P