[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40346-40347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14570]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-NER-CACO-21002; PPWONRADE PMP00IE05.YP0000]


Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Herring River 
Restoration Project, Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of 
a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Herring River 
Restoration Project in Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts. The 
FEIS provides a systematic analysis of alternative approaches to 
restore the Herring River estuary to a more productive and natural 
condition after a century of diking and draining.

DATES: The NPS will execute a Record of Decision not sooner than 30 
days after the date of publication of the NOA in the Federal Register 
by the Environmental Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: Electronic versions of the complete document are available 
online at http://www.nps.gov/caco/ and http://parkplanning.nps.gov/herring_river.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George E. Price, Jr., Superintendent, 
Cape Cod National Seashore, 99 Marconi Site Road, Wellfleet, MA 02267; 
telephone (508) 771-2144.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Herring River Restoration Project is a 
joint project of the Cape Cod National Seashore, the Town of Wellfleet, 
the Town of Truro, the Massachusetts Division of Ecological 
Restoration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, and the Natural Resource Conservation 
Service. The purpose of this project is to restore self-sustaining 
coastal habitats on a large portion of the 1,100-acre Herring River 
estuary in Wellfleet and Truro, Massachusetts, where wetland resources 
and natural ecosystem functions have been severely damaged by 100 years 
of tidal restriction and salt marsh drainage. The goal is to balance 
tidal restoration objectives with flood control by allowing the highest 
tide range practicable while also ensuring flood proofing and 
protection of vulnerable properties.
    The Herring River is the largest estuary on outer Cape Cod, 
encompassing more than 1,100 acres of degraded wetlands in a complex 
network of five valleys: The Herring River, Mill Creek, Pole Dike 
Creek, Bound Brook, and Duck Harbor. The Chequessett Neck Road dike was 
built in 1908 at the mouth of the Herring River to restrict natural 
tidal flows. Ditches were constructed to drain the normally saturated 
flood plain soil. The once extensive salt marshes have been transformed 
into stands of invasive plants, shrubby thickets, and forests. The old 
salt marsh peat, deprived of the tides, has decomposed and compressed, 
sinking the surface of the flood plain as much as three feet. The 
decomposition of peat has released sulfuric acid that kills fish and 
other aquatic life, and low summertime dissolved oxygen has also harmed 
aquatic life.
    The FEIS analyzes three action alternatives and the no action 
alternative, as described below:
    Alternative A would leave in place the current tide control 
structure at Chequessett Neck Road and continue management of the 
estuary without restoration.
    Alternative B would employ an adaptive management strategy to 
restore tides in the lower reach of the Herring River up to a maximum 
high tide of approximately six feet. At this tide level flood 
mitigation of sensitive properties can be achieved without a secondary 
dike at Mill Creek.
    Alternative C would employ an adaptive management strategy to 
restore tides up to the maximum Chequessett Neck Road dike capacity (10 
foot vertical tide gate opening) with a new dike at Mill Creek that 
blocks all tidal influence. This alternative would maximize restoration 
in all sub-basins except Mill Creek. Mill Creek would remain 
unrestored, but no new flood proofing measures would be needed in Mill 
Creek.
    Alternative D would employ an adaptive management strategy to 
restore tides up to the maximum Chequessett Neck Road dike capacity (10 
foot vertical tide gate opening) with a new dike at Mill Creek and Pole 
Dike Creek. Mill Creek and Pole Dike Creek tides would be controlled by 
these secondary structures to the maximum levels that can be achieved 
after flood proofing several low-lying properties. Tidal restoration 
would be maximized in all other sub-basins.
    For Alternatives B and D, two options are considered for mitigating 
project impacts to the Chequessett Yacht & Country Club (CYCC) golf 
course, a private golf course in Mill Creek: (1) Raise low-lying 
fairways a minimum of two feet above proposed inundation levels, or (2) 
relocate low-lying fairways to an undeveloped upland area owned by 
CYCC.
    Under all Action Alternatives, there is the potential for the 
restoration of natural tidal flow to result in impacts to private 
properties. Any such impacts would be addressed through mitigation 
measures such as raising or relocating affected buildings, driveways or 
wells, building berms to protect structures, and/or limiting water 
levels across entire sub-basins. The cost of these impact mitigation 
measures will be borne by the Project. Water surface

[[Page 40347]]

elevations within any sub-basin will not be increased until the 
necessary impact mitigation is in place.
    Alternative D, with the option to raise existing low-lying fairways 
a minimum of two feet above proposed inundation levels, has been 
identified as the NPS Preferred Alternative. This alternative best 
fulfills the restoration objectives of the project while mitigating 
adverse impacts to developed properties.
    In response to agency and public comment, several aspects of the 
alternatives have been updated in chapter 2 of the FEIS. Key updates 
include adding a tide control structure at the Pole Dike Creek Road and 
refining options for preventing tidal flow impacts to High Toss Road. 
Also, design details have progressed on other key project components, 
including the proposed new Chequessett Neck Road dike and Mill Creek 
dikes. Relevant updates have been added to the alternatives 
description, including information about staging area locations and 
canoe/kayak access. Updates have also been made to key parts of 
Chapters 3 and 4, including a revised vegetation analysis that allows 
improved estimates of impacts to special status species habitat, 
updated information about newly-listed federal species (Northern Long-
eared Bat and Red Knot), and dismissal of changes to FEMA flood 
insurance maps.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.

    Dated: June 2, 2016.
Michael A. Caldwell,
Regional Director, National Park Service, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-14570 Filed 6-20-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-WV-P