[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 167 (Monday, August 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59190-59192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20723]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE808


Notice of availability of the Final Restoration Plan and 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Restoration Resulting 
From the Kalamazoo River Natural Resource Damage Assessment Related to 
the Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Final Restoration Plan and 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announce the availability of 
the Final Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement for Restoration Resulting from the Kalamazoo River Natural 
Resource Damage Assessment (RP/PEIS). The purpose of the RP/PEIS is 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. USFWS, NOAA, and the State of Michigan 
(collectively referred to as the ``Trustees'') also present their plan 
for restoration projects authorized by the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), to 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). The RP/PEIS identifies and 
evaluates the environmental impacts associated with restoration actions 
that may be implemented to compensate for injuries to natural resources 
and associated services.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining documents: You may download the RP/PEIS at

[[Page 59191]]

https://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/KalamazooRiver/index.html. 
Alternatively, you may request a CD of the document from Lisa Williams, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, East Lansing Field Office, 2651 
Coolidge Road East Lansing, MI 48823.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Williams, USFWS, by email at 
[email protected] or by phone at (517) 351-8324.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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) prescribe 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 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.
    In the Draft RP/PEIS, the Trustees described 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 notice of availability of the Draft RP/PEIS was published in 
the Federal Register on September 14, 2015 (80 FR 55144). The Draft RP/
PEIS presented alternative programmatic approaches to restoration in 
the Kalamazoo River watershed and two specific projects as just 
mentioned, as well as an assessment of impacts of implementing the 
restoration approaches and projects. The Trustees provided the public 
with 45 days to review and comment on the Draft RP/PEIS. The Trustees 
also held a public meeting at the Kalamazoo Nature Center on September 
15, 2015, to facilitate public understanding of the document and 
provide opportunity for public comment. The Trustees considered the 
public comments received, which informed the Trustees' analysis of 
programmatic alternatives in the Final RP/PEIS. A summary of the public 
comments received and the Trustees' responses to those comments are 
addressed in Chapter 7 with details provided in Appendix D of the Final 
RP/PEIS.
    The Trustees prepared this RP/PEIS for restoration in the Kalamazoo 
River watershed pursuant to both CERCLA NRDA regulations and National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. The NEPA process consists 
of a set of fundamental objectives that include interagency 
coordination and cooperation, and public participation in the planning 
and development of projects. NEPA requires Federal agencies to conduct 
environmental reviews of proposed actions to consider the potential 
impacts on the environment. The Final RP/PEIS describes 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).
    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 the 
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality 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 with willing parties. The RP/PEIS provides 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. The RP/PEIS provides 
criteria and guidance for Trustees to use in selecting feasible 
restoration projects.

Next Steps

    In accordance with NEPA, a Federal agency must prepare a concise 
public Record of Decision (ROD) at the time the agency makes a decision 
in cases involving an EIS (40 CFR 1505.2). The Trustees will issue a 
ROD pursuant to NEPA regulations at 40 CFR 1505.2. Accordingly, the ROD 
for the Final RP/PEIS will provide and explain the Trustees' decisions 
regarding the selection of a preferred alternative. The Trustees will 
issue the ROD no earlier than 30 days after the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes a notice in the Federal Register announcing 
the availability of the Final RP/PEIS (40 CFR 1506.10).

Administrative Record

    In compliance with 40 CFR 1505 et seq., the Trustees will include 
in the NRDA Administrative Record (Record) documents that the Trustees 
relied upon during the development of the Final RP/PEIS. The hard copy 
Record is on file

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at MDEQ (contact Judith Alfano at (517) 284-5061 or 
[email protected]), and selected documents from the Record are also 
accessible at the following Web site: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/KalamazooRiver.

    Dated: August 24, 2016.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-20723 Filed 8-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P