[Federal Register: May 16, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 95)]
[Notices]
[Page 26645-26646]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16my03-120]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Final Environmental Impact Statement, Personal Watercraft Rule-
Making, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona and Utah
AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement, Personal Watercraft Rule-Making, Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub L. 91-190, as amended) and the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR part 1500-1508), the National
Park Service (NPS), Department of the Interior, announces the
availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS),
Personal Watercraft (PWC) Rule-Making, Glen Canyon National Recreation
Area (NRA), Arizona and Utah. The FEIS assesses the potential impacts
of PWC use for Glen Canyon NRA. The FEIS describes and analyzes three
alternatives to manage PWC on Lake Powell to provide for the long-term
protection of park resources while allowing a range of recreational
opportunities to support visitor needs. Each alternative identifies
proposed actions related to visitor use zones and accessible developed
areas, facilities and recreational services, visitor safety and
conflicts, resource protection, and park operations.
The FEIS will be used to make reasoned decisions about whether to
continue PWC use at Glen Canyon NRA. The NPS determination will be
based on the unit's enabling statute, mission, management objectives,
resources, values, and other uses, as well as impacts from PWC on the
unit. Consistent with Bluewater Network v. Stanton, No. CV002093
(D.D.C. 2000) and the settlement agreement approved by the court on
April 11, 2001, the FEIS includes an evaluation of various PWC use
alternatives to determine their effects on water quality, air quality,
the soundscape, wildlife, wildlife habitat, shoreline vegetation,
visitor conflicts, safety, and other appropriate topics.
Public meetings were initiated in August 2001 to solicit early
input into the scope and range of issues to be analyzed. A notice of
intent announcing the decision to prepare the environmental impact
statement was published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2001.
Scoping comments continued to be accepted and considered within the
planning process.
During this comment period, the NPS facilitated several hundred
discussions and briefings with congressional delegations, local elected
officials, tribal representatives, public service organizations,
educational institutions, and other interested members of the public.
Over 3,500 letters and e-mail messages concerning PWC use on Lake
Powell were received. The major issues raised during this period are
summarized in Chapter 1, Purpose of and Need for Action.
The FEIS includes two ``action'' alternatives and one ``no action''
(existing conditions) alternative. Under each of the action
alternatives, a Special Regulation would be promulgated to address the
continued use of PWC in the NRA, in accordance with the settlement
agreement signed by the United States District Court for the District
of Columbia on April 11, 2001. This agreement between the NPS and
Bluewater Network requires all park units wishing to continue PWC use
to promulgate special regulations after an environmental analysis is
conducted in accordance with the 1969 National Environmental Policy
Act.
The alternatives presented in the draft environmental impact
statement (DEIS) were modified in the FEIS in response to over 30,000
public and agency comments received on the DEIS. The primary
modifications to Alternatives A and B include conducting a 3-year pilot
study to identify and develop conflict resolution techniques and
preparing a comprehensive lake management plan to address all uses of
Lake Powell. Additionally, Alternative B was modified to include
compliance with 2006 emission standards (described below) and with more
geographic restrictions. The alternatives in the FEIS are summarized as
follows.
Alternative A, Continue PWC Use as Currently Managed under a
Special Regulation, would allow PWC use identical to that before
September 2002 under a special regulation. PWC use would be authorized
for all areas of the recreation area above Glen Canyon Dam except where
prohibited by the Superintendent's Compendium, 2002. Alternative A
would also include a 3-year pilot study to identify the techniques and
area restrictions that would be most effective in reducing visitor
conflicts. The pilot study would support the development of a
comprehensive lake management plan which would consider all activities
on Lake Powell, including the potential impacts of all watercraft, to
better protect recreation area resources, improve visitor safety, and
reduce conflicts.
Alternative B (the modified preferred alternative), Promulgate a
Special Regulation to Continue PWC Use with Additional Management
Restrictions, would be similar to Alternative A. However, it would
include additional geographic restrictions on PWC use in portions of
the Colorado, Escalante, Dirty Devil, and San Juan Rivers to increase
protection of environmental values and reduce visitor conflict and
would implement a flat wake zone. This alternative would also require
that PWC in the recreation area meet the 2006 U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency emissions standards by the end of 2012 and in
subsequent years. PWC not meeting the standards would no longer be
permitted to operate within Glen Canyon NRA beginning in 2013. In
addition, Alternative B also would include strategies to better protect
recreation area resources, improve visitor safety, and reduce
conflicts. These strategies would include conducting a 3-year pilot
study to identify the techniques and area restrictions that would be
most effective in reducing conflicts and preparing a comprehensive lake
management plan addressing all uses.
Under Alternative C, No Action (PWC Use Eliminated), the NPS would
not take action to promulgate a special regulation that would allow PWC
use. Therefore, under the provisions of the March 21, 2000 final rule,
all PWC use would be permanently eliminated from the recreation area.
DATES: The National Park Service will execute a Record of Decision
(ROD) no sooner than 30 days following publication of the notice of
availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal
Register by the Environmental Protection Agency.
ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review at the Carl
Hayden Visitor Center, Glen Canyon Dam, 1000 Hwy. 89, Page, Arizona
86040, (928) 608-6404, in the office of
[[Page 26646]]
the Superintendent, Park Headquarters, 691 Scenic View Drive, Page,
Arizona 86040, (928) 608-6200, and at the following Web site, http://www.nps.gov/glca/plan.htm
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Wright, Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area, (928) 608-6272.
Dated: May 1, 2003.
Karen Wade,
Director, Intermountain Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 03-12341 Filed 5-15-03; 8:45 am]