Notice of Availability of the Assessment Plan for the Palmerton Natural Resource Damage Assessment in Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton Counties, PA, 47848-47849 [05-16102]

Download as PDF 47848 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 156 / Monday, August 15, 2005 / Notices (3) Analyzing habitat information to properly scale restoration needs. d. Feasible primary and compensatory restoration actions exist to address injuries from the Incident. Restoration activities are expected to focus on marine birds. Restoration could include actions to protect and enhance habitat. Feasible restoration actions relevant to the injuries may include, but are not necessarily limited to: (1) Establishing a database of demographic and phenotypic information on king eiders for identification and management of sensitive areas around the Pribilof Islands; (2) Preventing the introduction of rats on the Pribilof Islands to protect the habitat and populations of marine birds injured by the Incident; (3) Removing introduced terrestrial invasive species that prey on or compete with marine birds, such as fox, rats, and /or ground squirrels on certain islands of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge to restore habitat and populations of marine birds injured by the Incident; (4) Enhance, protect, and/or acquire seabird nesting habitat in the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands; and (5) Public outreach in the Pribilof Islands on issues that can reduce further marine bird losses. Data supporting these determinations are contained in the Administrative Record established for this case (see below). Based upon the foregoing determination, the Trustee has chosen to proceed with restoration planning for this Incident. Opportunity To Comment Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.14(d), the Trustee will seek public involvement in restoration planning for this Incident through public review of, and comment on, the Draft Restoration Plan. When the Draft Restoration Plan is prepared, the public will be notified of the opportunity to comment. Questions regarding this Notice may be directed to: Greg Siekaniec, Refuge Manager or Laurie Daniel, M/V Citrus Case Manager, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR), 95 Sterling Highway, Suite 1, Homer, Alaska 99603, Phone: (907) 235–6546. Administrative Record The Trustee has opened an Administrative Record (‘‘Record’’) in compliance with 15 CFR 990.45. The Record includes documents relied upon by the Trustee to date in the preassessment phase of the natural resource damage assessment in connection with VerDate jul<14>2003 13:17 Aug 12, 2005 Jkt 205001 the Incident, and the Record will be supplemented with additional relevant documents as the natural resource damage assessment proceeds. The Record is on file at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge in Homer, Alaska. Arrangements can be made to review the Record by contacting Greg Siekaniec, Refuge Manager or Laurie Daniel, M/V Citrus Case Manager, at the above contact information. Dated: March 16, 2005. Gary Edwards, Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska. [FR Doc. 05–16105 Filed 8–12–05; 8:45 am] For background information and questions regarding the Trinity River Restoration Program, please contact Douglas Schleusner, Executive Director, Trinity River Restoration Program, P.O. Box 1300, 1313 South Main Street, Weaverville, California 96093, (530) 623–1800. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Dated: August 8, 2005. John Engbring, Acting Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento, CA. [FR Doc. 05–16103 Filed 8–12–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P BILLING CODE 4310–55–U DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Fish and Wildlife Service Notice of Availability of the Assessment Plan for the Palmerton Natural Resource Damage Assessment in Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton Counties, PA Notice of Meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of meeting. AGENCY: SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. I), this notice announces a meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG). The TAMWG affords stakeholders the opportunity to give policy, management, and technical input concerning Trinity River restoration efforts to the Trinity Management Council. Primary objectives of the meeting will include: New member orientation; TAMWG organization and operations; Trinity River Restoration Program budget status; Implementation progress report; Fall fish returns and river conditions; Science program; and Klamath-Trinity coordination. Completion of the agenda is dependent on the amount of time each item takes. The meeting could end early if the agenda has been completed. The meeting is open to the public. DATES: The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group will meet from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, September 12, 2005, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 13, 2005. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Weaverville Victorian Inn, 1709 Main Street, Weaverville, CA 96093. Telephone: (530) 623–4432. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Long of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata, California 95521, (707) 822–7201. Mike Long is the working group’s Designated Federal Official. PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), acting as lead administrative Trustee, on behalf of the National Park Service (NPS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PDEP), and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PDCNR), jointly known as the Palmerton Natural Resource Trustee Council, announces the release of the Palmerton Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Plan (Plan) for public review. The Plan describes the Trustee Council’s proposal to assess potential injury to natural resources as a result of a release of hazardous substances from the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site (Site), Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Written comments must be submitted on or before September 14, 2005. DATES: Written comments or materials regarding the Plan should be sent to: Steve Klassen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 315 South Allen Street, Suite 322, State College, Pennsylvania 16801. Requests for copies of the Plan may be made to the same address. The Plan will also be available at the Palmerton Library, 402 Delaware Avenue, Palmerton, Pennsylvania ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\15AUN1.SGM 15AUN1 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 156 / Monday, August 15, 2005 / Notices 18071, and on the Internet at the following sites: https://www.fws.gov/ contaminants/restorationplans/ palmerton/palmerton.cfm, https:// www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/ airwaste/wm/remserv/nrd/ nrdhome.html. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Klassen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pennsylvania Field Office, 315 South Allen Street, Suite 322, State College, Pennsylvania 16801. Interested parties may also call 814–234–4090 for further information. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Site is located in the Ridge and Valley Province of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania. Facilities at the Site include the East and West Plants of the former New Jersey Zinc Company, a primary zinc smelting facility. This facility discharged metals to the surrounding environment via air emissions and through the release of solid wastes, including the creation of a large waste pile (the ‘‘cinder bank’’). Hazardous substances released to the environment from these facilities include arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, and zinc (metals). The release of these metals resulted in the contamination and defoliation of thousands of acres of land including Federal (NPS) and State (PGC) lands adjacent to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Past and ongoing releases of metals have also adversely affected area waters including Aquashicola Creek, the Lehigh River, and groundwater. Due to hazardous substances released from industrial activities, the Site was included on the National Priorities List in 1983, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is acting as the lead response agency overseeing cleanup of the Site, which is being carried out by the potentially responsible parties, Viacom International, Inc. and Horsehead Corporation. Under Federal regulations, the Federal government, States, and Indian tribes are authorized as natural resource trustees to recover damages from responsible parties for injuries to natural resources caused by the release of hazardous substances. This process is intended to compensate the public for lost natural resources and to restore services provided by those resources. The natural resource trustees for this matter include: The FWS; the NPS; the NOAA; the PGC; the PFBC; the PDEP; and the PDCNR. The Trustees have developed a Memorandum of Agreement that provides a framework for continued VerDate jul<14>2003 13:17 Aug 12, 2005 Jkt 205001 cooperation and coordination. The Trustees have determined through a Preassessment Screen that an assessment is warranted. A Notice of Intent (NOI) to perform an assessment was issued to Viacom International, Inc., the Potentially Responsible Party, indicating that the Trustees intend to proceed with NRDA procedures for the Site. The NOI invited Viacom to participate in a cooperative injury assessment, and Viacom has since entered into a cooperative funding agreement designed to provide a framework for a cooperative NRDA process. The purpose of this Plan is to guide the actions of the Trustees through the NRDA process. This Plan outlines the Trustees’ proposed plans to document and evaluate potentially injured resources. The Trustees intend to focus on the loss of ecological and human use services resulting from injuries to natural resources. Such lost services include impairment of terrestrial, floodplain, and aquatic flora and fauna; supporting habitats; and public use of natural resources (e.g., hunting, fishing, hiking, bird watching). The Trustees will assess suspected injuries to natural resources using existing data, as well as those proposed to be collected as part of the assessment. The Trustees will further analyze the identified natural resource injuries to evaluate the lost ecological and human use services provided by those resources. The evaluation will focus on baseline services that would have been provided had the hazardous substances not been released. Interested members of the public are invited to review and comment on the Plan. Copies of the Plan are available for review at the Service’s Pennsylvania Field Office located at 315 South Allen Street, State College, Pennsylvania 16801, the Palmerton Library located at 402 Delaware Avenue, Palmerton, Pennsylvania 18071, and on the Internet at: https://www.fws.gov/contaminants/ restorationplans/palmerton/ palmerton.cfm, https:// www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/ airwaste/wm/remserv/nrd/ nrdhome.html. Author: The primary author of this notice, on behalf of the Trustee Council, is Steve Klassen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pennsylvania Field Office, 315 South Allen Street, State College, Pennsylvania 16801. Authority: The authority for this action is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 as amended, commonly known as Superfund (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), and the Natural PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 47849 Resource Damage Assessment Regulations found at 43 CFR part 11. Dated: July 14, 2005. Geoffrey L. Haskett, Acting Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Designated Authorized Official. [FR Doc. 05–16102 Filed 8–12–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [NM–922–1320–05, OKNM 104763, OKNM 107920, OKNM 108097] Notice of Competitive Coal Lease Sale, Oklahoma Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of competitive coal lease sale. AGENCY: SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico State Office, in conjunction with the Oklahoma Field Office, will offer certain coal resources in three separate tracts described below in LeFlore, Latimer, and Haskell Counties in Oklahoma, for competitive sale by sealed bid, in accordance with the provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181, et seq.). DATES: The Lease Sale for the three separate tracts will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, September 14, 2005. Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 9 a.m., on September 14, 2005. ADDRESSES: The Lease Sale will be held in the BLM Conference Room, Oklahoma Field Office, 7906 E. 33rd Street, Ste. 101, Tulsa, OK 74145. Sealed bids for each separate tract must be submitted to the Cashier, Oklahoma Field Office, at the address above. FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ida T. Viarreal, Land Law Examiner, at (505) 438–7603, or Abdalla M. Elias, Mining Engineer, at (918) 621–4116. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Coal Lease Sale is being held in response to three coal lease applications filed by Farrell Cooper Mining Company. Each tract will be leased to the qualified bidder(s) submitting the highest cash offer provided that the high bids meet or exceed the fair market value of the tracts as determined by the authorized officer after the Sale. No bid that is less than $100.00 per acre, or fraction thereof, will be considered. This $100.00 per acre is a regulatory minimum, and is not intended to reflect E:\FR\FM\15AUN1.SGM 15AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 156 (Monday, August 15, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47848-47849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16102]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Availability of the Assessment Plan for the Palmerton 
Natural Resource Damage Assessment in Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, and 
Northampton Counties, PA

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), acting as lead 
administrative Trustee, on behalf of the National Park Service (NPS), 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 
Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat 
Commission (PFBC), the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection (PDEP), and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and 
Natural Resources (PDCNR), jointly known as the Palmerton Natural 
Resource Trustee Council, announces the release of the Palmerton 
Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Plan (Plan) for public 
review. The Plan describes the Trustee Council's proposal to assess 
potential injury to natural resources as a result of a release of 
hazardous substances from the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site 
(Site), Palmerton, Pennsylvania.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 14, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or materials regarding the Plan should be 
sent to: Steve Klassen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 315 South Allen 
Street, Suite 322, State College, Pennsylvania 16801. Requests for 
copies of the Plan may be made to the same address. The Plan will also 
be available at the Palmerton Library, 402 Delaware Avenue, Palmerton, 
Pennsylvania

[[Page 47849]]

18071, and on the Internet at the following sites: https://www.fws.gov/
contaminants/restorationplans/palmerton/palmerton.cfm, https://
www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/remserv/nrd/nrdhome.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Klassen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Pennsylvania Field Office, 315 South Allen Street, Suite 322, 
State College, Pennsylvania 16801. Interested parties may also call 
814-234-4090 for further information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Site is located in the Ridge and Valley 
Province of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania. 
Facilities at the Site include the East and West Plants of the former 
New Jersey Zinc Company, a primary zinc smelting facility. This 
facility discharged metals to the surrounding environment via air 
emissions and through the release of solid wastes, including the 
creation of a large waste pile (the ``cinder bank''). Hazardous 
substances released to the environment from these facilities include 
arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, and zinc (metals). 
The release of these metals resulted in the contamination and 
defoliation of thousands of acres of land including Federal (NPS) and 
State (PGC) lands adjacent to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. 
Past and ongoing releases of metals have also adversely affected area 
waters including Aquashicola Creek, the Lehigh River, and groundwater. 
Due to hazardous substances released from industrial activities, the 
Site was included on the National Priorities List in 1983, by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is acting as the lead 
response agency overseeing cleanup of the Site, which is being carried 
out by the potentially responsible parties, Viacom International, Inc. 
and Horsehead Corporation.
    Under Federal regulations, the Federal government, States, and 
Indian tribes are authorized as natural resource trustees to recover 
damages from responsible parties for injuries to natural resources 
caused by the release of hazardous substances. This process is intended 
to compensate the public for lost natural resources and to restore 
services provided by those resources. The natural resource trustees for 
this matter include: The FWS; the NPS; the NOAA; the PGC; the PFBC; the 
PDEP; and the PDCNR.
    The Trustees have developed a Memorandum of Agreement that provides 
a framework for continued cooperation and coordination. The Trustees 
have determined through a Preassessment Screen that an assessment is 
warranted. A Notice of Intent (NOI) to perform an assessment was issued 
to Viacom International, Inc., the Potentially Responsible Party, 
indicating that the Trustees intend to proceed with NRDA procedures for 
the Site. The NOI invited Viacom to participate in a cooperative injury 
assessment, and Viacom has since entered into a cooperative funding 
agreement designed to provide a framework for a cooperative NRDA 
process.
    The purpose of this Plan is to guide the actions of the Trustees 
through the NRDA process. This Plan outlines the Trustees' proposed 
plans to document and evaluate potentially injured resources. The 
Trustees intend to focus on the loss of ecological and human use 
services resulting from injuries to natural resources. Such lost 
services include impairment of terrestrial, floodplain, and aquatic 
flora and fauna; supporting habitats; and public use of natural 
resources (e.g., hunting, fishing, hiking, bird watching).
    The Trustees will assess suspected injuries to natural resources 
using existing data, as well as those proposed to be collected as part 
of the assessment. The Trustees will further analyze the identified 
natural resource injuries to evaluate the lost ecological and human use 
services provided by those resources. The evaluation will focus on 
baseline services that would have been provided had the hazardous 
substances not been released.
    Interested members of the public are invited to review and comment 
on the Plan. Copies of the Plan are available for review at the 
Service's Pennsylvania Field Office located at 315 South Allen Street, 
State College, Pennsylvania 16801, the Palmerton Library located at 402 
Delaware Avenue, Palmerton, Pennsylvania 18071, and on the Internet at: 
https://www.fws.gov/contaminants/restorationplans/palmerton/
palmerton.cfm, https://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/
remserv/nrd/nrdhome.html.
    Author: The primary author of this notice, on behalf of the Trustee 
Council, is Steve Klassen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pennsylvania 
Field Office, 315 South Allen Street, State College, Pennsylvania 
16801.

    Authority: The authority for this action is the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 as 
amended, commonly known as Superfund (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), and 
the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations found at 43 CFR 
part 11.

    Dated: July 14, 2005.
Geoffrey L. Haskett,
Acting Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
U.S. Department of the Interior, Designated Authorized Official.
[FR Doc. 05-16102 Filed 8-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P

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