Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Acquisition of Land Currently Owned by Florida Power and Light Company in Everglades National Park, Florida, 30740-30741 [2011-13114]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 102 / Thursday, May 26, 2011 / Notices
in Nevada and about 7 miles of the
project would be in California. The
project also includes a new Ivanpah
substation in California near Primm,
Nevada, which would serve as a
connector hub for solar energy
generated in the Ivanpah Valley area. A
fiber optics telecommunications cable
will be located on the new transmission
towers and an additional fiber optics
pathway ROW is also approved. The
EITP ROW grant will impact
approximately 480 acres during
construction.
The BLM conducted a joint
environmental review of EITP with the
California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC). A Notice of Availability for a
joint Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS)/Environmental Impact
Report (EIR) was published in the
Federal Register by the BLM on
December 21, 2010. The CPUC
published a final decision on December
27, 2010, approving the Final EIS/EIR
Environmentally Preferred Route and
issued a Certificate of Public
Convenience and Necessity (CPNC). The
CPNC included all recommended
mitigation measures from the Final EIS/
EIR. The BLM’s Preferred Alternative is
the same as the CPUC Environmentally
Preferred Route and was selected in the
ROD. The BLM has adopted all
mitigation measures recommended in
the Final EIS/EIR. The project area is
managed by the BLM in accordance
with the California Desert Conservation
Area Plan and the Las Vegas Field
Office Resource Management Plan. The
Preferred Alternative is consistent with
the California Desert Conservation Area
Plan and the Las Vegas Field Office
Resource Management Plan.
Any party adversely affected by this
decision may appeal within 30 days of
the date of the ROD pursuant to 43 CFR
part 4, subpart E. The appeal should
state the specific portions of the
decision that are being appealed. The
appeal must be filed with the Needles
Field Manager at the above listed
address. According to regulation, BLM
decisions issued under 43 CFR part
2800 are and remain in effect pending
appeal (43 CFR 2801.10(b)). Please
consult the appropriate regulations (43
CFR part 4, subpart E) for further
requirements.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6.
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director.
[FR Doc. 2011–12992 Filed 5–25–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–40–P
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20:04 May 25, 2011
Jkt 223001
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[5298–AM43–EXR]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Acquisition of Land Currently
Owned by Florida Power and Light
Company in Everglades National Park,
Florida
National Park Service,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for the
acquisition of land currently owned by
Florida Power and Light Company in
Everglades National Park, Florida.
AGENCY:
In June 2009, the National
Park Service (NPS) initiated public
scoping for an environmental
assessment (EA) that was being
prepared in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended, to evaluate
the environmental impacts of a potential
land acquisition or exchange between
NPS and Florida Power and Light
Company (FPL) in Everglades National
Park (Park). The NPS decision to be
made at the conclusion of the process
was to have been whether to exchange
NPS lands for FPL’s lands within the
boundary of the Park or to acquire FPL’s
lands by purchase or eminent domain.
After careful consideration of the issues
and analysis developed during the EA
process, the NPS has determined that
there is potential for significant impacts
to the human environment from this
decision, and NPS therefore intends to
prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS). This notice initiates the
public scoping process to solicit public
comments and identify issues regarding
the potential land acquisition or land
exchange in the Park.
DATES: Interested individuals,
organizations, and agencies are
encouraged to provide written
comments or suggestions to assist the
NPS in determining the scope of issues
to be addressed in the EIS, identifying
significant issues related to the potential
land acquisition or exchange,
identifying conditions for the exchange,
and identifying other reasonable
alternatives. The NPS will conduct a
public scoping meeting to be held in
Miami-Dade County. When the public
scoping meeting has been scheduled, its
location, date, and time will be
published in local media and on the
NPS’s Planning, Environment and
Public comment Web site: https://
parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. The scoping
meeting will also be announced via a
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00103
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
park press release and through e-mail
notification to the individuals and
organizations on the park’s mailing list.
Written comments must be received
prior to the close of the scoping period
or 15 days after the last public meeting,
whichever is later. The NPS will
provide additional opportunities for
public participation upon publication of
the draft EIS.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to provide
scoping comments or suggestions, you
may submit your comments by any one
of several methods. The preferred
method for submitting comments is via
the internet at https://
parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. Select
‘‘Acquisition of Florida Power and Light
Company Lands in the East Everglades
Expansion Area’’ to reach the comment
site. Written comments may also be sent
to: National Park Service, Denver
Service Center—Planning Division,
Attn: FPL Project Planning Team, P.O.
Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225–0287.
Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so. We will always make
submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as
representatives of or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Everglades
National Park was established on
December 6, 1947. Subsequently the
Everglades National Park Protection and
Expansion Act of 1989 (the 1989 Act):
(1) Expanded the boundaries of the Park
to include approximately 107,600 acres,
and through the 1989 Act and
additional legislation, authorized the
NPS and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(ACOE) to acquire lands within the
designated area, which is known as the
Everglades National Park Expansion
Area (ENP Expansion Area); and (2)
authorized the Secretary of the Army to
modify the Central and Southern
Florida Project to provide for the
restoration of more natural water flow
and habitat to and within the Park. The
ENP Expansion Area includes property
owned by FPL since the 1960’s and
early 1970’s (FPL Property). The FPL
Property is approximately 7.4 miles in
length (North-South), 330 feet to 370
feet wide, and encompasses
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26MYN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 102 / Thursday, May 26, 2011 / Notices
approximately 320 acres. More recently,
the Omnibus Public Land Management
Act of 2009 specifically authorized the
Secretary of Interior to acquire the FPL
Property in exchange for other lands in
the Park. The property proposed for the
exchange consists of approximately 260
acres within and along the eastern
boundary of the ENP Expansion Area
with an additional easement over
approximately 90 acres in the Park for
the control of non-native vegetation.
To implement the land acquisition
provisions of the 1989 Act, the Park
developed a Land Protection Plan in
1991 (the LPP). The LPP determined the
need for acquisition of lands necessary
to assure the enhancement and
restoration of natural hydrologic
conditions in the area and to manage the
area to maintain natural abundance,
diversity, and ecological integrity of
native plants and animals. To
implement the restoration of flow
provisions of the 1989 Act, the ACOE
issued a 1992 General Design
Memorandum and related updates
concerning the project modifications
necessary to achieve more natural water
flow. The latest of these modifications is
the construction of a one-mile bridge on
the Tamiami Trail, which is scheduled
to be complete in 2013. Related to the
construction of the one-mile bridge and
the broad restoration objectives in the
Act, the ACOE will develop an
operational plan to provide a more
natural flow of water to the ENP
Expansion Area. The additional water
flow that will result from
implementation of this plan cannot be
achieved until lands that FPL owns in
Everglades National Park are acquired.
As a related but distinct matter, FPL
is seeking approval, through the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC), ACOE,
and the State of Florida, to construct
two additional nuclear reactors at its
Turkey Point facility, immediately
adjacent to Biscayne National Park in
south Florida. The NRC is currently
preparing an EIS for a new FPL license
for the proposed reactors. The FPL is
also seeking certification from the
Florida Department of Environmental
Protection of new transmission
corridors, including a West Preferred
Corridor, for transmission of electricity
from the Turkey Point Facility to
destinations in south Florida. The
current FPL proposal for the West
Preferred Corridor includes the
potential construction of three electrical
transmission lines on the FPL Property
in the ENP Expansion Area or on the
NPS lands that would be conveyed to
FPL by the proposed exchange.
Having determined that utilization of
the FPL property for an electrical
VerDate Mar<15>2010
20:04 May 25, 2011
Jkt 223001
transmission corridor in its current
location is contrary to the LPP and
intended purposes of the ENP
Expansion Area, the NPS began an
analysis of the potential land
acquisition or exchange in an EA in
June 2009. Following public scoping
and review of the preliminary EA
findings, NPS identified potential
environmental impacts associated with
the reasonably foreseeable construction
of transmission lines on the exchange
lands. After careful consideration of the
issues and analysis developed during
the EA process, the NPS has determined
that implementation of a land exchange
with FPL could result in potential
significant impacts to the human
environment and that an EIS will be
prepared. The EIS will examine the
environmental impacts of transmission
lines on the proposed exchange
property as well as the foreseeable
environmental impacts of the alternative
actions.
The NPS has identified three potential
alternatives for analysis in the EIS. The
first alternative, land exchange with
conditions, would evaluate the effects of
the statutorily-authorized land exchange
and consider appropriate conditions for
the exchange. Direct effects of the
changes in land ownership would
probably be minimal, but the
cumulative effects analysis would
evaluate the potential effects of power
line construction and maintenance for
utility corridor purposes on the
exchange lands. The second alternative,
acquisition/condemnation, would
evaluate the effects of acquiring or
condemning FPL’s property in the park,
and thereby removing the potential for
power line construction on the FPL
property or on the proposed exchange
property. Inclusion of this alternative
will assist in determining a baseline of
existing impacts for comparison with
the impacts of other alternatives. The
third alternative, no acquisition or
exchange, would evaluate the effects as
if there were no change in the status of
the FPL Property and would assume
that the status quo of FPL ownership is
maintained. The cumulative effects
analysis would evaluate the foreseeable
effects if power lines were constructed
on the FPL Property through the Park.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Information about the proposed action,
the EIS, and the scoping process may be
obtained from Mr. Brien Culhane at
Everglades National Park by phone at
305–242–7717 or via e-mail at
Brien_Culhane@nps.gov. Additional
information, including maps of the FPL
Property and proposed transmission
corridors, can be found on the NPS
PO 00000
Frm 00104
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
30741
Planning, Environment, and Public
Comment (PEPC) Web site, https://
parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. Select
‘‘Acquisition of Florida Power and Light
Company Lands in the East Everglades
Expansion Area.’’
Authority: The authority for publishing
this notice is contained in 40 CFR 1506.6
The responsible official for this Notice
of Intent is the Regional Director,
Southeast Region, NPS, 100 Alabama
Street, SW., 1924 Building, Atlanta,
Georgia 30303.
Dated: May 19, 2011.
Gordon Wissinger,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2011–13114 Filed 5–25–11; 8:45 am]
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E:\FR\FM\26MYN1.SGM
26MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 102 (Thursday, May 26, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30740-30741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13114]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[5298-AM43-EXR]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Acquisition of Land Currently Owned by Florida Power and Light
Company in Everglades National Park, Florida
AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
for the acquisition of land currently owned by Florida Power and Light
Company in Everglades National Park, Florida.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In June 2009, the National Park Service (NPS) initiated public
scoping for an environmental assessment (EA) that was being prepared in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA),
as amended, to evaluate the environmental impacts of a potential land
acquisition or exchange between NPS and Florida Power and Light Company
(FPL) in Everglades National Park (Park). The NPS decision to be made
at the conclusion of the process was to have been whether to exchange
NPS lands for FPL's lands within the boundary of the Park or to acquire
FPL's lands by purchase or eminent domain. After careful consideration
of the issues and analysis developed during the EA process, the NPS has
determined that there is potential for significant impacts to the human
environment from this decision, and NPS therefore intends to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS). This notice initiates the public
scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues
regarding the potential land acquisition or land exchange in the Park.
DATES: Interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are
encouraged to provide written comments or suggestions to assist the NPS
in determining the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS,
identifying significant issues related to the potential land
acquisition or exchange, identifying conditions for the exchange, and
identifying other reasonable alternatives. The NPS will conduct a
public scoping meeting to be held in Miami-Dade County. When the public
scoping meeting has been scheduled, its location, date, and time will
be published in local media and on the NPS's Planning, Environment and
Public comment Web site: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. The scoping
meeting will also be announced via a park press release and through e-
mail notification to the individuals and organizations on the park's
mailing list. Written comments must be received prior to the close of
the scoping period or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever
is later. The NPS will provide additional opportunities for public
participation upon publication of the draft EIS.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to provide scoping comments or suggestions, you
may submit your comments by any one of several methods. The preferred
method for submitting comments is via the internet at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. Select ``Acquisition of Florida Power and
Light Company Lands in the East Everglades Expansion Area'' to reach
the comment site. Written comments may also be sent to: National Park
Service, Denver Service Center--Planning Division, Attn: FPL Project
Planning Team, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so. We will always make submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives of or officials of organizations or businesses,
available for public inspection in their entirety.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Everglades National Park was established on
December 6, 1947. Subsequently the Everglades National Park Protection
and Expansion Act of 1989 (the 1989 Act): (1) Expanded the boundaries
of the Park to include approximately 107,600 acres, and through the
1989 Act and additional legislation, authorized the NPS and U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to acquire lands within the designated area,
which is known as the Everglades National Park Expansion Area (ENP
Expansion Area); and (2) authorized the Secretary of the Army to modify
the Central and Southern Florida Project to provide for the restoration
of more natural water flow and habitat to and within the Park. The ENP
Expansion Area includes property owned by FPL since the 1960's and
early 1970's (FPL Property). The FPL Property is approximately 7.4
miles in length (North-South), 330 feet to 370 feet wide, and
encompasses
[[Page 30741]]
approximately 320 acres. More recently, the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act of 2009 specifically authorized the Secretary of
Interior to acquire the FPL Property in exchange for other lands in the
Park. The property proposed for the exchange consists of approximately
260 acres within and along the eastern boundary of the ENP Expansion
Area with an additional easement over approximately 90 acres in the
Park for the control of non-native vegetation.
To implement the land acquisition provisions of the 1989 Act, the
Park developed a Land Protection Plan in 1991 (the LPP). The LPP
determined the need for acquisition of lands necessary to assure the
enhancement and restoration of natural hydrologic conditions in the
area and to manage the area to maintain natural abundance, diversity,
and ecological integrity of native plants and animals. To implement the
restoration of flow provisions of the 1989 Act, the ACOE issued a 1992
General Design Memorandum and related updates concerning the project
modifications necessary to achieve more natural water flow. The latest
of these modifications is the construction of a one-mile bridge on the
Tamiami Trail, which is scheduled to be complete in 2013. Related to
the construction of the one-mile bridge and the broad restoration
objectives in the Act, the ACOE will develop an operational plan to
provide a more natural flow of water to the ENP Expansion Area. The
additional water flow that will result from implementation of this plan
cannot be achieved until lands that FPL owns in Everglades National
Park are acquired.
As a related but distinct matter, FPL is seeking approval, through
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), ACOE, and the State of
Florida, to construct two additional nuclear reactors at its Turkey
Point facility, immediately adjacent to Biscayne National Park in south
Florida. The NRC is currently preparing an EIS for a new FPL license
for the proposed reactors. The FPL is also seeking certification from
the Florida Department of Environmental Protection of new transmission
corridors, including a West Preferred Corridor, for transmission of
electricity from the Turkey Point Facility to destinations in south
Florida. The current FPL proposal for the West Preferred Corridor
includes the potential construction of three electrical transmission
lines on the FPL Property in the ENP Expansion Area or on the NPS lands
that would be conveyed to FPL by the proposed exchange.
Having determined that utilization of the FPL property for an
electrical transmission corridor in its current location is contrary to
the LPP and intended purposes of the ENP Expansion Area, the NPS began
an analysis of the potential land acquisition or exchange in an EA in
June 2009. Following public scoping and review of the preliminary EA
findings, NPS identified potential environmental impacts associated
with the reasonably foreseeable construction of transmission lines on
the exchange lands. After careful consideration of the issues and
analysis developed during the EA process, the NPS has determined that
implementation of a land exchange with FPL could result in potential
significant impacts to the human environment and that an EIS will be
prepared. The EIS will examine the environmental impacts of
transmission lines on the proposed exchange property as well as the
foreseeable environmental impacts of the alternative actions.
The NPS has identified three potential alternatives for analysis in
the EIS. The first alternative, land exchange with conditions, would
evaluate the effects of the statutorily-authorized land exchange and
consider appropriate conditions for the exchange. Direct effects of the
changes in land ownership would probably be minimal, but the cumulative
effects analysis would evaluate the potential effects of power line
construction and maintenance for utility corridor purposes on the
exchange lands. The second alternative, acquisition/condemnation, would
evaluate the effects of acquiring or condemning FPL's property in the
park, and thereby removing the potential for power line construction on
the FPL property or on the proposed exchange property. Inclusion of
this alternative will assist in determining a baseline of existing
impacts for comparison with the impacts of other alternatives. The
third alternative, no acquisition or exchange, would evaluate the
effects as if there were no change in the status of the FPL Property
and would assume that the status quo of FPL ownership is maintained.
The cumulative effects analysis would evaluate the foreseeable effects
if power lines were constructed on the FPL Property through the Park.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information about the proposed action,
the EIS, and the scoping process may be obtained from Mr. Brien Culhane
at Everglades National Park by phone at 305-242-7717 or via e-mail at
Brien_Culhane@nps.gov. Additional information, including maps of the
FPL Property and proposed transmission corridors, can be found on the
NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site, https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever. Select ``Acquisition of Florida Power and
Light Company Lands in the East Everglades Expansion Area.''
Authority: The authority for publishing this notice is contained
in 40 CFR 1506.6
The responsible official for this Notice of Intent is the Regional
Director, Southeast Region, NPS, 100 Alabama Street, SW., 1924
Building, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
Dated: May 19, 2011.
Gordon Wissinger,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-13114 Filed 5-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-XH-P
