Fish and Wildlife Service January 8, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are reinitiating scoping with regard to the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Otay River Estuary Restoration Project. As originally proposed, the project involved the restoration of estuarine and salt marsh (subtidal and intertidal wetlands) habitats within the western terminus of the Otay River and a portion of the salt ponds in the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge-South San Diego Bay Unit. Based on information developed since the original scoping period, the proposed project may now also include the restoration of a portion of the D Street Fill, located within the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge-Sweetwater Marsh Unit. We originally published a notice of intent on November 14, 2011 (76 FR 70480), and scoping comments were accepted through January 12, 2012. Since then, we have expanded the Area of Potential Effect of the restoration project to include the salt ponds and D Street Fill within the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This second notice advises the public that we intend to gather additional information through scoping regarding an EIS for the expanded project. We encourage the public and other agencies to participate in the NEPA scoping process by sending written suggestions and information on the issues and concerns that should be addressed in the draft EIS, including the range of alternatives, appropriate mitigation measures, and the nature and extent of potential environmental impacts. Comments submitted during the earlier scoping period do not need to be resubmitted.