Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 75565

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service 

General Management Plan Revision, 

Final Environmental Impact Statement, 

Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

AGENCY: National Park Service, 

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the 

Record of Decision on the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

General Management Plan Revision, 

Petrified Forest National Park. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969, 83 Stat. 852, 853, codified 

as amended at 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C), 

the National Park Service announces the 

availability of the Record of Decision for 

the General Management Plan Revision, 

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. 

On October 15, 2004, the Director, 

Intermountain Region, approved the 

Record of Decision for the project. As 

soon as practicable, the National Park 

Service will begin to implement the 

preferred alternative contained in the 

FEIS issued on August 25, 2005. The 

following course of action will occur 

under the selected alternative: Reusing 

and maintaining the historic integrity of 

Painted Desert headquarters complex 

will be a priority. Visitor services at 

Painted Desert Inn (rehabilitated) will 

be expanded. Facility improvements 

will be made at Rainbow Forest. Park 

lands will be managed similar to now, 

but with greater protection for natural 

and cultural resources from increased 

monitoring and adapting to new 

information. Some trails and turnouts 

will be added, and visitor hours will be 

expanded in the north. Most park 

collections will be housed in a new 

facility. This course of action, along 

with a no action alternative and two 

other action alternatives were analyzed 

in the Draft and Final Environmental 

Impact Statements. The full range of 

foreseeable environmental 

consequences was assessed, and 

appropriate mitigating measures were 

identified. 

The Record of Decision includes a 

statement of the decision made, 

synopsis of other alternatives 

considered, the basis for the decision, a 

description of the environmentally 

preferable alternative, a finding on 

impairment of park resources and 

values, a listing of measures to 

minimize environmental harm, an 

overview of public involvement in the 

decision-making process, and a 

conclusion.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lee 

Baiza, Superintendent, Petrified Forest 

National Park, P.O. Box 2217, Petrified 

Forest National Park, Arizona 86028, 

(928) 524–6228, lee_baiza@nps.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of 

the Record of Decision are available 

from the Superintendent listed above or 

on the Internet at: http://

planning.nps.gov/plans.cfm.

Dated: October 15, 2004. 

Stephen P. Martin, 

Director, Intermountain Region, National 

Park Service.

[FR Doc. 04–27608 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Arrowhead-Weston Transmission 

Line River Crossing/Right-of-Way 

Request, Saint Croix National Scenic 

Riverway, WI

AGENCY: National Park Service.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2) of 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969, the National Park Service (NPS) 

announces the availability of the final 

environmental impact statement (FEIS) 

for the Arrowhead-Weston 

Transmission Line River Crossing/Rightof-Way Request, Saint Croix National 

Scenic Riverway, Wisconsin.

DATES: There will be a 30-day waiting 

period before the record of decision is 

signed on the final from the day the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes its notice of availability in the 

Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the FEIS will be 

sent to agencies, Tribes, and individuals 

that made substantive comments on the 

draft EIS, and to public libraries 

throughout the project area. Please 

check the Saint Croix National Scenic 

Riverway (SACN) website for a listing of 

the libraries to which the FEIS will be 

sent. The FEIS is approximately 600 

pages in length with many figures and 

oversize color plates. Due to the size of 

the document, it was not possible to 

provide it over the Internet. A limited 

number of hardcopies are available 

upon request on a first-come first serve 

basis. Additional copies are available on 

compact disk. To request a hardcopy of 

the FEIS or a copy on compact disk, 

please write to the Superintendent, 

Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, 

P.O. Box 708, St. Croix Falls, WI 54024, 

Attention: Kevin Iverson or telephone 

him at 715–483–3284, Extension 606.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill 

Medland, Planning and Compliance 

Specialist, Saint Croix National Scenic 

Riverway, P.O. Box 708, 401 Hamilton 

Street, St. Croix Falls, WI 54024, or by 

telephone 715–483–3284, Extension 

609.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Arrowhead-Weston Project (Project) is a 

345kV Electric Transmission Line 

proposed by Minnesota Power, 

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, 

and American Transmission Company 

(Applicant) that would run for 220 

miles from Duluth, Minnesota, to 

Wausau, Wisconsin. The governmental 

entity with approval authority for the 

overall Project is the Public Service 

Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW). The 

PSCW approved the Project in 2001 and 

re-approved it in 2003. According to the 

Applicant, and as reflected in the PSCW 

decision, the purpose of the overall 

Project is to: (1) Strengthen the bulk 

transmission system by providing a 

second high-capacity connection across 

the Minnesota-Wisconsin interface; and 

(2) to transmit electricity from the upper 

Midwest to markets in the eastern 

Wisconsin area. 

The State-approved route of the 

Project would cross the Namekagon 

River, which is part of the Riverway, in 

Washburn County at a location 

approximately 10 miles downstream of 

the city of Hayward, Wisconsin. The 

NPS has received a right-of-way (ROW) 

request from the Applicant to cross the 

Riverway with the State-approved 

Project. To reach a decision about the 

ROW request and comply with the 

NEPA, the NPS is preparing an EIS. The 

Corps of Engineers is a cooperating 

agency on the EIS, since they would 

also need to issue a permit for the river 

crossing. 

The Applicants propose to cross the 

Namekagon River at an existing 161kV 

electric transmission line corridor 

granted to Xcel Energy as an easement 

by private landowners prior to NPS land 

acquisition in the area. All alternatives 

(except no action) would require 

additional right-of-way from the NPS. 

The following alternatives are under 

consideration for crossing the 

Namekagon River: 

No Action (Deny ROW Request):

161kV line as present on 70′ wood poles 

(would require that the utilities go 

around the Namekagon River and 

reopening of the State process); 

Alternative 1: Double circuit the 

345kV and 161kV lines overhead on 

145–150′ single steel poles (Applicant’s 

preferred); 

Long-span Option: Alternative 1 using 

long-span conductors (shorter poles set