75768 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 242 / Monday, December 18, 2006 / Notices 

Any determination by the BLM to 

release or withhold the names and/or 

addresses of those who comment will be 

made on a case-by case basis. A request 

from a commenter to have their name 

and/or address withheld from public 

release will be honored to the extent 

permissible by law. 

Authority: 43 C.F.R. 2711.1–2. 

Dated: October 12, 2006. 

Juan Palma, 

Field Manager. 

[FR Doc. E6–21469 Filed 12–15–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Environmental Impact Report for 

Redwood Creek and Wetland 

Restoration at Big Lagoon-Muir Beach 

Area Golden Gate National Recreation 

Area Marin County, CA; Notice of 

Availability 

Summary: Pursuant to § 102(2)(C) of 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (Pub. L. 91–190, 42 U.S.C. 

4321–4347, January 1, 1970, as 

amended), and the Council on 

Environmental Quality Regulations (40 

CFR parts 1500 through 1508), the 

National Park Service, Department of 

the Interior, has prepared a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement/Draft 

Environmental Report (Draft EIS/EIR) 

for the Wetland and Creek Restoration at 

Big Lagoon. This Draft EIS/EIR evaluates 

alternatives for ecological restoration 

and public access upgrades in the Big 

Lagoon area at Muir Beach, part of the 

Golden Gate National Recreation Area 

(GGNRA). The National Park Service 

(NPS) and County of Marin (County) 

have jointly prepared the Draft EIS/EIR 

in accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the California Environmental Quality 

Act (CEQA). The Draft EIS/EIR analyzes 

multiple alternatives for ecological 

restoration, public access 

improvements, bridge replacement, and 

fill disposal locations. The alternatives 

are based upon park values, effective 

restoration strategies and public access 

approaches, NPS and County policy, 

and applicable law. 

Background: Redwood Creek is a 

coastal stream located in Marin County, 

California. The project’s area of 

potential effect encompasses the lower 

reach of Redwood Creek extending from 

where the creek passes underneath 

Highway 1, to its mouth at the Pacific 

Ocean approximately 2,800 feet 

downstream. Within this reach, the 

creek and its floodplain have been 

extensively modified by realignment of 

the creek; construction of Pacific Way 

and the Pacific Way bridge, a levee road 

that borders the creek, and the NPS 

parking lot and picnic area; and 

placement of gabions and other artificial 

fill in the creek channel and on its 

floodplain. Combined, these 

modifications to the creek and its 

floodplain have altered channel 

hydraulics and reduced its sediment 

transport capacity, resulting in extreme 

sediment deposition in the creek 

channel and reduction in channel 

capacity. Under current conditions, the 

creek floods during even moderate rain 

events, inundating Pacific Way, 

stranding residents, and hindering 

access to the public beach. In the 

winter, residents along Pacific Way 

often cannot access Highway 1, the sole 

connecting road, because floodwaters 

commonly prevent passage by vehicles 

and pedestrians. This lack of access 

severely limits emergency services. 

In addition to the flooding, current 

conditions in lower Redwood Creek 

present a risk of channel avulsion, in 

which the creek could abandon its 

existing channel and establish a new 

channel in the floodplain. Avulsion of 

the channel to the adjacent meadow, 

which is several feet lower in elevation 

than the channel bed, could impair 

passage of adult and juvenile coho 

salmon and steelhead through the lower 

creek and could have undetermined 

consequences to infrastructure. 

GGNRA has determined that 

restoration activities at the project site 

are necessary to address these issues, 

GGNRA and the County have been 

involved in an active planning process 

to identify alternative restoration and 

public access alternatives to address 

these identified issues. 

Proposal and Alternatives: As noted, 

this Draft EIS/EIR describes and 

analyzes four alternatives. Alternative 1, 

the ‘‘baseline’’ No Action Alternative, 

would maintain the existing 

management direction. Alternatives 2, 3, 

and 4 (action alternatives) contain 

varying mixes of three main 

components: (1) Ecological restoration; 

(2) public access upgrades, including a 

reconfiguration of the existing parking 

lot; and (3) replacement of the Pacific 

Way Bridge. Each of the action 

alternatives incorporates the following 

elements: Interim flood reduction 

measures; Relocation of the Redwood 

Creek channel; Construction of new 

drainage swale and upper pasture 

modification; Backbeach lagoon 

enhancement, channel realignment, and 

dune restoration; Removal of levee road; 

Invasive species removal; Removal of 

tavern remnants; Removal of utility 

lines; Removal of concrete channels and 

revetment; Modification to Green Gulch 

field 7. The main differences between 

the action alternatives is the approach 

by which ecological restoration would 

occur. 

Alternative 3 would combine riparian 

restoration components with restoration 

of open water and wetland habitants. 

Two open-water lagoons would be 

created, one on either side of the new 

channel. The two small lagoons would 

be backwaters, connected to the creek 

near the downstream end of each 

lagoon. The banks of the lagoons would 

have varied slopes to favor a variety of 

habitats. The lagoons would maintain a 

minimum water depth of 3–4 feet yearround. Alternative 4 would create a 

periodically brackish open-water habitat 

similar to historic (1853) conditions, 

modified to reflect existing constraints 

of Pacific Way and private property. 

This would involve creating a large 

lagoon with fringing wetlands extending 

to the edge of the valley immediately 

landward of Muir Beach. The lagoon 

would be excavated with gentle side 

slopes to encourage colonization of 

emergent wetland vegetation. Like the 

small lagoons under Alternative 3, the 

large lagoon would maintain a 

minimum water depth of 3–4 feet yearround. 

Alternative 2 (Creek Restoration) 

(agency-preferred alternative) would 

involve relocating approximately 2,000 

linear feet of Redwood Creek to the 

topographically lowest portion of the 

valley, while maintaining a habitat mix 

similar to current conditions. In 

addition to relocating Redwood Creek, 

this alternative includes the following 

two core elements: Parking—A parking 

lot with capacity for 175 cars located 

parallel to Pacific Way. The lot would 

include a new turn-off from Pacific Way 

and would include 310 linear feet of 

stacking room for cars between the 

entrance and the first parking stall. 

Other parking lot options considered in 

the Draft EIS/EIR include: maintaining 

the current capacity of 175 Cars at 

Beach; Alternative B1 (50 Cars at 

Beach); Alternative B2 (145 Cars at 

Beach); Alternative B3 (175 Cars at 

Beach—similar shape as existing lot); 

Alternative B5 (200 Cars at Beach); and 

Alternative C (118 Cars at Alder Grove 

plus 14 Handicapped Spaces and DropOff at Beach). 

Bridge Replacement—150-foot-long 

bridge with raised road. This bridge 

would span the new 35-foot-wide 

channel and areas of riparian habitat 

and flood plain on either side of the 

channel. Two-foot-wide piers, placed at 

approximately 40-foot intervals, would 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 242 / Monday, December 18, 2006 / Notices 75769 

be used to support the span. Other 

bridge alternatives considered in the 

Draft EIS/EIR include: Alternative BR1 

(50-foot-long bridge with a raised road); 

Alternative BR2 (50-foot-long bridge 

with a low road); Alternative BR3 (150- 

foot-long bridge with raised road); and 

Alternative BR4 (266- to 300-foot-long 

bridge with highest road). 

Scoping and Public Involvement: 

Between December 2002 and December 

2004, 17 public meetings were held, as 

well as a variety of site visits and 

meetings with representatives of various 

agencies. On December 3, 2002, a Notice 

of Intent (NOI) to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement was 

published in the Federal Register, 

beginning the formal scoping process for 

the project. The NOI identified goals for 

the project, and public scoping meetings 

were held on October 22, October 29, 

and November 2, 2002, with a site visit 

for the public held on November 9, 

2002, to solicit input on the project and 

its potential impacts. Following these 

meetings, a Big Lagoon Working Group 

consisting of interested individuals, 

agencies, and organizations was formed 

to help develop project alternatives. The 

working group convened regularly in 

meetings that were open to the public. 

In addition, two alternatives workshops 

were held for the public on September 

30 and October 4, 2003. The results of 

those workshops, as well as a more 

detailed summary of the scoping 

process, are presented in the 

Alternatives Public Workshops Report 

(NPS 2004). Finally, Marin County 

circulated a Notice of Preparation of an 

Environmental Impact Report on April 

27, 2004, soliciting comments on the 

specific issues to be included in the 

scope of CEQA environmental review. 

All of these activities informed the 

alternatives formulation process. 

Comments: Copies of the Draft EIS/ 

EIR will be sent to affected Federal, 

Tribal, State and local government 

agencies, to interested parties, and those 

requesting copies. Paper and digital 

copies (compact disc) of the document 

will also be available at park 

headquarters and at local libraries. The 

complete document will be posted on 

the GGNRA’s Web site (http:// 

www.nps.gov/goga) and on NPS’s 

Planning, Environment and Public 

Comment Web site (http:// 

parkplanning.nps.gov/goga). All written 

comments must be postmarked or 

transmitted no later than 75 days from 

the date of EPA’s notice of filing 

published in the Federal Register (as 

soon as this occurs, the confirmed close 

of the comment period will be posted on 

the Web sites noted above, and listed in 

all notification announcements sent 

from GGNRA). Written comments will 

be accepted online at http:// 

parkplanning.nps.gov/goga (click on the 

project title and follow instructions), or 

by sending a letter addressed as follows: 

Superintendent, Golden Gate National 

Recreation Area, Fort Mason, Building 

201, San Francisco, CA 94123 (Attn: 

Muir Beach Creek and Wetland 

Restoration). Two public meetings will 

be scheduled to hear comments on the 

Draft EIS/EIR, approximately 30 days 

after publication of this notice in the 

Federal Register. Please visit the project 

Web site (noted above) to learn more 

about the project, planning process, and 

the confirmed dates and time for the 

public meetings. Questions regarding 

this project may also be directed at any 

time to Steve Ortega (415) 561–4841 or 

via e-mail at steve_ortega@nps.gov. 

All comments are maintained in the 

administrative record and will be 

available for public review at GGNRA 

headquarters. Please note our practice is 

to make comments, including names, 

home addresses, home phone numbers, 

and e-mail addresses of respondents, 

available for public review. Individual 

respondents may request that we 

withhold their names and/or home 

addresses, etc., but if you wish us to 

consider withholding this information 

you must state this prominently at the 

beginning of your comments. In 

addition, you must present a rationale 

for withholding this information. This 

rationale must demonstrate that 

disclosure would constitute a clearly 

unwarranted invasion of privacy. 

Unsupported assertions will not meet 

this burden. In the absence of 

exceptional, documentable 

circumstances, this information will be 

released. 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. 

Decision Process: Following the 

analysis of all comments received 

concerning the Draft EIS/EIR, at this 

time it is anticipated that the Final EIS/ 

EIR would be completed in spring 2007. 

The availability of the final documents 

will be announced in the Federal 

Register, and also publicized via local 

and regional press media, direct 

mailings, and Web site postings. Not 

sooner than thirty days after the 

distribution of the Final EIS/EIR, a 

Record of Decision may be executed (at 

this time it is anticipated a 

recommended decision would be 

developed in summer 2007). As a 

delegated EIS the approving official 

responsible for the final decision is the 

Regional Director, Pacific West Region. 

Subsequently, the official responsible 

for implementing the approved wetland 

and restoration plan will be the General 

Superintendent, Golden Gate National 

Recreation Area. 

Dated: October 3, 2006. 

Patricia L. Neubacher, 

Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region. 

[FR Doc. 06–9748 Filed 12–15–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–FN–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Reclamation 

New Melones Lake Project Resource 

Management Plan/Environmental 

Impact Statement (RMP/EIS), Calaveras 

and Tuolumne Counties, CA 

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

RMP/EIS and notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Reclamation Act of 1902, the 

Reclamation Project Act of 1939, and 

the Reclamation Recreation 

Management Act of 1992, the Bureau of 

Reclamation (Reclamation) proposes to 

prepare an integrated RMP/EIS for the 

New Melones Lake Project. Reclamation 

is the lead federal agency for NEPA. The 

RMP process is designed to evaluate 

current and future resource conditions 

for a management area and to analyze 

whether updated or new management 

actions are necessary to attain desired 

long-term goals. 

The public is invited to participate in 

the planning process by submitting 

comments during the scoping period 

and the public comment period on the 

draft RMP/EIS. Other opportunities to 

participate will be described during the 

public scoping meetings. 

DATES: Reclamation will host a series of 

three public scoping meetings to solicit 

input on the development of 

alternatives, concerns, and issues to be 

addressed in the RMP/EIS. The meeting 

dates and times are: 

• Monday, January 29, 2007, 6:30 to 

8:30 p.m., Sonora, CA, 

• Tuesday, January 30, 2007, 6:30 to 

8:30 p.m., Angels Camp, CA, 

• Wednesday, January 31, 2007, 6:30 

to 8:30 p.m., Manteca, CA. 

ADDRESSES: Scoping meetings will be 

held at: 

• Sonora at the Sonora Union High 

School Cafeteria, 251, South Barretta 

Street, Sonora, CA, 


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