31146 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 19, 1996 / Notices

Dated: June 12, 1996.

Mary Jo Yoas,

Chief, Lands and Minerals Adjudication

Section.

[FR Doc. 96–15572 Filed 6–18–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–32–P

National Park Service

Notice of Availability of the Draft

Development Concept Plan/

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Entrance Area/Road Corridor,

Denali National Park and Preserve

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the

Draft Development Concept Plan/

Environmental Impact Statement for the

Entrance Area/Road Corridor, Denali

National Park and Preserve.

SUMMARY: The National Park Service

announces the availability of a Draft

Development Concept Plan/

Environmental Impact Statement (DCP/

EIS) for the Entrance Area/Road

Corridor (Front Country) of Denali

National Park and Preserve. The

document describes and analyzes the

environmental impacts of a proposed

action and three other action

alternatives for visitor facilities and

services. A no action alternative also is

evaluated. This notice announces the

dates and locations of public hearings to

solicit comments on the draft DCP/EIS.

DATES: Comments on the draft DCP/EIS

must be received no later than August

19, 1996. Hearing dates, times, and

locations are listed under

Supplementary Information, below.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the draft

DCP/EIS should be submitted to the

Superintendent, Denali National Park

and Preserve, Post Office Box 9, Denali

Park, Alaska 99755. Copies of the draft

DCP/EIS are available by request from

the aforementioned address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mike Tranel, Denali National Park and

Preserve. Telephone: (907) 683–9552

FAX: (907) 683–9612.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to section 102(2)(C) of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (P.L.

91–190, as amended), the National Park

Service, has prepared a draft DCP/EIS

for proposed visitor facilities and

services on the front country Denali

National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Information meetings and public

hearings are scheduled in Alaska on the

dates and at the times and locations

indicated below.

• August 5 (Monday), Anchorage,

Egan Center, Room 56, 6:30 to 10:00 pm.

• August 6 (Tuesday), Talkeetna/

Trapper Creek, Upper Susitna Valley

Senior Center, 6:30 to 10:30 pm.

• August 7 (Wednesday), Healy, TriValley Community Center, 6:30 to 10:00

pm.

• August 8 (Thursday), Fairbanks,

Westmark Hotel, 6:30 to 10:00 pm.

• August 13 (Tuesday), Cantwell,

Community Hall, 6:30 to 10:00 pm.

• August 14 (Wednesday), Denali

Park, Denali Park Hotel, 6:30 to 10:00

pm.

The first hour of each meeting will be

a discussion session. Representatives of

the NPS planning team will be available

to answer questions and hear your

comments in a more informal setting.

The rest of the meeting will be a public

hearing; a brief introduction by the

planning team will be followed by

public testimony on the plan.

The draft DCP/EIS includes five

alternatives for providing for visitor use

and resource protection and related

facility development in the front

country of Denali National Park and

Preserve. The front country includes all

non-wilderness areas along the Parks

Highway, the Riley Creek/headquarters

area, and the park road corridor to the

Kantishna airstrip. The five alternatives

include a no action alternative and four

action alternatives. The proposed action

is based on the recommendations of the

Denali Task Force, a committee formed

at the request of the Secretary of the

Interior in 1994, on proposals received

during public scoping, on previous

plans, and on planning team work and

impact analysis.

Facilities and services considered in

the proposed action and in each

alternative include visitor

accommodations, campgrounds, camper

conveniences, interpretive facilities,

transportation, parking, bus tours,

bicycle use, rest and picnic areas,

concessions, road maintenance, trails,

employee housing, administrative and

support facilities, airstrips, and utility

systems. The alternatives differ in

construction costs, extent and location

of visitor facilities, and corresponding

environmental, social, and economic

impacts.

The Proposed Action (Alternative D)

would provide visitor facilities and

services in the front country to meet a

wide range of visitor needs and

interests. Front country developments

would be limited to actions in which

the NPS has traditionally specialized,

such as interpretive centers,

environmental education opportunities,

trails, and campgrounds. The park hotel

would be closed, and the NPS would

encourage the private sector to develop

visitor service facilities

(accommodations, food service, and

other commercial services) outside the

park. The existing Visitor Access Center

would be remodeled and expanded to

serve as an interpretive/science center,

and a new visitor services building and

parking would be constructed nearby.

Camper convenience services would be

provided in this same area and the

existing store and temporary shower

building removed. Some buildings in

the former hotel area would be

adaptively used to provide an

environmental education facility. New

permanent rest areas would be

constructed at Savage and Toklat.

Additional trails would be constructed

primarily in the Nenana River and

Savage River areas. New campsites

would be developed in the entrance

area, the Nenana River corridor, and in

the Kantishna area. Road maintenance

and repair would be upgraded to

address safety concerns and major

structural failures along the park road.

These actions would be phased in over

the 15- to 20-year life of the plan.

Alternative A (No Action—Continue

Current Management Direction)

represents no change from current

management direction. With the

exception of development concepts not

yet implemented, it continues the

present course of action set forth in

existing management plans and

guidance documents including the

Statement for Management (1995) and

the General Management Plan/Land

Protection Plan/Wilderness Suitability

Review (1986). This alternative

represents the existing situation in the

park, so existing facilities and services

would remain. For example, the

temporary park hotel would be

rehabilitated as funds allow, adaptive

use of historic structures and

overcrowding of administrative space

would continue, campgrounds would

not be expanded, and no new trail

construction or additional trail

maintenance would be done.

Alternative B (Implement

Development Concepts from Previous

Plans) would fully implement previous

planning decisions and development

concepts contained in approved plans

such as the 1986 General Management

Plan and the 1992 Amendment to the

1983 Development Concept Plan/

Environmental Assessment for the park

road corridor and 1987 addendum (1992

Riley Creek Amendment). These

documents not only propose additional

facilities throughout the park to support

NPS operations; they also propose

increased visitor services and facilities

within the park entrance area. Examples

of new facilities proposed include a new

hotel and camper convenience center to
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 19, 1996 / Notices 31147

replace existing temporary facilities, a

hostel in the entrance area, a new

interpretive center with additional

administrative space, a 50-site

expansion to Riley Creek campground,

and upgraded trail maintenance in the

entrance area.

Alternative C (Reduce Facilities and

Services Inside Park) would reduce the

level of development and visitor

services inside the park and encourage

the private sector to provide necessary

new facilities such as overnight

accommodations, campgrounds, and

camper conveniences outside the park

boundary. Major new park facilities

such as an interpretive center and an

environmental education center would

be constructed outside the park as well.

The park entrance area would function

primarily as a staging area for trips

farther into the park rather than as a

destination in itself. This alternative

allows for minimizing resource impacts

and therefore maximizing resource

protection inside the park.

Alternative E (Emphasize Visitor

Services and Recreational Opportunities

Within the Park) would significantly

enhance the visitor experience by

concentrating new development inside

the park and providing a diversity of

visitor facilities and services in the front

country to meet a wide range of visitor

needs and interests. The NPS would

take the leading role in providing new

visitor services. A new hotel would

replace the existing temporary building,

and a hostel or similar low-cost

accommodations would be constructed

at a separate location. A new

interpretive center, a camper

conveniences center, and an

environmental education facility would

be constructed just north of Riley Creek

Campground. Additional campsites

would be developed throughout the

front country. New permanent rest areas

would be constructed at Toklat and

Savage, and trails would be upgraded

and expanded at several locations. Road

maintenance and repair along the park

road would be upgraded to address

documented structural problems as well

as safety concerns and actual structural

failures.

Dated: June 6, 1996.

Robert D. Barbee,

Field Director, Alaska Field Office.

[FR Doc. 96–15451 Filed 6–18–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing

its intention to request approval for the

collections of information for 30 CFR

parts 886 and 887.

DATES: Comments on the proposed

information collection must be received

by August 19, 1996 to be assured of

consideration.

ADDRESSES: . Comments may be mailed

to John A. Trelease, Office of Surface

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,

1951 Constitution Ave, NW., Room 120–

SIB, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request a copy of the information

collection request, explanatory

information and related forms, contact

John A. Trelease, at (202) 208–2783.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

of Management and Budget (OMB)

regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which

implement provisions of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13),

require that interested members of the

public and affected agencies have an

opportunity to comment on information

collection and recordkeeping activities

(see 5 CFR 1320.8 (d)). This notice

identifies information collections that

OSM will be submitting to OMB for

extension. These collections are

contained in 30 CFR part 886, State and

Tribal Reclamation Grants; and part 887,

Subsidence Insurance Program Grants.

OSM has revised burden estimates,

where appropriate, to reflect current

reporting levels or adjustments based on

reestimates of burden or respondents.

OSM will request a 3-year term of

approval for each information collection

activity.

Comments are invited on: (1) the need

for the collection of information for the

performance of the functions of the

agency; (2) the accuracy of the agency’s

burden estimates; (3) ways to enhance

the quality, utility and clarity of the

information collection; and (4) ways to

minimize the information collection

burden on respondents, such as use of

automated means of collection of the

information. A summary of the public

comments will be included in OSM’s

submissions of the information

collection requests to OMB.

The following information is provided

for each information collection: (1) title

of the information collection; (2) OMB

control number; (3) summary of the

information collection activity; and (4)

frequency of collection, description of

the respondents, estimated total annual

responses, and the total annual

reporting and recordkeeping burden for

the collection of information.

Title: State and Tribal Reclamation

Grants—30 CFR 886.

OMB control Number: 1029–0059.

Summary: States and Indian tribes

participating in the Abandoned Mined

Land Reclamation Fund (AMLR)

Program are requested to cooperate with

OSM in developing budget information

for use by the Director, OSM, in the

preparation of his request to Congress

for appropriation of monies from the

AMLR as authorized by section 405(f) of

the Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977.

Bureau Form Number: OSM–49.

Frequency of Collection: Annually.

Description of Respondents: State and

Tribal reclamation authorities.

Total Annual Responses: 26.

Tatal Annual Burden Hours: 130

hours

Title: Subsidence Insurance Program

Grants—30 CFR 887.

OMB Control Number: 1029–0107.

Summary: States having an approved

reclamation plan may establish,

administer and operate self-sustaining

state-administered programs to insure

private property against damages caused

by land subsidence resulting from

underground mining. States interested

in requesting monies for their insurance

programs would apply to the Director of

OSM.

Bureau Form Number: None.

Frequency of Collection: Once.

Description of Respondents: States

with approved coal reclamation plans.

Total Annual Responses: 0.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 1.

Dated: June 14, 1996.

Gene E. Krueger,

Acting Chief, Office of Technology

Development and Transfer.

[FR Doc. 96–15623 Filed 6–18–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M