Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 141 / Friday, July 24, 2009 / Notices 36739 

of the BLM decision making process. 

However, the BLM will not formally 

respond to the comments. 

The BLM asks that those submitting 

comments make them as specific as 

possible with reference to page numbers 

and chapters in the FEIS. 

Public comments, including the 

names and mailing addresses of 

respondents, will be available for public 

review at the Idaho Falls District Office 

in Idaho Falls, Idaho, during regular 

business hours from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. Individual respondents may 

request confidentiality. Before including 

your address, phone number, e-mail 

address, or other personal identifying 

information in your comments, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you may ask us in your comments to 

withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. All submissions from 

organizations and businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

available for public inspection in their 

entirety. 

David Rosenkrance, 

BLM Challis Field Manager. 

[FR Doc. E9–17677 Filed 7–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–GG–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Modification/Removal of the Canal 

Diversion Dam in Cuyahoga Valley 

National Park, OH 

AGENCY: National Park Service, 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Modification/Removal of the Canal 

Diversion Dam in Cuyahoga Valley 

National Park, Ohio. 

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

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the 

National Park Service (NPS) is 

announcing its intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the modification/removal of the 

Canal Diversion Dam in Cuyahoga 

Valley National Park, Ohio. The Canal 

Diversion Dam on the Cuyahoga River is 

owned by the Ohio Department of 

Natural Resources (ODNR). The NPS 

will be the lead Federal Agency for 

preparation of the EIS, and ODNR and 

the Ohio Environmental Protection 

Agency (OEPA) will be cooperating 

agencies. The Canal Diversion Dam 

(alternatively known as the Brecksville 

Dam, Station Road Dam, SR82 Dam, or 

SUM–3253–1) on the Cuyahoga River is 

183 feet long, nearly 8 feet high, and 

feeds water into the Ohio and Erie Canal 

that then drains north through 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park and into 

Cleveland Metropark’s Ohio and Erie 

Canal Reservation. The watered portion 

of the canal and its historic features are 

a National Historic Landmark. 

The OEPA has concluded that the 

dam negatively impacts water quality 

and interrupts aquatic communities by 

restricting fish passage. The NPS has 

concluded that maintaining water in the 

canal is also critical because of the 

important natural, cultural, and 

educational values associated with the 

watered portion of the canal. 

Alternatives that seek to improve river 

water quality and habitat values while 

maintaining a watered canal segment 

are being evaluated. 

DATES: To determine the scope of issues 

to be addressed in the EIS and to 

identify significant issues related to the 

modification/removal of the Canal 

Diversion Dam, the NPS and 

cooperating agencies will conduct a 

public scoping meeting in the area of 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 

Representatives of the NPS and the 

cooperating agencies will be available to 

discuss issues, resource concerns, and 

the planning process at the public 

meeting. When the public scoping 

meeting has been scheduled, its 

location, date, and time will be 

published in local media and on the 

NPS Web site listed below. 

ADDRESSES: Information will be 

available for public review and 

comment, either in person or by written 

request, at the headquarters for 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park located 

at 15610 Vaughn Road, Brecksville, 

Ohio 44141; telephone 216–524–1497. 

Information will be available at the NPS 

Planning, Environment and Public 

Comment (PEPC) Web site at http:// 

parkplanning.nps.gov/cuva. Information 

will also be available from the OEPA, 

2110 East Aurora Road, Twinsburg, 

Ohio 44087. 

To facilitate sound analysis of 

environmental impacts, the NPS and 

cooperating agencies are gathering 

information necessary for the 

preparation of the EIS. Suggestions on 

environmental issues to be analyzed and 

additional alternatives to consider are 

being sought from other Agencies, 

Tribes, organizations, and the public. 

Comments and participation in this 

scoping process are invited and 

encouraged. If you wish to comment on 

the scoping materials or on any other 

issues associated with the EIS, you may 

submit your comments by any one of 

several methods. You may submit your 

comments online through the PEPC Web 

site: Click on the link titled 

‘‘Modification/removal of Canal 

Diversion Dam on the Cuyahoga River at 

Station Road/SR82.’’ You may also mail 

comments to the OEPA at the address 

given above. To aid in the scoping 

process, comments should be received 

within 45 days of the beginning of the 

public comment period. 

Interested Agencies and organizations 

are also invited to arrange meetings to 

provide input directly. Such meetings 

can be arranged by contacting the OEPA 

at the address and telephone above. 

Before including your address, 

telephone number, e-mail address, or 

other personal identifying information 

in your comments, 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 

comments to withhold your personal 

identifying information from public 

review, we cannot guarantee that we 

will be able to do so. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information concerning the scope of the 

EIS and to arrange Agency meetings, 

requests should be directed to: William 

J. Zawiski, Environmental Scientist, 

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, 

2110 East Aurora Road, Twinsburg, 

Ohio 44087; e-mail: 

bill.zawiski@epa.state.oh.us; telephone 

330–963–1134. Information can also be 

obtained from the Project Contact, Meg 

Plona, Biologist, Cuyahoga Valley 

National Park, telephone 330–342–0764, 

extension 2. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Cuyahoga River upstream of the dam 

does not meet aquatic community goals 

set forth in Ohio’s Water Quality 

Standards. The Lower Cuyahoga River 

Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) 

report, as well as previous OEPA water 

quality surveys, has indicated that a 

cause of nonattainment of the standards 

is the dam. The TMDL report 

recommends that the Canal Diversion 

Dam be modified or removed to restore 

water quality in the Cuyahoga River 

upstream of the structure. Public and 

stakeholder scoping regarding 

modification or removal of the dam was 

initiated by the OEPA in August 2002, 

and included public meetings August 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
36740 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 141 / Friday, July 24, 2009 / Notices 

and November 2005. It was unclear 

whether the proposed action would 

involve NPS lands or adversely affect 

NPS resources, or whether such effects 

could be appropriately analyzed in 

another NEPA document until more 

information regarding possible 

alternatives and impacts became 

available. The NPS managers now 

believe that an EIS is most appropriate 

given the scope and complexity of the 

proposed action, and the likelihood that 

alternatives may impact park resources, 

involve access to NPS lands, or utilize 

NPS funds. All information generated 

during the previous scoping process 

will be retained for use in this EIS 

process. Anyone who contributed 

comments to the OEPA regarding the 

dam removal need not resend their 

comments. 

A preliminary set of alternatives for 

modification or removal of the Canal 

Diversion Dam has been developed. 

These include: (1) No Action—the dam 

would remain on the river continuing to 

adversely impact water quality of the 

Cuyahoga River and provide water to 

the Ohio and Erie Canal; (2) Total 

Removal—the dam would be removed, 

restoring a free-flowing river and water 

would be provided to the Ohio and Erie 

Canal to maintain its current watered 

state; and (3) Partial Removal/ 

Modification—the dam would be altered 

to allow for restoration of water quality 

as well as eliminating existing 

recreational boating hazard. Water 

would be provided to the Ohio and Erie 

Canal to maintain its current watered 

state. A variety of background 

documents have been completed and 

are available for review in the NPS 

PEPC Web site listed above. 

Dated: December 5, 2008. 

Ernest Quintana, 

Regional Director, Midwest Region. 

Editorial Note: This document was 

received in the Office of the Federal Register 

on July 21, 2009. 

[FR Doc. E9–17705 Filed 7–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MA–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural 

Items: U.S. Department of Defense, 

Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla 

District, Walla Walla, WA and Museum 

of Anthropology, Washington State 

University, Pullman, WA 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Notice is here given in accordance 

with the Native American Graves 

Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of the intent 

to repatriate cultural items in the 

control of the U.S. Department of 

Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, 

Walla Walla District, Walla Walla, WA, 

and in the physical custody of the 

Museum of Anthropology, Washington 

State University, Pullman, WA, that 

meet the definition of ‘‘unassociated 

funerary objects’’ under 25 U.S.C. 3001. 

This notice is published as part of the 

National Park Service’s administrative 

responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 

U.S.C. 3003 (d)(3). The determinations 

in this notice are the sole responsibility 

of the museum, institution, or Federal 

agency that has control of the 

unassociated funerary objects. The 

National Park Service is not responsible 

for the determinations in this notice. 

In July 1963, cultural items were 

removed from the Marmes Rockshelter 

(45FR50), Franklin County, WA, by 

Washington State University under 

contract with the National Park Service 

and prior to the inundation of the 

reservoir created by the construction of 

the Lower Monumental Dam by the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers. The material 

from the excavation is curated at 

Washington State University. The 

cultural items that were removed are 

believed to have been placed with or 

near the human remains from Burial 13. 

As the human remains from Burial 13 

are not in the control or possession of 

a Federal agency or museum, the 

cultural items are unassociated funerary 

objects. The 176 unassociated funerary 

objects are 44 faunal fragments, 12 

basalt samples, 15 chert/ 

cryptocrystalline flakes, 2 shells, 9 

organic materials (including plants), 1 

stone sample, 6 pieces of basalt blocky 

shatter, 6 pieces of chert/ 

cryptocrystalline blocky shatter, 2 chert/ 

cryptocrystalline flake shatter, 6 basalt 

flake shatter, 2 obsidian flakes, 1 

retouched basalt flake, 1 retouched 

chert/cryptocrystalline flake, 53 basalt 

flakes, 1 chert/cryptocrystalline core, 1 

chert/cryptocrystalline flakes, 12 basalt 

flakes, and 2 lots of shell remains. 

The unassociated funerary objects are 

determined to be associated with the 

Late Cascade Phase (6500 to 4500 BP). 

The archeological evidence found in the 

Marmes Rockshelter (and in six nearby 

archeological sites) supports a nearly 

continuous occupation from the Late 

Cascade Phase to the Harder Phase 

(2500–500 BP), and provides the most 

direct physical line of evidence 

supporting a determination of cultural 

affiliation between an earlier group and 

a present-day Indian tribe. Geographical 

and anthropological lines of evidence 

support the archeological. Oral tradition 

evidence provided by tribal elders 

indicates that a large Palus (Palouse) 

village, inhabited by tribal ancestors 

from time immemorial, was once 

located near the Marmes Rockshelter. 

According to tribal elders, these 

ancestors were mobile, and traveled the 

landscape to gather resources as well as 

trade among each other. 

Ethnographic documentation 

indicates that the present-day location 

of the Marmes Rockshelter in Franklin 

County, WA, is within the territory 

occupied historically by the Palus 

(Palouse) Indians. During the historic 

period, the Palouse people settled along 

the Snake River, relied on fish, game 

and root resources for subsistence, 

shared their resource areas and 

maintained extensive kinship 

connections with other groups in the 

area, and had limited political 

integration until the adoption of the 

horse (Walker 1998). These 

characteristics are common to the 

greater Plateau cultural communities 

surrounding the Palouse territory 

including the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Walla 

Walla, Yakama, and Wanapum groups. 

Moreover, the information provided 

during consultation by representatives 

of the Confederated Tribes of the 

Colville Reservation, Washington; 

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla 

Indian Reservation, Oregon; 

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the 

Yakama Nation, Washington; Nez Perce 

Tribe, Idaho; and the Wanapum Band, a 

non-Federally recognized Indian group, 

substantiate their cultural affiliation 

with each other and with the earlier 

group represented at the Marmes 

Rockshelter. The descendants of these 

Plateau communities of southeastern 

Washington, now widely dispersed, are 

members of the Confederated Tribes of 

the Colville Reservation, Washington; 

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla 

Indian Reservation, Oregon; 

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the 

Yakama Nation, Washington; Nez Perce 

Tribe, Idaho; and the Wanapum Band, a 

non-Federally recognized Indian group. 

Officials of the U.S. Department of 

Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, 

Walla Walla District have determined 

that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(B), 

the 176 unassociated funerary objects 

described above are reasonably believed 

to have been placed with or near 

individual human remains at the time of 

death or later as part of the death rite 

or ceremony and are believed, by a 

preponderance of the evidence, to have 

been removed from a specific burial site 

of a Native American individual. 

Officials of the U.S. Department of 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES