Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 15, 2017 / Notices 52943 

NATIONAL CAPITAL PLANNING 

COMMISSION 

Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement—South Mall Campus Master 

Plan 

AGENCY: National Capital Planning 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comment; notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: The National Capital Planning 

Commission (NCPC or Commission) has 

released a Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement (DEIS) for the Smithsonian 

Institution’s (SI) South Mall Campus 

Master Plan. The DEIS is available for 

comment as of the date of this notice. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

by January 16, 2018. Two public 

meetings will be held to discuss the 

DEIS: 

1. Monday, December 11, 2017, from 

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; and 

2. Monday, December 18, 2017, from 

10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The public meetings will be 

held at the National Capital Planning 

Commission, 401 9th Street NW., Suite 

500, Washington, DC 20004. 

A copy of the DEIS is available for 

review at NCPC, or at: https://

www.ncpc.gov/ and http://

www.southmallcampus.si.edu/ 

You may submit written comments on 

the DEIS by either of the methods listed 

below. 

1. U.S. mail, courier, or hand delivery: 

Urban Design & Plan Review Division/ 

National Capital Planning Commission, 

401 9th Street NW., Suite 500, 

Washington, DC 20004. 

2. Electronically: 

commentsonsouthcampus@si.edu 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew Flis, Senior Urban Designer at 

(202) 482–7236 or matthew.flis@

ncpc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Meetings 

No prior registration is required to 

speak at the meetings. Reasonable 

accommodations are available upon 

request to the contact individual noted 

above. 

Draft EIS 

NCPC, acting as lead federal agency, 

along with SI, as the project owner, and 

in cooperation with the National Park 

Service, has prepared the DEIS to 

evaluate potential environmental 

impacts associated with implementing 

the South Mall Campus Master Plan. 

The DEIS has been prepared in 

compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (NEPA). SI proposes to 

prepare a Master Plan for its South Mall 

Campus to guide future short-term and 

long-term renovation and development 

of the 12-acre campus by establishing 

holistic planning and design principles. 

The campus currently includes five 

principle buildings and four designed 

gardens, located on the southern side of 

the National Mall within the 

monumental core of downtown 

Washington, DC. The Master Plan 

would be implemented over a 20 to 30 

year period. The purpose of the Master 

Plan is to guide future short-term and 

long-term renovation of the South Mall 

Campus. The Master Plan is needed to 

meet SI’s long-term space requirements, 

and to address operational deficiencies 

across the campus that impact visitor 

use and experience, as well as SI’s 

ability to implement its programs 

effectively and safely. The project goals 

are to preserve and protect the historic 

buildings and features of the campus, 

improve and expand visitor services and 

education, create clear accessible 

entrances and connections between the 

museums, gardens and surrounding 

context, and replace aging and 

inefficient building systems in order to 

better protect collections and decrease 

SI’s carbon footprint. The DEIS 

evaluates three master plan action 

alternatives, along with a no-action 

alternative. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4371–4375; 1 CFR 

602.23(c). 

Dated: November 8, 2017. 

Anne R. Schuyler, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2017–24650 Filed 11–14–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7520–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Request for Information—Interagency 

Arctic Research Policy Committee, 

Chaired by the National Science 

Foundation 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The Interagency Arctic 

Research Policy Committee (IARPC), 

chaired by the National Science 

Foundation, is seeking comment from 

the public on how best to revise and 

strengthen the Principles for the 

Conduct of Research in the Arctic 

(https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/arctic/ 

conduct.jsp). These Principles were 

adopted in 1990 by the federal agencies 

that participate in IARPC and published 

in 1990. Since 1990, community 

engagement and Arctic research have 

advanced both in theory and in practice, 

necessitating a review and update of the 

current Principles. The update will 

focus on communicating clearly the 

Principles for community engagement 

by Arctic researchers and including 

language that describes partnerships 

and collaborations with Indigenous 

scholars, enhanced community-based 

observations, fostering communitybased participatory research, and the 

integral contributions of Indigenous 

knowledge in the co-production and 

dissemination of knowledge. Input is 

also sought on enhancing the 

dissemination and implementation of 

the Principles. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted no later than January 16, 

2018. 

ADDRESSES: Email comments to 

iarpcprinciples@nsf.gov. Address 

written submissions to Renee Crain, 

Office of Polar Programs, National 

Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower 

Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information contact Renee Crain 

at 703–292–4482. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All 

researchers working in the North have 

an ethical responsibility toward 

northern communities, their cultures, 

and the environment. The Interagency 

Arctic Research Policy Committee 

(IARPC) developed the Principles for the 

Conduct of Research in the Arctic to 

provide guidance for researchers in the 

physical, biological, behavioral, health, 

economic, political, and social sciences 

and in the humanities. The current 

Principles were prepared by the Social 

Science Task Force of the U.S. 

Interagency Arctic Research Policy 

Committee, approved by the IARPC on 

June 28, 1990, and published by IARPC 

in volume 9, (Spring, 1995, pp. 56–57) 

of the journal ‘‘Arctic Research of the 

United States’’ (https://www.arctic.gov/ 

publications/related/arotus.html). 

The Principles address the need to 

promote mutual respect and 

communication between scientists and 

northern residents. These Principles are 

to be observed when carrying out or 

sponsoring research in the Arctic or 

when applying the results of this 

research. Since 1990, new theoretical 

and methodological approaches to 

community engagement and Arctic 

research have emerged necessitating a 

review and update of the current 

Principles with an aim to including 

more language on partnerships and 

collaborations, including increased 

engagement with Indigenous scholars, 

enhanced community-based 


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