[Awclist] [Fwd: RRFW Riverwire - UPDATE ON RIVER PLAN]

[Thomas Robey]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	RRFW Riverwire - UPDATE ON RIVER PLAN
Date: 	Wed, 19 Oct 2005 21:44:49 -0600
From: 	Riverwire <riverwire at rrfw.org>
Reply-To: 	<Riverwire at rrfw.org>
Organization: 	River Runners for Wilderness
To: 	riverwire at rrfw.org



RRFW Riverwire – UPDATE ON RIVER PLAN

October 19, 2005

The following update appeared October 18, 2005, on the Park’s website at 
http://www.nps.gov/grca/crmp. For more information, click the 
“Frequently Asked Questions – October 2005” Link that also appears 
there, or go to http://www.nps.gov/grca/crmp/documents/5faq.htm 
<http://www.nps.gov/grca/crmp/documents/5faq.htm>.

October 14, 2005

*To the many people interested in the Grand Canyon:*

The National Park Service (NPS) is nearing completion of the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Colorado River Management 
Plan.

A primary objective of the NPS throughout this planning effort was to 
conduct a very open and thorough process, to hear and understand the 
views of river users and other constituents, and to afford the public 
every opportunity to provide input. We appreciate the high level of 
interest and public participation received throughout this process and 
expect to release the Final EIS in November 2005. The Final EIS will 
consist of three volumes: Volumes I and II in the Draft EIS have been 
revised in the Final EIS in response to the comments received. A new 
Volume III has been added to include responses to all of the substantive 
comments and a summary of other comments received on the Draft EIS.

The Final EIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and a Notice of Availability (NOA) published in the //Federal 
Register//. The NPS will announce its availability in a news release. 
The Final EIS will be released to the public on compact disks and online 
at http://www.nps.gov/grca/crmp. A limited number of paper copies will 
also be available.

A 30-day no-action period will follow publication of EPA’s NOA on the 
Final EIS in the //Federal Register//. Unlike other federal agencies 
such as the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, the 
NPS does not have a public comment period or a formal appeals process 
for federal actions described in a Final EIS. The NPS accepts public 
comments during the public comment period for the Draft EIS, and 
addresses them in the Final EIS. Following the 30-day no-action period, 
a Record of Decision (ROD) will be prepared that documents the NPS 
decision and rationale for that decision. The ROD will be released to 
the public and a summary published in the //Federal Register//.

Once the ROD has been published, a monitoring and implementation plan 
will be developed that outlines how the NPS will implement the 
provisions specified in the ROD. The final //Colorado River Management 
Plan//, including the monitoring and implementation plan, will be 
published and made available to all interested parties.

Please watch for continued updates and information on this planning 
process on this website in the next few weeks.

Thank you for your participation in the CRMP planning process and for 
your interest in Grand Canyon National Park!

Sincerely,

Rick Ernenwein
Planning Team Leader

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