Jump to main content.

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement; Poplar Point Redevelopment Project and Proposed National Park Service and U.S. Park Police Facilities Relocation

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.


PDF Version (2 pp, 54K, About PDF)

[Federal Register: June 11, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 113)]
[Notices]
[Page 33113-33114]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11jn08-90]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement;
Poplar Point Redevelopment Project and Proposed National Park Service
and U.S. Park Police Facilities Relocation

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
and for scoping on the redevelopment of Poplar Point and proposed
relocation of certain National Park Service and U.S. Park Police
facilities in Washington, D.C.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., the National Park Service (NPS) with
the District of Columbia government (District), acting as joint lead
agencies, will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to aid
their decision-making under Title III of the Federal and District of
Columbia Government Real Property Act of 2006, Pub. L. 109-396, 120
Stat. 2711 (2006) (D.C. Lands Act). During this NEPA process, the NPS
and the District will be complying with applicable laws and
regulations, including Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, and those pertaining to activities within
floodplains. Other Federal and District agencies may serve as
cooperating agencies and they are invited to contact the NPS and the
District. Scoping commences with this notice. Written comments on the
scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS are requested, and a public
meeting has been scheduled.

DATES: A public meeting to obtain input on the scope of issues to be
addressed in the EIS is scheduled for June 24, 2008, at 7 p.m. at
Matthews Memorial Baptist Church, 2616 Martin Luther King Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC.
    Written comments from the public and others are sought. Comments
will be considered by both NPS and the District. For these comments to
be most helpful to the scoping process, they must be received within 45
days from the date of publication of this notice. Before including your
address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly
available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold
from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Government agencies who will be or seek to be cooperating agencies
are requested to get in touch with NPS, the District, or both as early
in the process as possible.

ADDRESSES: The scoping meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Matthews
Memorial Baptist Church, 2616 Martin Luther King Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC. Potential cooperating agencies should contact Peter
May, Associate Regional Director for Lands, Resources and Planning,
1100 Ohio Drive SW., Washington, DC 20242, and/or the Office of the
Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Attention: Poplar
Point Project Manager, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Suite 317, Washington, 
DC 20004, or http://www.poplarpointeis.com. Exit Disclaimer Comments may 
be submitted electronically through the NPS Planning, Environment and
Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/NACE; or
by mail to: Superintendent, National Capital Parks--East, RE: Poplar
Point Redevelopment, 1900 Anacostia Drive, SE., Washington, DC 20020.
To be added to a mailing list about this project: contact
Superintendent, National Capital Parks--East, RE: Poplar Point
Redevelopment, 1900 Anacostia Drive, SE., Washington, DC 20020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The NPS and the District may both be
contacted. For the NPS: Superintendent, National Capital Parks--East,
RE: Poplar Point Redevelopment, 1900 Anacostia Drive, SE., Washington,
DC 20020. For the District: Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and
Economic Development, Attention: Poplar Point Project Manager, 1350
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Suite 317, Washington, DC 20004 or 
http://www.poplarpointeis.com. Exit Disclaimer

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The D.C. Lands Act calls for the
redevelopment of Poplar Point (the Site), by the District and, should
the NPS and the District jointly determine that it is no longer
appropriate for the NPS and U.S. Park Police (USPP), which is part of
the NPS, to remain in their current Poplar Point facilities, new
permanent replacement facilities will be provided by the District. The
EIS will analyze alternatives for the District's redevelopment of the
Site and for NPS and USPP replacement facilities which may be located
elsewhere in Washington, D.C., and a no-action alternative. This EIS
will be used in the decision-making processes for this relocation and
redevelopment which are pursuant to the D.C. Lands Act. Much of the
Site is within National Capital Parks--East of the National Park System
and, by law, as the NPS and USPP facilities situation is resolved,
these lands will go to the District, possibly through a sequence of
multiple conveyances of title.
    Poplar Point occupies a prime and highly visible parcel along the
eastern bank of the Anacostia River, directly across from the
Washington Navy Yard. The Site includes, but is not limited, to
``Poplar Point'' as defined in Section 304 of the D.C. Lands Act, and
is generally bounded by the Anacostia River to the north, the Frederick
Douglass Bridge to the west, the 11th Street Bridge to the east, and
the Anacostia Freeway (Interstate 295) and Suitland Parkway to the
south. It is approximately 130 acres, mostly under NPS jurisdiction,
containing the NPS and USPP facilities and 60 acres of managed meadows.
The Site will increase to approximately 150 acres when the Frederick
Douglass Bridge is realigned further to the South; the District already
has jurisdiction of the land underneath the freeway infrastructure
leading to that bridge. The Site also contains the Anacostia Metro
Station and a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
parking garage.
    The NPS and USPP presently operate in approximately 100,000 square
feet of facilities at the Site. The NPS and USPP relocation involves
the NPS and District agreeing on a new location and on facilities
design, followed by the District providing such facilities to the NPS
at no cost to the NPS. Options for relocation include moving to other
land in the District, or relocation at the Site. A determination could
also be made for

[[Page 33114]]

the NPS and USPP to remain in their current facilities.
    Pursuant to the D.C. Lands Act, the redevelopment of Poplar Point
will include approximately 70 acres of parkland in perpetuity that may
include wetlands, landscaped areas, pedestrian walkways, bicycle
trails, seating, opensided shelters, natural areas, recreational use
areas and memorial sites. For the remaining acreage of the Site, the
District is considering proposals for a cultural institution or museum,
transit, a sports complex or stadium, and residential and commercial uses.

    Dated: May 19, 2008.
Lisa A. Mendelson-Ielmini,
Deputy Regional Director, National Capital Region.
[FR Doc. E8-12837 Filed 6-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-JK-M

 
 

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.