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.
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