Notice of Availability of the Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact for the Environmental Assessment of Restoration Alternatives for the March 28, 1993, Colonial Pipeline Oil Spill Near Reston, Virginia

Notice of availability of the Decision Notice (DN) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Environmental Assessment of Restoration Alternatives for the March 28, 1993, Colonial Pipeline Oil Spill near Reston, Virginia.

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Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality regulations, the Trustees, representing the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Commonwealth of Virginia, and District of Columbia, prepared and made available for a 30-day public review the Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Colonial Pipeline Oil Spill, Reston, Virginia (the EA). During the review period, the Trustees held a public meeting in Herndon, Virginia, to discuss the EA. See the notice of availability for the EA published in the Federal Register on October 23, 1998 (63 FR 56939). After the end of the 30-day public availability period, the Trustees selected the preferred alternative, described in Sections 3.1 and 3.2 of the EA, and determined that the implementation of the preferred alternative will not cause a significant environmental impact (FONSI). In making that selection and determination, the Trustees considered the information and analysis contained in the EA and the comments received during the 30-day public availability period. As a result, the Trustees adopted certain modifications to the preferred

alternative. Those modifications are described in the DN/FONSI and will be incorporated in the Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment. The preferred alternative contains both primary and compensatory restoration actions. Natural recovery is the primary restoration action selected to return injured natural resources to their baseline conditions. A package of multiple compensatory restoration actions, including various wildlife habitat and recreational use enhancement projects, was selected to replace the interim loss of natural resource services. The goal of primary and compensatory restoration is to make the environment and the public whole for injuries to, or loss of, natural resources and services resulting from the oil spill.