The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has drafted a plan for restoring a portion of the Lake Superior basin in Wisconsin using funds received from settlement with Burlington Northern following a1992 train derailment and chemical spill into the Nemadji River near Superior, Wisconsin. The chemical spill killed fish and affected other natural resources. The combined draft plan and draft environmental assessment are available for public comment through April 12, 2004.
The draft restoration plan outlines a variety of alternatives that might be used to restore the site and associated wetland and coastal areas. The proposed alternative calls for preservation and restoration of equivalent aquatic habitat focusing on coastal and lakeplain wetlands within the Lake Superior basin in Wisconsin.
Trustees for the natural resources affected by the spill, including the Service, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, and the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, along with the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa Indians, worked together to assess damages from the spill and develop the restoration plan.
Copies of the draft plan and assessment are available on the Service’s website at http://midwest.fws.gov/nepa Copies are also available at:
Tribal Office, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Tribal Office
Natural Resources Department
One Maple Street
Odanah, Wisconsin
Tribal Office, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
88385 Pike Road, State Highway 13
Bayfield, Wisconsin
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ashland Fishery Resource Office
2800 Lake Shore Drive East
Ashland, Wisconsin
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Green Bay Ecological Services Field Office
2661 Scott Tower Drive
New Franken, Wisconsin
Copies of the draft plan and environmental assessment may be obtained by contacting the Services Green Bay Ecological Services Field Office at (920) 866-1717. Comments on the draft may be sent to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Green Bay Ecological Services Field Office, 2661 Scott Tower Drive, New Franken, Wisconsin 54229. Comments may also be faxed to 920-866-1710 or e-mailed to GreenBay@fws.gov.
Fish, wildlife and other resources were injured when a Burlington Northern train derailed in 1992 south of Superior, Wisconsin, releasing 30,000 gallons of a hazardous chemical -- called aromatic hydrocarbons -- into the Nemadji River. Following a Natural Resource Damage Assessment by the trustees and negotiations with Burlington Northern, $140,000 was made available to be used for restoration activities.
The goals of NRDA are to restore the affected habitats and resources to the condition they would have been had the contaminants not been released into the environment, and to compensate the public for the loss of use or enjoyment of natural resources. The parties responsible for the contamination are required to pay for these activities.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
