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12/03/08 Notification Letter 
Draft EIS Cover Letter 
Draft EIS Executive Summary
Bureau of Mines Website
CAMP COLDWATER SPRING OPEN HOUSE, Monday, Feb 23, 5 - 9pm,
Veterans Hospital,
One Veterans Drive, auditorium on first floor
An informational open house has been scheduled to give the public an opportunity to provide comment on planning for the reuse and restoration of federal property formally occupied by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines. Located near Fort Snelling, Coldwater Spring is an important feature on this 27-acre site layered with cultural and historic significance.
In 2004, the National Park Service began a planning process to determine the future use and disposition of the site. A draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was published in 2006 exploring numerous ownership and restoration alternatives. After review of public comment and the DEIS, the U.S. Department of the Interior has selected as its preferred alternative the demolition of the existing 11 buildings and restoration of the site to a natural condition with the National Park Service (NPS) assuming management responsibilities.
Before making a final decision on future use and management of the site, the Department of the Interior will review a Final Environmental Impact Statement and any public comments received. The Final EIS is expected to be published in June and will be available for public comment for 30 days. While details of future use of the property will not be known for certain until completion of the Final EIS and federal Record of Decision process next summer, the NPS seeks to gather public input on site design if the preferred alternative is selected. Planning details of future use of the site now would accelerate completion of work at the site and hasten long-term restoration of this site.
National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff will be available to provide information concerning the site and its significance, and to gather input to guide planning for the future reuse and restoration of the site.
| Official Public Informational Meeting Notice (1/22/09)
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 Printable copy (pdf)
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United States Department of the Interior
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
111 E. Kellogg Blvd., Ste 105
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1256
D18 (MISS-BOM)
January 22, 2009
Please provide an email address for future contact if at all possible. This measure saves paper and minimizes the cost of personnel and postage. Your information will be used for the sole purpose of communicating with you about the Bureau of Mines/Cold Water Springs. You can send that information to denise_niedzolkowski@nps.gov.
Dear Interested Party,
In our letter of December 3, 2008, we told you public meetings would be conducted in the winter and spring of 2009 to help determine some of the details for restoration of the site.
An informational open house has been scheduled to give the public an opportunity to provide comment on planning for the reuse and restoration of federal property formally occupied by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines.
The open house will be held Monday February 23, 2009 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the auditorium on the first floor of the VA Hospital, located at One Veterans Drive in Minneapolis.
National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff will be available to provide information concerning the DEIS preferred alternative, historical preservation and interpretation, and to gather input to guide planning for the future reuse and restoration of the site.
Sincerely,
Paul Labovitz
Superintendent
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December 3, 2008 Notification Letter from the Superintendant
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Printable copy (pdf) |
OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
111 Kellogg Boulevard E, Suite 105
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55101
December 3, 2008
Dear friends:
It has been two years since the public comment period ended concerning the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for Disposition of the Bureau of Mines Property, Twin
Cities Research Center Main Campus in Hennepin County near Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
The campus lies entirely within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. The
Department of the Interior has selected its preferred alternative for disposition of the
property and the purpose of this letter is to inform you of that decision and lay out the next steps for the campus.
The 27-acre property is owned by the U.S. government and would remain in federal
ownership under Interior’s preferred alternative. The property will be restored to a
condition that emphasizes its ecological and historical significance, with all buildings,
driveways, roads and other infrastructure removed.
The National Park Service will lead a public planning process to help determine the exact
nature of the site’s restoration, including restoration of Coldwater Spring. This will
include completion of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) concerning the property’s future. Once that document is complete, the Department of the Interior will
issue its final decision about the future of the property. Based on information obtained in
completing the FEIS, that decision could be somewhat different than the preferred alternative
Public meetings will be conducted in the winter and spring of 2009 to help determine some of the details for restoration of the site. The FEIS will be completed by summer 2009. Assuming the final decision is no different than the preferred alternative, demolition of the buildings and physical restoration of the site may begin as soon as fall 2009 and will likely be completed by the end of the 2010 construction season. At that time, the National Park Service will assume responsibility for the site. An interpretive plan for the site will be completed in late 2009 or early 2010.
Once the planning tasks are completed, the National Park Service will work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on managing the contracts for demolition of the buildings and restoration of the site. Once the site has been restored, long-term management of the property will be the responsibility of the National Park Service.
This site holds great significance for American Indian people, for its role in early European settlement of the region, and for its 20th Century role in development of mining and mine safety technology. I am excited that this site will be preserved and managed by the National Park Service and we will be able to tell the many stories of this site to present and future generations of Americans.Questions about the next steps in the planning process should be directed to Steve Johnson of my staff at 651-290-3030 x223 or steven_p_johnson@nps.gov.
Sincerely,
/s/
Paul Labovitz
Superintendent
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Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for Disposition of the former Bureau of
Mines Twin Cities Research Center (2006)
The following links may no longer be active. For document and public process archives on the Bureau of Mines project, please go to http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?parkId=150&projectId=11443 . For the BoM informational site, please go to http://www.nps.gov/miss/parkmgmt/bomback.html
The National Park Service's comment deadline was November 27, 2006.
The National Park Service (NPS) has released a draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the disposition of the former Bureau of Mines Twin Cities Research
Center and is asking for public comments on the draft EIS. This may be the last chance for public comment on the disposition of this important property.
The purpose of the project is to consider alternatives and potential impacts of alternative future uses of this federal property on the natural, historic and cultural resources.
Background:
The partially wooded property, located on the Mississippi River's west bank, is within two historic designations: the Fort Snelling National Historic Landmark and the Fort Snelling National Register Historic District. The site includes the Camp Coldwater Spring and the Springhouse and pond. Within the site are 11 vacated buildings and structures of various sizes, totaling approximately 165,000 square feet, including vacated offices, laboratories, garages, maintenance shops, core sample storage sheds, an ore crusher building and miscellaneous storage and research areas. The buildings have been determined eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
In October 2004, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work together on the Bureau of Mines project. The National Park Service took a leading role in the National Environmental Policy Act planning process to identify and evaluate alternative disposition options for this federal property. The NPS is leading the EIS analysis process pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
The National Park Service solicited and compiled public comments and suggestions on the future of the BoM site during a scoping period between January and June 2005. Several public scoping meetings were held in March 2005 and the NPS contacted numerous organizations, groups, Indian Tribes, individuals and governments, resulting in over 100 written comments. That information was compiled into the the Public Scoping Comment Summary, issued June 15, 2005. The comments received during the scoping process were used to develop the draft EIS.
What the draft EIS does, and does not do:
The draft EIS does not identify a potential future owner or how that owner would use the Center. Instead, the draft EIS analyzes the environmental impacts of three different future land use scenarios and how they may or would impact natural, cultural, and historic resources. The NPS has not identified a preferred alternative at this time, but intends to review the public comments received in response to the draft EIS, revise the document as necessary, and identify a preferred alternative in the final EIS.
The following links may no longer be active. Please go to http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?parkId=150&projectId=11443 for document and public process archives on the Bureau of Mines project.
Four Open Houses
Please attend one of four public open houses to learn about the draft EIS and make comments.
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center (Map)
3815 American Blvd. East, Bloomington, MN 55425. (651) 290-4160
(Visitor center located across from the Airport Hilton Hotel.
From I-494, exit on 34th Ave and drive south. Turn left on
American Blvd East and drive 1/4 mile to the entrance on your right.)
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| Monday, September 25: |
1-4pm |
6-9pm |
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| Tuesday, September 26: |
1-4pm |
6-9pm |
Where to see the Draft EIS:
Online:
(Adobe Acrobat format) |
The NPS's Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?projectId=11443&documentID=15932 |
Printed Copies
(460 pages) |
Nokomis Library
5100 34th Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55417 (612) 630-6700, |
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Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA)
3000 E 50th St, Minneapolis, MN 55417 (612) 724-5652 |
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Longfellow Community Council (LCC)
2727 26th Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55406 (612) 722-4529 |
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Standish Ericsson Neighborhood Association (SENA)
1830 E 42nd St., Minneapolis, MN 55407 (612) 721-1601 |
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A limited number of printed copies may still be be available on a first-come, first-served basis through the NPS. Please call (651) 290-4160 for availability. |
| CD |
Extra CD copies of the draft EIS files in Acrobat format may be available from the Neighborhood Associations listed above. The CD also contains ethnographic, historical, wetland delineation, and archeological reports not available online or in the printed copy. |
Comments on the EIS
Comments and written proposals on the draft EIS must be received or postmarked by the end of the
60-day comment period or midnight, November 27, 2006.
Comments may be submitted in several
ways:
| Method |
Address or contact |
| Web form (preferred) |
The NPS's Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?projectID=11443&documentId=15932
(Note, please wait for system to confirm that your message was received.) |
| US Mail |
Superintendent,
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area,
111 Kellogg Blvd. East, Suite #105,
St. Paul, MN 55101 |
| Fax |
(651) 290-3214 |
| email |
miss_bomcomments@nps.gov |
| Hand deliver |
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area,
111 Kellogg Blvd. East, Suite #105, St. Paul, MN 55101 |
Use Proposals
The NPS is also seeking written proposals from government and university entities who may be interested in acquiring the former Bureau of Mines property. Written proposals from university and government entities must address the criteria listed in the Federal Register Notice of Availability (NOA). The NOA and criteria can be accessed on the websites listed below. Verbal proposals will not be considered. The draft EIS can be accessed online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/; select by state, then the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area from the drop-down park list or go to http://www.nps.gov/miss/parkmgmt/bomback.htm and follow the links.
Written proposals received by the NPS will accompany the final EIS to assist the Secretary of the Interior in making a decision on disposition of the Center.
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