Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Assessment; Initiation of Public Scoping Under the National Environmental Policy Act; Initiation of Consultation Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; and Notice of Intent To Develop a Section 106 Programmatic Agreement With the Alaska State Historic Preservation Officer

EPA Region 10 intends to prepare a programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347, to evaluate the potential environmental and sociocultural effects of the EPA Contaminated Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Lands Assistance Program. The program provides funding to eligible Alaska Native Regional and Village Corporations, Federally Recognized Tribes in Alaska, Alaska Native Nonprofit Associations, Alaska Native Nonprofit Organizations and Alaskan Inter- Tribal Consortia ("applicants") to investigate and remediate contamination present on ANCSA-conveyed lands at the time of conveyance. Through this notice, EPA is initiating scoping to help identify the scope of analysis, reasonable alternatives, and information sources, with particular attention to sociocultural issues tied to: (1) archaeological preservation and historic properties, including sacred sites and traditional cultural places; (2) protected subsistence resources and uses; and, (3) wetlands and associated aquatic resources. Concurrently, and pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108) and its implementing regulations at 36 CFR part 800, EPA is initiating consultation with the Alaska State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), Federally Recognized Tribes in Alaska, Alaska Native corporations, and other consulting parties for the Contaminated ANCSA Lands Assistance Program. EPA intends to develop a Section 106 Programmatic Agreement (PA) under 36 CFR 800.14(b) with the Alaska SHPO and invited signatories and concurring parties to establish program- wide procedures for identifying, evaluating, and resolving effects to historic properties potentially affected by representative assessment and cleanup actions funded under the program. The EA will consider potential direct, indirect, and reasonably foreseeable impacts of representative cleanup actions funded under the program and will inform whether a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate or whether preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is warranted.