The National Park Service is responsible for making the final determination as to whether a proposed water resources project will have a direct and adverse impact to river values. The agency should coordinate its evaluation process with other agencies that are required to review and comment on the project. Depending on the type and location of the project, such agencies may include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Review of Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Section 7 projects will also be coordinated with other environmental review processes, such as those required by the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, as appropriate.

In emergency situations (e.g., a broken sewer pipe in or near the river), a Section 7 determination must be carried out as soon as possible after the project is completed. Changes to mitigate impacts from an emergency project will be implemented, when necessary, based on the findings of the Section 7 analysis. The National Park Service will undertake the following steps as part of its Section 7 determination process for nonemergency projects.

1. The National Park Service will describe the purpose and need of the proposed project and its location, duration, magnitude, and relationship to past and future management activities.

2. The National Park Service will analyze the potential impacts of the proposed project on the values for which the river was designated Wild and Scenic. This analysis should follow the guidelines provided by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Section 7 Technical Report of the Interagency Wild and Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council (1999), and other applicable guidance.

3. The National Park Service will define the likely duration of the projected impacts.

4. The National Park Service will assess the effects of the projected impacts on the achievement or timing of achievement of the management goals of the Merced River Plan (based on the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act).

5. The National Park Service will use this analysis to make a Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Section 7 determination. This determination will document the effects of the proposed activity, including any direct and adverse effects on the values for which the river was designated and Wild and Scenic.

6. Water resources projects found to have a direct and adverse effect on the values of this designated river will be redesigned and resubmitted for a subsequent Section 7 determination or abandoned. In the event that a project cannot be redesigned to avoid direct and adverse effects on the values for which the river was designated, the National Park Service will either abandon the project or advise the Secretary of the Interior in writing and report to Congress in writing in accordance with Section 7(a) of the act.

7. The National Park Service will also follow Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Section 7 procedures to determine if projects above or below the designated river or on its tributary streams would invade the area or unreasonably diminish the scenic, recreational, and fish and wildlife values present in the designated corridor.

Footnote

1. The description of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Section 7 determination process contained in this section is adapted from a technical report by the Interagency Wild and Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council (IWSRCC 1999).(back)