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Date: October 3, 2007
Contact: Bob Miller, (865) 436-1207

Officials from the National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) which outlines the Agency’s Preferred Alternative for the North Shore Road. The FEIS has been completed to evaluate various alternatives to discharge and satisfy any obligations on the part of the United States that exist as a result of a July 30, 1943, Memorandum of Agreement among the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Tennessee Valley Authority, Swain County, North Carolina, and the State of North Carolina.

The FEIS evaluates the natural and cultural resource impacts and the costs of building the proposed road and four other alternatives. The NPS Preferred Alternative is a recommendation that a monetary settlement be provided to Swain County in lieu of constructing 29 to 34 miles of new road through the national park along the north shore of Fontana Lake.

According to a Notice of Availability published by the NPS today in the Federal Register, "the monetary settlement would ensure that resources of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail would be unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. It would fulfill project goals and objectives including the protection of natural, cultural, and recreational resources."

Under provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, the NPS may execute a Record of Decision (ROD) no sooner than 30 days following the publication of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Publication of the EPA Notice is expected within a few days.

The complete FEIS is available for review or download on the internet at http://www.northshoreroad.info

Copies of the FEIS will also be available for review at the following locations:

• Pack Memorial Library
  67 Haywood Street, Asheville, North Carolina 28801;
• Marianna Black Library
  33 Fryemont Road, Bryson City, North Carolina 28713;
• Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Main Library
  310 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202;
• Qualla Boundary Public Library
  810 Acquoni Road, Cherokee, NC 28719;
• Anna Porter Public Library
  207 Cherokee Orchard Road, Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738;
• GSMNP Headquarters
  107 Park Headquarters Road, Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738;
• Lawson-McGee Library
  500 West Church Avenue, Knoxville, Tennessee 37915;
• Cameron Village Regional Library
  410-200 Oberlin Road, Raleigh, North Carolina 27605;
• Graham County Public Library
  80 Knight Street, Robbinsville, North Carolina 28771.