Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced that the North Shore Road Environmental Impact Statement process concluded on December 28, 2007, when the National Park Service (NPS) signed the official Record of Decision (ROD) which identified the Monetary Settlement Alternative as the NPS Preferred Alternative. It stated that the Secretary of the Interior would designate a representative to convene a meeting of the signatories to the 1943 Agreement to discuss and agree upon an equitable method for determining the amount of a monetary settlement. Since the signing of the ROD, each of the signatories to the Agreement identified representatives to attend these important discussions.
The initial meeting of the four parties was held on March 10, 2008. The key representatives for each signatory were as follows: State of North Carolina – Senior Assistant to the Governor Franklin Freeman, Chief Deputy Attorney General Grayson Kelley and Andy Vanore Legal Counsel to the Governor; Swain County – County Manager Kevin King and County Attorney Kim Lay; Tennessee Valley Authority – Attorney, Office of General Counsel, Rebecca Tolene; Department of the Interior – Lars Hanslin, Consultant to the NPS Director and Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson.
At the meeting the representatives reviewed the ROD. The group discussed the 1943 Agreement, how a basis for the settlement and monetary amount might be defined, and how a new instrument might be drafted to replace it. Any new agreement, including an amount for a monetary settlement would need to be reviewed and approved by each signatory. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 1, 2008.
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