GATLINBURG, Tenn. – The National Park Service (NPS) posted the Foothills Parkway Section 8D Environmental Assessment (EA) today for a 30-day public comment period ending August 21. The EA evaluates the construction of nine miles of new parkway from Wears Valley to the Gatlinburg Spur near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tenn.
A virtual public meeting about the EA and the proposed action will be held on Tuesday, July 30 at 5 p.m. EDT. The meeting will include a presentation about the overview of the project and give time for the public to ask questions.
To read the EA, learn more about the proposed Foothills Parkway Section 8D project, and to provide comments, please visit the NPS planning website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/Section8D.
Virtual Meeting
Tuesday, July 30 at 5 p.m. EDT.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81716917396
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How to comment
The NPS will accept public comments on the EA and the project’s potential impacts from July 22, 2024 through Aug. 21, 2024. The preferred manner for providing comments is via an online form through the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website, used by the agency to manage official correspondence and analyze public comment in the planning process. From the project website (https://parkplanning.nps.gov/Section8D) navigate the menu on the left-hand side of the page to “Open for Comment,” then open the “Section 8D” folder. Background materials are at the site, and the green “Comment Now” button links to the online form. Comments can also be submitted in writing and postmarked by Aug. 21 to:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
ATTN: Foothills Parkway 8D
107 Park Headquarters Rd, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.
- National Park Service release
