Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of Decision for the Placement of Wireless Telecommunication Facility for Bell Atlantic Mobile (Verizon Wireless) at the Ridge Trail Site in Great Falls Park, Virginia

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Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations and National Park Service Policy, the National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) And Notice of Decision for the placement of a wireless telecommunication facility for Verizon Wireless at the Ridge Trail site in Great Falls Park, Virginia. Great Falls Park is a unit of the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP). The Final Environmental Assessment includes several alternatives showing a monopole at different heights, different building sizes and an alternative technology. The alternative of a facility no higher than 126 feet disguised as a "tree" with limited ground level support structures was chosen after review of public comments from two public hearings and from written comments. This alternative provides increased service for the applicant to meet the needs of its customers while minimizing the visual impacts from various locations along the Potomac River near Great Falls in both Virginia and Maryland including the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and the GWMP. It also mitigates any impact to historic resources at the site of the facility. T