[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 174 (Friday, September 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55195-55196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22097]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Public Meetings for the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility Boardman, OR
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 and regulations implemented by the Council on
Environmental Quality (40 Code of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508),
the Department of the Navy (DoN) has prepared and filed with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) that evaluates the potential environmental effects associated
with ongoing and proposed DoN and Oregon National Guard training and
testing activities at Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility (NWSTF)
Boardman, Oregon to include establishment of new associated Special Use
Airspace (SUA). The National Guard Bureau and Federal Aviation
Administration are cooperating agencies for this EIS.
NWSTF Boardman is the principal regional training range for
aviation units located at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and is used
for training by Oregon National Guard units located throughout the
state of Oregon. NWSTF Boardman also supports training requirements of
the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and SUA activities for Department of
Defense (DoD) contractors for unmanned aerial system testing and
training of DoD personnel.
With the filing of the Draft EIS, the DoN is initiating a 60-day
public comment period and has scheduled two public meetings to receive
comments on the Draft EIS. This notice announces the dates and
locations of the public meetings for the Draft EIS and provides
supplementary information.
DATES AND ADDRESSES: The 60-day Draft EIS public review period will
begin September 7, 2012, and end on November 6, 2012. The DoN will hold
two public meetings to inform the public about the proposed action and
the alternatives under consideration, and to provide an opportunity for
the public to comment on the proposed action, alternatives, and the
adequacy and accuracy of the analysis in the Draft EIS. Each of the
public meetings will include an open house information session, with
informational poster stations staffed by DoN and Oregon National Guard
representatives, followed by a short presentation and oral comment
opportunity. Federal, state, and local agencies and officials, and
interested groups and individuals are encouraged to provide comments in
person at any of the public meetings or in writing during the public
comment period.
The public meetings will be held at each location between 5:00 p.m.
and 8:00 p.m. on the following dates:
1. Tuesday, September 25, 2012, Hermiston Conference Center Great
Room, 415 South Highway 395, Hermiston, Oregon 97838.
2. Wednesday, September 26, 2012, Port of Morrow Conference Center
Riverfront Room, 2 Marine Drive, Boardman, Oregon 97818.
Attendees will be able to submit oral and written comments during
the public meetings. Oral testimony from the public will be recorded by
a court reporter. In the interest of available time, and to ensure all
who wish to give an oral statement have the opportunity to do so, each
speaker's comments will
[[Page 55196]]
be limited to three (3) minutes. Equal weight will be given to oral and
written statements. Comments may also be submitted via the U.S. Postal
Service or electronically via the project Web site provided below. All
statements, oral or written, submitted during the public review period
will become part of the public record on the Draft EIS and will be
reviewed and acknowledged or responded to in the Final EIS.
Public meeting details will be announced in local newspapers.
Additional information is available on the project Web site at
www.NWSTFBoardmanEIS.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naval Facilities Engineering Command,
Northwest, Attention: Ms. Amy Burt--NWSTF Boardman EIS Project Manager,
1101 Tautog Circle, Suite 203, Silverdale, Washington 98315-1101.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice of Intent to prepare this Draft EIS
was published in the Federal Register on October 5, 2010 (75 FR 61452).
A separate and additional scoping effort was conducted to address the
modification of the proposed action to include establishment of a
Military Operations Area that would join the current SUA associated
with NWSTF Boardman. The Notice of Intent for the modification of the
proposed action was published in the Federal Register on December 27,
2011 (76 FR80910).
The DoN's proposed action involves construction and operation of
new range facilities and changes in existing training and testing
activities at NWSTF Boardman. In general, the proposed action would
increase the types of training and testing activities and the number of
training events conducted at NWSTF Boardman; accommodate force
structure changes; and provide enhancements to training facilities and
activities at NWSTF Boardman and its associated SUA.
To comply with federal mandates, the DoN proposes to maintain and
enhance current levels of military readiness through improvement of
training at NWSTF Boardman, accommodate possible future increases in
training, and maintenance of the long-term viability of NWSTF Boardman
as a military training and testing area. The proposed action is needed
to provide a training environment consisting of ranges, training areas,
and range instrumentation with the capacity and capabilities to fully
support required training tasks for military units and personnel
utilizing NWSTF Boardman.
The Draft EIS includes analysis of the potential environmental
impacts of three alternatives, including the No Action Alternative and
two action alternatives. The No Action Alternative constitutes the
current level of baseline training and testing activities. Alternative
1 includes all current training and testing activities; the
establishment and use of an additional Military Operations Area to the
northeast of existing NWSTF Boardman SUA; an increase in existing
training activities; new training activities; and range enhancements
and facilities to meet DoN and Oregon National Guard training
requirements. Alternative 2 includes all elements of Alternative 1 and
the implementation of additional range enhancements, including the
addition of a second (western) convoy live-fire range, a new range
operations control center, and three mortar training positions.
Mitigation measures for potential effects to biological resources
are being coordinated through appropriate Federal agencies. There are
no Federally-listed species under the Endangered Species Act present at
NWSTF Boardman, however, the DoN is conferencing with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, as appropriate, for potential impacts to the
candidate species, Washington ground squirrel (Urocitellus
washingtoni).
The Draft EIS was distributed to Federal, state, and local
agencies, elected officials, and other interested individuals and
organizations. Copies of the Draft EIS are also available for public
review at the following public libraries:
1. Multnomah County Central Library, 801 Southwest 10th Avenue,
Portland, Oregon 97205.
2. Boardman Branch of the Oregon Trail Library District, 200 South
Main Street, Boardman, Oregon 97818.
3. Heppner Branch of the Oregon Trail Library District, 444 North
Main Street, Heppner, Oregon 97836.
4. Central Branch of the Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty Street
Southeast, Salem, Oregon 97301.
5. West Salem Branch of the Salem Public Library, 395 Glen Creek
Road Northwest, Salem, Oregon 97304.
6. Stafford Hansell Government Center, 915 Southeast Columbia
Drive, Hermiston, Oregon 97838.
Copies of the Draft EIS are also available for electronic viewing
at www.NWSTFBoardmanEIS.com. A paper copy of the Executive Summary or a
single compact disc of the Draft EIS will be made available upon
written request.
Dated: August 31, 2012.
C.K. Chiappetta
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-22097 Filed 9-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P