[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31909-31910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12423]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
Military Readiness Activities at the Fallon Range Training Complex and
To Announce Public Scoping Meetings
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 31910]]
SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental
Quality Regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508),
the Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential
environmental consequences of continued and enhanced military training
in the Fallon Range Training Complex (FRTC) Study Area. The FRTC Study
Area is a set of well-defined geographic areas in the high desert of
northern Nevada, encompassing: Special Use Airspace, including
restricted areas, Military Operations Areas, and Air Traffic Control
Assigned Airspace; land training ranges and stationary land training
areas; fixed and mobile land targets, and control facilities; Threat
Electronic Warfare (EW), Early Warning Radars and Surface to Air
Missile systems and emulators; and instrumentation facilities. The DoN
is inviting the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of
Reclamation to be cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS.
Dates and Addresses: Four open house information sessions will be held
between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on:
1. Monday, June 10, 2013, at Churchill County Commission Chambers,
155 North Taylor Street, Fallon, Nevada 89406.
2. Tuesday, June 11, 2013, at Crescent Valley Town Office
Boardroom, 5045 Tenabo Avenue, Crescent Valley, Nevada 89821.
3. Wednesday, June 12, 2013, at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3677
Main Hall, 426 D Avenue, Gabbs, Nevada 89409.
4. Thursday, June 13, 2013, at Emma Nevada Town Hall, 135 Court
Street, Austin, Nevada 89310.
Each of the four open house information sessions will be informal
and consist of information stations staffed by DoN representatives.
Additional information concerning each open house will be available on
the EIS Web page located at: http://www.FRTCEIS.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naval Facilities Engineering Command
Southwest; Attention: Ms. A. Kelley, Code EV21.AK; 1220 Pacific
Highway; Building 1, 5th Floor; San Diego, California 92132.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2000, the DoN completed an EIS for
Proposed FRTC Requirements. The DoN's new Proposed Action is to
continue and enhance training activities within the existing FRTC. In
order to support the DoN's requirements for fleet readiness, the DoN
proposes to adjust baseline training activities from current levels to
the levels needed to accommodate evolving mission requirements,
including those resulting from training, tactics development, testing,
and eventual introduction of new platforms (aircraft) and weapons
systems into the Fleet.
The FRTC is a set of well-defined geographic areas in the high
desert of northern Nevada encompassing multiple airspaces, land range
areas, and electronic systems used primarily for training operations.
The FRTC encompasses air and land training areas in the mid-western
portion of Nevada. In total, the complex encompasses 241,127 acres of
land and 14,182 square nautical miles of airspace. A portion of the
FRTC, Naval Air Station Fallon, is located six miles to the southeast
of the city of Fallon.
The purpose of the Proposed Action is to conduct and facilitate
training activities at the FRTC to ensure that the DoN achieves its
mission, to maintain, train, and equip combat-ready naval forces
capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, and maintaining freedom.
The alternatives analyzed in the FRTC EIS are as follows.
1. No Action Alternative: Baseline training activities, as defined
by the tempo and type of training, when averaged over recent
representative years.
2. Alternative 1: Overall adjustments to types and levels of
activities, from the baseline as necessary to support current and
planned DoN training requirements, from 8,558 annual activities under
the No Action Alternative to 9,147 annual activities. In addition, the
DoN proposes range investments involving upgrades to the Tactical
Combat Training System, upgrade of Threat EW Systems, and installation
of fiber optic telecommunications infrastructure.
3. Alternative 2: Consists of Alternative 1 plus a 10 percent
increase annually for all training activities, from 9,147 annual
activities under Alternative 1 to 10,061 annual activities.
Resource areas to be addressed in the EIS will include, but not be
limited to, terrestrial resources and biological resources, geology,
soils and water resources, land use and recreation, air quality, noise,
cultural resources, transportation, socioeconomics, environmental
justice, and public health and safety.
The scoping process will be used to identify community concerns and
issues that will be addressed in the EIS. Federal agencies, state
agencies, local agencies, Native American Indian Tribes and Nations,
the public, and interested persons are encouraged to provide comments
to the DoN to identify specific issues or topics of environmental
concern that the commenter believes the DoN should consider. All
comments, provided orally or in writing at the scoping meetings, via
the project Web site, or mail will receive the same consideration
during EIS preparation. All comments must be postmarked or received
online no later than July 8, 2013. Comments should be mailed to: Naval
Facilities Engineering Command Southwest; Attention: Ms. A. Kelley,
Code EV21.AK; 1220 Pacific Highway; Building 1, 5th Floor; San Diego,
California 92132.
Dated: May 17, 2013.
C.K. Chiappetta,
Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-12423 Filed 5-24-13; 8:45 am]
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