[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 95 (Friday, May 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28602-28603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11316]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Integrated Environmental Impact
Statement for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Black Hills Health
Care System Proposed Improvements and Reconfiguration, Hot Springs and
Rapid City, South Dakota
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
ACTION: Notice of intent
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.); the Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR
Parts 1500-1508); VA's NEPA Implementing Guidance (38 CFR Part 26);
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966
(16 U.S.C. Part 470F); and the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation Procedures for the Protection of Historic Properties (36
CFR Part 800 et seq.), VA intends to prepare an integrated
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed improvements to
and reconfiguration of the VA Black Hills Health Care System (VA BHHCS)
services in the Hot Springs and Rapid City, South Dakota, vicinities.
The proposed action would involve reconfiguring existing services and
expanding points of access to health care within the VA BHHCS service
area to better serve the health care needs and distribution of Veterans
in the VA BHHCS service area over the next 20 to 30 years. That area
includes parts of South Dakota, northwestern Nebraska, and eastern
Wyoming. The effects and impacts to be addressed will include those
identified in 40 CFR 1508.8; i.e., ecological, aesthetic, historic,
cultural, economic, social, and health, whether direct, indirect, or
cumulative. Both beneficial and detrimental effects of the proposed
action will be identified as well. As part of the scoping process, VA
seeks public input on the relative importance of these and other areas
of environmental concern, and suggestions regarding additional
environmental impacts that should be evaluated.
DATES: With the publication of this notice, VA is initiating the
scoping process to identify issues and concerns to be addressed in the
integrated EIS. Federal, state, and local agencies, environmental
organizations, businesses, other interested parties and the general
public are encouraged to submit their written comments identifying
specific issues or topics of environmental concern that should be
addressed. VA will hold two or more public scoping meetings within the
VA BHHCS service area; the dates, times, and locations of which will be
announced and published at least 14 days prior to the meetings. All
written comments on the proposal should be submitted by June 16, 2014.
VA will consider all comments received during the 30-day public comment
period in determining the scope of the integrated EIS.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on VA's notice of intent to prepare
an integrated EIS through www.Regulations.gov or
[email protected]. Please refer to: ``VA BHHCS Notice of Intent
to Prepare an Integrated EIS''. Comments may also be submitted to Staff
Assistant to the Director, VA Black Hills Health Care System, 113
Comanche Rd., Fort Meade, SD 57741
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Staff Assistant to the Director, VA
BHHCS, at the address above or by telephone, 605-720-7170. Documents
related to the VA BHHCS proposed reconfiguration will be available for
viewing on the VA BHHCS Web site: http://www.blackhills.va.gov/VABlackHillsFuture/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In December 2011, VA made public a proposal
to improve and reconfigure the Black Hills Health Care System services.
The purpose of this proposed action is to enhance and maintain the
quality and safety of care for Veterans in the 100,000 square-mile VA
BHHCS service area, replace aging buildings for Veterans in Residential
Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs (RRTP) and Community-Based
Outpatient Clinics (CBOC), increase access to care closer to Veterans'
homes, and reduce out-of-pocket expenses for Veterans' travel. VA BHHCS
served approximately 18,650 Veterans in fiscal year 2012, a decrease
from 20,500 in fiscal year 2009. VA projections estimate that within 10
years VA BHHCS will serve about 19,750 Veterans in the two hospitals
(Hot Springs and Fort Meade) and nine CBOCs currently in operation.
The need for the reconfiguration of services is further
substantiated by the following facts: (1) Veteran population centers
are not in the same location as current VA facilities; (2) Difficulty
recruiting and retaining qualified staff at current Hot Springs
facility; (3) Difficulty maintaining high-quality, safe, and accessible
care; (4) Long distances and travel times to receive specialty care;
(5) Current residential treatment facilities and locations limit care
available to Veterans; and (6) Higher operating costs than financial
allocations.
At VA Hot Springs there are approximately 2,800 Veterans that
receive primary care. About 5,500 Veterans visit the facility annually
for some aspect of care. The operation of this small, highly rural
facility located in a community of approximately 3,900 persons raises
concerns about safety, quality of care, sustainability over time,
recruitment and retention of staff, and cost of operations and
maintenance and upgrades to the facility. Contributing factors are the
difficulty complying with rules and laws governing handicapped
[[Page 28603]]
access, and the increasing age and cost of operating, maintaining and
improving buildings ranging from 40 to over 100 years old.
At present, VA has identified seven potential action alternatives
to be analyzed in the EIS: Alternative A would involve building/leasing
a CBOC in Hot Springs and a Multi-Specialty Outpatient Clinic (MSOC)
and 100-bed RRTP in Rapid City. Alternative B would involve building/
leasing a 100-bed RRTP in Hot Springs and a MSOC in Rapid City.
Alternative C would entail renovating Building 12 for a CBOC and the
Domiciliary for a 100-bed RRTP at Hot Springs and building/leasing a
MSOC at Rapid City. Alternative D would involve building/leasing a CBOC
and 24-bed RRTP at Hot Springs and a MSOC and 76-bed RRTP at Rapid
City. Alternative E would involve implementing a proposal put forward
by the ``Save the VA'' committee, a Hot Springs public interest group,
to repurpose VA Hot Springs as a multifaceted national demonstration
project for Veterans care in a rural environment. Alternative F would
be an as yet unidentified alternative use that might be proposed during
the EIS process. Supplemental Alternative G would entail repurposing
all or part of the Hot Springs campus through an enhanced-use lease or
other agreement with another governmental agency or private entity in
conjunction with Alternatives A through F. In addition to the above
seven action alternatives, the EIS also will evaluate the impacts
associated with the No Action or ``status quo'' alternative
(Alternative H) as a basis for comparison to the action alternatives.
Potential issues and impacts to be addressed in the EIS will
include, but not be limited to, physical and biological resources,
cultural and historic resources, land use, socioeconomics, community
services, transportation and parking, and cumulative effects. Relevant
and reasonable measures that could alleviate or mitigate adverse
effects and impacts also will be included. VA will undertake necessary
consultations with other governmental agencies and consulting parties
pursuant to the NHPA, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and
other applicable environmental laws. Consultation will include, but not
be limited to, the following Federal, Tribal, state, and local
agencies: State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers; U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; National
Park Service; and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
Information related to the EIS process, including notices of public
scoping and other informational meetings and hearings, will be
available for viewing on the VA BHHCS Web site: http://www.blackhills.va.gov/VABlackHillsFuture/
VA anticipates that many of the issues to be addressed in assessing
the impacts of the various alternatives will be broadly cultural in
character; that is, they will involve potential impacts on the cultural
environment as perceived by Veterans, their families, Indian tribes and
communities of the area. Such impacts may include, but are not limited
to: (a) Impacts on historic properties; (b) impacts on the cultural
values ascribed to the Hot Springs and Fort Meade campuses by Veterans,
local residents, Indian tribes and others; (c) impacts to ongoing or
traditional cultural uses of such locations; and (d) impacts on
archaeological, historical, and scientific data.
In the interests of efficiency, completeness, and facilitating
public involvement, it is VA's intention that all cultural impacts be
addressed together, in consultation with all appropriate parties. To
facilitate this inclusive process, VA will incorporate into its NEPA
analysis process the review procedures for historic properties usually
carried out separately under 36 CFR 800.3 through 6 of the NHPA Section
106 implementing regulations. This process is described in 36 CFR
800.8(c) of those procedures and in the Council on Environmental
Quality and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation handbook for
integrating NEPA and Section 106 dated March 2013.
Signing Authority
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Jose D.
Riojas, Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on May 6, 2014, for publication.
Dated: May 13, 2014.
Robert C. McFetridge,
Director, Regulation Policy and Management, Office of the General
Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2014-11316 Filed 5-15-14; 8:45 am]
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