[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 173 (Monday, September 8, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53197-53198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21329]
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
[Notice-PBS-2014-01; Docket No. 2014-0002; Sequence No. 11]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters Consolidation
and Exchange of the J. Edgar Hoover Building
AGENCY: U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Lead; Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cooperating Agency.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
and public meeting.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), GSA plans to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Federal Bureau of Investigation
Headquarters (FBI HQ) Consolidation to guide the evaluation of
alternatives for a new permanent location for the FBI HQ, and to look
at the impacts from the exchange of the J. Edgar Hoover Building. GSA
also will be initiating related consultation under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) for the project.
DATES: Effective: September 8, 2014.
The public scoping meeting dates are:
1. Springfield Site: Monday, September 22, 2014 from 5:30 p.m.
until 8:30 p.m. eastern standard time.
2. Greenbelt Site: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 from 5:30 p.m. until
8:30 p.m. eastern standard time.
3. JEH Exchange: Wednesday, October 1, 2014 from 5:00 p.m. until
8:00 p.m. eastern standard time.
4. Landover Site: Thursday, October 2, 2014 from 5:30 p.m. until
8:30 p.m. eastern standard time.
ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:
1. Springfield Site: Robert E. Lee High School located at 6540
Franconia Rd., Springfield, VA 22150.
2. Greenbelt Site: Greenbelt Library located at 11 Crescent Rd.,
Greenbelt, MD 20770.
3. JEH Exchange: District Architecture Center located at 421 7th
St. NW., Washington, DC 20004.
4. Landover Site: Prince George's County Sports and Learning
Complex located at 8001 Sheriff Rd., Hyattsville, MD 20785.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nia Francis, Project Manager, GSA,
National Capital Region, at (202) 205-1937. Also, please call this
number if special assistance is needed to attend and participate in the
scoping meeting.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 United States Code (U.S.C.)
4321-4347; the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 40, chapter V, parts 1500-1508); GSA
Order ADM 1095.1F (Environmental considerations in decision-making,
dated October 19, 1999); and the GSA Public Buildings Service NEPA Desk
Guide, dated October 1999, GSA plans to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the proposed FBI HQ Consolidation to guide the
evaluation of alternatives for a new permanent location for the FBI HQ.
GSA also will be initiating related consultation under Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470(f) and
470(h-2), 36 CFR Part 800 (Protection of Historic Properties) for the
project.
GSA intends to prepare an EIS to analyze the potential impacts
resulting from the proposed action, which encompasses two parts: (1)
Acquisition of a consolidated FBI HQ at a new permanent location; and
(2) exchange of the J. Edgar Hoover (JEH) Building parcel.
Background
The purpose of the proposed action is to: (1) Consolidate the
existing FBI HQ offices and divisions into one location in the greater
Washington DC area; and (2) provide the FBI with a headquarters
facility that meets the Interagency Security Council (ISC) Level V
security standards. This standard is reserved for agencies with mission
functions critical to national security or continuation of government.
A consolidated FBI HQ is needed to support information sharing,
collaboration, and integration of strategic priorities. Currently, the
aging JEH Building houses only 52 percent of headquarters staff with
the remainder dispersed over multiple locations in the National Capital
Region. Fragmentation resulting from FBI HQ's multiple locations
diverts time and resources from investigations, hampers coordination
and collaboration, and decreases flexibility. Dispersion across
multiple locations also gives rise to redundancy in operations and
inefficient use of space. The consolidation is needed to eliminate
redundancies and provide for significant space savings.
The proposed action is needed to provide a FBI HQ that meets the
Level V ISC security standard. Currently, FBI HQ elements are housed in
the JEH Building and multiple locations in the greater Washington, DC
area that do not meet the Level V ISC security standard. Additionally,
the FBI needs a facility that supports the mission of the agency and
allows the agency to defend against terrorists, weapons of mass
destruction, and other threats. As an integral agency for the
management of intelligence and national security programs, the FBI
needs a HQ facility that provides highly reliable utilities and
infrastructure.
GSA is the lead agency for the FBI HQ consolidation and exchange of
JEH, and associated NEPA and NHPA compliance. FBI is a cooperating
agency for NEPA and a signatory consulting party for NHPA.
JEH Building Exchange
The new FBI HQ would be built by a developer, on one of the
acceptable sites identified by GSA and FBI through a site selection
process that concluded with an announcement of short listed sites on
July 29, 2014. Following construction of the new FBI HQ and acceptance
of the FBI HQ by GSA, title to JEH will be transferred to the developer
to offset the cost of the new FBI HQ.
[[Page 53198]]
Alternatives Under Consideration
As part of the EIS, GSA will study the impacts of developing an up
to 2.1 million rentable square feet consolidated FBI HQ on three site
alternatives. These sites are:
Greenbelt--this site is known as the Greenbelt Metro
Station located near the intersection of Interstates 95/495 and
Greenbelt Station (exit 24) in Prince George's County, Maryland.
Landover--this site is known as the former Landover Mall
located along Brightseat Road near the intersection of Interstates 95/
495 (exit 17) and Landover Road (MD 202) in Prince George's County,
Maryland.
Springfield--this site is known as the GSA Franconia
Warehouse Complex located along Loisdale Road just south of the
Franconia-Springfield Parkway overpass and east of Interstate 95 in
Fairfax County, Virginia.
Additionally, GSA will study potential impacts related to the
exchange of the JEH parcel. GSA also will evaluate a ``No Action
Alternative'', in which FBI would remain in the current locations
without consolidation at a new permanent location.
Resource areas to be addressed in the EIS will include, but not be
limited to: Air quality, noise, land use, socioeconomics, traffic and
transportation, infrastructure and community services, natural
resources, biological resources, cultural resources, and safety and
environmental hazards. The analysis will evaluate direct, indirect, and
cumulative impacts. Relevant and reasonable measures that could avoid
or mitigate environmental effects will also be analyzed. In conjunction
with the NEPA process, GSA will undertake any consultations required by
applicable laws or regulations, including NHPA.
Scoping Process
In accordance with NEPA, a scoping process will be conducted to:
(1) Aid in determining the alternatives to be considered and the scope
of issues to be addressed; and (2) identify the significant
environmental issues related to the proposed FBI HQ consolidation that
should be addressed during the preparation of the Draft EIS. Scoping
will be accomplished through a series of public scoping meetings; mail
and email correspondence to potentially interested persons, agencies,
and organizations; social media and other web-based communications; and
meetings with agencies having an interest in the FBI HQ consolidation.
GSA is also using the NEPA scoping process to facilitate consultation
with the public under Section 106 of the NHPA (36 CFR Part 800). GSA
welcomes comments from the public to ensure that the agency takes into
account the effects of the proposed action on historic and cultural
resources.
GSA will publish announcement notices in the Washington Post,
Washington Business Journal, Springfield Connection, Greenbelt Patch,
and Hyattsville Patch approximately one to two weeks prior to the
public scoping meetings. After receiving scoping comments, GSA will
respond to them in the EIS and through the Section 106 consultation
process. GSA will make available to the public a comment/response
matrix summarizing the scoping and Section 106 comments in the Draft
and Final EIS.
Written Comments: Agencies and the public are encouraged to provide
written comments on the scoping issues related to the EIS for the
proposed FBI HQ consolidation in addition to, or in lieu of, providing
comments at the public scoping meeting. Written comments must be
postmarked no later than October 23, 2014, and sent to the General
Services Administration, Attention: Nia Francis, Project Manager, 301
7th Street SW., Room 4004, Washington, DC 20407. Email:
[email protected] using the subject line: NEPA Scoping Comment.
Dated: September 3, 2014.
Mina Wright,
Director, Office of Planning and Design Quality, National Capital
Region, Public Buildings Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-21329 Filed 9-5-14; 8:45 am]
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