[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7497-7498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02663]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Public Meeting for the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for Proposed United States Penitentiary and Federal Prison
Camp in Letcher County, Kentucky
AGENCY: Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons
(Bureau) is announcing a public meeting for the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Proposed United States Penitentiary
(USP) and Federal Prison Camp (FPC) in Letcher County, Kentucky. A 45-
day public comment period on the Draft EIS was initiated with the
publication of the Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS in the
Federal Register on February 13, 2015. The 45-day public comment period
is from February 13, 2015 through March 30, 2015.
This notice announces the date, time, and location of the public
meeting for the Draft EIS and provides supplementary information about
the environmental planning effort.
Dates and Addresses: A public meeting will be held on March 12, 2015
between 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at the Letcher County Central High
School located at 435 Cougar Drive, Whitesburg, Kentucky. Bureau
representatives will be available at poster stations during the public
meeting to clarify information related to the Draft EIS.
Federal, state, and local agencies and officials, and interested
groups and individuals are encouraged to provide comments in person at
the public meeting or in writing anytime during the public comment
period. At the public meeting, attendees will be able to submit
comments in writing and orally to a stenographer who will transcribe
comments. All comments received during the public comment period will
be given equal consideration. Comments may also be submitted to Mr.
Thomas A. Webber, Chief, Capacity Planning and Construction Branch,
Federal Bureau of Prisons, 320 First Street, NW., Washington, DC 20534
(Telephone: (202) 514-6470, Fax: (202) 616-6024, or Email:
[email protected]). All statements, both written and oral, submitted
during the public comment period will become part of the public record
on the Draft EIS and will be responded to in the Final EIS. All written
comments must be postmarked by March 30, 2015 to ensure they become
part of the official record.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action being evaluated in this
Draft EIS is the acquisition of property and the construction and
operation of a federal correctional facility in Letcher County,
Kentucky. The Bureau proposes to acquire approximately 800 acres to
construct a USP (approximately 61,654 square meters) and FPC
(approximately 6,063 square meters) in Letcher County. Inmates housed
in the USP would be high-security male inmates and those housed in the
FPC would be minimum-security male inmates. The proposed facilities
would house approximately 1,216 total inmates (approximately 1,088
within the USP and 128 within the FPC). In addition to the USP and FPC,
several ancillary facilities necessary for the operation of the USP and
FPC would be constructed. A non-lethal/lethal fence would also be
installed along the perimeter of the USP. The non-lethal/lethal fence
would be placed between two parallel, chain link and razor wire fences.
The official scoping period for this project began when the Bureau
published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to prepare an EIS
on July, 26, 2013. The Bureau held a 30-day public scoping period
between July 26 and August 26, 2013. A public scoping meeting was held
on August 13, 2013 to inform the public about the proposed project and
to explain the National
[[Page 7498]]
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the associated environmental impact
analysis.
Three alternatives were analyzed in this Draft EIS, the No Action
Alternative and two build alternatives: Alternative 1--Payne Gap and
Alternative 2--Roxana.
No Action Alternative
Under the No Action Alternative, the Bureau would not acquire
property or construct and operate a new USP or FPC. Existing USPs would
remain overcrowded and prevent the Bureau from meeting its mission. The
No Action Alternative does not meet the project purpose and need and is
therefore, not considered a viable alternative. However, the No Action
Alternative is analyzed in the Draft EIS because it serves as a
baseline for comparing the proposed action. The purpose for this
comparison is to allow the federal agency to assess the effects of
taking no action versus implementing the proposed action. In some cases
the no action alternative would result in impacts to certain resources
if the proposed action is not implemented. Therefore, the assessment of
the no action alternative is an important component of all NEPA
documents.
Alternative 1--Payne Gap
Under Alternative 1, the Bureau would acquire approximately 753
acres of land known as the Payne Gap site. The site is located in
eastern Letcher County, approximately 7 miles northeast of Whitesburg,
along the Kentucky and Virginia border. The Bureau would then construct
and operate a USP and FPC on this site.
Alternative 1 would require extensive earthwork to prepare the site
for development. Approximately 10,912,130 cubic yards (yd\3\) of
excavation and 13,823,012 yd\3\ of fill would be required prior to
beginning construction activities. The Bureau would require a minimum
of 300 acres for construction of the USP and FPC at this site.
Alternative 2--Roxana
Under Alternative 2, the Bureau would acquire approximately 700
acres of land known as the Roxana site. The site is located 7.5 miles
west of Whitesburg, Kentucky. The Bureau would construct and operate a
USP and FPC on this site.
Alternative 2 would also require extensive earthwork to prepare the
site for development. Approximately 3,831,749 yd\3\ of material would
need to be excavated from the site and approximately 4,293,001 yd\3\ of
fill would be required to prepare the site for construction activities.
The Bureau would require a minimum of 300 acres for construction of the
USP and FPC at this site.
Alternative 1 and Alternative 2 would both have significant impacts
to geology, topography, and soils, as well as infrastructure and
utilities, and traffic and transportation. Implementation of the
proposed action under either alternative would also have the potential
to impact threatened and endangered species, including the gray bat
(Myotis grisescens) and Indiana bat (Myotis sodalist). Studies are
ongoing to determine detailed impacts to winter and summer habitat.
Coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is ongoing.
Dated: February 5, 2015.
Thomas A. Webber,
Chief, Capacity Planning and Construction Branch.
[FR Doc. 2015-02663 Filed 2-9-15; 8:45 am]
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