[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 13, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-22546] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: September 13, 1994] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Office Complex at Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Prince George's County, MD Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for construction of a 350,000 square foot, low- rise office complex plus associated parking on federal land within the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Prince George's County, Maryland. The project provides for consolidation of USDA functions currently located in leased facilities in Maryland and the District of Columbia, and in the USDA Headquarters South Building, which will be renovated. Since initiating the EIS process with a public scoping meeting in January, 1994, the size of the proposed office complex has been decreased by USDA from 700,000 s.f. to 350,000 s.f. The Draft EIS considers environmental impacts from project implementation on each of three (3) possible government-owned sites: Site A, 100acres north of the Capital Beltway, southeast of the Rhode Island Avenue/Sunnyside Avenue intersection; Site B, 120 acres east of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, southeast of the Powdermill Road/Soil Conservation Service Road intersection; and Site D, 94 acres southeast of the Edmonston Road/Beaverdam Road intersection. A ``No Action'' alternative is also considered. Potential environmental impacts include short-term construction-related impacts, and long-term changes in traffic, socio- economic and physical conditions. The Draft EIS is available for inspection at the Beltsville, Greenbelt, and College Park Public Libraries, and upon request from the USDA Headquarters at the address given below. A Public Hearing on the Draft EIS will be held on October 27, 1994, at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 003, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705. A short presentation by USDA summarizing the Draft EIS will precede a period for public comments. Oral comments should be limited to ten (10) minutes each. Agencies and the public are invited to provide written comments on the Draft EIS, in addition to, or in lieu of, oral comments at the Public Hearing. All written comments must be mailed, no later than October 27, 1994 to: Mr. Michael V. Sazonov, Contracting Office Technical Representative, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Operations, Washington Area Service Center, South Building, Room S-313, 14th and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, D.C. 20250; Telephone (202) 720-2804. Wardell C. Townsend, Jr., Assistant Secretary for Administration. [FR Doc. 94-22546 Filed 9-12-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-98-M