[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 25, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 4897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-1889]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
Disposal and Reuse of Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida

    Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act as implemented by 
the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), the Department of the Navy announces its intent to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential 
environmental effects of disposal and reuse of Naval Air Station (NAS) 
Cecil Field, located in Duval and Clay Counties near Jacksonville, 
Florida.
    In accordance with the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act 
(DBCRA) (PL 101-510), as implemented by the 1993 Base Realignment And 
Closure process, the Navy has been directed to close and dispose of NAS 
Cecil Field and its associated Outlying Landing Field (OLF) at 
Whitehouse.
    The proposed action to be evaluated in the EIS involves the 
disposal of land, buildings, and infrastructure at NAS Cecil Field, 
including OLF Whitehouse which is located approximately seven miles to 
the north. The Navy intends to analyze the environmental effects of 
disposal of NAS Cecil Field based upon reasonable reuse scenarios for 
the property. The community established a local redevelopment 
authority, identified as the Cecil Field Development Commission (CFDC), 
that is charged with planning appropriate new uses for the properties. 
The EIS will evaluate these alternative reuse scenarios, including the 
``no action'' alternative (retention of the property in caretaker 
status). However, because of the process mandated by DBCRA, selection 
of the ``no action'' alternative would be considered impracticable for 
the Navy to implement.
    The EIS will evaluate the impacts of disposal and reuse of NAS 
Cecil Field properties on the natural environment, including but not 
limited to, plant and wildlife habitats, water resources such as 
streams and wetlands, and air quality. It will also evaluate effects on 
the socioeconomic environment, including potential impacts to the 
regional economy, the local tax base, and land uses. In addition, as 
required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the 
Navy will be preparing a cultural resources survey to determine if any 
sensitive archaeological resources or historic buildings or structures 
will be affected by the proposed reuse.
    The Navy is initiating a scoping process for the purpose of 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying 
significant issues related to proposed reuse. The Navy will hold a 
public scoping meeting on February 9, 1995, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in 
the Main Drill Hall at the Post of Snyder, Florida Army National Guard 
Center, 9900 Normandy Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida. The location of 
this meeting will also be advertised in local and regional newspapers.
    A brief presentation will precede a request for public comment and 
will include a presentation on proposed uses that have been identified 
for the properties. Navy representatives will be available at this 
meeting to receive comments regarding issues of concern to the public. 
It is important that federal, state, and local agencies and interested 
individuals take this opportunity to identify environmental concerns 
that should be addressed during the preparation of the EIS. Further, 
because it is anticipated that the CFDC reuse-plan will not be 
completed until July, 1995, the scoping process offers an opportunity 
to incorporate public environmental concerns into the CFDC planning 
process.
    Agencies and the public are also invited and encouraged to provide 
written comment in addition to, or in lieu of, oral comments at the 
scoping meeting. To be most helpful, scoping comments should clearly 
describe the specific issues or topics the commenter believes the EIS 
should address. In the interest of available time, each speaker will be 
asked to limit oral comments to five minutes. Written statements and/or 
questions regarding the scoping process should be mailed no later than 
March 11, 1995, to: Commanding Officer, Southern Division, Naval 
Facilities Engineering Command, P.O. Box 190010, North Charleston, SC 
29419-9010, (Attn: Mr. Robert Teague, Code 203RT) telephone (803) 743-
0785.

    Dated: January 20, 1995.
L. R. NcNees,
LCDR, JAGC, USN, Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-1889 Filed 1-24-95; 8:45 am]
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