[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 7947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2940]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army


Notice of Availability of the Final Environment Impact Statement 
for Disposal and Reuse of Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 and the President's Council on Environmental Quality, the Army has 
prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for disposal of 
lands that will become surplus at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. The 
Primary Army action analyzed in the FEIS is the disposal of 2,357 acres 
of surplus property at Fort Benjamin Harrison (FBH). In addition, the 
FEIS analyzes impacts associated with potential reuse activities as a 
secondary action to be accomplished by other (non-Army) entities.
    The Army disposal action is evaluated in the context of three 
alternatives: (1) the No Action Alternative (NAA) which analyzes the 
effects of maintaining the installation in caretaker status after 
closure; (2) the Encumbered Disposal (ED) Alternative which analyzes 
the effects of the Army disposing property with certain reuse 
constraints (encumbrances) on future owners as a condition of disposal 
and reuse; and (3) the Unencumbered Disposal (UD) Alternative which 
analyzes the effects of removing existing constraints to allow property 
disposal with less or no Army-imposed restrictions to future use. The 
EIS identifies the Encumbered Disposal Alternative as the preferred 
Army action. No significant adverse impacts are anticipated as a result 
of this Army action.
    The Army does not have a preference regarding the reuse of FBH 
excess lands, nor does it have the ability to maintain direct control 
of the ultimate use of any property disposed. Therefore, surplus 
property reuse is analyzed as a secondary, non-Army action resulting 
from property disposal. The EIS evaluates three reuse alternatives that 
represent a range of reuse actions that could occur at FBH. The EIS 
identifies the type and relative magnitude of impacts that are expected 
to occur under each of the intensity-based reuse alternatives. In 
addition, the Fort Harrison Transition Task Force (FHTTF) submitted a 
Preliminary Community Concept Plan (PCCP) for reuse to the Army as part 
of their comments on the Draft EIS. A copy of the PCCP Executive 
Summary has been included as Appendix F of the FEIS; and an analysis of 
the impacts associated with the PCCP has been included as Appendix G. 
The FHTTF final reuse plan is not expected to change significantly from 
the PCCP.

DATES: The FEIS on the disposal and reuse of Fort Benjamin Harrison was 
distributed to interested agencies and the public prior to or 
simultaneously with filing of this Notice of Availability for the FEIS 
with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Following a 30 day post-
filing waiting period, the Department of the Army will prepare a Record 
of Decision which will become part of the environmental documentation 
presented for the final decision.

ADDRESSES: Questions regarding the FEIS, or a request for copies of the 
document may be directed to Mr. William Ray Haynes, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Louisville District, P.O. Box 59, Louisville, Kentucky 
40201-0059, or call (502) 582-6475.

    Dated: January 26, 1995.
Lewis D. Walker,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and 
Occupational Health) OASA (IL&E).
[FR Doc. 95-2940 Filed 2-9-95; 8:45 am]
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