[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 174 (Friday, September 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46823-46824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22257]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Air Force


Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for a Proposed Golf Course

    The Department of the Air Force is issuing this notice to advise 
the public that an environmental impact statement (EIS) will be 
prepared for a golf course adjacent to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
    Luke Air Force Base (AFB) will prepare an EIS on a proposal to 
construct and operate a golf course and related facilities including a 
clubhouse, cart storage building, and maintenance building. The golf 
course will occupy 155 acres in Maricopa County, Arizona, on the 
northeast corner of Northern 

[[Page 46824]]
Avenue and Reems Road west of Phoenix. The proposed site, which will 
soon be deeded to Luke AFB, was used for agricultural purposes in the 
past. Currently, the site is undergoing construction of the Dysart 
Drain Improvement Project, which includes a 160-acre detention basin 
designed to alleviate flooding of the military base property and 
facilities.
    The project is being proposed so that the detention basin provides 
multiple purpose benefits. It is common practice in the Southwest to 
place recreational facilities, such as golf courses, in detention 
basins. Surveys show a high demand for golf by the Luke AFB population, 
which includes approximately 30,000 active duty and family members as 
well as military retirees and Department of Defense civilian employees 
that work at the base. Currently, the eligible members of the Luke AFB 
population have no military golf alternatives. The competitive 
environment for golf in the Phoenix metropolitan area make golf 
unaffordable to many military members as market rates range from $40 to 
$100 per round during winter months when weather in the area is most 
conducive for golf.
    All potential significant environmental effects will be discussed 
in the EIS. These include air quality impacts from fugitive dust and 
various construction emissions generated during the construction 
period, an analysis of the potential effects caused by increased 
traffic volume in the area, and the potential for contamination of the 
detention basin by pesticides and fertilizers used in golf course 
maintenance.
    The only alternative to this action is the no-action alternative, 
which leaves the site serving as a detention basin without a golf 
course.
    The proposed action would not commence until after completion of 
the Dysart Drain Improvement Project, which is scheduled for 1997. It 
is estimated that the time frame for construction of the golf course 
and its related facilities would take 13 months.
    Prior to any construction efforts, and accompanying preparation of 
the EIS, a public involvement plan will be implemented to solicit 
public opinion of the proposed action. A public scoping meeting is 
scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12, 1995 at the 
Litchfield Park Recreation Center Community Room, 100 South Old 
Litchfield Road.
    To ensure that all significant issues regarding the proposed action 
and the EIS are identified, comments and questions are invited from all 
interested parties, and should be addressed to Luke AFB at the address 
below:

Lisa Q. Carlson, Natural Resources Planner, 56 CES/CEVN, 14002 West 
Marauder Street, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona 85309-1125, Telephone 
(602) 856-3823
Patsy J. Conner,
Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-22257 Filed 9-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3910-01-P