[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 197 (Thursday, October 12, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53171-53172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-25271]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
Disposal of U.S. Navy Shipboard Solid Waste
Pursuant to Executive Order 12114 (Environmental Effects Abroad of
Major Federal Actions) and Section 102(2)(c) of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the Council
on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), the
Department of the Navy is announcing its intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for disposal of U.S. Navy
shipboard solid waste as defined in the International Convention for
the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL V) (1973).
The work process will entail the compilation, analysis, and
extrapolation of relevant data necessary to investigate specific issues
and potential environmental impacts associated with disposal of U.S.
Navy shipboard solid waste for Navy vessels operating world wide, with
special emphasis given to the special areas identified under MARPOL V.
The Department of the Navy initially announced its intent to
develop a plan for compliance with Regulation 5 of Annex V to the
MARPOL Convention in the Federal Register on July 21, 1994. That
Federal Register Notice discussed the background issues surrounding
shipboard solid waste disposal, the underlying requirements of
international conventions and U.S. domestic laws, the requirement to
submit a special area compliance plan to Congress by November 1996, and
the requirement to ensure public participation in the development of
that plan. The Department of the Navy held a public meeting in
September 1994 to solicit public comments on preparation of a special
area compliance plan.
The Department of the Navy has determined that it is appropriate at
this time to evaluate the environmental impacts of alternative methods
for disposal of shipboard solid waste identified in the July 21, 1994
Federal Register Notice. The Department of the Navy intends to use the
EIS to support recommendations in a report to be submitted to Congress
by November 1996. Even though the scope of the geographic area covered
in the EIS will be broader than that covered by the special area
compliance plan, the EIS and the plan will discuss the same range of
alternatives. Consequently, comments received during the EIS scoping
process will be considered as comments on the development of the
special area compliance plan as well.
The Navy will evaluate the potential environmental impacts
associated with the following solid waste disposal alternatives for
Navy vessels:
a. Store and/or retrograde all non-food solid waste; discharge food
waste overboard in accordance with current restrictions and
requirements.
b. Store and retrograde plastics; discharge food waste overboard in
accordance with current restrictions and requirements; pulp or shred
and discharge all other solid waste.
c. Store and retrograde plastics; discharge food waste overboard in
accordance with current restrictions and requirements; develop high-
tech Thermal Destruction solution (e.g., incineration and plasma arc
pyrolysis) for all other solid waste.
d. No-action: Discharge solid waste overboard in accordance with
the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships [33 U.S.C. 1902(c)(3)] and the
Navy's Environment and Natural Resources Program Manual [Chief of Naval
Operations Instruction 5090.1B], i.e., discharge of non-plastic
[[Page 53172]]
solid waste at distances greater than 25 NM from the coast.
Analysis of alternatives will include, at a minimum, the following
components:
a. Cause/effect relationship of discharge (by alternative type)
within the marine and nearshore environs of all designated special
areas and world-wide oceans through direct use and/or extrapolation of
available data/information or compiled from review of pertinent
scientific literature.
b. Impact on health and morale of ship crews.
c. Impact on operational readiness.
Federal, state, and local agencies, and interested individuals are
encouraged to participate in the scoping process for the EIS to
determine the range of issues and alternatives to be addressed. Two
public scoping meetings to receive oral and written comments will be
held: (1) At 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 24, 1995, at Old Colony Inn,
625 First Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; and (2) at 7:00 p.m. on
Thursday, October 26, 1995, at Clift Hotel, 495 Geary Street, San
Francisco, CA 94102. In the interest of available time, each speaker
will be asked to limit oral comments to five (5) minutes. Longer
comments should be summarized at the public meeting or mailed to the
address listed at the end of this announcement.
All written comments should be submitted no later than 30 November
1995 to Mr. Robert Ostermueller, Planner In Charge (PIC), Northern
Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, 10 Industrial Highway,
Mail Stop #82, Lester, PA 19113-2090, telephone (610) 595-0759, fax
(610) 595-0778.
Dated: October 6, 1995.
M.D. Schetzsle,
Lt, JAGS, USN, Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-25271 Filed 10-11-95; 8:45 am]
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