[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 247 (Monday, December 27, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72320-72331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33505]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Record of Decision for the Introduction of the V-22 to the Second 
Marine Aircraft Wing in Eastern North Carolina

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy, after carefully weighing the 
operational, environmental, and cost factors associated with the 
introduction of the V-22 `Osprey' as a replacement for the CH-46E 
helicopters in present use by the Second Marine Aircraft Wing (2d MAW), 
announces its Carolina. The squadrons receiving the new aircraft are 
already decision to base the replacement aircraft at MCAS New River, 
North based at MCAS New River, so no relocation of personnel and family 
members will be required.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LtCol D.B. Bixler, USMC; Long Range 
Planner, Installations and Logistics Dept (LFL-3), Headquarters, U.S. 
Marine Corps, 2 Navy Annex, Washington DC 20380-1775; Telephone 703 
695-8240.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the entire Record of Decision 
(ROD) is attached as follows:
    The Department of the Navy (DoN), pursuant to Section 102 (c) of 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 USC Section 
4331 et. seq.), and the regulations of the Council of Environmental 
Quality that implement NEPA procedures (40 CFR Parts (1500-1508), 
hereby announces its decision to introduce the V-22 ``Osprey'', a new 
type of tiltrotor, aircraft, to the Second Marine Aircraft Wing of the 
US Marine Corps, based at Marine Corps Air Station, New River, North 
Carolina. The decision includes the replacement or renovation of the 
facilities used to house and maintain the aircraft, and development 
within the USMC of the skills needed to employ the new aircraft during 
wartime.
    The introduction of the V-22, as mandated by Congress, is part of a 
Marine Corps-wide process of replacing the CH-46E and CH-53D 
helicopters currently used by the USMC MAWs. The USMC relies on a 
veteran fleet of CH-46Es and CH-53Ds for medium-lift operations, such 
as the delivery of troops and equipment in amphibious assault 
operations. These Fleet aircraft will be replaced by the V-22 on an 
essentially one-to-one basis.
    The CH-46E aircraft represent 1960s technology, and are nearing the 
end of their lifecycles. The CH-46E cannot travel great distances, and 
is not well equipped for night or adverse weather operations. The V-22 
is a tiltrotor aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoffs and 
landings, and significantly greater flight distances, at a faster speed 
and with a greater payload than the CH-46Es and CH-53Ds.
    The basing and operating of the V-22 by the 2d MAW will be as 
described in the Final Environment Impact Statement (FEIS) of October, 
1999. The FEIS identifies the basing of the V-22 at MCAS New River as 
the Preferred Alternative. To support the personnel, operations, and 
maintenance effort associated with basing the V-22 at MCAS New River, 
four construction projects will be required at that air station. These 
projects include constructing an aircraft rinse facility, widening 
taxiways, expanding the aircraft parking apron, and providing an 
addition to an existing training building to accommodate additional 
training simulators. Additionally, repavement of the runways at 
Outlying Landing Field Oak Grove, in Jones County, is planned.
    Operations will include training activities by the V-22 Fleet 
Replacement and Fleet Replacement Enlisted Skills Training (FRS/FREST) 
squadrons to develop initial capabilities in piloting and maintaining 
the new aircraft. The action also includes readiness operations by the 
V-22 tactical squadrons to develop proficiency in use of the V-22 for 
warfighting. These training and readiness operations are similar to 
those that have been conducted in Eastern North Carolina by the CH-46 
FRS and tactical squadrons in recent years.
    Training and readiness operations will be conducted at established 
outlying landing fields (OLFs); established special use airspace such 
as military operations areas (MOAs) and restricted areas; established 
military training routes (MTRs), terrain-following routes (TERFs), and 
low altitude routes (LATs); established targets and landing zones 
(LZs); and civilian airports. No new OLFs, MOAS, MTRs, TERFs, LATs, or 
restricted areas will be required as the result of the proposed action.

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    The first V-22 aircraft will be delivered to the V-22 Fleet 
Replacement Squadron (FRS) during fiscal years 2000 and 2001, at which 
point that squadron will reach Initial Operating Capability.
    The V-22 FRS squadron will receive 20 V-22 aircraft during the 
first five years of the program. The first four 2d MAW CH-46E tactical 
squadrons will be transitioned to the V-22 by about fiscal year 2006, 
and will each receive 12 V-22s, for a total of 48 V-22 aircraft.
    Ultimately, by about fiscal year 2008, the six 2d MAW tactical 
squadrons that presently use the CH-46E helicopters will be re-equipped 
with the V-22. These Fleet squadrons are part of Marine Aircraft Group 
26 and 29, currently stationed at MCAS New River. Initiating deployment 
through MCAS New River will therefore allow the DoN to take advantage 
of the existing facilities and organizational structure at the site.
    The V-22 FRS staff will begin training in the operation and 
maintenance of the V-22 upon arrival of the first V-22, scheduled for 
February 2000. The training of these personnel will be completed during 
March 2001, at which time they will begin to train tactical squadron 
personnel, starting with the first four of the 2d MAW tactical 
squadrons that are to be equipped.
    The air emissions from sources associated with construction and 
operation of the proposed action would occur in counties within the 
Southern Coastal Plain Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. Each of 
these counties is an air quality area for purposes of National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) designations under the Clean Air Act 
(CAA), and each has been designated as being in attainment for all 
criteria pollutants (40 C.F.R. 81.334). Thus, the Federal General 
Conformity Rule implementing the CAA Sec. 176, and the North Carolina 
General Conformity Rule (15A NCAC 2D.1600) are not applicable.

Process

    The NOI to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 
introduction of the V-22 to the 2d MAW was published in the Federal 
Register on August 14, 1998. Four public scoping meetings were held 
between August 31, 1998 and September 3, 1998 in the four North 
Carolina communities closest to where V-22 operations would occur: 
Atlantic, Pollocksville, Jacksonville, and Havelock.
    The public scoping meetings were attended by a total of 25 persons, 
with only one formal comment offered. An additional 13 individuals and 
state/local agencies submitted comments via letter, facsimile, or 
electronic mail.
    The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was distributed to 
Congressional members and committees, agencies and officials of 
federal, state, and local governments, citizen groups and 
organizations, and other interested parties during the week of June 14-
18, 1999.
    The Notice of Availability for the DEIS was published in the 
Federal Register on June 25, 1999. The DEIS was subject to public 
review during a 45-day public comment period. The Marine Corps also 
held four public hearings during the public comment period as follows: 
July 19, 1999--Jacksonville, NC; July 20, 1999--Havelock, NC; July 21, 
1999--Atlantic, NC; and July 22, 1999--Pollocksville, NC.
    Comments on the DEIS were received by letter, by oral statements 
provided to the court recorder at the public hearings, and written 
statements received by facsimile. Written and oral statements were 
received from a total of 21 commentors, including federal, state, 
regional, and local agencies, and private individuals. All comments 
received were reviewed and addressed in the FEIS.
    The FEIS was distributed for public comment on October 25, 1999. 
The public comment period ended on December 6, 1999. Two comments were 
received on the FEIS, and were reviewed before issuing this ROD.

Alternatives Considered

    The DoN conducted a two-tiered screening process to identify 
reasonable alternatives that would fulfull the purpose and need for the 
proposed action. The first stage identified all DoD aviation facilities 
that would meet certain fundamental criteria that are essential for the 
introduction of the V-22 within the 2d NAW. The second stage of the 
process screened those facilities that met the fundamental criteria 
against several preferential criteria that would significantly affect 
the cost and efficiency of the proposed action. The fundamental 
criteria included location within 200 nautical miles (nm) (370 
kilometers [km]) of the ground forces that are supported by the 2d MAW 
(these ground forces are located at Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp 
Lejeune); and the presence at the facility of a Marine Aviation 
Logistics Squadron (MALS).
    The first criterion is based on the specified radius of action (200 
nm) for the Marine Corps version of the V-22. It reflects the distance 
the V-22 can travel and return, without refueling with a full load of 
18 to 24 combat troops.
    The second criterion is necessary because the V-22 is a new 
aircraft, and there has been no opportunity to develop a maintenance 
capability through a MALS. The first opportunity for development of 
this capability will occur as the new aircraft is introduced to the FRS 
and initial fleet tactical squadrons. It is important that the V-22 
squadrons be home-based at the same air station as a MALS, to avoid 
significant degradation of the maintenance, logistics, and training 
support that a MALS provides. Collocation with other USMC aviation 
assets would also significantly aid the integration of the new aircraft 
into the overall USMC aviation team.
    Under these circumstances, establishing a new MALS at a non-Marine 
Corps facility would not be reasonable, as it would require the Marine 
Corps to undertake a change in force structure, necessitating higher 
support costs, and duplication of personnel and facilities at a time 
when DoD is streamlining.
    Only two sites meet both fundamental criteria: MCAS Cherry Point 
and MCAS New River. These sites were then evaluated against the 
preferential criteria, namely operational readiness factors such as: 
the availability of adequate training areas (MTRs, LATs, TERFs, OLFs, 
LZs, restricted areas and associated targets, MOAs, and Warning Areas) 
within a reasonable distance of the home base; collocation of the FRS/
FREST squadron with the majority of the V-22 Fleet squadrons; available 
capacity at the facility to accommodate the aircraft and personnel; 
costs associated with implementation of the alternative; and, proximity 
of the selected facility to the Fleet ground combat element (CGEs) 
requiring rotorcraft support at MCB Camp Lejeune. While MCAS New River 
is clearly the preferred alternative when evaluated against these 
factors, full basing at MCAS Cherry Point or partial basing of the FRS/
FREST and six tactical squadrons at both New River or Cherry Point 
would also be reasonable. Thus, the EIS addressed the environmental 
impacts of these three alternatives.
    Because Congress directed replacement, the No Action Alternative 
was not analyzed in detail.

Environmental Impacts

    The DoN analyzed the potential impacts of the selected action on 15 
categories of resources, namely: airfields and airspace, land use and 
coastal zone management, socioeconomics, community facilities and 
services, ground traffic and transportation, air

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quality, noise, infrastructure and utilities, cultural resources, 
hazardous materials management, topography and soils, vegetation and 
wetlands, wildlife, water resources, and rare and protected species. 
The DoN also considered potential cumulative impacts of the proposed 
action and consistency of the proposed action with federal policies 
addressing environmental justice. None of the impacts of the preferred 
alternative are considered to be significant. This record of decision 
focuses on the issues of most concern to the public or other government 
agencies.
    Noise--Public comments throughout the EIS process have indicated 
concern for aircraft noise, particularly overflights of national and 
state parks and other natural areas. The Day-Night Average Sound Level 
(DNL) was used to assess changes in the noise environment around the 
air stations and landing fields. The Onset-Rate Adjusted Day-Night 
Average Sound Level (Ldnmr) was used to assess changes along 
MTRs, within MOAs, and within Restricted Areas/Ranges. The Sound 
Exposure Level was used for representative sensitive receptor 
locations.
    Full basing of the V-22 at MCAS New River will result in little 
change in flight patterns or noise levels in the vicinity of the air 
station. The V-22 is slightly less noisy than the CH-46E helicopter, 
and will conduct somewhat fewer operations than the CH-46Es. The same 
will be true for many of the areas to be used for training, including 
the OLFs, TERFs, MTRs and MOAs. In some areas, there will be a decrease 
in the noise levels due to a decrease in the number of flight 
operations projected for not only the V-22 (former CH-46E) squadrons, 
but also other aircraft squadrons, as well (Executive Summary).
    There will be an increase in operations and therefore noise impacts 
at both OLF Oak Grove and the Albert J. Ellis Airport, in Jacksonville, 
NC. However, although the area affected by 65-dB DNL or greater will 
increase at both OLF Oak Grove and the Albert J. Ellis airport, it will 
not extend beyond the airport property, and will not, therefore, 
significantly impact people or dwellings.
    Noise along the TERF routes will not change significantly. three of 
the TERF routes are located almost wholly over the Croatan National 
Forest and Hofmann Forest. The fourth TERF Route (Holly Shelter) is 
located over forest and agricultural land. The number of operations 
along the TERF routes will actually decrease. Average noise levels 
along the Great White and Ellis Lake routes are anticipated to remain 
the same; the average noise level on the Hofman Forest route will 
decrease by one dB; and the average level on Holly Shelter route will 
increase by one dB. Average noise levels would not exceed the 65 dB 
standard considered to be protective of humans and wildlife along any 
of the routes. While the number of operations along the MTRs will 
increase (the CH-46E helicopters do not use MTRs, but the V-22 aircraft 
will use these routes), these noise levels along these routes would 
remain below the 55 dB DNL.
    Air Quality--The proposed action and alternatives occur in air 
quality areas (counties), that have always been designated as being in 
attainment of NAAQS for all criteria pollutants. Given this fact, the 
DoN selected the major stationary source definition from the CAA 
prevention of significant deterioration program--250 tons per year 
(tpy) or more of any air pollutant--that applies in these counties as 
the criteria for determining the potential significance of air quality 
impacts.
    The DoN carefully analyzed the air quality impacts of the 
replacement of CH-46E operations with V-22 operations, and has 
continued to update and refine the analysis as new information has 
become available.
    The most recent refinement (post FEIS) of the air quality impacts 
analysis included recalculating emissions attributable to CH-46E 
aircraft using new gaseous and particulate emission factors developed 
by the Navy's Aircraft Environmental Support Office during November and 
December 1999. Initial recalculations revealed potentially significant 
NOx emissions for Onslow County. However, since all 
emissions from training areas were attributed in the FEIS analysis to 
Onslow County, even though they actually partially occur in neighboring 
counties, the NOx emissions are still considered to be 
insignificant. When operational emissions are more accurately 
attributed among the counties that include the areas north and west of 
MCAS New River, the conclusion for all counties remains the same. The 
net increase in emissions for each county within the AQCR resulting 
from the proposed action and the alternatives (including operations at 
outlying landing fields and training areas) would be below 250tpy for 
all criteria pollutants. Thus, neither the proposed action nor any of 
the alternatives would have a potential significant adverse impact on 
air quality. The new emissions factors and the results of recalculation 
of operational emissions are not significant new information requiring 
re-publication of the FEIS.
    Refinements of FEIS Tables 3.6-2; 4.6-2; 4.6-3; E-1 through E-3; E-
7; and E-9 through E-1-, incorporating the recent CH-46E emission 
factors and distributing emissions among the counties that include the 
areas north and west of MCAS New River, appear in Appendix A of this 
Record of Decision.
    Water Resources--Several agencies expressed concern over the 
filling of a channelized stream in connection with expansion of the 
aircraft parking apron at MCAS New River. An Army Corps of Engineers 
permit will be required under Section 404/401 of the Clean Air Act for 
relocating or culverting the stream channel. This channel has been 
previously modified as part of the stormwater conveyance system at MCAS 
New River. Mitigation for the loss of habitat will be developed as part 
of the Section 404/401 permitting process. Work at OLF Oak Grove will 
not directly impact any surface waters. Runoff would be carefully 
controlled during construction to comply with all applicable state 
policies, rules and regulations.
    Wildlife, Threatened and Endangered Species--No protected 
(threatened or endangered) or significantly are species are documented 
as occurring within the construction areas at MCAS New River, MCAS 
Cherry Point, or OLF Oak Grove. At OLF Atlantic, no federally protected 
(threatened or endangered) species have been documented as occurring. 
One state endangered/federal species of concern, the Carolina 
goldenrod, and four state significantly rare species are present near 
the runways at OLF Atlantic. While no construction would occur at OLF 
Atlantic under the proposed action, downdraft from the V-22 could 
damage fragile species.
    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's comments on the DEIS expressed 
concern over low-level flight exercises, and their impact on bald 
eagles, red-cockaded woodpeckers, and other federally-listed coastal 
birds. They also expressed concern over colonial waterbirds and 
waterfowl. V-22 flights will mainly take place along the MTRs, the 
Holly Shelter, Hofmann Forest, Great White, and Ellis Lake TERF routes, 
and the LAT route within R-5306A. These routes have been in use many 
years. While flights along the MTRs would increase by 548 operations, 
flights along TERF routes would decrease by about 979 operations as 
compared to the level of CH-46E operations in recent years. Also, many 
of the flights on the MTRs occur at higher altitudes (300 ft to over 
1,000 ft) [91 m to 305 m] than the operations

[[Page 72323]]

along the TERF routes. The DON does not anticipate that the proposed 
action will cause adverse impacts, such as changes in species 
distribution or populations within these areas, because the operational 
patterns and associated noise levels will be similar to current 
operations.

Response To Comments Received Regarding the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement

    Two written letters were received. One commentor, EPA Region 4, 
Atlanta restated the Agency's lack of objection to the proposal. The 
State of North Carolina also submitted a comment which concurred with 
the proposed action.

Conclusions

    In determining where to introduce the V-22 to the 2d MAW, I have 
considered the following: all DoD air facilities with an existing MALS 
within the operational radius of the aircraft; environmental impacts; 
operational readiness factors such as the availability of adequate 
training areas within a reasonable distance of the home base and 
collocation of the FRS/FREST squadron with the V-22 Fleet squadrons; 
available capacity at the selected facility to accommodate the aircraft 
and personnel; costs associated with implementation of the alternative; 
proximity of the selected facility to the units of the Ground Combat 
Element requiring rotorcraft support at MCB Camp Lejeune; and comments 
received during the DEIS and FEIS public involvement periods.
    After carefully weighing all of these factors, analyzing the data 
presented in the FEIS along with the additional information concerning 
air emissions, and considering public comments, I have determined that 
the Preferred Alternative, homebasing of the V-22 at MCAS New River, 
best meets the operational requirements for the V-22, and is the least 
costly of the alternatives evaluated. This alternative is also the 
environmentally preferred alternative. Therefore, on behalf of the 
Department of the Navy, I have decided to implement the proposed action 
by basing the V-22 aircraft at MCAS New River.

    Dated: December 20, 1999.
Duncan Holaday,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy
(Installations and Facilities).

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[FR Doc. 99-33505 Filed 12-23-99; 8:45 am]
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