[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 199 (Monday, October 15, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52480-52481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-25853]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center


FLETC Cheltenham, MD; Notice of Intent

AGENCY: Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of intent to hold public meeting and prepare an 
environmental assessment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Federal Law Enforcement 
Training Center (FLETC), pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations 
for Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR parts 
1500-1508), and Department of the Treasury Directive 75-02 (Department 
of the Treasury Environmental Quality Program), proposes to prepare an 
Environmental Assessment related to the renovation of the former Naval 
Communications Detachment Cheltenham, MD to provide a law enforcement 
requalification training facility for use by a wide variety of federal, 
state, and local agencies located in the metropolitan Washington, DC 
area. The proposed action includes renovation and demolition of 
existing buildings for use as classrooms, simulators, locker 
facilities, storage, etc., and construction of a free-standing, 
completely enclosed, environmentally safe indoor firearms training 
range and an outdoor vehicle training range. Vegetation manipulation 
will occur for aesthetic purposes, wildlife habitat improvement, 
wildfire hazard control, and insect/disease reduction.
    Meeting Information: Public participation in the scoping process 
will be an integral part of this project. During the scoping process 
the FLETC will seek information, comments, and guidance from agencies 
and the public that may be interested in, or affected by, this project. 
The scoping process will include: (a) Identification of potential 
issues; (b) identification of issues to be analyzed in depth; (c) 
elimination of insignificant issues; (d) identifying potential 
environmental effects; (e) exploring potential alternatives; and (f) 
determining potential cooperating agencies. The FLETC will conduct a 
meeting associated with the scoping of the assessment of potential 
significant environmental impacts related to the project. The meeting 
will be advertised in a newspaper in general circulation in the project 
area. The meeting will be open to the interested public, and federal, 
state, and local government agencies, and will be held on October 24, 
2001 from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at Colony South Hotel and Conference 
Center, located at 7401 Surratts Road Clinton, MD 20735. The public and 
agencies are invited to participate in the planning and analysis of the 
proposed project. Representatives of the FLETC and its consultants will 
be available at the meeting to discuss the FLETC's environmental review 
process, describe the project and alternatives under consideration, 
discuss the scope of environmental issues to be considered in 
accordance with the requirements of NEPA, answer questions and written 
comments.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted until November 23, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: FLETC Cheltenham Facility, 9000 Commo 
Road, Cheltenham, MD 20623-5000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Shaw, NEPA Coordinator/Project 
Manager, FLETC, at (912) 261-4557. Ms. Shaw's e-mail address is 
[email protected]. Information is also available from Bob Smith, 
Chief, Cheltenham Operations at (301) 868-5830. Mr. Smith's e-mail 
address is [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center 
has a mission of providing high quality, cost-effective training of 
federal law enforcement personnel. The FLETC proposes with this action 
to provide requalification training services in the Washington, DC area 
by renovating the former Naval Communications Detachment Cheltenham, MD 
facility which has been inactive since 1998. Providing these 
requalification services in the Washington, DC area will eliminate the 
need for using agencies to travel to the FLETC's Glynco, GA

[[Page 52481]]

facility, reducing associated costs and time demands.
    The FLETC Cheltenham facility is located approximately 15 miles 
southeast of Washington, DC, in Prince George's County, MD. The project 
site is situated east of Maryland Route 5 and west of Maryland Route 
301, approximately 3 miles south of Andrews Air Force Base.
    Alternatives considered by the FLETC include: (a) No action-
continuation of services at Glynco, GA; (b) Site locations other than 
Cheltenham, MD in the metropolitan Washington, DC area; (c) Proposed 
action at the Cheltenham, Md location, including alternative facility 
arrangements on this site.
    Based on the input received at the public meeting, and ongoing 
contact and involvement of the interested agencies and the public, the 
FLETC will prepare a Draft Environmental Assessment addressing the 
significance of the project and its impacts for public review and 
comment. Distribution and placement of this document in publicly-
accessible places such as libraries and governmental offices will 
occur. A Final Environmental Assessment will be prepared considering 
the comments from agencies and the public received following the review 
period for the draft document.
    Should the FLETC determine, based on the information presented in 
the Final Environmental Assessment for the project, that the impacts of 
the renovation/demolition, construction, and operation of the facility 
will not have a significant environmental impact, it will prepare a 
Finding of No Significant Impacts (FONSI) for publication in the 
Federal Register and in a newspaper in general circulation at the 
project location. Should significant environmental impacts be 
determined to exist due to the project, the FLETC will proceed with the 
preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement, per the requirements 
of NEPA, the Council on Environmental Quality, and its own 
environmental policies and procedures.

    Authority: The Council on Environmental Quality's National 
Environmental Policy Act, 40 CFR parts 1500 et seq.

    Dated: October 5, 2001.
Bruce Bowen,
Assistant Director, Office of Compliance, Federal Law Enforcement 
Training Center.
[FR Doc. 01-25853 Filed 10-12-01; 8:45 am]
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