[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 15, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1990-1991]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-999]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[OJP(OJP)-1340]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Alameda County 
Government Center, Including a New Juvenile Justice Facility in the 
City of Dublin, Alameda County, California

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: Alameda County (California) proposes to approve a master plan 
and develop a government center in the East County area, specifically 
in the City of Dublin, California. The government center is proposed to 
include a courthouse (15 adult courts), 250,000 square feet of County 
offices, parking facilities, related site improvements, and a new 
Juvenile Justice facility with 420 beds, juvenile courts, 
administration, and associated support facilities (approximately 
400,000 square feet total). The Juvenile Justice Facility component of 
the government center is proposed in response to serious shortcomings 
in the capability of the existing facility located in San Leandro, 
California to serve existing and future needs of children in the 
County. The government center would be developed on a 40-acre County-
owned site located at the northern terminus of Hacienda Drive, bounded 
by Gleason Drive on the south, Arnold Road on the west, Broder Blvd. on 
the north, and Madigan Avenue on the east. The proposed Alameda County 
Juvenile Justice project would be funded in part by federal grant 
monies disbursed by the California Board of Corrections. These funds 
total $33,165,000, and are part of the State's allocation from the 
Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing (VOI/TIS) 
Incentive Grant Program. The County would provide additional funding 
from bonds, certificates of participation, and the general fund. The 
total cost for the Juvenile Justice Facility is estimated to be 
approximately $177,000,000.
    The Department of Justice, the California Board of Corrections and 
Alameda County are preparing a joint Environmental Impact Statement and 
Environmental Impact Review (EIS/EIR) document in order to satisfy the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) concurrently. The U.S. 
Department of Justice is the lead federal agency under NEPA for the 
preparation of the EIS/EIR and the California Board of Corrections will 
be preparing the EIS/EIR under a provision of NEPA that allows an 
agency of statewide jurisdiction with responsibility for the proposed 
action (pursuant to the VOI/TIS grant) to prepare an EIS. Alameda 
County will be the lead agency under CEQA for the preparation of the 
EIS/EIR for the master plan for the government center as well as the 
Juvenile Justice Facility.

DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held in the City of Dublin, 
County of Alameda, California, within thirty days

[[Page 1991]]

of the date of this publication. In accordance with the U.S. Department 
of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Corrections Programs Office, 
Program Guidance on Environmental Protection Requirements, a notice 
will be published in a non-legal section of at least two editions of a 
newspaper of general circulation in the area of the proposed action 
announcing the date, time, and location of the meeting as well as 
briefly summarizing its purpose.
    The public, as well as Federal, State, and local agencies are 
encouraged to participate in the scoping meetings. Comments may also be 
submitted in writing, identifying relevant environmental and 
socioeconomic issues to be addressed in this environmental analysis. 
Comments and information should be mailed to Ms. Jill Young of the 
Department of Justice or Mr. Michael Houghtby of the California Board 
of Corrections at the addresses listed below. Requests to be placed on 
the mailing list for announcements and the Draft EIS/EIR should also be 
sent to Ms. Jill Young or Mr. Michael Houghtby.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jill Young, Environmental 
Coordinator, Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, 
Corrections Programs Office, 810 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20531, 
Telephone (202) 353-7302, Fax (202) 307-2019, or contact Mr. Michael 
Houghtby, Field Representative, State of California Board of 
Corrections, Corrections Planning and Programs Division, 600 Bercut Dr, 
Sacramento, CA 95814, Telephone (916) 322-7085; Fax (916) 445-5796.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed Juvenile Justice Facility is 
intended to replace the existing Alameda County Juvenile Hall, which is 
located in the hills of San Leandro, Alameda County, California. The 
existing facility was constructed in various phases with most 
structures dating from the 1950s to 1970s. It includes secure detention 
at the Juvenile Hall facility for 299 detainees, camps for low security 
detention, and the Chabot Community Day Center. The detention facility 
is constructed on a steep hillside in close proximity to the Hayward 
fault, an active earthquake fault with a potential for causing severe 
ground shaking with an estimated 32% chance of a major seismic event 
during the next 30 years. In addition, these facilities, which 
routinely are overcrowded, have or will soon exceed their useful, 
economic life and are in need of replacement, based on operational and 
architectural/engineering evaluations. Therefore, the facility does not 
meet the present or future needs of the residents, staff or community 
and must be replaced.
    A juvenile justice system master plan completed in 1998 determined 
that the County needed to construct a new juvenile detention facility 
that would house up to 540 youth at any given time. The facility would 
respond to the approximately 10,000 annual referrals for intake, of 
which 6,000 are admitted for detention in a given year. The estimated 
total number of beds required for a new detention facility was based on 
historical trends and projections, multiplied by a factor of 1.2 to 
account for peaking, classification and operational needs, so that the 
County could house youth in a facility that reflects the detainees' 
gender, age, and security risk, to avoid crowding, and to provide for 
long-term planning. The County Board of Supervisors has since revised 
the project to include 420 beds, with a possible capacity of 450 beds. 
The environmental effects of this project and several alternatives will 
be evaluated in the EIS/EIR.
    Alternatives: The EIS/EIR will consider the No Project/No Action 
Alternative, as required by CEQA and NEPA. Under such a scenario, the 
existing Juvenile Hall facility, courts, and County offices would 
remain in their present locations and no Master Plan would be approved 
for the Dublin site.
    The EIS/EIR will also discuss and evaluate certain other 
alternatives, which may include: an alternative location for the 
Juvenile Justice Facility, including development of a replacement 
facility at the existing site in San Leandro; development of a split 
campus with part of the project in Dublin and part in San Leandro; or 
other locations to be determined during the environmental review 
process.
    The EIS/EIR will also consider variations in the project size, such 
as a reduced or increased number of beds at the Juvenile Justice 
facility, or a reduced or increased number of courts at the East County 
Hall of Justice.
    The EIS/EIR will also discuss policy alternatives that are under 
consideration, such as increased community placement and monitoring of 
youth offenders.

    Dated: January 10, 2002.
Deborah Daniels,
Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs.
[FR Doc. 02-999 Filed 1-14-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P