[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 23, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48138-48139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18479]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Notice of Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact for the Millennium Challenge 2002 Joint 
Integrating Experiment

AGENCY: U.S. Joint Forces Command, DoD.

ACTION: Finding of no significant impact.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 101(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the Council on Environmental Quality 
regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) implementing the procedural 
provisions of NEPA, U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) gives notice that 
a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared and an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required for the Millennium 
Challenge 2002 Joint Integrating Experiment scheduled to be conducted 
during July and August 2002 in the southwest region of the U.S. and 
offshore waters of southern California. JFCOM is issuing a Finding of 
No Significant Impact (FONSI).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Steven Chambliss, Joint 
Experimentation, U.S. Joint Forces Command, 1562 Mitscher Ave., Suite 
200, Norfolk, VA 23551-2488; phone (757) 836-0966.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Millennium Challenge 2002 (MC02) is a 
Department of Defense (DoD) ``major joint integrating experiment'' 
scheduled to be conducted from July 24 to August 15, 2002 in the 
southwest region of the U.S. and offshore waters of Southern 
California. Congressional language in the FY01 Defense Authorization 
Act mandated conduct of the joint integrating experiment and 
specifically directed the demonstration of a rapid, decisive military 
operational concept. MC02 responds to Congressional direction and is 
sponsored by U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) based in Norfolk, 
Virginia. Each of the services proposes to conduct their own 
experimentation under the umbrella of MC02. The Services have 
separately assessed the environmental impacts of their actions and 
determined that the impacts will not be significant. JFCOM conducted an 
overall, or programmatic assessment of the MC02 Proposed Actions. This 
assessment considered the potential cumulative effects of the Proposed 
Actions of the four individual Services during MC02.

[[Page 48139]]

Proposed Action

    A military Joint Task Force (JTF) will be established by the 
Secretary of Defense to conduct exercise military operations against 
hypothetical Country RED. The Commander of the Joint Task Force (CJTF) 
will be the Commander of the Army III Corps who will command the 
operation from a land-based headquarters in Suffolk, Virginia and from 
the San Diego-based Navy Command Ship, USS CORONADO. Each of the 
Services will provide combat forces to the Joint Task Force. The Air 
Force proposes to participate with an Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW) at 
Nellis AFB, Nevada and Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) and would 
conduct 5 days of live flying during MC02. For the Army, the Proposed 
Action involves approximately 4,500 soldiers conducting operations at 
the National Training Center (NTC), Fort Irwin, CA. Southern California 
Logistics Airport (SCLA) near Victorville, CA would be used as a 
transshipment base (TSB) for movement of Army units by air and ground 
to and from NTC.
    The Marine Corps participation in MC02, called Millennium Dragon, 
would include a small amphibious landing at MCB Camp Pendleton and 
urban warfare training exercises at SCLA. Operations would be 
battalion-sized with a maximum of approximately 1,200 Marines 
participating. The Navy proposes to conduct a series of experimental 
activities within MC02 called Fleet Battle Experiment Juliet (FBE J). 
Activities planned include special operations, mine warfare, anti-
submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), joint fires, and 
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). Forces 
participating would include 12 ships, 19 aircraft, and about 2,500 
personnel at various locations including ocean operating areas off 
southern California, Point Mugu sea range, San Clemente Island, San 
Nicolas Island, and China Lake land range.

Alternatives Considered

    Geographic Alternatives Evaluated: Ten selection criteria were 
identified for the location of the MC02 live events: The only other 
region in the U.S. that could satisfy some of the criteria is the mid-
Atlantic region including military ranges in Virginia, North Carolina, 
and Georgia, and offshore operating areas. The mid-Atlantic region did 
not meet several key criteria that are essential to fully achieving 
MC02 objectives.

No-Action Alternative

    The no-action alternative would: Fail to comply with Congressional 
direction to conduct the exercise in fiscal year 2002; fail to assess 
the U.S. capability to conduct Rapid Decisive Operations (RDO); slow 
the Department of Defense transformation effort by limiting 
experimentation to virtual and simulated events; curtail ongoing 
Service experimentation efforts which are embedded in MC02; increase 
the quantity of live events required in future joint integrating 
experiments; and hamper the Services' requirements determination 
process in which experimental insights gained in MC02 will drive 
development of future acquisition requirements. Implementation of the 
No Action alternative would only postpone the integrating 
experimentation that DoD must inevitably conduct.

Environmental Impacts

    The analysis evaluated the potential environmental consequences of 
military operations in the southwest U.S. and offshore southern 
California as part of Millennium Challenge 2002. The resource areas 
analyzed included air quality, water quality, airborne and underwater 
noise, biological resources, land use, cultural resources, 
socioeconomics, environmental justice, transportation and circulation, 
and hazardous materials and waste. The individual Services separately 
assessed that their individual experimentation activities would have a 
less than significant impact on the environment. The programmatic 
assessment in this EA also concluded that overall there would be no 
significant impacts from MC02 actions in any resource area.

Cumulative Impacts

    The individual Services' Proposed Actions would take place within 
the boundaries of their own existing bases and facilities, test and 
training ranges, ocean operating areas, or leased facilities. 
Considerations in assessing the potential cumulative impacts of the 
MC02 Proposed Actions include: size of the area in which Proposed 
Actions would occur; multiple service Proposed Actions occurring at the 
same location; and Proposed Actions compared to normal activity levels. 
The very large size of the proposed operations area resource. The 
single MC02 locale with significant overlap of service actions is at 
SCLA near Victorville, California. Both Marines and the Army plan to 
use SCLA during MC02, but for different functions. The cumulative 
impact of Army and Marine activities at SCLA on air quality, airborne 
noise, land use, and public health and safety were assessed as less 
than significant. Though MC02 is a large exercise, the level of field 
activity proposed at any individual base, range, or facility is within 
the capacity of the base, range, or facility to handle and typical of 
normal activity levels.
    The Proposed Actions of MC02 will occur over a 23-day period in 
July and August 2002. To the extent there are potential environmental 
impacts, the short duration will cause the impacts to dissipate over 
time and cease to contribute to cumulative impacts in the region. Based 
on the considerations and factors discussed above, the proposed 
activities of MC02 would not have a significant cumulative effect on 
the environment in the southern California and Nevada region.

Determination

    An analysis of the proposed action determined that there are no 
significant short-term or long-term effects to the human environment or 
surrounding populations from Millennium Challenge 2002. The analysis 
also determined that the proposed activities of MC02 would not have a 
significant cumulative impact on the environment in the southern 
California and Nevada region. After careful and thorough consideration 
of the facts contained herein, the undersigned finds that the proposed 
Federal action is consistent with existing national environmental 
policies and objectives as set forth in section 101(a) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and that it will not 
significantly affect the quality of the human environment or otherwise 
include any condition requiring consultation pursuant to Section 
101(2)(C) of NEPA. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement for 
Millennium Challenge 2002 is not required.

    Dated: July 16, 2002.
Patricia L. Toppings,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 02-18479 Filed 7-22-02; 8:45 am]
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