[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4182-4183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-1797]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Department of the Air Force


Notice of Intent to Prepare a Joint Environmental Impact 
Statement and Environmental Impact Report

AGENCIES: Department of the Air Force, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, City of Hawthorne, and the City of El Segundo.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a joint Environmental Impact 
Statement and Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Los Angeles 
Air Force Base land conveyance, construction and development.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Air Force, lead agency under the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the City of El Segundo, 
California, lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act 
(CEQA), announce their intent to prepare a joint draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS)/Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the 
proposed land conveyance, construction, development and consolidation 
of the Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB).
    The Air Force will have primary responsibility to ensure that the 
joint EIS/EIR complies with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.); the Council 
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations that implement the 
procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); and the Air 
Force procedures for implementing NEPA, Air Force Instruction (AFI) 32-
7061, Environmental Impact Analysis Process (EIAP), as promulgated at 
32 Code of Federal Regulations part 989.
    The City of Hawthorne, California will be a cooperating agency for 
the joint EIS/EIR, having responsibility for any applications 
concerning Federal-funding programs administered by HUD, assume 
responsibility for environmental review, decision-making and actions 
that would otherwise apply to HUD under NEPA in accordance with 24 CFR 
part 58. The City of El Segundo shall serve as the agency point of 
contact for receipt of all comments pertaining to the EIS/EIR and will 
have primary responsibility for EIS/EIR compliance with CEQA, in 
accordance with the California Public Resources Code (PRC 21000 et 
seq.) and the California Code of Regulations (14 CCR 15000 et seq.).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Air Force: Mr. Jason Taylor, 
Environmental Specialist, 61 ABG/CEZV, 2420 Vela Way, Suite 1467, Los 
Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, CA, 90245-4659; fax (310) 363-1595.
    City of El Segundo: Mr. Paul Garry, Senior Planner, City of El 
Segundo, Department of Community, Economic, and Development Services, 
350 Main Street., El Segundo, California, 90245 (310) 524-2342.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2861 of the Floyd D. Spence National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, as amended by section 
2841 of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2003, authorizes the conveyance of parcels of real property at Los 
Angeles Air Force Base in exchange for the design and construction of 
facilities meeting seismic and safety design standards for Los Angeles, 
California, to consolidate mission and support functions at the base. A 
draft Environmental Assessment (EA) was prepared in September 2002 in 
accordance with the NEPA and the CEQ regulations implementing NEPA to 
analyze the potential environmental consequences of the land conveyance 
and seismic upgrade. As a result of public comments in received on the 
EA in October 2002, the Air Force has entered into an agreement with 
the Cities of El Segundo and Hawthorne, California to revise the 
proposed action and to prepare a joint EIS/EIR on the project.
    The proposed action would include, among other components, the 
construction of 560,000 square feet of administrative and special use 
facilities for the Air Force on Area B (located within the City of El 
Segundo); non-Air Force development of 975 condominium residential 
units on Area A (City of El Segundo annex to City of Hawthorne 
pending), and non-Air Force development of 333 condominium residential 
units on the Lawndale Annex (City of Hawthorne). No changes would occur 
to the Sun Valley property located in the City of Los Angeles.
    Alternatives include a reduced density alternative at the conveyed, 
redeveloped properties; a retail-commercial alternative at the 
conveyed, redeveloped properties; a renovation alternative, using 
traditional Military Construction (MILCON) funding to implement the 
land conveyance and development project; and the no-action alternative, 
under which the Air Force will continue to operate current facilities 
with limited MILCON and facility alteration/repair projects.
    A scoping meeting will be held to identify significant issues to be 
addressed in the EIS/EIR. To ensure that

[[Page 4183]]

a full range of issues related to this proposed action are identified 
and addressed, scoping comments are invited from all interested 
parties. A public scoping meeting is scheduled to be held, as follows:
    Date: Thursday, January 30, 2003.
    Time: 8 a.m.
    Place: City Council Chambers, 350 Main Street, El Segundo, 
California.
    Written comments pertaining to the proposed action will be accepted 
throughout the EIS/EIR planning process. However, to ensure proper 
consideration in preparation of the draft EIR/EIS, scoping comments 
should be received within 15 days of the publication of this notice. 
The draft EIS/EIR is planned for publication and distribution in 
February 2003. Copies may be obtained, upon request, from the Air Force 
point of contact.

Pamela D. Fitzgerald,
Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-1797 Filed 1-27-03; 8:45 am]
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