[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 118 (Thursday, June 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36798-36799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15446]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION


Notice of the Availability of the Record of Decision for Badger 
Army Ammunition Plant Disposal

AGENCY: General Services Administration, New England Region.

ACTION: Notice of a Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration (GSA) announces the 
availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the disposal of Badger Army Ammunition Plant 
(Badger AAP), Sauk County, Wisconsin.

Background Information

    Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, the Council of Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR 
Parts 1500-1508), and GSA Orders ADM 1095.1F and ADM 1020.1, GSA has 
prepared an EIS for the disposal of approximately 7,354 acres of Badger 
AAP, located in Sauk County, Wisconsin. GSA's action is the 
administrative act of transferring ownership of this property through 
one, or a combination of, disposal mechanisms as dictated by Section 
203 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (49 
Act), as amended (40 U.S.C. 484).\i\ Disposal mechanisms available to 
GSA include: Transferring property to other Federal agencies; conveying 
property to state or local governments and institutions; and conveying 
property to private entities.
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    \i\ Subsequent to publication of the Draft EIS, Public Law 107-
217 was enacted to revise and codify without substantive change 
certain laws related to public buildings, property, and works. GSA's 
real property policies were transferred from the Federal Property 
Management Regulations (FPMR) to the Federal Management Regulations 
(FMR) in Title 40 of the U.S.C. Reference to the conversion tables 
are provided in House Report 107-479, pp. 136-278, and are available 
at http://thomas.loc.gov. The ROD and Final EIS will reference the 
FPMR in conformity with the Draft EIS.
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Project Information

    The Badger AAP was declared excess to the United States Army's 
(U.S. Army) mission in 1998. Government properties that are declared 
excess must be disposed of in accordance with Section 203 of the 49 
Act, as amended.

[[Page 36799]]

Currently, the U.S. Army maintains Badger AAP.
    Disposal of Badger AAP by GSA would remove the property from 
Federal ownership, except for any parcel that may be accepted for 
transfer to another Federal agency. Whether transferred in its entirety 
or over time in separate parcels to one or more entities, the land 
removed from Federal ownership subsequently (and only after transfer) 
may become subject to Merrimac or Sumpter Township's and Sauk County's 
land use decisions and taxing authority. All future development or 
reuse would be determined by subsequent owners and may be subject to 
local zoning, permitting, and land use controls. In addition, GSA has 
facilitated the development of a Memorandum of Understanding and an 
Intergovernmental Agreement among the stakeholders to provide for the 
coordination of the operation and management of these lands after 
disposal takes place. These agreements are pending final execution by 
all parties thereto. GSA has evaluated two alternatives as part of the 
EIS including the No-Action Alternative and the Disposal Alternative 
(Proposed Action and Preferred Alternative).
    GSA issued a Draft EIS in June 2002 with publication of the Notice 
of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register on July 5, 2002. The NOA 
provided a start date for the 45-day public comment period that was 
originally scheduled to end on August 19, 2002 but was extended by 42 
days to end on September 30, 2002. The notice of extension for the 
public review period was published in the Federal Register on August 
23, 2002. During the public comment period a public hearing for the 
Draft EIS was held in Baraboo, Wisconsin on July 24, 2002.
    The Final EIS addressed comments received on the Draft EIS and was 
released on March 13, 2003 with publication of the NOA in the Federal 
Register on March 21, 2003 for final comment. The 30-day public comment 
period was originally scheduled to end on April 21, 2003, but was 
extended 7 days to close on April 28, 2003. The notice of extension was 
published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2003. A total of seven 
comments were received during the public review period on the Final 
EIS. Six of these comments are similar to comments received on the 
Draft EIS and were considered in the decision presented in this ROD. 
The seventh comment was received from the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA), which concluded: ``provided that the recommendation 
concerning open burning activities is complied with, our Agency will 
not object to the implementation of the project as described in the 
Final EIS.'' EPA's recommendations, in actuality, related to actions of 
the Holding Agency, Army--BAAP, and are separate and apart from GSA's 
Proposed Action, but the Holding Agency's actions are indeed wholly in 
compliance with EPA's recommendation. An eighth comment was received 
late from Department of the Interior, dated after the close of the 
comment period.
    GSA provided written notices of the availability of the Draft EIS 
and Final EIS in the Federal Register, local newspapers, and through 
local libraries. GSA distributed approximately 250 copies of the two 
volume Draft EIS and 300 copies of the Final EIS to Federal agencies, 
tribal, state and local governments, elected officials, interested 
organizations, and individuals.

Availability of Record of Decision (ROD)

    The ROD and other information regarding this project are available 
upon request. To obtain a copy directly, please go to the web site 
http://www.badgeraap.org and follow the links under ``What's New.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark N. Lundgren, General Services 
Administration, at (312) 353-0302.

    Dated: June 3, 2003.
Glenn C. Rotondo,
Deputy Regional Administrator, New England Region, General Services 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-15446 Filed 6-18-03; 8:45 am]
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