[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 250 (Wednesday, December 31, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 75496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-32105]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Public Hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for 
Stabilization of In-Water Facilities at Fox Island Laboratory, Fox 
Island, Washington

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 and the regulations implemented by the Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Department of the 
Navy (Navy) has prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
for the stabilization of in-water facilities at Fox Island Laboratory 
(FIL) on Carr Inlet in southern Puget Sound, Washington. The Navy will 
conduct a public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the 
DEIS. Federal, state, and local agencies and interested individuals are 
invited to be present or represented at the public hearing. Navy 
representatives will be available to clarify information related to the 
DEIS.

DATES: The public hearing will be held on Wednesday, January 21, 2004, 
from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Nichols Community 
Center, 690 9th Ave, Fox Island, Washington.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Kimberly Kler, Environmental 
Planner, Engineering Field Activity, Northwest, Naval Facilities 
Engineering Command, Poulsbo, WA. Telephone: (360) 396-0927, facsimile 
(360) 396-0856, or E-Mail: EFPB-EISFox @navy.mil.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice of Intent to prepare this DEIS was 
published in the Federal Register, 67 FR 14921, March 28, 2002. The 
public scoping meeting was held on April 17, 2002, at the Nichols 
Community Center, Fox Island, WA. The scoping meeting was advertised in 
the Tacoma News Tribune on April 7, 11, and 15, 2002, and in the 
Peninsula Gateway on April 10 and 17, 2002.
    The proposed action is to stabilize the in-water facilities at Fox 
Island Laboratory on Carr Inlet in southern Puget Sound. In-water 
elements of the facility, consisting of several barges, a pier, and 
associated mooring components, have sustained substantial weather-
related damage, and portions of the facility have reached a point of 
questionable structural integrity. The DEIS analyzes four alternatives, 
including the No Action Alternative. The Preferred Alternative is 
installation of a 240-foot pontoon barge and replacement of the 
existing mooring system. The Preferred Alternative is not expected to 
result in any significant short or long-term impacts on physical, 
biological, socio-economic resources, or on beach processes and erosive 
action occurring to the northwest of FIL.
    The DEIS has been distributed to various Federal, state, and local 
agencies, elected officials, Native American Indian Tribes, and 
interested parties, and is available for public review at the Peninsula 
Branch Pierce County Library, 4424 Pt. Fosdick Drive NW, Gig Harbor, 
WA. The DEIS and other information may be viewed at the following 
Internet address: http://www.dt.navy.mil/div/news/ foxislandeis.html.
    Oral statements presented at the public hearing will be heard and 
transcribed by a stenographer; however, to ensure the accuracy of the 
record, all statements should be submitted in writing. All statements, 
both oral and written, will become part of the public record on the 
DEIS and will be responded to in the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS). Equal weight will be given to both oral and written 
statements.
    Written comments and statements can be submitted at the public 
hearing or mailed to: Commander, Engineering Field Activity, Northwest, 
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Attn: Mrs. Kimberly Kler, Code 
053C3.KK, 19917 7th Ave NE., Poulsbo, WA, 98370. All written comments 
postmarked by February 2, 2004, will become part of the official public 
record and will be responded to in the FEIS.

    Dated: December 23, 2003.
S.K. Melancon,
Paralegal Specialist, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Alternate 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-32105 Filed 12-30-03; 8:45 am]
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