[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4497-4498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1951]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Public Hearings for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for 
Purchase of Land for a Naval Special Operations Forces Training Range, 
Hancock County, MS

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) 
on January 30, 2004, to evaluate the potential environmental 
consequences of purchasing 5,200 acres inside the northwestern acoustic 
buffer zone at the National Aeronautical and Space Administration's 
John C. Stennis Space Center (Stennis Space Center) in

[[Page 4498]]

Hancock County, MS. The acquired acreage would be used as a Naval 
Special Operations Forces Training Range where exercises using Short 
Range Training Ammunition (SRTA) could be conducted. The Navy will 
conduct two public hearings 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 hearings. Navy 
representatives will be available to clarify information related to the 
DEIS. This notice announces the dates and locations of the public 
hearings for this DEIS.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: Two public hearings will be held. The first public 
hearing will be on Tuesday, February 17, 2004, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 
Hancock County Court House, 150 Main St, Bay St. Louis, MS. The second 
hearing will be on Wednesday, February 18, 2004, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
at Slidell City Auditorium, 2055 2ND St, Slidell, LA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Davis, Southern Div., 
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, P.O. Box 190010, North 
Charleston, SC 29419-9010. Telephone (843) 820-5589, facsimile (843) 
820-7472, or E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice of Intent to prepare this DEIS was 
published in the Federal Register, 68 FR 9998, March 3, 2003. Public 
scoping meetings were held on March 18, 2003, at the Hancock High 
School, Kiln, MS and on March 20, 2003, at the Slidell City Auditorium, 
Slidell, LA.
    The proposed action is to purchase 5,200 acres of real estate to 
establish a riverine and jungle training range for Naval Special 
Operations Forces where short range training ammunition (SRTA) up to 
.50 caliber can be conducted. SRTA is a plastic, non-lead, non-
explosive projectile with a limited flight profile.
    Naval Special Operations Forces would conduct water-to-land SRTA 
fire training from the East Pearl River into the range and land-to-land 
SRTA fire would be conducted wholly inside the range perimeter. The 
following training activities would also occur within the range 
perimeter: land patrolling and reconnaissance by foot and passenger 
vehicles; equipment testing and evaluation; immediate action drills; 
communications drills; use of maritime unmanned aerial vehicles, 
unmanned riverine observation craft, and High Mobility Multi-purpose 
Wheeled Vehicles; and insertions and extractions via helicopter. The 
establishment of an interior range perimeter safety buffer and ``no-
fire'' sectors along the East Pearl and Mikes Rivers would preclude 
impacts on adjacent land and water areas outside the range.
    Alternatives considered in the DEIS include various sites in the 
vicinity of the Stennis Space Center. The preferred locational 
alternative is Alternative Range Location 3--Establishment of training 
areas along reaches of the East Pearl River and Mikes River. In 
addition, the DEIS evaluates three training alternatives that address 
the type and tempo of activities to be conducted on the range. 
Implementation of the proposed action is not expected to result in any 
significant short or long term impacts on physical, biological, or 
socioeconomic resources.
    The DEIS has been distributed to various Federal, state, and local 
agencies, elected officials, and interested parties, and is available 
for public review at the following libraries: Hancock Public Library, 
Bay St. Louis Branch, 312 Hwy 90, Bay St. Louis, MS; and St. Tammany 
Parish Library, Slidell Branch, 555 Robert Blvd, Slidell, LA.
    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.
    In the interest of available time and to ensure that all who wish 
to give an oral statement have the opportunity to do so, each speaker's 
comments will be limited to three (3) minutes. If a longer statement is 
to be presented, it should be summarized at the public hearing and the 
full text submitted in writing either at the hearing or faxed or mailed 
to: SBT-22 Range EIS, c/o Commanding Officer, Southern Division, Naval 
Facilities Engineering Command, P.O. Box 190010, North Charleston, SC 
29419-9010, Attn: Code ES12/RD (Richard A. Davis), telephone (843) 820-
5589 or facsimile (843) 820-7472. All written comments postmarked by 
March 15, 2004, will become part of the official public record and will 
be responded to in the FEIS.

    Dated: January 27, 2004.
J. T. Baltimore,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, 
Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-1951 Filed 1-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P