[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 26, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62431-62432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23952]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 26, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[Page 62431]]



ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION


Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment (EA) for 
the Program Comments Under 36 CFR 800.14(e) Regarding Department of 
Defense Historic Properties Management

AGENCY: Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Environmental Assessment (EA).

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SUMMARY: This announces the availability of the Department of Defense's 
EA for the Program Comments under 36 CFR 800.14(e) Regarding Department 
of Defense Historic Properties Management. The Army, as the Service 
designated as lead for this action, intends to sign a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) unless public comments identify significant 
impacts or issues that have not been considered.

DATES: Submit comments on or before November 26, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the EA may be directed by mail to the 
US Army Environmental Center, ATTN: SFIM-AEC-PA (ATTN: Mr. Robert 
DiMichele) Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5401, or by phone (410) 
436-2556. The DoD also solicits written comments on the EA. Such 
comments must be submitted by mail to the same address no later than 
the date mentioned above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lee Foster, Cultural Resources 
Action Officer, Office of Director of Environmental Programs, at (703) 
601-1591.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (section 106), 16 U.S.C. 470f, requires Federal 
agencies to take into account the effects of their undertakings on 
historic properties, and provide the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation (ACHP) a reasonable opportunity to comment on those 
undertakings. The regulations implementing Section 106 are found at 36 
CFR part 800.
    The Department of Defense (DoD) has identified a programmatic 
approach to comply with the requirements of section 106 for the 
treatment of historic properties including Cold War era Unaccompanied 
Personnel Housing (UPH), World War II and Cold War era Ammunition 
Storage Facilities, and World War II and Cold War era Army Ammunition 
Production Facilities and Plants.
    These approximately 45,000 buildings and structures are about 11% 
of the overall DoD inventory of 397,389 buildings and structures. UPH 
encompasses all current and former DoD enlisted barracks, bachelor 
officer quarters, and transient quarters constructed during the period 
commencing in 1946 and ending in 1974. Ammunition Storage Facilities 
comprises all DoD Ammunition bunkers and magazines constructed from 
1939 through 1974. The third category includes Army Ammunition Plants 
constructed from 1939 to 1974.
    The DoD engaged in a major construction program during these 
periods in order to address the shortage of housing, storage 
facilities, and production plants that developed out of World War II 
mobilization requirements and the increased size of the standing 
military during the Cold War era. A significant portion of these 
buildings and structures are nearing the age of fifty years old, 
triggering the need for the DoD to consider, in accordance with Section 
106, these buildings and structures.
    In order to support the military mission, the DoD needs to develop 
a programmatic approach to Section 106 compliance for each of these 
categories of property types. Management activities affecting these 
buildings and structures occur on a daily basis, including but not 
limited to ongoing operations, maintenance and repair, rehabilitation, 
renovation, mothballing, ceasing maintenance activities, new 
construction, demolition, deconstruction and salvage, and transfer, 
sale, lease and/or closure.
    These programs comments are meant to directly support improvement 
of quality of life, safety and advancements in technology that directly 
affect soldiers. The DoD is developing a Barracks Modernization Program 
to provide better quarters for unaccompanied personnel. As the military 
adopts new ammunition technologies to meet new environmental and war-
fighting requirements, storage needs are likely to change, resulting in 
modifications to existing storage facilities or the need to re-use or 
excess those that cannot be adapted. To allow for advancement in 
production technology and to facilitate planned excessing actions as 
well as possible future Base Realignment and Closure activities in the 
most effective manner for a large number of properties, the Army is 
planning multiple actions at Army Ammunition Plants and Production 
Facilities.
    Development of the EA was preceded by coordination with the ACHP. 
The EA gives full consideration of the request and implementation of 
Program Comments in accordance with 36 CFR 800.14(e) as the proposed 
action, and two reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.
    The EA considered, evaluated and assessed alternatives: (i) The no 
action alternative (continued project-by-project review under 36 CFR 
Part 800); (ii) the Programmatic Agreement Alternative; and (iii) the 
proposed action alternative of requesting and implementing Program 
Comments in accordance with 36 CFR 800.14(e). Consideration of the 
alternatives analyzed in the EA leads to the DoD's decision to request 
and implement Program Comments.
    The no action alternative would allow a continued ad hoc approach 
to compliance with Section 106 and management of historic properties. 
With the anticipated growth in DoD's historic properties inventory, 
continued review of undertakings on a case-by-case basis will likely 
remain inefficient and lead to increased program costs. This could have 
adverse impacts on the ability of the DoD to provide suitable housing 
for unaccompanied personnel, safe storage of ammunition, and improved 
and updated ammunition production facilities.
    The Programmatic Agreement (PA) Alternative better meets the stated 
purpose and need than the no action alternative since it would provide 
an installation-specific or regional

[[Page 62432]]

programmatic basis for Section 106 compliance. PAs must be negotiated 
with appropriate stakeholders such as State and Tribal Historic 
Preservation Officers, Indian tribes, and other consulting parties. 
This approach, however, would involve lengthy and complex negotiations 
that have no specified time limits, and which might ultimately still 
require some case-by-case review. Also, after a PA goes into effect, it 
may be unilaterally terminated by any signatory, limiting the long-term 
effectiveness and consistency of such agreements. In addition, 
installation-specific or regional PAs would not address all DoD NHPA 
Section 106 compliance responsibilities in a single agreement, and 
would not provide for an economy of scale in the treatment of agency-
wide resources. Like the no action alternative, the PA alternative 
could result in adverse impacts to the DoD's need to provide suitable 
housing for unaccompanied personnel, safely store ammunition, and 
improve and update ammunition production facilities.
    The proposed action more squarely meets the stated purpose and need 
for action and provides the necessary balance between preservation and 
the need to expeditiously provide suitable housing for unaccompanied 
personnel, safely store ammunition, and improve and update ammunition 
production facilities. While the proposed action has the potential to 
adversely impact historic properties, those impacts are not likely to 
be significant. The DoD will ensure that effects on historic properties 
are considered and addressed up front through programmatic treatment.
    The Council on Environmental Quality regulations, at 40 CFR 1501.6, 
encourage Federal lead agencies to request that other Federal agencies 
with special expertise concerning a relevant environmental issue 
associated with a proposed action to participate as a cooperating 
agency in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The DoD 
recognizes that the ACHP has special expertise with respect to historic 
properties, and, in particular, on the review of Federal agency 
undertakings under Section 106 of the NHPA. The ACHP is responsible for 
reviewing, and, if appropriate, issuing program comments in accordance 
with 36 CFR 800.14(e)(1)-(6). For these reasons, DoD has requested that 
the ACHP participate as a consulting party in the drafting, review and 
release of this EA. The ACHP has agreed to participate as a cooperating 
agency and, in that role, is publishing this notice of availability on 
behalf of the DoD. The ACHP's agreement to publish this DoD notice of 
availability does not in any way signify any ACHP endorsement, or lack 
thereof, of the program comments or commitment to ultimately adopt or 
reject them. Such decisions will be made by the ACHP pursuant to the 
process under 36 CFR 800.14(e).

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.6

    Dated: October 21, 2004.
John M. Fowler,
Executive Director (ACHP).
[FR Doc. 04-23952 Filed 10-25-04; 8:45 am]
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