[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 208 (Friday, October 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62102-62103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21511]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Public Hearings for a Draft Overseas Environmental 
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Statement for the Undersea 
Warfare Training Range

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Executive Order 12114, Environmental Effects 
Abroad of Major Federal Actions, and Section 102(2) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the Council 
on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), the 
Department of the Navy (Navy) has prepared and filed with the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Overseas Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Statement (Draft

[[Page 62103]]

OEIS/EIS) to evaluate the construction and operation of a proposed 
Undersea Warfare Training Range. In accordance with NEPA and its 
implementing regulations, this notice announces the dates and locations 
of public hearings.
    Open information sessions will precede the scheduled public hearing 
at each of the locations listed below and will allow individuals to 
review the data presented in the Draft OEIS/EIS. Navy representatives 
will be available during the information sessions to clarify 
information related to the Draft OEIS/EIS. The open information 
sessions are scheduled from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and from 6:30 to 7 
p.m., followed by the public hearings from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

DATES: Public hearing dates are as follows:

    1. Tuesday, November 15, 2005, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Chincoteague, 
VA.
    2. Thursday, November 17, 2005, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Morehead City, 
NC.
    3. Monday, November 21, 2005, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Jacksonville, 
FL.

ADDRESSES: Public hearing locations are as follows:

1. Chincoteague--Chincoteague Community Center, 6155 Community Drive, 
Chincoteague, VA 23336.
2. Morehead City--Crystal Coast Civic Center, 3505 Arendell Street, 
Morehead City, NC 28557.
3. Jacksonville--Wilson Center for the Arts, Florida Community College, 
Jacksonville South Campus, 119091 Beach Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 
32246.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Keith Jenkins, Naval Facilities 
Engineering Command Atlantic, (Code EV21KJ), 6506 Hampton Boulevard, 
Norfolk, VA 23508; telephone: 757-322-4046; Fax: 757-322-4894.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is to instrument a 
1,713-square-kilometer (500-square-nautical-mile) area of the ocean 
with undersea cables and sensor nodes, creating an Undersea Warfare 
Training Range (USWTR), and to use the area for Anti-Submarine Warfare 
(ASW) training. Such training would typically involve up to three 
vessels and two aircraft using the range for any one training event. 
The instrumented area would be connected to the shore via a single 
trunk cable. The proposed action would require logistical support for 
ASW training, including the handling (launch and recovery) of exercise 
torpedoes (non-explosive) and submarine target simulators.
    The Navy requires an instrumented undersea warfare training range 
to support worldwide deployment and current and future mission 
requirements in fulfillment of the U.S. world role and the Global War 
on Terror, and to counter the threat of modern diesel submarines. The 
proposed USWTR provides an environment that is consistent with real-
world threat situations where training exercises can be conducted under 
safe and controlled conditions, as well as providing critically 
important real-time training feedback. The purpose of the proposed 
action is to enable the Navy to train effectively in an environment 
encompassing 37 to 274 meters (120 to 900 feet) water depth at a 
suitable location for Atlantic Fleet units.
    The Draft OEIS/EIS reviews a thorough site selection process and 
describes in detail three reasonable siting alternatives located within 
existing east coast Operating Areas (OPAREAS). The action alternatives 
considered are Alternative/Site A in the Cherry Point OPAREA, 
Alternative/Site B in the Virginia Capes OPAREA, and Alternative/Site C 
in the Jacksonville OPAREA. These three potential sites, along with the 
No Action Alternative, are evaluated in the Draft OEIS/EIS. Site A in 
the Cherry Point OPAREA is the Navy's preferred alternative.
    The potentially affected areas of the preferred site (in the Cherry 
Point OPAREA) and the alternate sites (within the Virginia Capes and 
Jacksonville OPAREAS) have been studied in detail to determine how 
installation of and operations on the proposed USWTR would potentially 
affect the marine and landside environments.
    The Draft OEIS/EIS has been distributed to various Federal, state, 
and local agencies, as well as other interested individuals and 
organizations. In addition, copies of the Draft OEIS/EIS have been 
distributed to the following libraries for public review:

1. Virginia Beach Central Library, 4100 Virginia Beach Boulevard, 
Virginia Beach, VA 23452.
2. Eastern Shore Public Library, 23610 Front Street, Accomac, VA 23301.
3. Chincoteague Island Library, 4077 Main Street, Chincoteague Island, 
VA 23336.
4. Carteret County Public Library, 210 Turner Street, Beaufort, NC 
28516.
5. Onslow County Public Library, 58 Doris Avenue East, Jacksonville, NC 
28540.
6. Jacksonville Public Library, Regency Square Branch, 9900 Regency 
Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32225.

    An electronic copy of the Draft OEIS/EIS is also available for 
public viewing at: http://projects.earthtech.com/USWTR/. Single copies 
of the Draft OEIS/EIS and Executive Summary are available upon request 
by contacting Mr. Keith Jenkins at 757-322-4046.
    Federal, state, and local agencies and interested parties are 
invited and urged to be present or represented at the hearing. Written 
comments can also be submitted during the information sessions 
preceding the public hearings. Oral statements 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 
Draft OEIS/EIS and will be addressed in the Final Overseas 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Statement (Final 
OEIS/EIS). Equal weight will be given to both oral and written 
statements.
    In the interest of available time, and to ensure 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 mailed or faxed 
to: Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Attn: Mr. Keith 
Jenkins (Code EV21KJ), 6506 Hampton Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23508; Fax 
757-322-4894.
    All written comments must be postmarked by December 28, 2005, to 
ensure they become part of the official record. All comments will be 
addressed in the Final OEIS/EIS.

    Dated: October 20, 2005.
I.C. Le Moyne, Jr.
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, 
Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-21511 Filed 10-27-05; 8:45 am]
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