[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 13 (Friday, January 20, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3276-3277]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-647]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Availability for the Draft 2006 Supplemental 
Environmental Assessment to the 2002 Rim of the Pacific Programmatic 
Environmental Assessment, Hawaii

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy

[[Page 3277]]

Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations 
(40 CFR, Parts 1500-1508) implementing the procedural provisions of 
NEPA, the United States Department of the Navy (Navy) gives notice that 
a draft Supplement to the Programmatic Environmental Assessment 
(Supplemental PEA) has been prepared to evaluate the environmental 
impacts associated with implementation of the 2006 Rim of the Pacific 
(RIMPAC) exercises. RIMPAC 2006 is scheduled to be conducted from about 
June 26 to July 28, 2006. The United States National Marine Fisheries 
Service (NMFS), National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce, is a cooperating agency in the preparation of 
this draft Supplemental PEA.

DATES: Written comments on the draft EA are requested not later than 
February 21, 2006. Comments should be specific as possible. Comments 
should be mailed to: Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (N01CE1), 251 
Makalapa Drive, Pearl Harbor, HI 96860. For additional information, 
write to the above address or call Pacific Fleet Environmental Office 
at 808-474-7836.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Supplemental PEA addressing the proposed 
action are available by written request to the above address. Copies of 
the draft Supplemental PEA are also available for public review at the 
project Web site at http://www.smdcen.us/rimpac06/. In addition, the 
document may be reviewed at the following locations:
    1. Wailuku Public Library, 251 High Street, Wailuku, HI 96793 
(Maui).
    2. Hilo Public Library, 300 Waianaenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720.
    3. Hawaii State Library, Hawaii and Pacific Section Document Unit, 
478 South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96813 (Oahu).
    4. Lihue Public Library, 4344 Hardy Street, Lihue, HI 96766 
(Kauai).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pacific Fleet Environmental Office at 
808-474-7836 or write to Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (N01CE1), 251 
Makalapa Drive, Pearl Harbor, HI 96860.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RIMPAC has been conducted at various 
locations throughout the State of Hawaii and surrounding ocean areas 
biennially for the last 36 years. The purpose of RIMPAC is to implement 
a selected set of exercise activities that are combined into a 
multinational, sea control/power projection Fleet training exercise in 
a multi-threat environment. RIMPAC exercises enhance the abilities of a 
multinational Fleet force to communicate and operate in simulated 
hostile scenarios. In 2002, a Programmatic EA (PEA) was prepared in 
support of the RIMPAC exercises. The PEA identified the Proposed Action 
as the set of exercises and locations that would be used for RIMPAC 
activities for the foreseeable future. It identified the maximum usage 
of ongoing training assets and exercises that could be conducted within 
a given RIMPAC event and evaluated the impacts on the environment 
within those bounds. The FONSI for the RIMPAC PEA, signed June 11, 
2002, concluded that as long as future RIMPAC exercises did not exceed 
the evaluated set of activities, the Proposed Action could be 
implemented without supplemental NEPA documentation. Thus, the scope of 
each future RIMPAC exercise has been evaluated for any emergent science 
affecting impact analysis and for consistency with the 2002 RIMPAC PEA 
and its FONSI.
    The 2006 Supplement to the 2002 RIMPAC PEA was prepared to evaluate 
additional training event locations and to review all proposed RIMPAC 
2006 activities to the analysis in the 2002 RIMPAC PEA and a 2004 
Supplement to ensure all proposed activities are addressed. The review 
included an evaluation of: training levels (personnel and equipment) 
and types of equipment; facilities and procedures for implementing 
RIMPAC at each installation or range; and changes in the affected 
environment or environmental sensitivities. In addition, the 2006 
Supplemental PEA also includes a description of the Antisubmarine 
Warfare (ASW) operations, and the ASW acoustic effects modeling 
completed for RIMPAC 2006.
    The only change being proposed is the location for conducting the 
Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) at the Pacific Missile Range 
Facility (PMRF) and Niihau. No new training events are proposed. The 
NEO training event locations at PMRF and Niihau, when added to the 
Proposed Action assessed in the RIMPAC PEA and 2004 Supplement, form 
the Proposed Action for the purpose of the draft 2006 Supplemental PEA.
    Accordingly, the analysis conducted in the draft Supplemental PEA 
focused on the following resources: terrestrial and marine environments 
and cultural resources. Specifically, the 2006 Supplemental PEA 
includes analysis related to mid-frequency active sonar based on 
application of emergent science. Long-term studies of the 
quantification and effects of exposure of marine mammal species to 
acoustic emissions are progressing, and Navy, in coordination with the 
NMFS, is incorporating the results into this Supplemental PEA. The 
Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) training events being analyzed are not new 
and have taken place with no significant changes over the previous 19 
RIMPAC exercises. However, new scientific information has led to the 
ability to quantitatively identify harassment levels, as defined in the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), through the use of newly derived 
threshold criteria metrics. Additionally, scientific advances in 
effects-analysis modeling of sound on marine mammals have provided Navy 
the ability to predict cumulative effects on marine species due to a 
proposed action. Due to these advances in scientific information, the 
2006 Supplemental PEA provides an effects-analysis on marine mammals 
that may be affected by the RIMPAC training events that use mid-
frequency active sonar.
    Based on the assumptions and analyses in the draft SPEA, the 
proposed action appears to have no significant impacts on the 
environment. However, Navy will consider and incorporate public 
comments into the final SPEA before making a decision on the 
environmental significance of the proposed action. If warranted, a 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will be prepared and the final 
Supplemental PEA and FONSI will be made available for public review on 
or about May 5, 2006.

    Dated: January 10, 2006.
Eric McDonald,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
 [FR Doc. E6-647 Filed 1-19-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P