[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6456-6457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1165]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) in Support of New Facilities for the U.S. Army Medical Research 
Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, MD

AGENCY: U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Department of 
the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army announces its intent to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the construction and operation of 
new USAMRIID facilities and the decommissioning and demolition or reuse 
of existing USAMRIID facilities at Fort Detrick. This EIS is being 
prepared and considered in accordance with requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, regulations of the President's 
Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and the 
Army's implementation of NEPA (32 CFR part 651), 29 March 2002.
    The proposed new USAMRIID facilities will provide biocontainment 
laboratory space, animal facilities, and administrative offices, as 
well as operational and administrative support facilities. These new 
facilities will be located adjacent to the existing USAMRIID facilities 
within the National Interagency Biodefense Campus on Area A of Fort 
Detrick and near the biomedical research facilities of mission 
partners, including the Agricultural Research Service Foreign Disease--
Weed Research Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the planned 
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Integrated 
Research Facility, and the Department of Homeland Security's National 
Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center. The existing USAMRIID 
facilities on Area A will be decommissioned and either demolished or 
reused following occupancy of the new USAMRIID facilities.
    The construction will occur in two stages. Stage 1 will provide 
approximately 700,000 gross square feet (gsf) of new building space for 
the replacement of outdated and compressed existing USAMRIID facilities 
in order to sustain the current mission and to expand medical testing 
and evaluation (T&E) capacity in support of immediate Department of 
Defense (DoD) and national demand. Stage 2 will encompass approximately 
400,000 gsf of new building space for the balance of USAMRIID's 
expanded mission and for additional capacity to meet intensified 
national requirements for medical test and evaluation in support of 
biodefense research as well as to accommodate increased collaborative 
efforts among USAMRIID's mission partners. In addition, approximately 
200,000 gsf of the existing USAMRIID facilities may be renovated and 
reused for laboratory or non-laboratory use, to be determined by 
evolving biodefense requirements.

DATES: A public scoping meeting to describe the EIS to the public will 
be held on Wednesday, February 22, 2006, 7 p.m. at Governor Thomas 
Johnson High School, 1501 N. Market St., Frederick, MD 21701. Comments 
on the scope of the EIS for the proposed project should be received no 
later than March 10, 2006. Additional information on submitting 
comments is included in the public participation section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caree Vander Linden, USAMRIID Public 
Affairs, 1425 Porter Street, Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5011; telephone: 
(301) 619-2285, fax: (301) 619-4625.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USAMRIID, an organization of the U.S. Army 
Medical Research and Materiel Command, was established in 1969 to 
conduct basic research, applied research, and advanced technology 
development against biological threats, resulting in medical solutions 
to protect military personnel. USAMRIID's medical countermeasures 
against diseases such as anthrax, smallpox, botulinum intoxication, and 
Ebola have included development of vaccines and drugs, diagnostic 
capabilities, and medical management procedures.
    USAMRIID has established itself as the lead biodefense laboratory 
of the DoD, with unique high-level

[[Page 6457]]

biocontainment facilities (as regulated by the Centers for Disease 
Control and prevention (CDC)) and expertise to safely conduct critical 
biomedical research. In addition to its original mission to protect 
military personnel, USAMRIID has been assigned a second mission to 
leverage these capabilities to support government-wide biological 
defense efforts by acting as the DoD's lead laboratory for T&E of 
medical biological defense products.
    USAMRIID must expand its facilities to meet both the requirements 
for increased understanding of current biological threats and the 
threat of emerging diseases to U.S. military service members and 
citizens. Replacing the existing USAMRIID facilities on Area A of Fort 
Detrick is essential to accelerate the research, development, testing, 
and evaluation of vaccines, drugs and diagnostics for military and 
civilian applications. This laboratory complex, built primarily in the 
1950s and 1960s for 325 personnel, now houses approximately 750 staff 
personnel in approximately 500,000 gsf of floor space. Major utilities 
and other support systems within the laboratory complex have exceeded 
their life expectancies and cannot readily accept new technologies. 
Despite high levels of maintenance that consume up to 25% of the 
USAMRIID operating budget, the existing facilities no longer provide an 
adequate platform for USAMRIID to execute its critical missions. It is 
estimated that approximately 900 people will staff the Stage 1 facility 
and a total of approximately 1,300 people will be employed upon 
completion of Stage 2.
    The proposed new USAMRIID facilities will include biocontainment 
laboratories designed, constructed, and operated to Biosafety Levels 
(BSLs) -2, -3, and -4 and enhanced BSL-3 standards. The animal 
facilities will be designed, constructed and operated to Animal 
Biosafety Level (ABSL) -2 and enhanced ABSL-3 standards. (Note: BSLs 
and ABSLs are designations within a well-defined system established by 
the CDC and the National Institutes of Health consisting of facilities, 
equipment, and procedural guidelines designed to minimize risk of 
exposure to potentially hazardous biological pathogens for laboratory 
workers and the outside environment.) These BSL and ABSL facilities 
will enable USAMRIID researchers to safely conduct the research and 
development and medical T&E work required to support USAMRIID's 
evolving missions. The research conducted at USAMRIID has been and will 
continue to be solely defensive in nature. The army does not conduct 
offensive chemical or biological weapon research in any way, and is 
firmly committed to compliance with both international and domestic law 
including, but not limited to, the Convention on the Prohibition of the 
Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) 
and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction and the Biological Weapons 
Anti-terrorism Act.
    Environmental analyses of the Proposed Action and alternatives will 
evaluate land use, climate, geology, soils, water resources, wetlands, 
plant and animal ecology, air quality, historical and cultural 
resources, socioeconomic environment, noise, odors, transportation, 
energy resources, hazardous material management, human health and 
safety, environmental justice, and cumulative effects with respect to 
unknown or potentially significant impacts. The issues to be addressed 
will include safety of laboratory operations and demolition of the 
existing biocontainment laboratories; public health and safety; 
handling, collection, treatment, and disposal of research wastes; 
analysis of other risks; and pollution prevention.
    The EIS will address several alternatives, including demolition of 
the existing USAMRIID facilities; partial renovation of existing 
USAMRIID facilities for laboratory or non-laboratory use; and a No-
Action alternative, under which the proposed new USAMRIID facilities 
would not be built and operated and the existing USAMRIID facilities 
would not be decommissioned and demolished or reused. Additional 
alternatives may be identified in the public scoping process.
    Public participation: The Army invites full public participation to 
promote open communication and informed decision-making. All interested 
persons and organizations, including minority, low-income, 
disadvantaged, and Native American groups, are urged to participate in 
this NEPA environmental analysis process. Assistance will be provided 
upon request to anyone with special needs to facilitate their 
participation in the NEPA process.
    To ensure that the full range of issues related to this Proposed 
Action and the scope of this EIS are addressed, oral and written 
comments are invited from all interested parties, including appropriate 
Federal, state, and local agencies, and private organizations and 
citizens. The scoping process supporting this effort will include: 
establishment of the public USAMRIID EIS Web site at http://www.usamriid.army.mil/eis; dissemination of public information 
packages; publication in local newspapers; and coordination with public 
interest groups. These efforts will allow the public to provide input 
regarding the scope of the study and reasonable alternatives.
    Public comments are welcome throughout the NEPA process and should 
be directed to Caree Vander Linden at the address above. Additional 
formal opportunities for public participation after the public scoping 
phase are tentatively scheduled as follows: review and comment on the 
Draft EIS, August-September 2006; public information meeting on the 
Draft EIS, August 2006. Notices of Availability for the Draft EIS, 
Final EIS, and Record of Decision will be provided through direct mail, 
the Federal Register, and other media. Notifications also will be sent 
to Federal, state, and local agencies and persons and organizations 
that submit comments or questions throughout the NEPA process. Precise 
schedules and locations for public meetings will be announced in the 
local news media. Interested individuals and organizations may request 
to be included on the mailing list for public distribution of meeting 
announcements and associated documents.

    Dated: February 3, 2006.
Addison D. Davis,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and 
Occupational Health).
[FR Doc. 06-1165 Filed 2-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-M