[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51188-51189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14324]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS)/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (OEIS) for a Proposal To 
Enhance Training, Testing, and Operational Capability Within the Hawaii 
Range Complex and To Announce Public Scoping Meetings

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental 
Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and Executive Order 12114 
(Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions), the Department 
of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare an EIS/OEIS. This 
EIS/OEIS will evaluate the potential environmental effects of 
increasing usage and enhancing the capability of the Hawaii Range 
Complex to achieve and maintain Fleet readiness and to conduct current, 
emerging, and future training and research, development, test, and 
evaluation (RDT&E) operations. The EIS/OEIS will consider two action 
Alternatives to accomplish these objectives, in addition to the No 
Action Alternative.
    The following will be invited to be cooperating agencies: 
Department of Energy, Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Army, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service.

DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held in Hawaii to receive oral 
and/or written comments on environmental concerns that should be 
addressed in the EIS/OEIS. The public scoping meetings will be held on:
    1. Wednesday, September 13, 2006, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Maui Arts and 
Cultural Center, One Cameron Way, Kahului, Maui, Hawaii.
    2. Thursday, September 14, 2006, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Disabled American

[[Page 51189]]

Veterans Hall, 2685 North Nimitz Highway, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii.
    3. Saturday, September 16, 2006, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Hilo Hawaiian 
Hotel, 71 Banyan Drive, Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii.
    4. Monday, September 18, 2006, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Kauai Civil Defense 
Agency, Suite 100, 3990 Kaana Street, Kauai, Lihue, Hawaii.
    Each of the four scoping meetings will consist of an informal, open 
house session with information stations staffed by DoN representatives. 
Additional information concerning the meetings will be available on the 
EIS/OEIS Web page located at: http://www.govsupport.us/navynepahawaii.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Tom Clements, Pacific Missile 
Range Facility, P.O. Box 128, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii 96752-0128, 
telephone 1-866-767-3347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Hawaii Range Complex geographically 
encompasses offshore, nearshore, and onshore areas located on or around 
the major islands of the Hawaiian Island chain. The geographic scope of 
this EIS/OEIS (Study Area) includes the Hawaii Offshore Operation 
Areas, consisting of 170,000 square nautical miles of ocean, generally 
from 17 to 26 degrees north latitude and from 154 to 162 degrees west 
longitude, land areas used by the DoN within these Operation Areas, and 
the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) Temporary Operating Area, 
consisting of 2.1 million square nautical miles to the north and west 
of Kauai. These ranges and Operation Areas are used to conduct 
operations and training involving military hardware, personnel, 
tactics, munitions, explosives, and electronic combat systems. Several 
of the areas are also used for RDT&E, including missile defense 
testing.
    The purpose of the Proposed Action is to: (1) Provide the Hawaii 
Range Complex with sufficient capabilities to support Fleet and DoD 
training, major exercises based on training requirements identified to 
support the U.S. Unified Commanders, and the development, testing, and 
evaluation of existing, upgraded, and newly developed DoD and other 
federal agency systems; (2) provide additional range capabilities and 
support facilities at the Hawaii Range Complex, to include the PMRF, to 
fully integrate range services in a modern, multi-threat, multi-
dimensional environment, ensuring safe conduct and evaluation of 
training and RDT&E missions; and (3) fulfill DoN commitment to update 
analyses on marine mammal exposures to noise in the water.
    The need for the Proposed Action is to: (1) Ensure a robust 
training, testing, and operational capability within the Hawaii Range 
Complex operating areas and to take advantage of Hawaii's location to 
not only provide training for local assets, but also provide capability 
for short notice and surge deployments from the West Coast; (2) support 
the acquisition and integration into the Fleet of advanced military 
technology and accommodate future increases in operational training 
tempo; and (3) maintain the long-term viability of the range complex 
while protecting human health and the environment.
    The No Action Alternative is the continuation of training 
operations, RDT&E activities, ongoing base operations, and maintenance 
of the technical and logistical facilities that support these 
operations and activities, and the monitoring of marine mammals. The No 
Action Alternative includes the current level of training and test 
activities, including the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercises. 
Alternative 1 includes the activities described in the No Action 
Alternative with the addition of increased training necessary to 
support the Fleet Response Training Plan, Hawaii Range Complex 
improvements and modernizations, planned RDT&E activities, and 
necessary force structure changes. Alternative 2 would include all of 
the activities described in Alternative 1 with the addition of major 
events, such as supporting three carrier strike groups training at the 
same time, increasing the tempo of training exercises, and additional 
RDT&E programs at PMRF. Future RDT&E programs proposed as part of 
Alternative 2 would include directed energy programs involving lasers.
    Key environmental issues that will be addressed in the EIS/OEIS, as 
applicable, include: biological resources (marine mammals and 
threatened and endangered species), cultural resources, environmental 
justice, health and safety, and noise. The DoN has been involved in 
long-term research plans studying the quantification of exposure of 
marine mammal species to acoustic emissions with differing experimental 
approaches and detailed observations of effects. Now that initial 
findings are available, this EIS/OEIS will include acoustic exposure 
modeling and effects-analysis for marine mammals within the defined 
study area.
    The DoN is initiating the scoping process to identify community 
concerns and local issues that will be addressed in the EIS/OEIS. 
Federal, state, and local agencies, the public, and interested persons 
are encouraged to provide oral and/or written comments to the DoN to 
identify specific environmental issues or topics of environmental 
concern that the commenter believes the DoN should consider. All 
comments, written or provided orally at the scoping meetings, will 
receive the same consideration during EIS/OEIS preparation.
    Written comments on the scope of the EIS/OEIS should be postmarked 
no later than October 13, 2006. Comments may be mailed to Mr. Tom 
Clements, Pacific Missile Range Facility, P.O. Box 128, Kekaha, Kauai, 
Hawaii 96752-0128.

    Dated: August 24, 2006.
Saundra K. Melancon,
Paralegal Specialist, Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
 [FR Doc. E6-14324 Filed 8-28-06; 8:45 am]
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