[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 14, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11849-11850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-1192]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) for Base Realignment and Closure Actions at Aberdeen Proving 
Ground, MD

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA).

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces the availability of a 
DEIS that

[[Page 11850]]

evaluates the potential environmental impacts associated with 
realignment actions directed by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 
Commission at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

DATES: The public comment period for the DEIS will end 45 days after 
publication of an NOA in the Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments on the DEIS to Mr. Buddy Keesee 
at: Department of the Army, Directorate of Safety, Health, and 
Environment, Attention: IMNE-APG-SHE-R (Bud Keesee), Building 5650, 
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-5001 or via e-mail at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Keesee at (410) 278-6755 during 
normal business hours Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action and subject of the DEIS 
covers construction and renovation activities and the movement of 
personnel associated with the BRAC directed realignment of Aberdeen 
Proving Ground.
    To implement the BRAC recommendations, Aberdeen Proving Ground will 
be receiving personnel, equipment, and missions from various 
realignment and closure actions within the Department of Defense. To 
implement the BRAC Commission recommendations, the Army will provide 
the necessary facilities/buildings and infrastructure to support the 
changes. Permanent facilities will be constructed or renovated to house 
the: Army Research Institute, Army Research Laboratory, Army Test and 
Evaluation Command, Joint Program Executive Office--Chemical Biological 
Defense, Walter Reed Army Institute for Research (Medical Research 
Institute of Chemical Defense), Communications--Electronics Life Cycle 
Management Command, Communications--Electronics Research Development 
and Engineering Center, and other units and activities.
    All the major planning, engineering, and siting analyses for the 
incoming BRAC actions at the Aberdeen Proving Ground are essentially 
complete, however, final design features continue to be reviewed. The 
DEIS shows areas within which potential construction and/or renovation 
will occur; although, the exact footprints, in many cases, have not yet 
been determined. The DEIS analyzes the potential impacts within these 
developmental areas.
    Following a rigorous examination of all implementation 
alternatives, those alternatives found not to be viable were dropped 
from further analyses in the DEIS. Alternatives carried forward include 
the Proposed Alternative and a No Action Alternative. The Proposed 
Alternative includes construction, renovation, and operation of 
proposed facilities to accommodate incoming military missions at 
Aberdeen Proving Ground as mandated by the 2005 BRAC recommendations. 
Minor alternative siting variations of proposed facilities were also 
evaluated. The DEIS addresses existing environmental resources likely 
to be affected by the Proposed Action, including those resources areas 
identified during the public scoping process. Implementation of the 
Proposed Alternative will result in significant impacts to 
transportation and socioeconomic factors. Depending on the final siting 
of some facilities, there is the potential for significant impacts to 
cultural resources due to adverse effects resulting from the 
disturbance or destruction of certain sites and buildings during 
renovation and construction activities. Impacts to these cultural 
resources would be direct, long-term, and significant.
    No other significant beneficial or significant adverse impacts have 
been identified for land use, aesthetics and visual resources, air 
quality, noise, geology and soil, water resources, biological 
resources, utilities, or hazardous and toxic substances. The No Action 
Alternative provides the baseline conditions for comparison to the 
Proposed Alternative.
    The Army invites the general public, local governments, other 
federal agencies, and state agencies to submit written comments or 
suggestions concerning the alternatives and analyses addressed in the 
DEIS. An electronic version of the DEIS is available for download on 
the U.S. Army BRAC Division Web site at: http://www.hdqa.army.mil/acsim/brac/nepa_eis_docs.htm. The public and government agencies are 
invited to participate in a public meeting where oral and written 
comments and suggestions will be received.
    Public meetings are scheduled for April 10, 2007 from 6 p.m. to 8 
p.m. at the Ramada Inn Conference Center, 1700 Van Bibber Road, 
Edgewood, Maryland, and April 11, 2007 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the 
Holiday Inn, 1007 Beards Hill Road, Aberdeen, Maryland.

    Dated: March 7, 2007.
Addison D. Davis, IV,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, (Environment, Safety and 
Occupational Health).
[FR Doc. 07-1192 Filed 3-13-07; 8:45 am]
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