[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 101 (Friday, May 25, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 29306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2595]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Record of Decision for the Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement for Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Activities 
on White Sands Missile Range, NM

AGENCY: Department of Defense; Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Record of Decision for White Sands 
Missile Range Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Defense Threat 
Reduction Agency (DTRA) has prepared and issued a Record of Decision 
for the proposed testing activities on White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) 
proposed in the WSMR Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(PEIS). The PEIS addresses the potential environmental impacts 
associated with implementing the proposed action, alternative, and no 
action alternative over a 10-year period.
    The purpose of the proposed action is to provide adequate test 
areas and facilities to evaluate the lethality effectiveness of weapon 
systems used against simulated enemy ground targets producing, storing, 
or controlling Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
    There is a need to improve the U.S. Military's weapon systems that 
are designed to defeat enemy military assets, including hardened and 
reinforced structures. These enemy military assets can house WMD and 
pose a significant threat to international stability and peaceful 
coexistence within and among nations. The military structures and 
equipment of the United States and its allies must also be refined to 
better withstand attack by enemy weapons systems to reduce collateral 
damage.
    The Record of Decision briefly summarizes the determination of the 
WSMR PEIS and announces DTRA's intended course of action with respect 
to the proposed alternatives and environmental mitigation measures 
presented in the WSMR PEIS.

ADDRESSES: The final PEIS and Record of Decision are available for 
public viewing on the DTRA Web site: www.dtra.mil and at the following 
public libraries: Albuquerque Public Library, 501 Copper Ave., 
Northwest, Albuquerque, NM; Socorro Public Library, 401 Park Street, 
Socorro, NM; Alamogordo Public Library, 920 Oregon Ave., Alamogordo, 
NW; Branigan Memorial Library, 200 East Picacho Ave., Las Cruces, NM; 
Consolidated Library, Building 464, White Sands Missile Range, NM; 
Holloman Air Force Base Library, 596 4th Street, Holloman Air Force 
Base, NM; and El Paso Public Library, 501 North Oregon Street, El Paso, 
TX.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The DTRA Public Affairs Office: (800) 
701-5096 or (703) 767-5870.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A draft PEIS was released on Jan. 27, 2006 
(71 FR 4571) for a 60-day public review and comment period that ended 
March 28, 2006. Public hearings were held Feb. 28, 2006 in Alamogordo, 
March 1, 2006 in Las Cruces, and March 2, 2006 in Socorro, NM. All 
comments received were addressed and incorporated into the final PEIS, 
which was released for public review on March 15, 2007. An announcement 
of the PEIS's public availability was published in the Federal Register 
on March 15, 2007 (72 FR 12167).

    Dated: May 18, 2007.
L.M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, DoD.
[FR Doc. 07-2595 Filed 5-24-07; 8:45 am]
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