[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 9, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19194-19196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7461]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Public Hearings for the Naval Surface Warfare Center 
Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) Mission Activities Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement

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 (NEPA) of 1969 and regulations implemented by the Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and Presidential 
Executive Order 12114, the Department of the Navy (Navy) has prepared 
and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS/OEIS) on March 27, 2008, to evaluate the potential environmental 
effects associated with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City 
Division (NSWC PCD) mission activities within the NSWC PCD Study Area, 
which includes St. Andrew Bay (SAB), and military warning areas W-151 
(includes Panama City Operating Area), W-155 (includes Pensacola 
Operating Area), and W-470.
    The Proposed Action is to improve NSWC PCD's capabilities to 
conduct new and increased mission operations for the Department of 
Defense (DoD) and its customers within the NSWC PCD Study Area. The 
research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) activities 
occurring in these areas include air

[[Page 19195]]

operations, surface operations, subsurface operations, sonar 
operations, electromagnetic operations, laser operations, ordnance 
operations, and projectile firing. A Notice of Intent for this Draft 
EIS/OEIS was published in the Federal Register on August 19, 2004 (69 
FR 51453).
    The Navy will conduct three public hearings to receive oral and 
written comments on the Draft EIS/OEIS. Federal agencies, state 
agencies, and local agencies and interested individuals are invited to 
be present or represented at the public hearings. This notice announces 
the dates and locations of the public hearings for this Draft EIS/OEIS.
    Dates and Addresses: An open house session will precede the 
scheduled public hearing at each of the locations listed below and will 
allow individuals to review the information presented in the Draft EIS/
OEIS. Navy representatives will be available during the open house 
sessions to clarify information related to the Draft EIS/OEIS.
    In addition, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which is 
participating as a cooperating agency in the development of the EIS, 
will be represented at the open houses and public hearings. All 
meetings will start with an open house from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
Presentations and public comment will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
Public hearings will be held on the following dates and at the 
following locations:
    1. May 5, 2008, Gulf Coast Community College, Student Union 
Conference Center, 5230 West Hwy 98, Panama City, Florida,
    2. May 6, 2008, Pensacola Junior College--Warrington Campus, 
McMillian Auditorium, 5555 Highway 98 West, Pensacola, Florida,
    3. May 7, 2008, Port St. Joe Elementary School Auditorium, 2201 
Long Avenue, Port St. Joe, Florida.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Carmen Ferrer, Naval Surface 
Warfare Center Panama City Division, 110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, 
Florida 32407; telephone: 850-234-4146; E-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NSWC PCD is the United States (U.S.) Navy's 
premier research and development organization focused on littoral 
(coastal region) warfare and expeditionary (designed for military 
operations abroad) warfare. NSWC PCD provides in-water research, 
development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) in support of expeditionary 
maneuver warfare, operations in extreme environments, mine warfare, 
maritime operations, and coastal operations.
    NSWC PCD is the nation's principal repository of this expertise 
supported by a diverse technical workforce in these areas that are 
critical to the future of U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps operations. 
In accordance with Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 5000.1, test 
and evaluation support is to be integrated throughout the defense 
acquisition process (the process that encompasses every aspect of 
identifying, developing, and procuring defense systems) and is 
structured to provide essential information to decision makers. Such 
testing is used to validate the technical performance parameters 
(whether a given system performs as expected) and to determine whether 
systems are operationally effective, suitable, survivable, and safe for 
their intended use.
    It is the mission of NSWC PCD to provide RDT&E, as well as in-
service support for amphibious warfare, diving, maritime special 
operations, mine warfare (mines and mine countermeasures), and other 
naval missions that take place in the coastal region. The 
infrastructure has been established at NSWC PCD to support this 
mission. A unique feature of NSWC PCD that is unduplicated in the U.S. 
is the natural operating environment provided by the ready access to 
the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and its associated littoral and coastal 
regions. The GOM provides a surrogate environment for most of the 
littoral areas of the world in which the Navy will find itself 
operating for the foreseeable future.
    The NSWC PCD Draft EIS/OEIS addresses all of the identified RDT&E 
operations that occur within the NSWC PCD Study Area. The NSWC PCD 
RDT&E activities may be conducted anywhere within the existing military 
operating areas and St. Andrews Bay from the mean high water line 
(average high tide mark) out to 222 kilometer (120 nautical miles) 
offshore.
    The Draft EIS/OEIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of 
three alternatives, including two action alternatives (Alternatives 1 
and 2) and the No Action Alternative. The No Action Alternative 
addresses historical and current mission activities (referred to 
cumulatively as ``baseline mission activities'') for the NSWC PCD Study 
Area. Alternatives 1 and 2 analyze baseline activities, as well as 
future growth requirements for missions and activity levels. The 
development process incorporated the need to support future test 
capabilities, expand required mission capabilities, and increase the 
baseline tempo and intensity of activities. Alternative 2 is the Navy's 
preferred alternative.
    No significant adverse impacts are identified for any resource area 
in any geographic location within the NSWC PCD Study Area that cannot 
be mitigated, with the exception of exposure of marine mammals and sea 
turtles to underwater sound. The Navy will apply to NMFS for a Marine 
Mammal Protection Act Letter of Authorization (LOA) and governing 
regulations to authorize incidental takes of marine mammals that may 
result from the implementation of the activities analyzed in the Draft 
EIS/OEIS. NMFS is participating as a cooperating agency in the 
development of this Draft EIS/OEIS. NMFS staff will be present at the 
scheduled open houses and public hearings and available to discuss both 
the MMPA incidental take authorization process and NMFS's participation 
in the development of the EIS/OEIS.
    The Draft EIS/OEIS is being mailed to Federal, State, and local 
agencies, elected officials, and other interested individuals and 
organizations. The public comment period will end May 19, 2008.
    Copies of the Draft EIS/OEIS are available for public review at the 
following libraries: Bay County Public Library, 25 West Government 
Street, Panama City, FL 32401; Gulf County Public Library, 110 Library 
Drive, Port St. Joe, FL 32456; Fort Walton Beach Public Library, 185 
Miracle Strip Pkwy SE, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548; and Pensacola 
Public Library, 200 West Gregory Street Pensacola, FL 32501.
    The Draft EIS/OEIS is also available for electronic public viewing 
at http://nswcpc.navsea.navy.mil/Environment.htm. A paper copy of the 
Executive Summary or a single CD of the Draft EIS/OEIS will be made 
available upon request by contacting Mrs. Carmen Ferrer, Naval Surface 
Warfare Center Panama City Division, 110 Vernon Avenue, Panama City, 
Florida 32407; E-mail: [email protected].
    Federal, State, and local agencies and interested parties are 
invited to be present or represented at the public hearing. Written 
comments can also be submitted during the open house sessions preceding 
the public hearings. Oral statements will be heard and transcribed by a 
stenographer; however, to ensure the accuracy of the record, all 
statements should be submitted in writing. All statements, both oral 
and written, will become part of the public record on the Draft EIS/
OEIS and will be responded to in the Final EIS/OEIS. Equal weight will 
be given to both oral and written statements.

[[Page 19196]]

    In the interest of available time, and to ensure all who wish to 
give an oral statement have the opportunity to do so, each speaker's 
comments will be limited to three (3) minutes. If a long statement is 
to be presented, it should be summarized at the public hearing and the 
full text submitted in writing at the hearing, mailed to Mrs. Carmen 
Ferrer, Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, 110 Vernon 
Avenue, Panama City, Florida 32407 or submitted via e-mail to 
[email protected].
    All written comments must be postmarked or received by May 19, 
2008, to ensure they become part of the official record. All comments 
will be responded to in the Final EIS/OEIS.

    Dated: April 3, 2008.
T. M. Cruz,
Lieutenant, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, Federal Register 
Liaison Officer.
 [FR Doc. E8-7461 Filed 4-8-08; 8:45 am]
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