[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 185 (Friday, September 25, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48932-48934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23184]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Public Hearing of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on Basewide Utility Infrastructure at Marine Corps Base 
Camp Pendleton, CA

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 (NEPA) (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 4231); the 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the 
procedural provisions of NEPA (Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) Parts 1500-1508); Department of the Navy Procedures for 
Implementing NEPA (32 CFR Part 775); and Marine Corps NEPA directives 
(Marine Corps Order P5090.2A), the Marine Corps has prepared and filed 
with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) that evaluates the potential environmental 
consequences that may result from implementing the Basewide Utility 
Infrastructure project at Camp Pendleton.
    The project would expand, update, repair, and improve, sewer, 
water, electrical, communication, roadway, and natural gas 
infrastructure in support of current and future expanded training 
operations on Camp Pendleton in support of the installation's mission, 
which is to ``operate an amphibious training base that promotes the 
combat readiness of operating forces by providing facilities, services, 
and support responsive to the needs of Marines, Sailors, and their 
families.'' A Notice of Intent to prepare this EIS was published in the 
Federal Register on November 12, 2008 (73 FR 66879).

[[Page 48933]]

    The Marine Corps will conduct a public meeting to receive oral and 
written comments on the Draft EIS. Federal, State, and local agencies 
and interested individuals are invited to be present or represented at 
the public meeting. This notice announces the date and location of the 
public meeting, and supplementary information about the environmental 
planning effort is also included in this notice.

DATES: The public meeting will be conducted as an informational open 
house. Individuals will be allowed to review the information presented 
in the Draft EIS and Marine Corps and Navy representatives will be 
available to clarify information related to the Draft EIS. The meeting 
will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Ole Hanson Fireside Room at 
the San Clemente Community Center, 100 North Calle Seville, San 
Clemente, California 92672 on October 27, 2009.
    The Draft EIS was distributed to Federal, State, and local 
agencies, elected officials, and other interested parties and 
individuals on September 25, 2009. The public comment period will end 
on November 9, 2009. The document can be viewed online and downloaded 
from http://www.marines.mil/units/hqmc/logistics/Pages/LFL/LFL-1/EnvironmentalPlanningInProgress.aspx. Copies of the Draft EIS are 
available for public review at the following public libraries: 
Oceanside Civic Center Library, 330 North Coast Highway, Oceanside, CA 
92054; San Clemente Library, 242 Avenida del Mar, San Clemente, CA 
92672; and Fallbrook Branch, San Diego County Public Library, 
Fallbrook, CA 92028. A hard copy of the Draft EIS will be made 
available upon written request to Mr. Jesse Martinez, NAVFAC Southwest, 
1220 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92132-5190.
    Comments: Attendees will be able to submit written comments at the 
public meeting; a stenographer will be present to transcribe oral 
comments, but to ensure the accuracy of the record, all statements 
should be submitted in writing. Equal weight will be given to oral and 
written statements. Comments may be mailed to Mr. Jesse Martinez at 
NAVFAC Southwest, 1220 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA, 92132-5190. All 
mailed or e-mailed comments must be postmarked or electronically dated 
on or before November 9, 2009, to be sure they become part of the 
public record. All statements, oral transcription and written, 
submitted during the public review period will become part of the 
public record on the Draft EIS and will be responded to in the Final 
EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jesse Martinez, NAVFAC Southwest, 
1220 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92132-5190; 
[email protected]; fax: 619.532.2060; telephone: 619.532.3844. 
Please submit requests for special assistance, sign language 
interpretation for the hearing impaired, or other auxiliary aids at the 
public meeting to Mr. Martinez.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action and subject of the Draft 
EIS is the construction and operation, including maintenance, of 
utility infrastructure upgrades, expansions, and improvements to water, 
wastewater, electrical, communication, and natural gas systems within 
MCBCP. Full environmental analyses for a Preferred Alternative 
(Alternative 1), two other action alternatives (Alternatives 2 and 3), 
and a No Action Alternative are presented in the Draft EIS.
    Each action alternative, including the Preferred Alternative, 
includes six construction projects to construct and operate six utility 
infrastructure projects entirely within Marine Corps Base Camp 
Pendleton (MCBCP) funded by Military Construction (MILCON) program 
appropriation. Each alternative would include upgrades to the northern 
wastewater system, including a Northern Regional Tertiary Treatment 
Plant (MILCON P-1043/P-1046); upgrades to the Base electrical systems 
and associated facilities (MILCONs P-1048 and P-1094); upgrades to the 
Basewide communication systems (MILCON P-1093); upgrades to the 
Basewide natural gas systems (P-1099); and water, wastewater, and road 
improvements to serve Range 130 and Range 131.
    Many infrastructure elements at MCBCP date back to the 1940s and 
1950s and are now outdated, undersized, and deteriorating. Because of 
this worsening condition, maintenance costs are high and will continue 
to mount. The situation will be further exacerbated by future growth of 
the Base. A lack of adequate infrastructure is currently impeding, and 
will continue to impede, the mission of the Base without significant 
upgrades. The purpose of the three action alternatives is to provide 
new or upgraded, reliable, and compliant utility systems to support 
military training and operations throughout MCBCP and quality of life 
services; and to provide system redundancy that would enable the 
delivery of utility services during periods of scheduled, unscheduled, 
and emergency outages.
    Each action alternative contains six projects intended to 
accomplish this purpose. Some of the projects have more than one means 
of doing so, referred to as ``Options'' for that MILCON. Alternatives 
1, 2, and 3 consist of different suites of those Options. Some Options 
are common to all three action alternatives. The alternatives do not 
present all possible combinations of Options, but it is intended that 
the decision maker could choose to approve any of the alternatives or a 
combination of Options different from the three action alternatives, 
since the EIS fully assesses the environmental consequences of each 
Option.
    All of the three action alternatives would achieve the purpose of 
and fulfill the need for the proposed action. Alternative 1, the 
Preferred Alternative, contains the Options for each project that are 
most desirable from the standpoint of cost, engineering efficiency, and 
environmental consequences. Options in Alternatives 2 and 3 that differ 
from Alternative 1 are feasible but less desirable.
    The No Action Alternative would not meet the purpose of and need 
for the proposed action. The current inadequacies of the infrastructure 
systems would persist and increase with age. The growth in personnel 
and training programs at MCBCP that is already planned and has started 
would be impeded and possibly curtailed.
    Environmental resources addressed in the Draft EIS are geology and 
soils, water resources, biological resources, cultural resources, land 
use, visual resources, socioeconomics and environmental justice, 
traffic, air quality, noise, public health and safety, infrastructure 
and utilities, and coastal zone management. The Draft EIS also examines 
cumulative impacts from past, present, and reasonably foreseeable 
future projects on and near MCBCP.
    Environmental consequences of the proposed action would principally 
arise from construction; impacts from operation and maintenance of the 
infrastructure systems would be relatively minor. The Draft EIS 
enumerates an array of conservation and construction measures and 
features of project design and planning that would avoid and minimize 
most potential impacts. The proposed action would fully comply with 
regulatory requirements for the protection of environmental resources. 
Mitigation for potential impacts to biological resources would be 
accomplished at accepted restoration or enhancement ratios, and 
mitigation for potential impacts to

[[Page 48934]]

Federally-listed threatened or endangered species would be developed in 
consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mitigation for 
potential impacts to cultural resources would comply with a 
Programmatic Agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office and 
Native Americans.
    Schedule: A Notice of Availability will be published in the Federal 
Register and local print media to start the 45-day public comment 
period for the Draft EIS. The Marine Corps will consider and respond to 
all written comments, including e-mail, in preparing the Final EIS. The 
Department of the Navy intends to issue the Final EIS in April 2010, at 
which time an NOA will be published in the Federal Register and local 
print media. A Record of Decision is expected in June 2010.

    Dated: September 17, 2009.
A. M. Vallandingham,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-23184 Filed 9-24-09; 8:45 am]
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