[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58068-58069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27002]


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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

NATIONAL CAPITAL PLANNING COMMISSION


Intent To Prepare a Tier II Environmental Impact Statement for 
Proposed Construction of the Smithsonian National Museum of African 
American History and Culture

AGENCY: Smithsonian Institution (SI), National Capital Planning 
Commission (NCPC).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1509), and in accordance with 
the Environmental Policies and Procedures implemented by the National 
Capital Planning Commission, the SI and NCPC announce their intent, as 
Joint-Lead Agencies, with NCPC as the Responsible Federal Agency, to 
prepare a Tier II environmental impact statement (EIS) to assess the 
potential effects of constructing and operating the National Museum of 
African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) within the Smithsonian 
Institution. The Museum will be located on a 217,800 square foot (SF) 
or 5 acre site bounded by Constitution Avenue, Madison Drive, 14th and 
15th Streets, NW., on the National Mall in Washington, DC. A public 
meeting will be conducted to ensure that all significant issues related 
to construction and operation of the proposed museum are identified for 
study in the EIS. SI and NCPC are conducting this NEPA process 
concurrent with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), section 
106 process.

[[Page 58069]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Law 108-184, the National Museum of 
African American History and Culture Act enacted by the Congress of the 
United States on December 16, 2003, (the Act) established a museum 
within the Smithsonian Institution to be known as the National Museum 
of African American History and Culture. It recognizes that such a 
museum ``would be dedicated to the collection, preservation, research, 
and exhibition of African American historical and cultural materials 
reflecting the breadth and depth of the experience of individuals of 
African descent living in the United States.''
    Section 8 of the Act, ``Building for the National Museum of African 
American History and Culture,'' directs the Smithsonian Board of 
Regents to select one site among four in Washington, DC for the 
construction of the museum. After undertaking a site evaluation study 
and consultation with parties specified in the legislation, the Board 
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution voted to select the area 
bounded by Constitution Avenue, Madison Drive, 14th, and 15th Streets, 
NW., now commonly known as the Monument site. The decision was 
announced on January 30, 2006.
    After site selection, SI and NCPC, after consultation with the 
Council of Environmental Quality, decided to tier the EIS process (40 
CFR parts 1502.20 and 1508.28). The Tier I EIS was completed with a 
Final EIS (FEIS) issued on June 27, 2008 and a SI Record of Decision 
issued on August 8, 2008.
    The identity and description of the action to be addressed in both 
EIS tiers derive primarily from the language of Public Law 180-184, its 
legislative history, and the studies by the ``National Museum of 
African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential 
Commission'' that led to its enactment, and the Phase II Site 
Evaluation Study of November 15, 2005.
    The Tier I FEIS analyzed a ``no build'' alternative along with six 
diagrammatic massing alternatives on the site. Alternatives addressed 
themes that included context, siting and mass, orientation, form, 
exterior spaces, and profiles. The Tier I FEIS concluded that the Build 
Alternatives all had comparable effects on the majority of resources 
analyzed. This highlighted the need to develop more concrete design 
concepts in order to assess fully the impacts of the NMAAHC on cultural 
and visual/aesthetic resources. Therefore, the SI chose to express the 
Tier I Preferred Alternative as a set of physical parameters related to 
heights, setbacks, and configuration. The physical parameters resulted 
in a Smithsonian Preferred Alternative of about 350,000 GSF that was 
bounded between 60 and 105 feet in height, a minimum 50 foot setback 
from the inside face of the sidewalk of the surrounding streets; and a 
subsurface volume not lower that 45 feet. The massing parameters ranged 
from orthogonal and contextual to free-form and non-contextual. While 
NCPC and Smithsonian are working cooperatively on this EIS, Smithsonian 
does not submit a design to NCPC for review until later in the process.
    In addition to the physical parameters, the SI developed a set of 
design principles to help future design architects to minimize adverse 
effects on historic resources. The principles speak to the importance 
of relating to and respecting the character, views, and spatial 
arrangements of the National Mall; the character, scale, and historic 
context of the Washington Monument grounds; and the relationship of the 
NMAAHC to adjacent architectural and urban contexts.
    The potential range of alternatives that will be evaluated in the 
Tier II EIS includes the no action or no build alternative and no fewer 
than three build alternatives that will address, among other things, 
the design principles, the analysis and findings of the Tier I EIS and 
SI ROD and the issues surfaced in the concurrent NHPA, section 106 
process. The Tier II EIS will include a full range of alternatives 
evaluating varying heights and forms, including one with a roof height 
that does not exceed the roof heights of adjacent museums, and with 
building faces that do not protrude beyond the building faces of 
adjacent museum buildings along the Mall.
    Public Scoping Meeting and Comments: The Smithsonian Institution 
and the National Capital Planning Commission will solicit public 
comments for consideration and possible incorporation in the Draft Tier 
II EIS through public scoping, including a scoping meeting, on the 
proposed museum building at the Monument site. The scoping meeting will 
be held on December 10, 2009, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the 
``Commons'' of the Smithsonian Castle Building, located at 1000 
Jefferson Drive, SW., Washington, DC. Consultants representing the SI 
and NCPC will be available to answer questions and receive comments 
about the scope of the Tier II EIS. Announcements about the meeting are 
provided on the NCPC Web site at http://www.ncpc.gov. Notice of the 
public meeting will be publicized in local newspapers and through other 
sources. Additional information about the museum is located at http://www.nmaahc.si.edu and about the Tier I EIS at http://www.louisberger-nmaahceis.com. To ensure that all issues related to this action are 
addressed and all significant issues are identified early in the 
process, comments are invited in writing and orally from all interested 
and/or potentially affected parties. These comments may be provided at 
the public meeting or provided in writing to EDAW/AECOM, Attn: NMAAHC 
EIS Comments, 601 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. All public comments must be postmarked 
or received by e-mail by December 24, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane Passman, Senior Facilities 
Planner, Smithsonian Institution, Office of Facilities Engineering and 
Operations. For U.S. Postal Service delivery the address is P.O. Box 
37012, MRC 511, Washington, DC 20013-7012. For all other deliveries the 
address is 600 Maryland Ave., SW., Suite 5001, Washington, DC 20024. 
Phone 202-633-6549; Fax: 202-633-6233.

    Dated: November 4, 2009.
Judith Leonard,
General Counsel, Smithsonian Institution.
    Dated: November 4, 2009.
Lois J. Schiffer,
General Counsel, National Capital Planning Commission.
[FR Doc. E9-27002 Filed 11-9-09; 8:45 am]
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