[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23747-23749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10396]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Disposal and Reuse of Naval Air Station Brunswick, 
ME, and To Announce Public Hearings

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, as implemented by the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the 
Department of the Navy (Navy) with the Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA) acting as a cooperating agency, has prepared and filed the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential 
environmental consequences associated with the disposal and reuse of 
Naval Air Station (NAS) Brunswick, Maine. The Navy is required to close 
NAS Brunswick per Public Law 101-510, the Defense Base Closure and 
Realignment Act of 1990, as amended in 2005. Public hearings will be 
held to provide information and 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 hearings.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: Two public hearings will be held. Each scheduled 
public hearing will be preceded by an open information session to allow 
interested individuals to review information presented in the Draft 
EIS. Navy representatives will be available during the information 
session to provide clarification as necessary related to the Draft EIS. 
Afternoon and evening information sessions are scheduled as follows:
    1. Evening Information Session and Public Hearing: Brunswick Junior 
High

[[Page 23748]]

School, Gymnasium, 65 Columbia Avenue, Brunswick, Maine 04011.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Information Session--4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Public Hearing--7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
    2. Daytime Information Session and Public Hearing: Town of 
Brunswick, Parks and Recreation Building, 30 Federal Street, Brunswick, 
Maine 04011.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Information Session--10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Public Hearing--12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, BRAC Program Management 
Office Northeast, 4911 Broad Street, Building 679, Philadelphia, PA 
19112-1303, telephone 215-897-4900, fax 215-897-4902, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Navy acting as a lead agency with the 
FAA acting as a cooperating agency, has prepared and filed, the Draft 
EIS for the Disposal and Reuse of NAS Brunswick, Maine in accordance 
with requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4345) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508). A Notice of Intent for this Draft EIS was published 
in the Federal Register on October 24, 2008 (Federal Register/Vol. 73, 
No. 207 pgs 63451 & 63452/Friday, October 24, 2008/Notices). Navy is 
lead agency for the proposed action. The purpose of the proposed action 
is to dispose of NAS Brunswick, Maine in a manner consistent with the 
Brunswick Naval Air Station Reuse Master Plan as developed by the 
Brunswick Local Redevelopment Authority (BLRA) in December 2007. The 
Navy is required to close NAS Brunswick, Maine, in accordance with 
Public Law 101-510, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 
1990, as amended in 2005. NAS Brunswick must be closed on or before 
September 15, 2011. The BRAC Law exempts the decision-making process of 
the Commission from the provisions of NEPA. The Law also relieves the 
Department of Defense (DoD) from the NEPA requirements to consider the 
need for closing, realigning, or transferring functions, and from 
looking at alternative installations to close or realign. However, in 
accordance with NEPA, before disposing of any real property, the Navy 
must analyze the environmental effects of the disposal of the NAS 
Brunswick property. This Draft EIS has identified and considered two 
alternatives for the disposal and reuse of NAS Brunswick, and the no-
action alternative.
    Alternative 1 includes the disposal of NAS Brunswick and its 
outlying properties by the Navy and its reuse in a manner consistent 
with the Brunswick Naval Air Station Reuse Master Plan. This 
alternative would maintain the existing airfield for private aviation 
purposes. It is anticipated that full build-out of the Plan would be 
implemented over a 20-year period. The Brunswick Naval Air Station 
Reuse Master Plan calls for the development of approximately 1,630 
acres (51%) of the total base property. In addition, approximately 
1,570 acres (49%) of the base would be dedicated to a variety of active 
and passive land uses, including recreation, open space, and natural 
areas. The plan reuses the existing airfield and its supporting 
infrastructure, provides a mix of land use types and densities, and 
preserves open space and natural areas. The Navy has recognized 
Alternative 1 as the preferred alternative.
    Alternative 2 includes the disposal of NAS Brunswick and its 
outlying properties by the Navy and its reuse in a manner that features 
a higher density of residential and community mixed-use development and 
does not include reuse of the airfield. Similar to Alternative 1, this 
alternative includes a mix of land use types, preserves open space and 
natural areas. It is anticipated that full build-out of the high-
density scenario would be implemented over a 20-year period. Under 
Alternative 2 there would be development of approximately 1,580 acres 
(49%) of the total base property. In addition, approximately 1,620 
acres (51%) of the base would be dedicated to a variety of active and 
passive land uses, including recreation, open space, and natural areas. 
Although this alternative would have less developable acres than 
Alternative 1, the density of residential and community mixed-uses 
would be higher.
    Alternative 3 is required by NEPA and will evaluate the impacts at 
NAS Brunswick in the event that the property is not disposed. Under 
this alternative, existing mission and support operations would be 
relocated; however, the installation would be retained by the U.S. 
government in caretaker status. No reuse or redevelopment would occur 
at the facility. The installation would be placed in caretaker status. 
The Draft EIS addresses environmental impacts of each alternative 
pertaining to the disposal and reuse of the NAS Brunswick property.
    The Draft EIS addresses any potential environmental impacts under 
each alternative associated with: water resources; air quality; 
biological resources; soils, topography, and geology; land use; noise 
exposure levels; socioeconomic resources; community facilities; 
transportation; environmental management; infrastructure; and cultural 
resources. The analyses includes direct and indirect impacts, and 
accounts for cumulative impacts from other foreseen Federal, State, or 
local activities at and around NAS Brunswick. The Navy conducted the 
scoping process to identify community concerns and local issues that 
should be addressed in the EIS. Federal, State and local agencies, and 
interested parties provided written comments to the Navy and identified 
specific issues or topics of environmental concern that should be 
addressed in the EIS. The Navy considered these comments in determining 
the scope of the EIS. The Draft EIS has been distributed to various 
Federal, State, and local agencies, as well as other interested 
individuals and organizations. In addition, copies of the Draft EIS 
have been distributed to the following libraries and publicly 
accessible facilities for public review:
    1. Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant Street, Brunswick, ME 
04011-2261.
    2. Town of Brunswick--Department of Planning and Development, 28 
Federal Street, Brunswick, Maine 04011.
    3. Topsham Public Library, 25 Foreside Road, Topsham, ME 04086-
1832.
    An electronic copy of the Draft EIS is available for public viewing 
at http://www.brunswickeis.com. Federal, State and local agencies, as 
well as interested parties, are invited and encouraged to be present or 
represented at the hearings. To ensure the accuracy of the record, all 
statements presented orally at the public hearings should be submitted 
in writing. All comments will become part of the public record and will 
be responded to in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). 
Equal weight will be given to oral and written statements. In the 
interest of available time, and to ensure all who wish to give an oral 
statement at the public hearings have the opportunity to do so, each 
speaker's comments will be limited to three minutes. If a longer 
statement is to be presented, it should be summarized at the public 
hearing and the full text submitted in writing either at the hearing or 
mailed or e-mailed to: Director, BRAC Program Management Office (PMO) 
Northeast, 4911 Broad Street, Building 679, Philadelphia, PA 19112-
1303, telephone 215-897-4900, fax 215-897-4902, e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Residents will be required to sign-in to speak. Comments can be 
made in the following ways: (1) Oral statements or

[[Page 23749]]

written comments at the public hearings; or (2) Written comments mailed 
to the BRAC PMO address in this notice; or (3) Written comments faxed 
to the BRAC PMO fax number in this notice; or (4) Comments submitted 
via e-mail using the BRAC PMO e-mail address in this notice. All 
written comments postmarked by Monday, June 28, 2010, will become a 
part of the official public record and will be responded to in the 
FEIS.
    Requests for special assistance, sign language interpretation for 
the hearing impaired, language interpreters, or other auxiliary aids 
for scheduled public hearing meeting must be sent by mail or e-mail to 
Mr. Matthew Butwin, Ecology and Environment, Inc., 368 Pleasant View 
Drive, Lancaster, NY 14086, telephone: 716-684-8060, e-mail: 
[email protected].

    Dated: April 27, 2010.
A.M. Vallandingham,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-10396 Filed 5-3-10; 8:45 am]
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