[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 174 (Friday, September 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55195-55196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22097]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Public Meetings for the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility Boardman, OR

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 and regulations implemented by the Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 Code of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508), 
the Department of the Navy (DoN) has prepared and filed with the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) that evaluates the potential environmental effects associated 
with ongoing and proposed DoN and Oregon National Guard training and 
testing activities at Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility (NWSTF) 
Boardman, Oregon to include establishment of new associated Special Use 
Airspace (SUA). The National Guard Bureau and Federal Aviation 
Administration are cooperating agencies for this EIS.
    NWSTF Boardman is the principal regional training range for 
aviation units located at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and is used 
for training by Oregon National Guard units located throughout the 
state of Oregon. NWSTF Boardman also supports training requirements of 
the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and SUA activities for Department of 
Defense (DoD) contractors for unmanned aerial system testing and 
training of DoD personnel.
    With the filing of the Draft EIS, the DoN is initiating a 60-day 
public comment period and has scheduled two public meetings to receive 
comments on the Draft EIS. This notice announces the dates and 
locations of the public meetings for the Draft EIS and provides 
supplementary information.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: The 60-day Draft EIS public review period will 
begin September 7, 2012, and end on November 6, 2012. The DoN will hold 
two public meetings to inform the public about the proposed action and 
the alternatives under consideration, and to provide an opportunity for 
the public to comment on the proposed action, alternatives, and the 
adequacy and accuracy of the analysis in the Draft EIS. Each of the 
public meetings will include an open house information session, with 
informational poster stations staffed by DoN and Oregon National Guard 
representatives, followed by a short presentation and oral comment 
opportunity. Federal, state, and local agencies and officials, and 
interested groups and individuals are encouraged to provide comments in 
person at any of the public meetings or in writing during the public 
comment period.
    The public meetings will be held at each location between 5:00 p.m. 
and 8:00 p.m. on the following dates:
    1. Tuesday, September 25, 2012, Hermiston Conference Center Great 
Room, 415 South Highway 395, Hermiston, Oregon 97838.
    2. Wednesday, September 26, 2012, Port of Morrow Conference Center 
Riverfront Room, 2 Marine Drive, Boardman, Oregon 97818.
    Attendees will be able to submit oral and written comments during 
the public meetings. Oral testimony from the public will be recorded by 
a court reporter. 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

[[Page 55196]]

be limited to three (3) minutes. Equal weight will be given to oral and 
written statements. Comments may also be submitted via the U.S. Postal 
Service or electronically via the project Web site provided below. All 
statements, oral or written, submitted during the public review period 
will become part of the public record on the Draft EIS and will be 
reviewed and acknowledged or responded to in the Final EIS.
    Public meeting details will be announced in local newspapers. 
Additional information is available on the project Web site at 
www.NWSTFBoardmanEIS.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naval Facilities Engineering Command, 
Northwest, Attention: Ms. Amy Burt--NWSTF Boardman EIS Project Manager, 
1101 Tautog Circle, Suite 203, Silverdale, Washington 98315-1101.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice of Intent to prepare this Draft EIS 
was published in the Federal Register on October 5, 2010 (75 FR 61452). 
A separate and additional scoping effort was conducted to address the 
modification of the proposed action to include establishment of a 
Military Operations Area that would join the current SUA associated 
with NWSTF Boardman. The Notice of Intent for the modification of the 
proposed action was published in the Federal Register on December 27, 
2011 (76 FR80910).
    The DoN's proposed action involves construction and operation of 
new range facilities and changes in existing training and testing 
activities at NWSTF Boardman. In general, the proposed action would 
increase the types of training and testing activities and the number of 
training events conducted at NWSTF Boardman; accommodate force 
structure changes; and provide enhancements to training facilities and 
activities at NWSTF Boardman and its associated SUA.
    To comply with federal mandates, the DoN proposes to maintain and 
enhance current levels of military readiness through improvement of 
training at NWSTF Boardman, accommodate possible future increases in 
training, and maintenance of the long-term viability of NWSTF Boardman 
as a military training and testing area. The proposed action is needed 
to provide a training environment consisting of ranges, training areas, 
and range instrumentation with the capacity and capabilities to fully 
support required training tasks for military units and personnel 
utilizing NWSTF Boardman.
    The Draft EIS includes analysis of the potential environmental 
impacts of three alternatives, including the No Action Alternative and 
two action alternatives. The No Action Alternative constitutes the 
current level of baseline training and testing activities. Alternative 
1 includes all current training and testing activities; the 
establishment and use of an additional Military Operations Area to the 
northeast of existing NWSTF Boardman SUA; an increase in existing 
training activities; new training activities; and range enhancements 
and facilities to meet DoN and Oregon National Guard training 
requirements. Alternative 2 includes all elements of Alternative 1 and 
the implementation of additional range enhancements, including the 
addition of a second (western) convoy live-fire range, a new range 
operations control center, and three mortar training positions.
    Mitigation measures for potential effects to biological resources 
are being coordinated through appropriate Federal agencies. There are 
no Federally-listed species under the Endangered Species Act present at 
NWSTF Boardman, however, the DoN is conferencing with the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, as appropriate, for potential impacts to the 
candidate species, Washington ground squirrel (Urocitellus 
washingtoni).
    The Draft EIS was distributed to Federal, state, and local 
agencies, elected officials, and other interested individuals and 
organizations. Copies of the Draft EIS are also available for public 
review at the following public libraries:
    1. Multnomah County Central Library, 801 Southwest 10th Avenue, 
Portland, Oregon 97205.
    2. Boardman Branch of the Oregon Trail Library District, 200 South 
Main Street, Boardman, Oregon 97818.
    3. Heppner Branch of the Oregon Trail Library District, 444 North 
Main Street, Heppner, Oregon 97836.
    4. Central Branch of the Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty Street 
Southeast, Salem, Oregon 97301.
    5. West Salem Branch of the Salem Public Library, 395 Glen Creek 
Road Northwest, Salem, Oregon 97304.
    6. Stafford Hansell Government Center, 915 Southeast Columbia 
Drive, Hermiston, Oregon 97838.
    Copies of the Draft EIS are also available for electronic viewing 
at www.NWSTFBoardmanEIS.com. A paper copy of the Executive Summary or a 
single compact disc of the Draft EIS will be made available upon 
written request.

    Dated: August 31, 2012.
C.K. Chiappetta
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-22097 Filed 9-6-12; 8:45 am]
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