[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 50 (Thursday, March 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16255-16257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-05925]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Disposal and Reuse of the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach 
Detachment Concord, City of Concord, California, and To Announce Public 
Scoping Meetings

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 (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), the 
Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

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to evaluate the potential environmental consequences of the disposal 
and reuse of surplus property at the former Naval Weapons Station Seal 
Beach Detachment Concord (NWS Concord), Concord, Contra Costa County, 
California. In accordance with NEPA, before disposing of any real 
property, the DoN must analyze the environmental effects of the 
disposal of the NWS Concord property. A 30-day public scoping period is 
being held to receive comments on the scope of the EIS, including the 
range of actions, alternatives, and environmental concerns that should 
be addressed. Public scoping meetings will also be held in the City of 
Concord, California, to provide information and receive written 
comments on the scope of the EIS. Federal, state, and local agencies 
and interested individuals are invited to comment on the scope of the 
EIS and attend the public scoping meeting.
    Dates and Addresses: Two public scoping meetings will be held on 
Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 4:00-6:00 p.m. and 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the 
Concord Senior Citizens Center (Wisteria Room), 2727 Parkside Circle, 
Concord, California, 94519. DoN representatives will be available to 
provide clarification as necessary related to the EIS. There will not 
be a formal presentation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, NAVFAC BRAC PMO West, Attn: 
Mr. Ronald Bochenek, 1455 Frazee Road, Suite 900, San Diego, California 
92108-4310, telephone 619-532-0906, fax 619-532-9858, email: 
[email protected].
    For more information on the NWS Concord EIS visit the DoN BRAC PMO 
Web site (http://www.bracpmo.navy.mil).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2005, a portion of NWS Concord was 
designated for closure under the authority of Public Law 101-510, the 
Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended. At the 
time, the former NWS Concord comprised two major land holdings-- (1) 
the Tidal Area, along Suisun Bay and (2) the Inland Area, within the 
City of Concord. In 2008, the Tidal Area and 115 acres of the Inland 
Area were transferred to the U.S. Army and is now the Military Ocean 
Terminal Concord (6,419 acres in total). In addition, approximately 59 
acres of the Inland Area, which supported military housing, was 
transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard. The remaining 5,038 acres of the 
Inland Area was declared surplus to the needs of the federal government 
on May 6, 2007 (72 FR 9935) and its disposal and reuse is the focus of 
this EIS.
    The purpose of the proposed action is the disposal of surplus 
property at NWS Concord from federal ownership and its subsequent reuse 
in a manner consistent with the Concord Reuse Project Area Plan, as 
adopted by the City of Concord on January 24, 2012. The need for the 
proposed action is to provide the local community the opportunity for 
economic development and job creation. The DoN is the action proponent 
for the proposed action. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has requested 
to serve as a Cooperating Agency.
    To assess the potential impacts of the proposed action, the DoN 
will evaluate two property reuse alternatives and a No Action 
Alternative. Alternative 1 is the reuse of the property in a manner 
consistent with the Concord Reuse Project Area Plan. Alternative 2 
consists of a greater amount of residential and mixed-use development. 
Alternative 2 includes elements of the Connected Villages Alternative 
(Alternative 2) assessed in the 2008 Draft Environmental Impact Report 
of the City of Concord's Reuse Plan conducted in compliance with the 
California Environmental Quality Act. The No-Action Alternative is 
evaluated in detail in this EIS as prescribed by CEQ regulations. Both 
reuse alternatives assume full build-out over a 25-year period; the 
period of analysis will be during construction and when full build-out 
has been completed.
    Alternative 1 is the disposal and reuse of surplus property at the 
former NWS Concord in a manner consistent with the Concord Reuse 
Project Area Plan. Under Alternative 1, approximately 69% of the 
property would be maintained as conservation, parks, or recreational 
land uses, and 31% would be mixed-use development, including a mix of 
office, retail, residential, community facilities, light industrial, 
and research and development/educational land uses. Development on the 
site would involve up to a maximum of 12,272 housing units and 
6,100,000 square feet of commercial space over a total development 
footprint of approximately 1,545 acres. The remaining portion of the 
property would be utilized for conservation, parks, or recreational 
land uses, including a 2,537 acre regional park, which would encompass 
the east side of the property along the ridgeline of the Los Medanos 
Hills. The western side of the property would be developed as a series 
of mixed-use development districts, with higher development densities 
at the north end of the property, near State Route 4 and the North 
Concord/Martinez Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station, and lower 
density residential villages as you move south towards Bailey Road. The 
development districts would be serviced by local and connector streets 
and two new through-streets, Los Medanos Boulevard running north/south 
from the BART station and Delta Road running east/west paralleling 
Highway 4. In addition, the transportation network will include a high-
capacity bus transit service that will connect the development to BART, 
downtown Concord, and the surrounding neighborhoods.
    Alternative 2 would include a greater amount of development 
throughout the site, as approximately 60% of the property would be 
maintained as conservation, parks, or recreational land uses, and 
approximately 40% would be mixed-use development, including a mix of 
office, retail, hotel, residential, and community/institutional land 
uses. Development on the site would involve up to a maximum of 13,000 
housing units, and 7,900,000 square feet of commercial space over a 
total development footprint of approximately 2,000 acres. The 
transportation network will include a high-capacity bus transit service 
throughout the site connecting the villages to downtown Concord and 
existing neighborhoods. An arterial road connecting Bailey Road and 
Willow Pass Road would be included east of Mt. Diablo Creek. 
Alternative 2 is included for the purposes of the NEPA analysis and 
does not imply a change to the City of Concord's adopted Area Plan and 
2030 General Plan, which is the result of a public planning process. 
The DoN has no role in the community planning process.
    The No Action Alternative is required by NEPA and evaluates the 
impacts at NWS Concord in the event that the surplus property is not 
disposed. Under this alternative the property would be retained by the 
DoN in caretaker status. No reuse or redevelopment would occur under 
this alternative.
    The EIS will address potential direct, indirect, short-term, long-
term, and cumulative impacts on the human and natural environments, 
including but not limited to potential impacts on topography, geology 
and soils; water resources; biological resources; air quality; 
greenhouse gases and climate change; noise; infrastructure and 
utilities; transportation, traffic, and circulation; cultural 
resources; land use; socioeconomics and environmental justice; hazards 
and hazardous substances; and public services. Known areas of concern 
associated with the proposed action include impacts on biological and 
cultural resources, impacts on local traffic patterns resulting from 
reuse scenarios, and the

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cleanup of installation remediation sites.
    The DoN is initiating a 30-day scoping period to receive comments 
on the scope of the EIS, including the range of actions, alternatives, 
and environmental concerns that should be addressed. Public scoping 
meetings will be held in the City of Concord, California, to provide 
information and receive written comments on the scope of the EIS. 
Federal, state, and local agencies and interested individuals are 
encouraged to comment on the scope of the EIS or attend the public 
scoping meetings. To be most helpful, scoping comments should clearly 
describe specific issues or topics that the commenter believes the EIS 
should address.
    Comments can be made in the following ways: (1) Written comments at 
the scheduled public scoping meetings; or (2) written comments mailed 
to the DoN BRAC PMO address in this notice; or (3) written comments 
faxed to the DoN BRAC PMO fax number in this notice; or (4) comments 
submitted via email using the DoN BRAC PMO email address in this 
notice.
    Written comments must be postmarked, faxed, or emailed by midnight 
Friday, April 19, 2013, and sent to: Director, NAVFAC BRAC PMO West, 
Attn: Mr. Ronald Bochenek, 1455 Frazee Road, Suite 900, San Diego, 
California 92108-4310, telephone 619-532-0906, fax 619-532-9858, email: 
[email protected].
    Requests for special assistance, sign language interpretation for 
the hearing impaired, language interpreters, or other auxiliary aids 
for the scheduled public scoping meetings must be sent by mail or email 
by Friday, March 29, 2013 to the address provided in this notice.

C.K. Chiappetta,
Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy, 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-05925 Filed 3-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P