[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31909-31910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12423]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
Military Readiness Activities at the Fallon Range Training Complex and 
To Announce Public Scoping Meetings

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 31910]]

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental 
Quality Regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508), 
the Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential 
environmental consequences of continued and enhanced military training 
in the Fallon Range Training Complex (FRTC) Study Area. The FRTC Study 
Area is a set of well-defined geographic areas in the high desert of 
northern Nevada, encompassing: Special Use Airspace, including 
restricted areas, Military Operations Areas, and Air Traffic Control 
Assigned Airspace; land training ranges and stationary land training 
areas; fixed and mobile land targets, and control facilities; Threat 
Electronic Warfare (EW), Early Warning Radars and Surface to Air 
Missile systems and emulators; and instrumentation facilities. The DoN 
is inviting the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of 
Reclamation to be cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS.

Dates and Addresses: Four open house information sessions will be held 
between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on:
    1. Monday, June 10, 2013, at Churchill County Commission Chambers, 
155 North Taylor Street, Fallon, Nevada 89406.
    2. Tuesday, June 11, 2013, at Crescent Valley Town Office 
Boardroom, 5045 Tenabo Avenue, Crescent Valley, Nevada 89821.
    3. Wednesday, June 12, 2013, at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3677 
Main Hall, 426 D Avenue, Gabbs, Nevada 89409.
    4. Thursday, June 13, 2013, at Emma Nevada Town Hall, 135 Court 
Street, Austin, Nevada 89310.
    Each of the four open house information sessions will be informal 
and consist of information stations staffed by DoN representatives. 
Additional information concerning each open house will be available on 
the EIS Web page located at: http://www.FRTCEIS.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naval Facilities Engineering Command 
Southwest; Attention: Ms. A. Kelley, Code EV21.AK; 1220 Pacific 
Highway; Building 1, 5th Floor; San Diego, California 92132.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2000, the DoN completed an EIS for 
Proposed FRTC Requirements. The DoN's new Proposed Action is to 
continue and enhance training activities within the existing FRTC. In 
order to support the DoN's requirements for fleet readiness, the DoN 
proposes to adjust baseline training activities from current levels to 
the levels needed to accommodate evolving mission requirements, 
including those resulting from training, tactics development, testing, 
and eventual introduction of new platforms (aircraft) and weapons 
systems into the Fleet.
    The FRTC is a set of well-defined geographic areas in the high 
desert of northern Nevada encompassing multiple airspaces, land range 
areas, and electronic systems used primarily for training operations. 
The FRTC encompasses air and land training areas in the mid-western 
portion of Nevada. In total, the complex encompasses 241,127 acres of 
land and 14,182 square nautical miles of airspace. A portion of the 
FRTC, Naval Air Station Fallon, is located six miles to the southeast 
of the city of Fallon.
    The purpose of the Proposed Action is to conduct and facilitate 
training activities at the FRTC to ensure that the DoN achieves its 
mission, to maintain, train, and equip combat-ready naval forces 
capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, and maintaining freedom. 
The alternatives analyzed in the FRTC EIS are as follows.
    1. No Action Alternative: Baseline training activities, as defined 
by the tempo and type of training, when averaged over recent 
representative years.
    2. Alternative 1: Overall adjustments to types and levels of 
activities, from the baseline as necessary to support current and 
planned DoN training requirements, from 8,558 annual activities under 
the No Action Alternative to 9,147 annual activities. In addition, the 
DoN proposes range investments involving upgrades to the Tactical 
Combat Training System, upgrade of Threat EW Systems, and installation 
of fiber optic telecommunications infrastructure.
    3. Alternative 2: Consists of Alternative 1 plus a 10 percent 
increase annually for all training activities, from 9,147 annual 
activities under Alternative 1 to 10,061 annual activities.
    Resource areas to be addressed in the EIS will include, but not be 
limited to, terrestrial resources and biological resources, geology, 
soils and water resources, land use and recreation, air quality, noise, 
cultural resources, transportation, socioeconomics, environmental 
justice, and public health and safety.
    The scoping process will be used to identify community concerns and 
issues that will be addressed in the EIS. Federal agencies, state 
agencies, local agencies, Native American Indian Tribes and Nations, 
the public, and interested persons are encouraged to provide comments 
to the DoN to identify specific issues or topics of environmental 
concern that the commenter believes the DoN should consider. All 
comments, provided orally or in writing at the scoping meetings, via 
the project Web site, or mail will receive the same consideration 
during EIS preparation. All comments must be postmarked or received 
online no later than July 8, 2013. Comments should be mailed to: Naval 
Facilities Engineering Command Southwest; Attention: Ms. A. Kelley, 
Code EV21.AK; 1220 Pacific Highway; Building 1, 5th Floor; San Diego, 
California 92132.

    Dated: May 17, 2013.
C.K. Chiappetta,
Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy, 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-12423 Filed 5-24-13; 8:45 am]
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