[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7497-7498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02663]


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 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Public Meeting for the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for Proposed United States Penitentiary and Federal Prison 
Camp in Letcher County, Kentucky

AGENCY: Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons 
(Bureau) is announcing a public meeting for the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Proposed United States Penitentiary 
(USP) and Federal Prison Camp (FPC) in Letcher County, Kentucky. A 45-
day public comment period on the Draft EIS was initiated with the 
publication of the Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS in the 
Federal Register on February 13, 2015. The 45-day public comment period 
is from February 13, 2015 through March 30, 2015.
    This notice announces the date, time, and location of the public 
meeting for the Draft EIS and provides supplementary information about 
the environmental planning effort.

Dates and Addresses: A public meeting will be held on March 12, 2015 
between 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at the Letcher County Central High 
School located at 435 Cougar Drive, Whitesburg, Kentucky. Bureau 
representatives will be available at poster stations during the public 
meeting to clarify information related to the Draft EIS.
    Federal, state, and local agencies and officials, and interested 
groups and individuals are encouraged to provide comments in person at 
the public meeting or in writing anytime during the public comment 
period. At the public meeting, attendees will be able to submit 
comments in writing and orally to a stenographer who will transcribe 
comments. All comments received during the public comment period will 
be given equal consideration. Comments may also be submitted to Mr. 
Thomas A. Webber, Chief, Capacity Planning and Construction Branch, 
Federal Bureau of Prisons, 320 First Street, NW., Washington, DC 20534 
(Telephone: (202) 514-6470, Fax: (202) 616-6024, or Email: 
[email protected]). All statements, both written and oral, submitted 
during the public comment period will become part of the public record 
on the Draft EIS and will be responded to in the Final EIS. All written 
comments must be postmarked by March 30, 2015 to ensure they become 
part of the official record.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action being evaluated in this 
Draft EIS is the acquisition of property and the construction and 
operation of a federal correctional facility in Letcher County, 
Kentucky. The Bureau proposes to acquire approximately 800 acres to 
construct a USP (approximately 61,654 square meters) and FPC 
(approximately 6,063 square meters) in Letcher County. Inmates housed 
in the USP would be high-security male inmates and those housed in the 
FPC would be minimum-security male inmates. The proposed facilities 
would house approximately 1,216 total inmates (approximately 1,088 
within the USP and 128 within the FPC). In addition to the USP and FPC, 
several ancillary facilities necessary for the operation of the USP and 
FPC would be constructed. A non-lethal/lethal fence would also be 
installed along the perimeter of the USP. The non-lethal/lethal fence 
would be placed between two parallel, chain link and razor wire fences.
    The official scoping period for this project began when the Bureau 
published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to prepare an EIS 
on July, 26, 2013. The Bureau held a 30-day public scoping period 
between July 26 and August 26, 2013. A public scoping meeting was held 
on August 13, 2013 to inform the public about the proposed project and 
to explain the National

[[Page 7498]]

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the associated environmental impact 
analysis.
    Three alternatives were analyzed in this Draft EIS, the No Action 
Alternative and two build alternatives: Alternative 1--Payne Gap and 
Alternative 2--Roxana.

No Action Alternative

    Under the No Action Alternative, the Bureau would not acquire 
property or construct and operate a new USP or FPC. Existing USPs would 
remain overcrowded and prevent the Bureau from meeting its mission. The 
No Action Alternative does not meet the project purpose and need and is 
therefore, not considered a viable alternative. However, the No Action 
Alternative is analyzed in the Draft EIS because it serves as a 
baseline for comparing the proposed action. The purpose for this 
comparison is to allow the federal agency to assess the effects of 
taking no action versus implementing the proposed action. In some cases 
the no action alternative would result in impacts to certain resources 
if the proposed action is not implemented. Therefore, the assessment of 
the no action alternative is an important component of all NEPA 
documents.

Alternative 1--Payne Gap

    Under Alternative 1, the Bureau would acquire approximately 753 
acres of land known as the Payne Gap site. The site is located in 
eastern Letcher County, approximately 7 miles northeast of Whitesburg, 
along the Kentucky and Virginia border. The Bureau would then construct 
and operate a USP and FPC on this site.
    Alternative 1 would require extensive earthwork to prepare the site 
for development. Approximately 10,912,130 cubic yards (yd\3\) of 
excavation and 13,823,012 yd\3\ of fill would be required prior to 
beginning construction activities. The Bureau would require a minimum 
of 300 acres for construction of the USP and FPC at this site.

Alternative 2--Roxana

    Under Alternative 2, the Bureau would acquire approximately 700 
acres of land known as the Roxana site. The site is located 7.5 miles 
west of Whitesburg, Kentucky. The Bureau would construct and operate a 
USP and FPC on this site.
    Alternative 2 would also require extensive earthwork to prepare the 
site for development. Approximately 3,831,749 yd\3\ of material would 
need to be excavated from the site and approximately 4,293,001 yd\3\ of 
fill would be required to prepare the site for construction activities. 
The Bureau would require a minimum of 300 acres for construction of the 
USP and FPC at this site.
    Alternative 1 and Alternative 2 would both have significant impacts 
to geology, topography, and soils, as well as infrastructure and 
utilities, and traffic and transportation. Implementation of the 
proposed action under either alternative would also have the potential 
to impact threatened and endangered species, including the gray bat 
(Myotis grisescens) and Indiana bat (Myotis sodalist). Studies are 
ongoing to determine detailed impacts to winter and summer habitat. 
Coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is ongoing.

    Dated: February 5, 2015.
Thomas A. Webber,
Chief, Capacity Planning and Construction Branch.
[FR Doc. 2015-02663 Filed 2-9-15; 8:45 am]
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