[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 125 (Friday, June 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29855-29856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13790]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Public Meetings for the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement for Navy Atlantic
Fleet Training and Testing
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969 and regulations implemented by the Council on Environmental
Quality, the Department of the Navy (DoN) has prepared and filed with
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS)/Overseas EIS (OEIS) for public release on June 30,
2017, to evaluate the potential environmental effects from training and
testing activities conducted within the Navy's Atlantic Fleet Training
and Testing (AFTT) Study Area.
The Study Area is in the western Atlantic Ocean and encompasses the
waters along the east coast of North America, the Gulf of Mexico,
portions of the Caribbean Sea, Navy pierside locations and port transit
channels, waters near civilian ports, and inland waters (e.g., lower
Chesapeake Bay). The Study Area covers approximately 2.6 million square
nautical miles of ocean area and includes designated Navy operating
areas and special use airspace.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is a Cooperating
Agency for the EIS/OEIS.
With the filing of the Draft EIS/OEIS, the DoN is initiating a 60-
day public comment period and has scheduled five public meetings to
receive oral and written comments on the Draft EIS/OEIS. This notice
announces the dates and locations of the public meetings for this Draft
EIS/OEIS and provides supplementary information about the environmental
planning effort.
Dates and Addresses: The Draft EIS/OEIS public review period will
begin June 30, 2017, and end on August 29, 2017. The Navy will hold
five 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/OEIS. Each of
the public meetings will be conducted in an open-house format with
informational stations staffed by DoN representatives. These
representatives will be available during the public meeting to clarify
information related to the Draft EIS/OEIS. 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 between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the
following dates and at the following locations:
1. Wednesday, July 19, 2017, Hotel Providence, 139 Mathewson
Street, Providence, RI 02903.
2. Tuesday, July 25, 2017, UNC Institute of Marine Sciences, 3431
Arendell Street, Morehead City, NC 28557.
3. Wednesday, July 26, 2017, Nauticus, 1 Waterside Drive, Norfolk,
VA 23510.
4. Tuesday, August 1, 2017, Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center,
1000 Water Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204.
5. Thursday, August 3, 2017, Gulf Coast State College Conference
Center, 5230 W. Highway 98, Panama City, FL 32401.
Attendees will be able to submit comments in writing or orally
using a voice recorder at the public meetings. Equal weight will be
given to oral and written statements. Comments may also be submitted by
U.S. postal mail or electronically via the project Web site provided
below. Written comments may be submitted by mail to Naval Facilities
Engineering Command Atlantic, Attn: Code EV22KP (AFTT EIS Project
Managers), 6506 Hampton Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23508-1278 and through
the project Web site; all written comments must be post marked or
received by August 29, 2017. All statements, oral or written, submitted
during the public review period will become part of the public record
on the Draft EIS/OEIS and will be considered in preparation of the
Final EIS/OEIS.
Public meeting details will also be announced in local newspapers
and on the project Web site: www.AFTTEIS.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naval Facilities Engineering Command
Atlantic, Attn: Code EV22KP (AFTT EIS Project Managers), 6506 Hampton
Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23508-1278.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare this
DEIS/OEIS was published in the Federal Register on November 12, 2015,
(Vol. 80, No. 218, p. 69951). A correction to the Notice of Intent was
issued on December 1, 2015 and published in the Federal Register (Vol.
80, No. 230, p.
[[Page 29856]]
75076) to update the deadline for comment submission.
The DoN's Proposed Action is to conduct military readiness training
activities, and research, development, testing, and evaluation
activities in the AFTT Study Area. These military readiness activities
include the use of active sonar and explosives within existing range
complexes and testing ranges and additional areas located in the
Atlantic Ocean along the eastern coast of North America, in portions of
the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, at Navy pierside locations and
port transit channels, near civilian ports, and in bays, harbors, and
inland waterways (e.g., the lower Chesapeake Bay). These military
readiness activities are generally consistent with those analyzed in
the AFTT EIS/OEIS completed in December 2013 and are representative of
training and testing that the Navy has been conducting in the AFTT
Study Area for decades.
Potential direct, indirect, cumulative, short-term, long-term,
irreversible, and irretrievable impacts to the environment from two
action alternatives and a No Action Alternative are evaluated in the
Draft EIS/OEIS. Resources evaluated include air quality, sediments and
water quality, vegetation, invertebrates, marine habitats, fish, marine
mammals, sea turtles and other marine reptiles, birds and bats,
cultural resources, socioeconomic resources, and public health and
safety.
Based on the results of the analysis, the Navy has requested from
NMFS a Letter of Authorization (LOA) in accordance with the MMPA to
authorize the incidental take of marine mammals that may result from
the implementation of the activities analyzed in the AFTT Draft EIS/
OEIS. In accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, the
Navy is consulting with NMFS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
for potential impacts to federally listed species. The Navy will
complete all required consultations and comply with other applicable
laws and regulations.
The Draft EIS/OEIS addresses mitigation measures designed to help
reduce or avoid potential impacts to marine resources, including new
mitigation measures that include expanded geographic mitigation areas,
and updates to procedural mitigation measures. In addition, the Draft
EIS/OEIS addresses marine species monitoring efforts designed to track
compliance with authorizations and to investigate the effectiveness of
mitigation measures implemented as part of the Proposed Action. The
proposed mitigation measures, including new mitigation measures, would
be implemented under either alternative in order to maximize the
mitigation benefits to the environment.
Mitigation measures are being coordinated through the consultation
and permitting processes. The DoN will also consider public comments on
proposed mitigation measures described in this Draft EIS/OEIS.
Notice of the availability of the draft EIS/OEIS was distributed to
federal, state, and local agencies, elected officials, and other
interested individuals and organizations. Copies of the Draft EIS/OEIS
are available for public review at the following libraries:
1. Anne Arundel County Public Library, 5 Harry S. Truman Parkway,
Annapolis, MD 21401.
2. Bay County Public Library, 898 West 11th Street, Panama City, FL
32401.
3. Ben May Main Library, 701 Government Street, Mobile, AL 36602.
4. Boston Public Library, Central Library, 700 Boylston Street,
Boston, MA 02116.
5. Camden County Public Library, 1410 Highway 40 E, Kingsland, GA
31548.
6. Carteret County Public Library, 1702 Live Oak Street, Suite 100,
Beaufort, NC 28516.
7. Charleston County Public Library, Main Library, 68 Calhoun
Street, Charleston, SC 29401.
8. Corpus Christi Public Library, La Retama Central Library, 805
Comanche, Corpus Christi, TX 78401.
9. East Bank Regional Library, 4747 West Napoleon Avenue, Metairie,
LA 70001.
10. Dare County Library, Manteo, 700 Highway 64/264, Manteo, NC
27954.
11. Havelock-Craven County Public Library, 301 Cunningham
Boulevard, Havelock, NC 28532.
12. Jacksonville Public Library, 303 North Laura Street,
Jacksonville, FL 32202.
13. Dare County Library, Kill Devil Hills, 400 Mustian Street, Kill
Devil Hills, NC 27948.
14. Houston Public Library, 500 McKinney Street, Houston, TX 77002.
15. New Hanover County Public Library, 201 Chestnut Street,
Wilmington, NC 28401.
16. New Orleans Public Library, Main Library, 219 Loyola Avenue,
New Orleans, LA 70112.
17. Onslow County Public Library, 58 Doris Avenue East,
Jacksonville, NC 28540.
18. Pascagoula Public Library, 3214 Pascagoula Street, Pascagoula,
MS 39567.
19. West Florida Public Library, Pensacola Library, 239 North
Spring Street, Pensacola, FL 32502.
20. Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square, Portland, ME 04101.
21. Providence Public Library, 150 Empire Street, Providence, RI
02903.
22. Public Library of New London, 63 Huntington Street, New London,
CT 06320.
23. Slover Memorial Main Library, 235 East Plume Street, Norfolk,
VA 23510.
24. Walton County Library, Coastal Branch Library, 437 Greenway
Trail, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459.
25. Webb Memorial Library and Civic Center, 812 Evans Street,
Morehead City, NC 28557.
26. West Florida Public Library, Southwest Branch, 12248 Gulf Beach
Highway, Pensacola, FL 32507.
27. Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach, 411 Clematis Street,
West Palm Beach, FL 33401.
Copies of the AFTT Draft EIS/OEIS are available for electronic
viewing at www.AFTTEIS.com. A paper copy of the Executive Summary and a
single compact disc (CD) of the Draft EIS/OEIS will be made available
upon written request by contacting: Naval Facilities Engineering
Command Atlantic, Attn: Code EV22KP (AFTT EIS Project Managers), 6506
Hampton Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23508-1278.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4332, E.O. 12114, and 40 CFR 1500-1508.
Dated: June 27, 2017.
A.M. Nichols,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-13790 Filed 6-29-17; 8:45 am]
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