[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 159 (Thursday, August 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40757-40758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17573]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Availability of the Arlington National Cemetery Southern 
Expansion Project and Associated Roadway Realignment Draft 
Environmental Assessment, Arlington, VA

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Norfolk District, on 
behalf of the Arlington National Cemetery (ANC), announces the 
availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for the 
Arlington National Cemetery Southern Expansion Project and Associated 
Roadway Realignment project, for review and comment. The Draft EA 
evaluates the proposal to increase the cemetery's contiguous acreage, 
realign roadways, and maximize burial space by utilizing an area 
adjacent to the existing cemetery that includes the former Navy Annex 
site, located south of the existing cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia. 
The cemetery has been working with the owners and operators of the 
adjacent road network, Arlington County and the Virginia Department of 
Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration, on a roadway 
realignment that supports the short- and

[[Page 40758]]

long-term multimodal transportation system for the Commonwealth of 
Virginia and Arlington County.

DATES: The Draft EA is available for a 30-day review period. Written 
comments will be accepted until the close of business on September 22, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: The public is invited to submit comments to Ms. Kathy 
Perdue, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk 
District, Planning and Policy Branch, 803 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510 
or via email: [email protected]. The Project title and 
the commenter's contact information should be included with submitted 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kathy Perdue, (757) 201-7218.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of the public involvement process, 
notice is hereby given by the USACE Norfolk District, on behalf of the 
ANC, of a public information meeting that will be held on August 22, 
2018, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel, 900 
S Orme Street, Arlington, VA 22204. The public information meeting will 
allow participants the opportunity to comment and ask questions on the 
Draft EA. Attendance at the public meeting is not necessary to provide 
comments. Written comments may also be given to the contact listed 
under ADDRESSES.
    The document is available for review at the following locations:
    (1) The USACE Norfolk District Arlington National Cemetery Southern 
Expansion website: http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Missions/Military-Construction/ANCSouthernExpansion/
    (2) The ANC website: https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/About/Policies-and-Public-Notices/Public-Notices
    (3) Copies at the following Arlington County, Virginia Public 
Libraries:
    a. Arlington County Central Library, 1015 N Quincy Street, 
Arlington, VA 22201.
    b. Aurora Hills Branch Public Library, 735 South 18th Street, 
Arlington, VA 22202.
    c. Columbia Pike Branch Public Library, 816 South Walter Reed 
Drive, Arlington, VA 22204.
    The ANC is the lead federal agency for this Project, and the USACE 
has prepared the draft NEPA document on its behalf, assisted by the 
HNTB Corporation. The following are serving as cooperating agencies 
during the NEPA process: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Capital Planning 
Commission (NCPC), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), 
and Arlington County. The ANC and the USACE also considered the input 
of various stakeholder organizations and the public.
    ANC is located within the eastern boundary of Arlington County, in 
the northeastern corner of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and at the 
western terminus of Memorial Avenue, directly across the Arlington 
Memorial Bridge and the Potomac River from the District of Columbia 
(Washington, DC). ANC is our nation's most hallowed ground. This Army 
cemetery consists of 624 acres and is the final resting place of over 
400,000 service members and their families. The proposed Southern 
Expansion site, bounded by Washington Boulevard (Route 27), I-395, the 
VDOT Maintenance Complex, the Foxcroft Heights neighborhood, and the 
ANC, involves approximately 70 acres among three landowners: ANC, 
Arlington County, and VDOT.
    Proposed Action. The Proposed Action is to establish a single 
contiguous parcel of land south of the cemetery by closing and 
relocating local roadways and developing the parcel to increase 
interment capacity and increase multimodal transportation capacity on 
Columbia Pike. The contiguous parcel would be created through the 
replacement of Southgate Road with a new South Nash Street, and 
realignment of Columbia Pike and the Columbia Pike/Washington Boulevard 
interchange (adjacent to the Pentagon). The existing Air Force Memorial 
(AFM) would be incorporated into the cemetery expansion, and the 
existing Operations Complex would be relocated south of Columbia Pike.
    Alternatives. The Draft EA considers a full range of alternatives 
that meet the Proposed Action's purpose and need, while avoiding and 
minimizing impacts to the maximum extent practicable. Alternatives were 
developed that leverage to varying degrees the Army-owned land south of 
Columbia Pike to increase contiguous space for burials and cemetery 
operational effectiveness. Alternatives considered in detail included: 
(1) Relocate Operations Complex Alternative (Preferred Alternative/
Proposed Action); (2) Maintain Operations Complex with Tunnel 
Alternative; and (3) Maintain Operations Complex without Tunnel 
Alternative.
    Public Involvement. A Notice of Intent to prepare an EA was 
published in the Federal Register (81 FR 23281) on April 20, 2016. A 
public NEPA scoping meeting was held on April 27, 2016, in Arlington 
County.
    Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370, as implemented by 
the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), the ANC, as the lead federal agency, has determined that the 
project does not have the potential to cause significant impacts on the 
human environment, and has developed the Draft EA to examine and assess 
the impacts of the Proposed Action.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-17573 Filed 8-15-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P