[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 96 (Friday, May 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22479-22480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10244]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) at Clear Air Force 
Station (CAFS)

AGENCY: Missile Defense Agency, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announces its intention to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of NEPA. MDA began construction of the LRDR following a 2016 
Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI). Due to threat evolution, operational requirements have created 
the need to expand the current Special Use Airspace (SUA) at Clear Air 
Force Station (AFS) to protect nearby aircraft. Several potential 
designs of the additional SUA have been developed. The MDA is preparing 
this EIS to evaluate potential environmental impacts that could result 
from the LRDR SUA alternatives. The Department of Defense has not 
selected a preferred alternative for the proposed SUA.

DATES: Scoping meetings will be held in the Alaskan communities of 
Anderson, Fairbanks and Anchorage during June 2019. Notification of the 
meeting locations, dates, and times will be published and announced in 
local news media prior to public scoping meetings.
    The MDA invites public comments on the scope of the LRDR EIS during 
a 30-day public scoping period beginning with publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. Comments will be accepted on or before 
June 17, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Written comments, statements, and/or concerns regarding the 
scope of the EIS or requests to be added to the EIS distribution list 
should be addressed to MDA CAFS EIS and sent by email to 
[email protected], by facsimile 907-644-2022, or by U.S. Postal Service 
to Clear EIS c/o HDR, Inc., 2525C Street, Suite 500, Anchorage, AK 
99503. Electronic or facsimile comments are preferred. If sending 
comments by U.S. Postal Service, please do not submit duplicate 
electronic or facsimile comments. All comments, including names and 
addresses, will be included in the administrative record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Mark Wright, MDA Public Affairs at 
256-450-1599 or by email: mda.info@mda.mil">mda.info@mda.mil. Additional information can 
be found at MDA's website: https://www.mda.mil/news/nepa_documents.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  In accordance with 40 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) 1501.6, cooperating agencies for consultation, 
review, and comment on the EIS include the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) and U.S. Air Force (USAF). Other cooperating 
agencies may be identified during the scoping process.
    An initial EA was prepared in April 2016 and resulted in a FONSI in 
June 2016 to support the construction and operation of the LRDR. A 
detailed analysis of all resource categories was assessed in the EA. 
Since that time, the adversary threat evaluation has evolved requiring 
changes to the LRDR's plans for operation, which in turn required MDA 
to reexamine the LRDR's operational tempo and battlespace coverage. To 
meet these more challenging requirements, LRDR operational and system 
procedures were adapted, resulting in expanded requirements for a 
Special Use Airspace (SUA) at CAFS that will provide continual 
protection for aircraft from LRDR High Intensity Radiated Fields 
(HIRF).
    Restricted Area R-2206 is currently in effect at CAFS. Designed and 
implemented over 50 years ago to support the original Ballistic Missile 
Early Warning System (BMEWS) and its replacement, the Upgraded Early 
Warning Radar (UEWR), R-2206 will no longer be sufficient to protect 
aircraft from HIRF levels that will be generated by the more powerful 
LRDR in its expanded role discussed in this notice. Alternative designs 
for the additional Restricted Area have been developed. The EIS will 
analyze potential environmental impacts from each alternative. Our 
preliminary indications are that the majority of impacts will be in the 
areas of socioeconomics and airspace. However, to the extent these 
impacts differ from those analyzed in the 2016 EA, we will analyze them 
in this EIS process.

[[Page 22480]]

    This EIS will support the FAAs SUA rule-making process and meet 
National Historic Preservation Act requirements, including Section 106 
Consultation.
    The MDA encourages all interested members of the public, as well as 
federal, state, tribal and local agencies, to participate in the 
scoping process for the preparation of this EIS. The scoping process 
assists in determining the scope of issues to be addressed and helps 
identify significant environmental issues to be analyzed in-depth in 
the EIS.

    Dated: May 14, 2019.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2019-10244 Filed 5-16-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 5001-06-P