[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45741-45742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18587]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Continental United States Interceptor Site

AGENCY: Missile Defense Agency, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of availability and notice of activity in Wetlands as 
required by Executive Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands).

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SUMMARY: The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announces the availability of 
the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the potential 
deployment of a Continental United States (CONUS) Interceptor Site 
(CIS). The CIS Final EIS was prepared 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 and assesses the impacts of a potential deployment 
of a CIS. As required by the fiscal year 2013 National Defense 
Authorization Act, the MDA evaluated candidate sites for the potential 
future deployment of additional ground-based interceptors for homeland 
defense against threats from nations such as North Korea and Iran.
    All potential sites analyzed in this Final EIS contain wetlands 
that would be affected. All practicable measures were taken to arrange 
a CIS footprint to minimize and avoid impacts to wetlands while still 
maintaining operational effectiveness. However, there are no 
practicable deployment alternatives that would completely avoid impacts 
to wetlands. If a deployment decision were made, the MDA would 
coordinate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and applicable state 
departments of environmental protection to determine appropriate 
mitigations for wetland impacts. As required by Executive Order (E.O.) 
11990 (Protection of Wetlands), MDA would prepare a Finding of No 
Practicable Alternative (FONPA) for the selected site. The FONPA would 
explain why there is no practicable alternative to impacting wetlands 
at the identified site.

DATES: The Final EIS will be available for 30 days following 
publication of the NOA in the Federal Register by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark Wright, MDA Public Affairs, 
at 571-231-8212, or by email: mda.info@mda.mil">mda.info@mda.mil.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USEPA's Notice of Availability (NOA) 
(ER-FRL-9027-4) and the Department of Defense's (DoD) NOA (81 FR 34315-
34316) for the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on May 
31, 2016 providing notice that the Draft EIS was available for comment 
from June 3, 2016 to July 18, 2016. The public review period was 
extended to August 17, 2016 (81 FR 46069). The public review period was 
from June 3, 2016 through August 17, 2016 (75 days). Public open house 
meetings were held June 21, 2016 through June 30, 2016. Comments from 
the Draft EIS review and public meetings have been considered in and 
included along with responses in the Final EIS.
    Proposed Action and Alternatives: Consistent with the 2019 Missile 
Defense Review, the DoD does not have a proposed action, budget 
authority, or direction to deploy a CIS and does not propose to deploy 
a CIS at this time; therefore, the preferred alternative is the ``No 
Action Alternative''--no deployment. Current sites in Alaska and 
California provide the necessary protection of the homeland from a 
ballistic missile attack by countries such as North Korea and Iran.
    If deployed, a CIS would be an extension of the existing Ground-
based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the Ballistic Missile Defense 
System. To the extent practicable, the CIS would be

[[Page 45742]]

built as a contiguous Missile Defense Complex, similar to that found at 
Fort Greely, Alaska, and would consist of a deployment of up to a total 
of 60 Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs) in up to three GBI fields. The 
GBIs would not be fired from their deployment site except in the 
Nation's defense and no test firing would be conducted at a CIS. The 
overall system architecture and baseline requirements for a notional 
CIS include, but are not limited to, the GBI fields, Command Launch 
Equipment, In-Flight Interceptor Communication System Data Terminals, 
GMD Communication Network, supporting facilities, such as lodging and 
dining, recreation, warehouse and bulk storage, vehicle storage and 
maintenance, fire station, hazardous materials/waste storage, and roads 
and parking where necessary.
    Candidate site locations considered in the EIS are: Fort Custer 
Training Center in Michigan; Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training 
Center (Recently renamed Camp James A. Garfield) in Ohio; and Fort Drum 
in New York. The Final EIS also analyzed a No Action Alternative or no 
CIS deployment, which is the preferred alternative. Consistent with the 
2019 Missile Defense Review, the DoD does not have a proposed action, 
budget authority, or direction to deploy as CIS and does not propose to 
deploy a CIS at this time.
    For each of the candidate site locations, the following resource 
areas were assessed: Air quality, air space, biological, cultural, 
environmental justice, geology and soils, hazardous materials and 
hazardous waste management, health and safety, land use, noise, 
socioeconomics, transportation, utilities, water, wetlands, and visual 
and aesthetics.
    Public reading copies of the Final EIS are available for review at 
the public libraries within the communities near the Candidate 
Locations. For more information, including a downloadable copy of the 
Final EIS, visit the MDA website at https://www.mda.mil.

    Dated: August 23, 2019.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2019-18587 Filed 8-29-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 5001-06-P