[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45743-45744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18665]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Availability of the Draft Finding of No Significant Impact and 
Draft Memorandum of Agreement for the Arlington National Cemetery 
Southern Expansion Project and Associated Roadway Realignment for the 
Final Environmental Assessment, Arlington, VA

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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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 Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for 
the Arlington National Cemetery Southern Expansion Project and 
Associated Roadway Realignment Project. The Final Environmental 
Assessment (EA) evaluated potential impacts resulting from the proposed 
cemetery's contiguous acreage, by utilizing the former Navy Annex site, 
located south of the existing cemetery, and relocating roadways and 
modifying an interchange, in Arlington, Virginia. The EA also described 
the potential adverse effects on cultural resources related to the 
integration of the Air Force Memorial into the cemetery as part of the 
expansion, the conversion of Patton Drive to a pedestrian trail, and 
the demolition of a portion of the boundary wall. ANC and key 
stakeholders--the Federal Highway Administration, Eastern Federal Lands 
Highway Division, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and 
Arlington County developed a roadway realignment and relocation that 
creates an opportunity to address multimodal capacity along Columbia 
Pike while enabling the cemetery to maximize land available for 
internment capacity, as provided through Congressional legislation.

DATES: The Draft FONSI is available for a 30-day review period. Written 
comments will be accepted until the close of business on September 30, 
2019.

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: 
    The Draft FONSI and Final EA are 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) Compact Discs will be available 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.
    Columbia Pike Branch Public Library, 816 South Walter Reed Drive, 
Arlington, VA 22204.
    ANC, a Direct Report Unit of the Headquarters Department of the 
Army, is the lead federal agency for this Project, and the USACE has 
prepared the draft NEPA document on behalf of (ANC), assisted by the 
HNTB Corporation. The following are served as cooperating agencies 
during the NEPA process: Federal Highway Administration, Eastern 
Federal Lands Highway Division (FHWA-EFLHD), 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 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, including roadway corridors, 
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 relocating and 
realigning local roadways and developing the parcel to increase 
interment capacity. 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 
(Route 27) interchange (adjacent to the Pentagon). The existing Air 
Force Memorial (AFM) would be incorporated into the cemetery expansion, 
existing Patton Drive would be converted into a trail, and the existing 
Operations Complex would be relocated south of Columbia Pike.
    FHWA-EFLHD, in addition to its role as a cooperating agency, is 
designing the roadways that would be relocated as a result of ANC 
expansion. The FHWA-EFLHD has indicated that all decision-

[[Page 45744]]

making to-date concerning the Environmental Assessment is agreeable. 
Recently, at the request of Arlington County and the Virginia 
Department of Transportation, the FHWA-EFLHD agreed to update traffic 
studies to analyze how recent changes in adjacent land use, including 
the move of Amazon HQ2 to Pentagon City, might impact the modified 
access to Route 27 (Washington Boulevard) with Columbia Pike associated 
with this federal project. The FHWA-EFLHD has indicated that it intends 
to adopt the Environmental Assessment and issue its own Finding of No 
Significant Impact, if appropriate, after the updated traffic studies 
are completed.
    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. Public scoping comments were collected during a 30-day comment 
period, and addressed in the Draft EA. A Notice of Availability of the 
Draft EA was published in the Federal Register (83 FR 40757), on August 
16, 2018. A second public meeting was held on August 22, 2018, in 
Arlington, Virginia. Additional public comments on the Draft EA were 
received during a 30-day comment period, and have been addressed in the 
appendix of the Final EA.
    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 Army, 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 FONSI and Final EA to 
examine and assess the impacts of the Proposed Action. FHWA-EFLHD has 
indicated that all decision-making to-date is agreeable, and that FHWA-
EFLHD intends to adopt the ANC's EA and issue its own FONSI if 
appropriate, after the traffic studies related to the modified access 
to Route 27 (Washington Boulevard) with Columbia Pike.

Karen Durham-Aguilera,
Executive Director, Arlington National Cemetery.
[FR Doc. 2019-18665 Filed 8-29-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P