[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 64876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25537]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Air Force


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
F-35A Wing Beddown and MQ-9 Wing Beddown

AGENCY: Department of the Air Force, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The United States Air Force (USAF) is issuing this notice of 
intent to advise the public of its intent to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate potential environmental consequences 
associated with two independent proposed actions: (1) The beddown of an 
F-35A Operational Wing at Tyndall AFB, FL. and (2) The beddown of an 
MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Operational Wing at either Tyndall 
AFB, Florida (FL) or Vandenberg AFB, California (CA).

DATES: The USAF will host two open-house public scoping meetings: 
Tuesday, December 10, 2019, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Gulf Coast 
State College, Student Union East in Panama City, Florida, and 
Thursday, December 12, 2019, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Allan 
Hancock College, Lompoc Valley Center in Lompoc, California.

ADDRESSES: Submit scoping comments on the proposed F35-A and MQ-9 Wing 
Beddowns on the project website: F-35WingandMQ-9WingEIS.com. Scoping 
comments can also be submitted to: F-35/MQ-9 EIS Program Manager, 
Cynthia Pettit, AFCEC/CZN, Attn: F-35/MQ-9, 2261 Hughes Avenue, Suite 
155, JBSA Lackland, TX 78236-9853; 210-925-3367; Email: 
[email protected]; 210-925-3367 or FedEx & UPS Deliveries: 
AFCEC/CZN, 3515 S General McMullen Drive, Suite 155, San Antonio, TX 
78226-2018. For comments submitted by mail, a comment form is available 
for download on the project website. Comments will be accepted at any 
time during the environmental impact analysis process. However, to 
ensure the USAF has sufficient time to consider public input in the 
preparation of the Draft EIS, scoping comments should be submitted via 
the project website or to the address listed above by December 23, 
2019.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The F-35A Proposed Action is to beddown an 
F-35A Wing at Tyndall AFB, FL, consisting of three operational 
squadrons, each with 24 Primary Aerospace Vehicles Authorized Aircraft 
(PAA) and two Backup Aircraft Inventory (BAI) aircraft. Beddown of the 
F-35A Wing would include constructing and retrofitting of physical 
infrastructure and facilities and adding personnel to manage and 
perform operations, which include maintenance of the aircraft. F-35A 
flight operations for proficiency training would occur at the base and 
use existing airspace and ranges. The F-35A Wing beddown alternatives 
identified for evaluation in the EIS include beddown of the three-
squadron F-35A Wing at Tyndall AFB, FL and an alternative with a fourth 
squadron of fifth generation fighter aircraft in addition to the three-
squadron F-35A Wing.
    The proposed MQ-9 Wing action is to beddown the MQ-9 remotely 
piloted aircraft system employed by the USAF in support of the 
Department of Defense directive to support initiatives of overseas 
contingency operations. The beddown of 24 MQ-9 aircraft would include a 
Wing Headquarters, an Operations Group, and Maintenance Group; 
construction and/or renovation of facilities would support staff and 
house MQ-9 aircraft. The number of base personnel would be increased to 
fulfill MQ-9 mission requirements. Flight operations for MQ-9 
proficiency training would occur at the selected base and in existing 
airspace and ranges. MQ-9 Wing beddown alternatives identified for 
evaluation in the EIS include beddown of the MQ-9 Wing at either 
Tyndall AFB, FL or Vandenberg AFB, CA. Tyndall AFB, FL was identified 
as the preferred alternative for this mission.
    The EIS will address potential environmental consequences resulting 
from implementation of each alternative for each of the proposed 
actions, as well as the combination of F-35A and MQ-9 actions at 
Tyndall AFB, FL. As required by NEPA, a No-Action Alternative, where 
the beddown of an F-35A Wing would not occur at Tyndall AFB, FL will 
also be addressed, as will the No-Action Alternative where the beddown 
of an MQ-9 Wing would not occur at either location. Bay County, Florida 
and Panama City, Florida are Cooperating Agencies for this EIS.
    Scoping and Agency Coordination: To effectively define the full 
range of issues to be evaluated in the EIS, the USAF will solicit 
written comments from interested local, state, and federal agencies and 
elected officials, Native American tribes, interested members of the 
public, and others. Public scoping meetings will be held in the local 
communities near the alternative bases. The scheduled dates, times, 
locations, and addresses for the public scoping meetings are 
concurrently being published in local media.

Adriane Paris,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-25537 Filed 11-22-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 5001-10-P