[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 51 (Monday, March 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 14928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05265]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

 Department of the Air Force


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
Proposed Mortar and Artillery Training at Richardson Training Area, 
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK

AGENCY: Department of the Air Force, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the U.S. Army, acting as a 
Cooperating Agency, are issuing this Notice of Intent to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential social, 
economic, and environmental impacts associated with modifying the 
conditions under which indirect live-fire weapons training can be 
conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), in order to meet 
Army training standards at home station.

DATES: The USAF will conduct formal scoping meetings for the public to 
learn more about the proposed action, and to provide comments. Scoping 
meetings will occur in Anchorage and Eagle River on the following dates 
and times: Monday, April 13, 2020, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Z.J. 
Loussac Library (Anchorage Public library) Learning Commons, 3600 
Denali Street, Anchorage, Alaska and Tuesday, April 14, 2020, from 6 
p.m. to 9 p.m., Eagle River Town Center Community Meeting Room, 12001 
Business Blvd., Suite 170, Eagle River, Alaska.
    The dates and times of scoping meetings will also be posted on the 
project website and will be announced in local newspapers of general 
circulation no less than 15 days prior to the meetings.

ADDRESSES: The project website (https://JBER-PMART-EIS.com) provides 
more information on the EIS and can be used to submit scoping comments. 
Scoping comments may also be submitted to: JBER Public Affairs, 
[email protected], (907) 552-8151; (U.S. Post Office) JBER Public 
Affairs c/o Matthew Beattie, 10480 Sijan Ave., Suite 123, Joint Base 
Elmendorf-Richardson, AK 99506. Comments will be accepted at any time 
during the EIS process. To ensure the USAF has sufficient time to 
consider public input in the preparation of the Draft EIS, scoping 
comments should be submitted to the website or the address listed above 
by April 26, 2020.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS will evaluate the potential impacts 
associated with the proposed action, which includes indirect live-fire 
training during all-seasons at the Eagle River Flats (ERF) Impact Area 
on JBER, a military base in Alaska, in order to fully meet Army 
training standards. The proposed action also includes expansion of the 
ERF impact area by approximately 585 acres. In addition, the EIS will 
evaluate an action alternative that would marginally meet Army training 
standards, and would not include expansion of the ERF impact area. The 
no action alternative will also be evaluated in the EIS, under which 
the Army would continue to train with the existing seasonal 
restrictions and which would require JBER home station units to deploy 
to other Army-controlled training lands to conduct required training. 
The USAF is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) lead agency 
and the U.S. Army is a cooperating agency for this EIS process.
    A Notice of Intent for a similar action was issued in 2007; 
however, this Notice of Intent supersedes the Notice of Intent that was 
issued in 2007.
    Additional review and consultation which will be incorporated into 
the preparation of the Draft EIS will include, but are not necessarily 
limited to consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act 
and consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.
    The proposed actions at JBER have the potential to be located in a 
floodplain and/or wetland. Consistent with the requirements and 
objectives of Executive Order (E.O.) 11990, ``Protection of Wetlands,'' 
and E.O. 11988, ``Floodplain Management,'' state and federal regulatory 
agencies with special expertise in wetlands and floodplains will be 
contacted to request comment. Consistent with E.O. 11988 and E.O. 
11990, this Notice of Intent initiates early public review of the 
proposed actions and alternatives, which have the potential to be 
located in a floodplain and/or wetland.
    Scoping and Agency Coordination: To effectively define the full 
range of issues to be evaluated in the EIS, the Air Force will 
determine the scope of the analysis by soliciting comments from 
interested local, state, and federal elected officials and agencies, 
Alaska Native organizations, as well as interested members of the 
public and others. This is being done by providing a website where the 
public can submit comments and/or by having comments mailed to the 
mailing address provided above.

Adriane Paris,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-05265 Filed 3-13-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 5001-10-P