[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]
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