[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 57 (Tuesday, March 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16619-16620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06136]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Department of the Air Force


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the B-21 Main Operating Base 1 (MOB 1) Beddown at Dyess Air Force Base, 
Texas or Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota--Cancellation of Public 
Scoping Meetings

AGENCY: Department of the Air Force, DoD.

ACTION: Amended notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The United States Air Force (Air Force) is issuing this 
amended and updated notice from the original notice published on March 
6, 2020 (Federal Register, Vol. 85, No. 45, 13148) to advise the public 
of its continuing intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the B-21 Main Operating Base 1 (MOB 1) Beddown at Dyess Air 
Force Base (AFB), Texas or Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. As a direct 
result of the National Emergency declared by the President on Friday, 
March 13, 2020, in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 
the United States and the Center for Disease Control's recommendations 
for social distancing and avoiding large public gatherings, the Air 
Force is now canceling six public scoping meetings between March 31, 
2020 and April 9. In lieu of the public scoping meetings, the Air Force 
will use the alternative means set forth below to inform the public and 
stakeholders and to obtain input for scoping the proposed action.

ADDRESSES: Additional scoping-related information on the B-21 MOB 1 
Beddown EIS environmental impact analysis process can be found on the 
project website at www.B21EIS.com. The project website can also be used 
to submit comments. In the alternative, interested persons may submit 
written comments by mail or email. For those who do not have ready 
access to a computer or the internet, the scoping-related materials 
posted to the website will be made available upon request by mail or 
phone. Inquiries, requests for scoping-related materials, and comments 
by mail regarding the Air Force proposal should be directed to either 
the Dyess AFB Public Affairs,

[[Page 16620]]

ATTN: B-21 EIS, 7 Lancer Loop, Suite 136, Dyess AFB, TX 79607; (325) 
696-4820; [email protected]; or to Ellsworth AFB Public Affairs, ATTN: 
Steve Merrill, 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs, 1958 Scott Dr., Suite 4, 
Ellsworth AFB, SD 57706; (605) 385-5056; [email protected].
    Written scoping comments will be accepted at any time during the 
environmental impact analysis process up until the public release of 
the Draft EIS. However, to ensure the Air Force has sufficient time to 
consider public input in the preparation of the Draft EIS, scoping 
comments must be submitted to the website or postmarked to one of the 
addresses listed above by May 9, 2020.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS will assess the potential 
environmental consequences of the proposal to beddown the Department of 
Defense's new bomber aircraft, the B-21 ``Raider,'' which will 
eventually replace existing B-1 and B-2 bomber aircraft. The Air Force 
is preparing this EIS in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969; 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 
1500-1508, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations 
implementing NEPA; and the Air Force's Environmental Impact Analysis 
Process (EIAP) as codified in 32 CFR part 989.
    The beddown of the B-21 will take place through a series of three 
Main Operating Bases (MOB), referred to as MOB 1, MOB 2, and MOB 3. The 
Air Force proposes to beddown MOB 1, which includes two B-21 
Operational Squadrons, a B-21 Formal Training Unit (FTU), and a Weapons 
Generation Facility (WGF) in this EIS. MOB 2 and MOB 3 beddown 
locations would be evaluated in future NEPA analyses, after the 
location for MOB 1 is chosen. The B-21 will operate under the direction 
of the Air Force Global Strike Command. The B-21 will have both 
conventional and nuclear roles and will be capable of penetrating and 
surviving in advanced air defense environments. It is projected to 
enter service in the 2020s, and the Air Force intends to have at least 
100 B-21 aircraft built.
    Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action: The purpose of the 
Proposed Action is to implement the goals of the National Defense 
Strategy by modernizing the U.S. bomber fleet capabilities. The B-21 
Raider is being developed to carry conventional payloads and to support 
the nuclear triad by providing a visible and flexible nuclear deterrent 
capability that will assure allies and partners through the United 
States' commitment to international treaties. The B-21 will provide the 
only stealth bomber capability and capacity needed to deter, and if 
necessary, defeat our adversaries in an era of renewed great power 
competition.
    Description of the Proposed Action and Alternatives: The Air Force 
proposes to beddown MOB 1, which includes two B-21 Operational 
Squadrons, a B-21 Formal Training Unit (FTU), and a Weapons Generation 
Facility (WGF) in this EIS. MOB 1 will support training of crewmembers 
and personnel in the operation and maintenance of the B-21 aircraft in 
an appropriate geographic location that can provide sufficient 
airfield, facilities, infrastructure, and airspace to support the B-21 
training and operations. The EIS will analyze Dyess AFB and Ellsworth 
AFB as basing alternatives for MOB 1 for the Proposed Action, as well 
as a No Action Alternative. The basing alternatives were developed to 
minimize mission impact, maximize facility reuse, minimize cost, and 
reduce overhead, as well as leverage the strengths of each base to 
optimize the B-21 beddown strategy.
    Brief Summary of Expected Impacts: The potential impacts of the 
alternatives and the No Action Alternative that the EIS may examine 
include impacts to land use, airspace, safety, noise, hazardous 
materials and solid waste, physical resources (including earth and 
water resources), air quality, transportation, cultural resources, 
biological resources, socioeconomics, and environmental justice.
    Scoping and Agency Coordination: The scoping process will be used 
to involve the public early in the planning and development of the EIS, 
to help identify issues to be addressed in the environmental analysis. 
To effectively define the full range of issues and concerns to be 
evaluated in the EIS, the Air Force is soliciting scoping comments from 
interested local, state, and federal agencies and interested members of 
the public.
    As a direct result of the National Emergency declared by the 
President on Friday, March 13, 2020, in response to the coronavirus 
(COVID-19) pandemic in the United States and the Center for Disease 
Control's recommendations for social distancing and avoiding large 
public gatherings, the Air Force has canceled six public scoping 
meetings between March 31, 2020 and April 9.
    This amended notice of intent will be published in the Rapid City 
Journal and Black Hills Pioneer newspapers in South Dakota, the Abilene 
Reporter News and The Wylie News newspapers in Texas, as well as the 
Native Sun News, Indian Country Today and the Original Briefs tribal 
newspapers.
    Request for Written Comments: The Air Force seeks written comments 
in the manner or methods listed in the ADDRESSES paragraph above on 
potential alternatives and impacts and identification of any relevant 
information, studies, or analyses of any kind concerning impacts 
affecting the quality of the human environment.

Adriane S. Paris,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-06136 Filed 3-23-20; 8:45 am]
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