[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 61 (Monday, March 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17544-17545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06568]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Air Force


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Legislative Environmental Impact 
Statement and Notice of Cancellation of Scoping Meetings for the 
Proposed Extension of the Military Land Withdrawal at Barry M. 
Goldwater Range, Arizona

AGENCY: Department of the Air Force and United States Marine Corps, 
Department of Defense.

ACTION: Amended notice of intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Air Force (USAF) (co-lead agency), in 
coordination with the United States Marine Corps (USMC) (co-lead 
agency), is issuing this amended notice to advise the public of the 
continuing intent to prepare a Legislative Environmental Impact 
Statement (LEIS) for the proposed extension of the Barry M. Goldwater 
Range (BMGR) land withdrawal and reservation in Arizona. The LEIS will 
also address a proposal to withdrawal approximately 2,366 acres of 
additional public land adjacent to Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary 
Airfield to enhance the security and safety of flight operations at the 
airfield. However, 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 five public 
scoping meetings between April 9, 2020 and April 30, 2020. 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: Information on the BMGR land withdrawal and the LEIS process 
can be accessed at the project website at www.barry-m-goldwater-leis.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 regarding the USAF/USMC 
proposal may be submitted by mail to BMGR Land Withdrawal LEIS, P.O. 
Box 2324, Phoenix, AZ 85003, or email to [email protected], or by 
phone to Mr. Jon Haliscak at 210-395-0615.
    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 and Marine Corps have 
sufficient time to consider public input in the preparation of the 
Draft LEIS, scoping comments must be submitted to the website or mailed 
to one of the

[[Page 17545]]

addresses listed above no later than June 3, 2020.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The current BMGR land withdrawal and 
reservation expires in October 2024. In accordance with the Military 
Lands Withdrawal Act of 1999, the USAF and USMC have notified Congress 
of a continuing military need for the BMGR. National defense land 
withdrawal applications have been prepared and submitted to the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM) in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976.
    Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action: The purpose of extending 
the BMGR land withdrawal and reservation is to retain one of the 
nation's premier ranges for training tactical air-combat aircrews and 
other military personnel to fight, survive, and win in the air-ground 
battlespace, including development and testing of tactics. The 
readiness of air and ground forces is dependent on the quantity and 
quality of tactics development/testing and training that warfighters 
receive, which, in turn, is reliant on the capacities and capabilities 
of the ranges available to support their training. The BMGR's 
attributes of favorable location and flying weather, suitable land and 
airspace, diverse terrain, and developed training support facilities 
make it one of the most capable and productive tactical aviation ranges 
available to U.S. forces, and critical to supporting essential training 
both now and into the foreseeable future.
    Description of the Proposed Action and Alternatives: The LEIS will 
analyze various alternatives for extending authorization for the BMGR. 
Preliminary alternatives have been developed. Comments received during 
scoping may result in changes or additions to these alternatives.
    Alternative 1 would reauthorize the existing land withdrawal and 
management of BMGR for another 25 years. The USAF and USMC would 
continue to manage the withdrawn public lands in BMGR East and BMGR 
West, respectively. The USAF and USMC, through the Offices of the 
Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) and Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), 
would continue to consult with the Secretary of the Department of the 
Interior (SECDOI) before using the BMGR for non-reserved purposes. The 
existing boundary and land area of the BMGR, which encompasses 
approximately 1,733,921 acres, would not change. Alternative 1A would 
implement Alternative 1 except the period of withdrawal would be for 
another 50 years. Alternative 1B would implement Alternative 1 except 
the withdrawal would be for an indefinite period until the BMGR is no 
longer needed by the USAF and USMC. Alternative 1C would permanently 
transfer administrative jurisdiction of the lands comprising BMGR East 
and BMGR West to SECAF and SECNAV, respectively. Alternative 2 would 
reauthorize the existing land withdrawal and management of BMGR for 
another 25 years, but the BMGR East boundary would be extended to 
include the Gila Bend Addition, an area contiguous to and south of the 
Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field that consists of approximately 
2,366 acres of federal public land. USAF and USMC would continue to 
manage the withdrawn public lands in BMGR East and BMGR West, 
respectively. The SECAF and SECNAV would continue to consult with the 
SECDOI before using the BMGR for non-reserved purposes. Alternative 2A 
would implement Alternative 2 except the period of withdrawal would be 
for another 50 years. Alternative 2B would implement Alternative 2 
except the withdrawal would be for an indefinite period until the BMGR 
is no longer needed by the USAF and USMC. Alternative 2C would 
permanently transfer administrative jurisdiction of the lands 
comprising BMGR East and the Gila Bend Addition to SECAF and BMGR West 
to SECNAV. The No Action alternative would consist of Congress not 
extending the land withdrawal, and the current land withdrawal and 
reservation would expire in October 2024. Military training and testing 
use of the range surface would end, including missions involving live-
fire use of air-to-air, air-to-ground, ground-to-ground, or ground-to-
air munitions. If Congress declines to extend the withdrawal and 
reservation of the BMGR, responsibility for the formerly withdrawn 
public lands in the BMGR would revert to Department of the Interior.
    Brief Summary of Expected Impacts: The LEIS will consider potential 
impacts to land use, airspace, safety, noise, hazardous materials and 
waste, earth resources, water resources, air quality, transportation, 
wilderness and wilderness study areas, cultural resources, biological 
resources, socioeconomics, environmental justice, and any additional 
resources or alternatives identified through the scoping process.
    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 LEIS, the USAF and USMC are soliciting scoping 
comments from interested local, state, and federal agencies, Native 
American tribes, 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 the five public scoping meetings previously 
scheduled to occur between April 9, 2020 and April 30, 2020. This 
amended notice of intent cancelling the five previously scheduled 
public scoping meetings will also be published in the Arizona Daily 
Star (Tucson), Ajo Copper News, Gila Bend Sun, Arizona Republic 
(Phoenix metropolitan area), Casa Grande Dispatch, The Glendale Star, 
Yuma Sun, Baja El Sol (Yuma), La Voz (Phoenix), and The Runner (Tohono 
O'odham Nation) newspapers.

Adriane Paris,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-06568 Filed 3-27-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 5001-10-P