[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 122 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 38010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13570]



[[Page 38010]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Availability of the Finding of No Significant Impact/
Record of Decision and Adoption of the Wyoming Army National Guard 
Environmental Assessment for the Establishment of Controlled Firing 
Areas

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI)/Record of Decision (ROD).

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SUMMARY: The FAA announces its decision to adopt the Wyoming Army 
National Guard (WYARNG) Environmental Assessment (EA), entitled 
Training and Maneuver Activities at Camp Guernsey, Guernsey, Wyoming, 
for the establishment of three Controlled Firing Areas (CFA) at Camp 
Guernsey. Under the Proposed Action, the CFAs would be established for 
up to two years. This notice announces that, based on its independent 
review and evaluation of the EA and supporting documents, the FAA is 
adopting portions of the EA associated with the CFAs and issuing a 
FONSI/ROD for the establishment of the Camp Guernsey CFAs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shawn M. Kozica, Manager, Operations 
Support Group, Western Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, 
2200 S 216th St., Des Moines, WA, 98198-6547; telephone: (206) 231-
2251.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The FAA Proposed Action is the establishment of three CFAs: CFA 
North, CFA West, and CFA South. The CFAs would be established, up to 
two years, and would be replaced by the permanent establishment of 
three RAs: R-7002A, R-7002C, and R-7002B, respectively. While the EA 
analyzed both CFAs and RAs, only the CFAs are ripe for an FAA decision 
at this time and are the subject of the FAA's FONSI/ROD.
    Given the temporary nature of CFAs, as well as the timeline for the 
establishment of the permanent RAs, the WYARNG is first pursuing the 
establishment of CFAs. The CFAs would permit usage of the proposed 
airspace for hazardous activities for two years until the RA has been 
established. During the two-year interim period following the 
establishment of the CFAs, the WYARNG would prepare and submit an 
Aeronautical Proposal to the FAA for the establishment of three RAs: R-
7002A, R-7002B, and R-7002C.
    The WYARNG's Proposed Action consists of both land-based activities 
(training and maneuver) and airspace activities that require Special 
Use Airspace (SUA) in the form of a CFA or Restricted Area (RA). Some 
of the proposed land-based activities use field artillery that requires 
the establishment of surface distance zones (SDZ) for safety reasons. 
These SDZs provide separation of the field artillery from aircraft 
(civilian and military traversing the airspace). The proposed CFAs and 
RAs would accommodate the SDZs.

Implementation

    After evaluating the EA, the FAA has issued a FONSI/ROD to 
establish three CFAs. CFA North would be established up to and 
including 16,000 feet mean sea level (MSL), and would be used 
approximately 20 days per year. CFA South would be established up to 
and including 12,500 feet MSL and would be used approximately 20 days 
per year. CFA West would be established up to and including 17,500 feet 
MSL and would be used approximately 20 days per year.
    In accordance with Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) 
regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and other 
applicable authorities (including FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental 
Impacts: Policies and Procedures, paragraph 8-2, and FAA Order JO 
7400.2M, Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters, paragraph 32-2-3), 
the FAA has conducted an independent review and evaluation of the 
WYARNG's EA, dated March 2020. As a cooperating agency with 
responsibility for approving SUA under 49 U.S.C. 40103(b)(3)(A), the 
FAA provided subject matter expertise and coordinated with the WYARNG 
during the environmental review process. The implementation of the 
proposed CFAs would fulfill the FAA's requirements to ensure the safe 
and efficient use of navigable airspace pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 
47101(a)(1), which describes the FAA's authority and regulatory 
responsibilities.
    The WYARNG provided the Draft EA for public review from February 
25-March 11, 2020, and one comment was received from the Bureau of 
Reclamation indicating an incorrect date of the Free Use Permit. The 
date has since been corrected in the EA.
    The FONSI/ROD and EA are available upon request by contacting Shawn 
M. Kozica, Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center, 
Federal Aviation Administration, 2200 S 216th St., Des Moines, WA, 
98198-6547; telephone: (206) 231-2251.

Shawn M. Kozica,
Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2020-13570 Filed 6-23-20; 8:45 am]
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