[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 173 (Friday, September 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55263-55264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19620]


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

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army


Environmental Impact Statement for Army Training Land Retention 
at P[omacr]hakuloa Training Area in Hawai[revaps]i

AGENCY: Department of the Army; Defense (DOD).

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) and the Hawai[revaps]i Environmental Policy Act (HEPA), the 
Department of the Army (Army) announces its intent to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address the Army's proposed 
retention of up to approximately 23,000 acres of land currently leased 
to the Army by the state of Hawai[revaps]i (``State-owned land'') at 
P[omacr]hakuloa Training Area (PTA) on the island of Hawai[revaps]i. As 
the proposed retention involves State-owned land, the EIS will be a 
joint NEPA-HEPA document; therefore, the public scoping processes will 
run concurrently and will jointly meet NEPA and HEPA requirements.

DATES: The Army invites public comments on the scope of the EIS during 
a 40-day public scoping period, beginning on the publication date of 
this Notice of Intent in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted via the EIS website at: 
https://home.army.mil/hawaii/index.php/PTAEIS. Alternatively, comments 
can be emailed to [email protected], or mailed to: ATLR PTA 
EIS Comments, P.O. Box 3444, Honolulu, HI 96801-3444.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Mr. Michael Donnelly, 
PTA Public Affairs Officer, at (808) 969-2411 or by email to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PTA has been used for training as early as 
1938, but was not used routinely until 1943. PTA was formally 
established in 1956

[[Page 55264]]

through a maneuver agreement granted by the Territory of 
Hawai[revaps]i. In 1964, the State granted a 65-year lease of 
approximately 23,000 acres of land to the Army for military purposes. 
The lease expires on August 16, 2029. The 23,000 acres of State-owned 
land contain utilities, critical infrastructure, maneuver land, and key 
training facilities, some of which are not available elsewhere in 
Hawai[revaps]i. The land also provides access to approximately 110,000 
acres of adjacent U.S. Government-owned land at PTA.
    PTA encompasses approximately 132,000 acres of land used for 
training military personnel for combat. It is the only U.S. training 
area in the Pacific region where training units can complete all 
mission essential tasks, and the only U.S. training facility in the 
Pacific region that can accommodate larger than company-sized units for 
live-fire and maneuver exercises. The U.S. Army Hawaii (USARHAW) and 
other U.S. military units that train at PTA include the 25th Infantry 
Division, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Hawaii National 
Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve.
    The Army's retention of State-owned land within PTA is needed to 
enable USARHAW to continue to conduct military training to meet its 
current and future training requirements.
    Retention of State-owned land is needed to allow access between 
major parcels of U.S. Government-owned land at PTA, retain substantial 
Army infrastructure investments, allow for future facility and 
infrastructure modernization, preserve limited maneuver area, provide 
austere environment training, and maximize use of the impact area in 
support of USARHAW-coordinated training. To understand the 
environmental consequences of the decision to be made, the EIS will 
evaluate the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of a 
range of reasonable alternatives that meet the purpose of, and need 
for, the Proposed Action. Alternatives to be considered, including the 
no action alternative, are (1) Full Retention, (2) Modified Retention, 
and (3) Minimum Retention and Access. Other reasonable alternatives 
raised during the scoping process and capable of meeting the project 
purpose and need will be considered for evaluation in the EIS.
    Native Hawaiian organizations; Federal, state, and local agencies; 
and the public are invited to be involved in the scoping process for 
the preparation of this EIS by participating in a scoping meeting and/
or submitting written comments. The scoping process will help identify 
potential environmental impacts and key issues of concern to be 
analyzed in the EIS. Written comments must be sent within 40 days of 
publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. 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 Army will not hold 
public scoping meetings for this action. In lieu of the public scoping 
meetings, the Army will use other alternative means to enable public 
participation such as virtual meetings using online meeting/
collaboration tools, teleconference, social media, or email, as 
appropriate. An EIS Scoping Virtual Open House and two in-person 
scoping comment stations will be held on Wednesday, September 23, 2020 
from 4-9 p.m. During the EIS Scoping Virtual Open House, video 
presentations can be viewed online at https://home.army.mil/hawaii/index.php/PTAEIS and oral and written comments will be accepted. Oral 
comments will be accepted via phone by calling (808) 300-0220. The two 
in-person scoping comment stations will also be open to the public to 
accept oral comments via phone and written comments: One in-person 
scoping comment station will be in Hilo, and the other will be in 
Waimea, both on the island of Hawai[revaps]i; individuals making 
comments will maintain recommended social distance. Notification of the 
EIS Scoping Virtual Open House and in-person scoping comment stations 
date and time will also be published and announced in local news media 
outlets and on the EIS website. For those who do not have ready access 
to a computer or the internet, the scoping materials posted to the EIS 
website will be made available upon request by mail. Inquiries and 
requests for scoping materials may be made to Michael Donnelly, PTA 
Public Affairs Officer at (808) 969-2411 or by email at 
[email protected].

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-19620 Filed 9-3-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5061-AP-P