[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68471-68472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24783]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Air Force


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the KC-46A Main Operating Base 5 (MOB 5) Beddown at Grissom ARB, 
Indiana, March ARB, California Or Tinker AFB, Oklahoma

AGENCY: Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is issuing this Notice 
of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to 
assess the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts 
associated with the KC-46A Main Operating Base 5 (MOB 5) Beddown. The 
DAF is proposing to beddown KC-46A tanker aircraft, personnel, and 
associated infrastructure in support of the MOB 5 mission at one of 
three installations with March Air Reserve Base (ARB), California as 
the preferred alternative or at Grissom ARB, Indiana or Tinker Air 
Force Base (AFB), Oklahoma as reasonable alternatives.

DATES: A public scoping period will take place starting from the date 
of this NOI publication in the Federal Register. This scoping period 
will be conducted in compliance with NEPA and Section 106 consultation 
pursuant to Code of Federal Regulations title 36, section 800.2(d). 
Identification of potential alternatives, information, and analyses 
relevant to the Proposed Action are requested and will be accepted at 
any time during the EIS process. To ensure DAF 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 below 
by December 21, 2022. The Draft EIS is anticipated in Summer 2023 and 
the Final EIS is anticipated in Spring 2024. The Record of Decision 
would be approved and signed no earlier than 30 days after the Final 
EIS.
    The DAF intends to hold open house scoping meetings from 5 p.m. to 
8 p.m. in the following communities on the following dates:
    1. March ARB--November 29, 2022, at the March Field Air Museum, 
22550 Van Buren Blvd., Riverside, CA 92518
    2. Tinker AFB--December 1, 2022, at the Sheraton Midwest City Hotel 
and Reed Conference Center, 5750 Will Rodgers Rd., Midwest City, OK 
73110
    3. Grissom ARB--December 6, 2022, at the Milestone Event Center, 
1458 North Liberator Rd., Peru, IN 46970

ADDRESSES: The project website (www.kc-46a-mob5.com) provides 
information on the EIS and the scoping process and can be used to 
submit scoping comments online. Scoping comments may also be submitted 
to Mr. Austin Naranjo, AFCEC/CZN, Attn: KC-46A MOB 5 EIS, 2261 Hughes 
Ave., Ste 155, JBSA Lackland, TX 78236-9853 or via email to: 
[email protected]. Courier deliveries should be addressed 
to: Mr. Austin Naranjo, AFCEC/CZN, Attn: KC-46A MOB 5 EIS, 3515 S 
General McMullen, Suite 155, San Antonio, TX 78226-2018 (phone 478-222-
9225). EIS inquiries and requests for digital or print copies of 
scoping materials are available upon request at the email or mailing 
address provided. For printed material requests, the standard U.S. 
Postal Service shipping timeline will apply. Members of the public who 
want to receive future

[[Page 68472]]

mailings informing them on the availability of the Draft and Final EIS 
are encouraged to submit a comment that includes their name and email 
or postal mailing address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 24, 2022, the DAF announced that 
March ARB, California, has been identified as the preferred alternative 
for the KC-46A MOB 5 Beddown. Grissom ARB, Indiana, and Tinker AFB, 
Oklahoma, were identified as the reasonable alternatives. Along with 
the No Action Alternative, all three bases will be equally evaluated in 
the EIS. The MOB 5 mission includes the beddown of 12 KC-46A aircraft 
at one installation. The KC-46A aircraft would recapitalize the KC-135 
tanker fleet and would continue supporting the mission of providing 
worldwide refueling, cargo, and aeromedical evacuation support. The 
purpose of the MOB 5 beddown is to provide a fully capable, combat-
operational AFRC KC-46A air refueling squadron or squadrons to 
accomplish aerial refueling and related missions. The KC-46A MOB 5 
beddown is needed to support the recapitalization of the DAF's aging 
refueling aircraft fleet. The DAF needs bases to accomplish the 
required training and to field a fully operational force. A DAF base 
for the MOB 5 mission is needed to achieve a high state of operational 
mission readiness.
    Resource areas being analyzed for impacts in the EIS include air 
quality, biological resources, cultural resources, environmental 
justice and other sensitive receptors, hazardous materials and wastes, 
infrastructure, noise, land use, safety, socioeconomics and soils and 
water resources. Primary impacts from the KC-46A MOB 5 beddown are 
expected to the air quality and noise resource areas. Potential impacts 
under the Proposed Action at Grissom ARB, March ARB and Tinker AFB are 
anticipated to be less than significant or mitigatable to less than 
significant. Permits required for the action may include revisions to 
or new permits associated with air quality, land disturbance, and 
hazardous wastes. The DAF will consult with appropriate resource 
agencies and Native American tribes to determine the potential for 
significant impacts. Consultation will be incorporated into the 
preparation of the EIS and will include, but not be limited to, 
consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and 
consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act.
    Scoping and Agency Coordination: To effectively define the full 
range of issues to be evaluated in the EIS, the DAF will determine the 
scope of the analysis by soliciting comments from interested local, 
state, and federal elected officials and agencies, Tribes, as well as 
interested members of the public and others. Implementation of the KC-
46A MOB 5 mission at Tinker AFB would potentially impact wetlands and/
or floodplains and would therefore be subject to Executive Order (E.O.) 
11990, ``Protection of Wetlands,'' and E.O. 11988, ``Floodplain 
Management''. Regulatory agencies with special expertise in wetlands 
and floodplains, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be 
contacted and asked to comment. Consistent with E.O. 11988 and E.O. 
11990, this Notice of Intent initiates early public review of the 
Proposed Action and alternatives and invites public comments and 
identification of potential alternatives. Implementation of the KC-46A 
MOB 5 mission also has the potential to impact historic properties. 
Consultation with the appropriate State Historic Preservation Officers 
as well as Native American Tribes will occur as part of this process. 
Concurrent with the publication of this NOI, public scoping notices 
will be announced locally. The project website at www.kc-46a-mob5.com 
provides posters, a project brochure and downloadable comment forms to 
fill out and return by mail. Scoping meetings will be held in the local 
communities near the alternative bases. The scheduled dates, times, 
locations, and addresses for the scoping meetings will also be 
published in local media a minimum of 15 days prior to the scoping 
meetings.

Adriane Paris,
Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-24783 Filed 11-14-22; 8:45 am]
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