[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75564-75565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24302]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army


Arlington National Cemetery, Withdrawal of Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement Regarding Removal of the 
Confederate Memorial

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army is announcing withdrawal of its 
Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

[[Page 75565]]

The August 4, 2023, notice announced the Army's intention to prepare an 
EIS under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS would 
have addressed potential environmental effects associated with the 
congressionally-mandated removal of the Confederate Memorial from 
Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). The Army determined the 
congressionally-mandated removal action is a non-discretionary action. 
There would be no reasonably foreseeable significant impacts from any 
discretionary elements of the proposed action. An EIS is therefore not 
needed to inform any decision-making for this action. The Army will 
prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze and disclose any 
effects of the discretionary elements of the proposed action, including 
how to disassemble the Confederate Memorial.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Renea Yates, Director, Office of 
Army Cemeteries, 1 Memorial Avenue, Arlington, VA 22211; email: [email protected] (Note: This email is for administrative 
inquiries only. Any comments regarding the proposed action should not 
be sent to this email address, but should instead be submitted via 
comment form located at: https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/About/Confederate-Memorial-Removal.); (877) 907-8585.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NOI was published in the Federal 
Register on August 4, 2023 (88 FR 149).
    Congress directed the establishment of the Commission on the Naming 
of Items of the DoD that Commemorate the Confederate States of America 
or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of 
America (the Naming Commission) in section 370 of the William M. (Mac) 
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 
(FY21 NDAA). Regarding the Confederate Memorial, the Naming Commission 
recommended the following:

--``The statue atop . . . the monument should be removed. All bronze 
elements on the monument should be deconstructed, and removed, 
preferably leaving the granite base and foundation in place to minimize 
risk of inadvertent disturbance of graves.''
--``The work should be planned and coordinated with the Commission of 
Fine Arts and the Historical Review Commission to determine the best 
way to proceed with removal of the monument.''
--``The Department of [the] Army should consider the most cost-
effective method of removal and disposal of the monument's elements in 
their planning.''

    The FY21 NDAA, section 370(a), requires that ``[n]ot later than 
[January 1, 2024], the Secretary of Defense shall implement the plan 
submitted by [the Naming Commission] and remove all names, symbols, 
displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the 
Confederate States of America . . . or any person who served 
voluntarily with the Confederate States of America from all assets of 
the Department of Defense.''
    The purpose of the proposed action is to remove from ANC a monument 
that commemorates the Confederate States of America. The need for the 
proposed action is to comply with non-discretionary congressional 
direction.
    The public scoping process did not reveal evidence of any 
reasonably foreseeable significant impacts resulting from discretionary 
actions. Overwhelmingly, public comments during the scoping process 
focused on the non-discretionary action of removing the Confederate 
Memorial from ANC. Because removal of the Confederate Memorial from ANC 
is legally required and non-discretionary, the question of whether to 
remove the monument is not subject to analysis under NEPA. The Army 
does not have the authority to take environmental factors into 
consideration in determining whether to remove the monument.
    The Army will prepare an EA to analyze discretionary actions (i.e., 
how to disassemble and remove the Confederate Memorial's bronze 
elements). The EA and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (Draft 
FONSI) will be published locally and not in the Federal Register. The 
EA and Draft FONSI will also be available online at: https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/About/Confederate-Memorial-Removal.

James W. Satterwhite Jr.,
U.S. Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-24302 Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
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