[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47927-47928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12132]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Air Force


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for F-35A Lightning II Formal Training Unit Beddown at Kingsley 
Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, Oregon

AGENCY: National Guard Bureau, 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 beddown of F-35A aircraft that would replace the legacy 
F-15C/D aircraft at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base in Klamath 
Falls, Oregon. The DAF and NGB are joint lead agencies preparing the 
EIS and the Federal Aviation Administration is participating as a 
cooperating agency.

[[Page 47928]]


DATES: A public scoping period of 30 days will take place starting from 
the date of this NOI publication in the Federal Register. 
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 sufficient time to consider 
public input in the preparation of the Draft EIS, scoping comments 
should be submitted in writing to the website, or the address listed 
below within the 30-day scoping period. An in-person scoping meeting is 
scheduled at Klamath Falls, OR on June 26, 2024 at the Crater Lake-
Klamath Regional Airport. The Draft EIS is anticipated in Spring 2025 
and the Final EIS is anticipated in Spring 2026. The Record of Decision 
would be approved and signed no earlier than 30 days after the Final 
EIS is published.

ADDRESSES: The project website www.KingsleyFieldF35EIS.com provides 
information on the EIS and the scoping process and can be used to 
submit scoping comments on-line. Scoping comments may also be submitted 
by email to NGB.A4.A4A.NEPA.COMMENTS.org@us.af.mil">NGB.A4.A4A.NEPA.COMMENTS.org@us.af.mil, including ``F-35A 
Beddown EIS'' in the subject line, or by mail to Mr. Devin Scherer, 
National Guard Bureau, NGB/A4FR 3501 Fetchet Avenue, Joint Base 
Andrews, MD 20762; (240) 612-8244. EIS inquiries and requests for 
digital or print copies of scoping materials are available upon request 
to Mr. Scherer 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 mailings 
informing them about the availability of the Draft and Final EIS, or to 
receive periodic fact sheets, are encouraged to submit a comment that 
includes their name and email or postal mailing address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Proposed Action is to 
replace aging F-15C/D aircraft currently utilized by the 173d Fighter 
Wing (173 FW) with the state-of-the-art fighter aircraft to better 
address future mission requirements, offer expanded capability, and 
provide life-cycle cost savings in comparison to continued operation of 
existing F-15C/D aircraft. The Proposed Action is needed because the F-
15C/D aircraft are reaching the end of their service life. The EIS will 
assess the potential environmental consequences of beddown, operation, 
and associated infrastructure construction of one formal training unit 
squadron of F-35A Lightning II (F-35A) aircraft at Kingsley Field Air 
National Guard Base (ANGB) at the Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport 
in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The squadron would consist of 24 F-35A 
Primary Aerospace Vehicles Authorized and two Backup Aerospace Vehicles 
Authorized and would replace the existing 26 F-15C/D aircraft currently 
operating at Kingsley Field ANGB. The EIS will also assess a No Action 
Alternative.
    Resource areas being analyzed for include noise, biological 
resources, cultural resources, socioeconomics, soils and geology, water 
resources, infrastructure and transportation, land use, hazardous 
materials and wastes, health and safety, air quality, and environmental 
justice and other sensitive receptors. Potential significant impacts 
include those related to aircraft noise, air quality, and land use. 
Should any permits or other authorizations be required, the NGB and DAF 
will identify and obtain each. The EIS will be prepared in accordance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969; the Council 
on Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA; 40 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 1500-1508 as well as agency 
implementing regulations.
    Scoping and Agency Coordination: Consultation will include, but not 
necessarily be limited to, Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and will include 
consultations with federally recognized Native American Tribes. The 
scoping process will be used to involve the public early in the 
planning and development of the EIS to assist in identifying issues and 
information to be addressed in the analysis. To effectively define the 
full range of issues to be evaluated, NGB and DAF will determine the 
scope of the analysis by requesting comments, including potential 
alternatives, information, and analyses from interested local, State, 
and Federal elected officials and agencies, Tribes, members of the 
public, and others. Comments will be accepted throughout the process, 
but in order to have comments incorporated into the Draft EIS, comments 
should be received within 30 days of the publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. The scheduled dates, times, locations, and 
addresses for the scoping meetings are concurrently being published in 
local media and on the website. Public scoping will be accomplished by 
an in-person meeting during the scoping period and the project website 
will provide posters, a presentation, informational fact sheets, 
downloadable comment forms to fill out and return by mail, and the 
capability for the public to submit scoping comments on-line. Comments 
received at the scoping meeting, via email, on the website, or by U.S. 
mail will be considered equally.

Tommy W. Lee,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-12132 Filed 6-3-24; 8:45 am]
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