[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77113-77114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21123]



[[Page 77113]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Public Meetings for the Draft Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement 
for Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (ID# SEIS-007-17-USN-
1723491961)

AGENCY: Department of the Navy (DoN), Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act- (NEPA) of 
1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality 
regulations, and Presidential Executive Order 12114, the Department of 
the Navy (DoN), as the lead agency, and U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) 
have prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a 
Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Overseas 
Environmental Impact Statement (OEIS) that evaluates the reasonably 
foreseeable effects on the human environment of Navy, Marine Corps, and 
Coast Guard training and testing activities conducted within the 
Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) Study Area.

DATES: The 60-day public comment period begins on September 20, 2024, 
and ends November 21, 2024. The comment period includes an additional 
15 calendar days (from the required 45 days) to allow the public more 
time to review and comment. The public can submit comments during the 
Draft EIS/OEIS public review and comment period at one of the in-person 
public meetings, online at the project website, or by U.S. mail. All 
comments must be postmarked or received electronically by 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on November 21, 2024, for consideration in 
the Final Supplemental EIS/OEIS.
    Three in-person public meetings in the form of an open-house will 
be held to inform the public about the proposed action and alternatives 
and about the opportunity to provide written and oral comments on the 
Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS.
    The in-person public meetings will be held as follows:
    1. Tuesday, October 8, 2024, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT New Bedford 
Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740.
    2. Thursday, October 10, 2024, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT Silver Spring 
Civic Building at Veterans Plaza, 1 Veterans Pl, Silver Spring, MD 
20910.
    3. Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Central Daylight 
Time (CDT)) New Orleans Marriott Metairie at Lakeway, 3838 N Causeway 
Blvd., Metairie, LA 70002.
    Two virtual public meetings in the form of a webinar and question 
and answer session will be held for the public to learn about the 
proposed action and alternatives. The virtual public meetings will be 
held as follows:
    1. Tuesday, October 22, 2024, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT.
    2. Thursday, October 24, 2024, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT.
    Registration for the virtual public meetings is available at the 
project website www.nepa.navy.mil/aftteis/. Recordings of the virtual 
public meetings will be posted to the project website at 
www.nepa.navy.mil/aftteis/ for the public to view following their 
completion.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS may be provided 
at the in-person public meetings, submitted electronically through the 
project website: www.nepa.navy.mil/aftteis/, or by mail to: Naval 
Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic; Attention: Code EV22SG 
(AFTT EIS Project Managers); 6506 Hampton Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23508-
1278.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S. Fleet Forces Command, 1562 
Mitscher Avenue Suite 250, Norfolk, VA 23551-2487, Attention: Mr. 
Theodore Brown, Installations and Environment Public Affairs Officer, 
757-836-4427, [email protected], or visit the project 
website www.nepa.navy.mil/aftteis/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DoN and Coast Guard's Proposed Action is to 
conduct military readiness training activities, and research, 
development, testing, and evaluation activities in the AFTT Study Area. 
These military readiness activities include the use of active sonar and 
explosives within existing range complexes and testing ranges and 
additional areas located in the Atlantic Ocean along the eastern coast 
of North America, in portions of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, 
at Navy pierside locations and port transit channels, near civilian 
ports, and in bays, harbors, and inland waterways (e.g., the lower 
Chesapeake Bay). These military readiness activities are generally 
consistent with those analyzed in the AFTT EIS/OEIS completed in 2018 
and are representative of training and testing that the Navy has been 
conducting in the AFTT Study Area for decades. Since the completion of 
the 2018 Final EIS/OEIS, the best available science has been updated, 
the regulatory environment has changed, the Study Area has changed, and 
what is known about our impacts has been refined. All of this has been 
incorporated into this Supplemental EIS/OEIS analysis. The National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries 
Service (NMFS) is a Cooperating Agency for the Supplemental EIS/OEIS.
    The purpose of the Proposed Action is to ensure the Action 
Proponents, including the Coast Guard, are able to organize, train, and 
equip service members and personnel to meet their respective national 
defense missions in accordance with their Congressionally mandated 
requirements.
    Potential direct, indirect, cumulative, short-term, long-term, 
irreversible, and irretrievable impacts to the environment from two 
action alternatives and a No Action Alternative are evaluated in the 
Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS. Resources evaluated in detail include air 
quality, sediments and water quality, vegetation, invertebrates, marine 
habitats, fish, marine mammals, sea turtles and other marine reptiles, 
and birds and bats.
    Based on the results of the analysis, the DoN and Coast Guard have 
requested from NMFS a Letter of Authorization in accordance with the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act to authorize the incidental take of marine 
mammals that may result from the implementation of the activities 
analyzed in the AFTT Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS. In accordance with 
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, DoN and Coast Guard are 
consulting with NMFS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for potential 
impacts to federally listed species. DoN and Coast Guard will complete 
all required consultations and comply with all applicable laws and 
regulations.
    The Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS addresses mitigation measures 
designed to help reduce or avoid potential impacts to marine resources, 
including new mitigation measures that include expanded location-
specific mitigations and updates to activity-based mitigation measures. 
In addition, the Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS addresses marine species 
monitoring efforts designed to track compliance with authorizations and 
to investigate the effectiveness of mitigation measures implemented as 
part of the Proposed Action. The proposed mitigation measures would be 
implemented under either action alternative to maximize the mitigation 
benefits to the environment.
    Mitigation measures are being coordinated through the consultation 
and permitting processes. DoN and Coast Guard will also consider public

[[Page 77114]]

comments on proposed mitigation measures described in this Draft 
Supplemental EIS/OEIS.
    Comments submitted during the public comment period at the in-
person public meetings, electronically via the project website, or 
mailed to the address provided in the ADDRESSES section will become 
part of the public record. Substantive comments will be considered in 
the development of the Final Supplemental EIS/OEIS.
    Notice of the availability of the Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS was 
distributed to federal, state, and local agencies, elected officials, 
and other interested individuals and organizations. Copies of the Draft 
Supplemental EIS/OEIS are available for public review at the following 
libraries:
    1. Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library, 900 Wayne Avenue, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910.
    2. Broward County Main Library, 100 South Andrews Avenue, Fort 
Lauderdale, FL 33301.
    3. Camden County Public Library, 1410 GA-40, Kingsland, GA 31548.
    4. Corpus Christi La Retama Central Library, 805 Comanche Street, 
Corpus Christi, TX 78401.
    5. East Bank Regional Library, 4747 West Napoleon Avenue, Metairie, 
LA 70001.
    6. New Bedford Free Public Library Casa de Saudade Branch, 58 Crapo 
Street #1, New Bedford, MA 02740.
    7. Onslow County Public Library, 58 East Doris Avenue, 
Jacksonville, NC 28540.
    8. Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square, Portland, ME 04101.
    9. Providence Public Library, 150 Empire Street, Providence, RI 
02903.
    10. West Florida Public Library, Southwest Branch, 12248 Gulf Beach 
Highway, Pensacola, FL 32507.
    Copies of the AFTT Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS are available for 
electronic viewing at www.nepa.navy.mil/aftteis/. A paper copy of the 
Executive Summary and a single compact disc (CD) of the Draft 
Supplemental EIS/OEIS will be made available upon written request by 
contacting: Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic, 
Attention: Code EV22SG (AFTT EIS Project Managers), 6506 Hampton 
Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23508-1278.

    Dated: September 12, 2024.
A.J. Gioiello,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-21123 Filed 9-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P