[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 49 (Friday, March 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 12155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04111]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Public Meetings for the Draft Amended Analysis to the
Final Environmental Impact Statement for EA-18G ``Growler'' Airfield
Operations at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Complex
AGENCY: Department of the Navy (DoN), Department of Defense (DoD).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy has prepared a Draft Amended
Analysis to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for EA-18G Growler
Airfield Operations at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Complex (2018)
(Record of Decision--March 14, 2019), pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act and court orders issued by the U.S. District
Court for the Western District of Washington.
DATES: A 45-day public comment period begins on March 14, 2025, and
ends April 28, 2025. The public can submit comments during the Draft
Amended Analysis public review and comment period at one of the in-
person public meetings, online at the project website, or by U.S. mail.
The deadline for comments on the Draft Amended Analysis is April 28,
2025. All comments must be submitted electronically or postmarked by
11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight time (PDT) on April 28, 2025.
A paper copy of the Draft Amended Analysis may be reviewed at 22
public libraries in the northern Puget Sound region. The full list of
and addresses for each of the libraries may be found at the project
website.
The Navy will be hosting two in-person public meetings in the form
of an open-house to inform the public about the contents of the Amended
Analysis, answer questions, and provide the opportunity to submit
written comments.
The in-person public meetings are scheduled as follows:
1. Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. PDT, Oak Harbor
Elks Lodge, Grande Hall, 155 NE Ernst Street, Oak Harbor, WA 98277.
2. Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. PDT, Whidbey
Island Nordic Lodge, 63 Jacobs Road, Coupeville, WA 98239.
Additionally, the Navy will host one virtual meeting featuring an
informational presentation and will address questions submitted in
advance. Advance questions can be submitted to the Navy for
consideration via the following email address,
[email protected]. The deadline to submit questions
is 11:59 p.m. PDT on Friday, March 21, 2025.
The virtual meeting will be broadcast on the project website on
April 03, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. PDT. At this virtual meeting, the Navy will
provide information and answer advance submitted questions until 8:00
p.m. PDT. After this initial broadcast, a recording of the virtual
meeting will be made available on the project website
www.nepa.navy.mil/growler/.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft Amended Analysis may be provided at
the in-person public meetings, submitted electronically through the
project website: www.nepa.navy.mil/growler/, or by mail to: Naval
Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic; Attention: Code EV21JB
(Growler Project Manager); 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/growler/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In July 2019, the Navy defended lawsuits in
the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
challenging the Navy's 2018 Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
and 2019 Record of Decision (ROD) for EA-18G ``Growler'' Airfield
Operations at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island Complex. These
cases were later consolidated.
In 2022, the Court found the Navy's EIS and ROD violated the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by ``failing to disclose the
basis for greenhouse gas emissions calculations, failing to quantify
the impact of increased operations on classroom learning, failing to
take a hard look at species-specific impacts on birds, and failing to
give detailed consideration to the El Centro, California,
alternative.'' All other claims were dismissed with prejudice.
Therefore, the public meetings for the Draft Amended Analysis will be
limited to these four areas identified by the Court.
Notice of the availability of the Draft Amended Analysis was
distributed to federal, state, and local agencies, elected officials,
local tribes (Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, Lummi Tribe of the Lummi
Reservation, Samish Indian Nation, Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians of
Washington, Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation,
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Tulalip Tribes of Washington, Upper
Skagit Indian Tribe, and organizations.
Dated: March 11, 2025.
R.A. Kennedy,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2025-04111 Filed 3-13-25; 8:45 am]
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