[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 118 (Monday, June 23, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26561-26563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10684]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Notice of Public Meetings for Pacific Missile Range Facility and
K[omacr]ke[revaps]e Park Geophysical Observatory Environmental Impact
Statement (ID# EISX-007-17-USN-1749043386)
AGENCY: Department of the Navy (DoN), Department of Defense (DoD);
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
regulations implemented by the DoN and NASA, as joint lead agencies,
DoN and NASA have prepared and filed with the United States (U.S.)
Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement(EIS) for retaining the use of state lands on Kaua[revaps]i,
Hawai[revaps]i (HI) in support current operations that occur on these
lands. The Draft EIS includes an analysis of the potential
environmental effects associated with the continued long-term DoD use
of 8,172 acres of State lands on Kaua[revaps]i for operational
continuity and sustainment (in support of continued military training,
testing, and facility operations) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility
(PMRF), and the continued long-term NASA use of 23 acres of State lands
on Kaua[revaps]i in support of continued operations (including
measurements of the Earth[revaps]s rotation and local land motion) at
the K[omacr]ke[revaps]e Park Geophysical Observatory (KPGO). As the
Proposed Action involves State lands, the EIS is a joint NEPA and
Hawai[revaps]i Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) (as governed by
Hawai[revaps]i Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 343), and Hawai[revaps]i
Administrative Rules (HAR) (implementing HRS Chapter 343) document;
therefore, the public review processes will run concurrently and will
jointly meet NEPA and HEPA requirements.
DATES: The 48-day public comment period begins June 20, 2025, and ends
August 7, 2025. In support of NEPA and HEPA requirements, in-person
public meetings (with some of the meetings live-broadcasted) will be
held in Kaua[revaps]i, HI from July 15 through 17, 2025, to provide an
overview of the Draft EIS, answer questions from the public, and
provide the public an opportunity to provide oral comments. Each
meeting will also provide an opportunity to learn how the DoN and NASA
are complying with the Section 106 process of the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) and to comment on potential effects on historic
properties. The public can submit comments during the Draft EIS public
review and comment period at one of the public meetings, electronically
via the project website (https://pmrf-kpgo-eis.com/), or via U.S. mail.
Public comments on the Draft EIS must be postmarked or received online
by 11:59 p.m. HI Standard Time (HST) Thursday, August 7, 2025, for
consideration in the Final EIS.
Three in-person public meetings with a virtual component will be
held as follows:
1. July 15, 2025, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. HST at Kaua[revaps]i
Veterans Center, 3215 Kaua[revaps]i Veterans Memorial Highway,
L[imacr]hu[revaps]e, HI 96766;
2. July 16, 2025, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. HST at Kekaha Neighborhood
Center, 8130 Elepaio Road, Kekaha, HI 96752;
3. July 17, 2025, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. HST at Sheraton Coconut
Beach Resort, 650 Aleka Loop, Kapa[revaps]a, HI 96746.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft EIS may be provided at the public
meetings, electronically through the project website at: https://pmrf-kpgo-eis.com/, or by U.S. mail to: Naval Facilities Engineering Systems
Command, Hawai[revaps]i; Attention: PMRF and KPGO Real Estate EIS
Project Manager, Ms. Kerry Ling; 400 Marshall Road, Building X-11;
Pearl Harbor, HI 96860.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: DoN: Commander, Navy Region
Hawai[revaps]i, Attn: Mr. Daniel Sanford, Outreach Public Affairs
Specialist, by telephone (808-473-2890) or email
([email protected] and [email protected]).
NASA: Shari A. Miller, NASA; EIS Project Manager, by telephone
(757-824-2327) or email ([email protected]), or visit the project
website: https://pmrf-kpgo-eis.com/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DoN's purpose for the Proposed Action is
to maintain long-term DoD use of 8,172 acres of State lands (including
leaseholds and easement lands) on Kaua[revaps]i, HI for operational
continuity and sustainment of the military readiness mission. NASA's
purpose for the Proposed Action is to maintain long-term use of 23
acres of State land (including leaseholds and easement lands) on
Kaua[revaps]i, HI for continued operations of KPGO. The Proposed Action
is needed because the existing real estate agreements for these state
lands are set to expire between 2027 and 2030. The Navy use of these
state lands is required to maintain technological and safety
capabilities supporting PMRF training and testing. For NASA, these
state lands are critical to maintain data collection efforts of global
significance.
It also ensures the continued conservation management by the DoN
and NASA of natural and cultural resources on these lands.
For the State of HI Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR), in
addition to its role as the lessor of state lands, the proposed real
estate action presents an opportunity for the agency to secure a
revenue source to support its management of public lands and associated
environmental and conservation programs. Fees from leases and easements
would be put into a state fund, as required by law. Twenty percent of
ceded land revenue (fees from the leaseholds and easement lands) would
go to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the rest to the Special Land
Development Fund, as required by law.
By ensuring continued DoN and NASA operations on Kaua[revaps]i, the
real estate action would also preserve local jobs and income for the
residents of Kaua[revaps]i, financially contribute to the overall
economic well-being of Kaua[revaps]i, and maintain continued
conservation management of natural and cultural resources on state
lands at no cost to the State of HI.
The DoN and NASA are considering two Action Alternatives that are
carried forward for analysis in the EIS, along with the No Action
Alternative. The type of real estate agreement differentiates the
alternatives.
Alternative 1 (Succeeding Current Real Estate Agreements): The DoN
and NASA would secure new real estate agreements with the State of HI
for the same areas they currently hold in leaseholds and easements with
no change to current footprint or use of state lands.
[[Page 26562]]
Alternative 2 (Fee Simple Acquisition of Current Real Estate
Agreements for Leaseholds): The DoN and NASA would aquire the land
currently held in leaseholds with no change to current footprint or use
and obtain use of the same easements. This alternative would result in
the aquisition of up to 700 acres (684-DoN, 16-NASA) of previously
leased land.
Alternative 3 (No Action Alternative): The State of HI would not
grant the DoN and NASA any new real estate agreements after expiration
of the leases and easements between 2027 to 2030.
Consistent with NEPA and HAR section 11-200.1-24(b), the scope of
the analysis for the alternatives in this EIS is proportionate to the
potential for environmental impacts. The following resources may be
impacted and and are analyzed in this EIS: archaeological and
architectural resources, cultural practices, biological resources, land
use and access, socioeconomics, water resources, utilities, public
health and safety, air quality and greenhouse gases, transportation,
hazardous materials and wastes, and visual resources. Direct, indirect,
and reasonably foreseeable effects on these resource areas are analyzed
in the Draft EIS. There are no potential effects to airspace, marine
navigation, and marine biological resources; therefore, these resources
were not analyzed in the Draft EIS.
The leaseholds and easement lands located in the Project Area are
entirely land-based. The Proposed Action does not pertain to activities
occurring in airspace or affecting the designation, management, or use
of airspace over Kaua[revaps]i or surrounding waters.
The Proposed Action is associated with the effects of securing
additional real estate arrangement to continue the activities on the
lease lands. Use of Main Base PMRF for land-based training and testing
has been evaluated previously in the 1999 PMRF EIS, 2008 HI Range
Complex (HRC) EIS, and most recently in the Draft PMRF Land Based
Training and Testing Environmental Assessment (EA) covering proposed
additional activities across Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.
The lands associated with the Proposed Action do not extend into
nearshore waters, and they do not affect marine navigation. Leaseholds
and easement lands associated with the Proposed Action would not affect
marine navigation, marine biological resources, and Navy at-sea
activities or other in-water standard operating procedures associated
with PMRF land-based activities. The types of offshore designations,
marine navigation procedures, and public notifications (e.g., Local
Notices to Mariners) would remain unchanged for PMRF.
Activities in the leaseholds and easement areas do not involve
stressors that could affect marine resources, such as airborne and
underwater noise, underwater energy activities (e.g., explosives or
electromagnetic devices), placement of materials or structures in the
ocean environment, expended materials in the ocean environment
(involving the potential for contamination or for ingestion by marine
fauna), or physical disturbance in the ocean environment (such as
entanglement and physical strikes).
Impacts to airspace, marine navigation, and marine resources from
existing training and testing are analyzed in the Hawai[revaps]i-
Southern California Training and Testing Final EIS/OEIS (DoN, 2018),
the 2019 PMRF Department of Energy Finding of No Significant Impact for
Continued Operation of the Kaua[revaps]i Test Facility Sandia National
Laboratories, and the Hawai[revaps]i-California Training and Testing
Draft EIS/OEIS (DoN, 2024). Any additional environmental planning that
addresses future on-land training and testing at PMRF completed after
the PMRF and KPGO Real Estate Draft EIS will be incorporated by
reference into the Final EIS.
In addition to Best Management Practices and community
coordination, actions the DoN and NASA are currently taking to
mitigate, avoid, and minimize impacts on the state lands would continue
to be implemented under the Action Alternatives. Additionally, the DoN
and NASA have identified Enhanced Management Measures to provide
additional protections for the [revaps][amacr]ina.
Under the No Action Alternative and pursuant to the existing real
estate agreements, environmental and cultural responsibilities would
revert to the State of HI. Following complex negotiations with the
State of HI, actions related to these transfers could include the
removal of existing buildings, structures, and infrastructure,
resulting in potential adverse impacts to environmental and cultural
resources.
The DoN and NASA are coordinating and consulting as required by the
NHPA, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Coastal
Zone Management Act, including with BLNR under HRS chapter 183C and HAR
chapter 13-5, HAR chapter 6E, and other laws and regulations determined
to be applicable to the project.
This EIS satisfies both Federal and State of HI requirements and
provides the necessary analyses to allow the DoN, NASA, and BLNR to
consider the environmental effects of the Proposed Action and
alternatives as part of their decision-making. The DoN and NASA
distributed the Draft EIS to government agencies they are consulting
with and to other stakeholders.
The Draft EIS is available for public review on the project website
at https://pmrf-kpgo-eis.com/and at these public libraries:
1. Hawai[revaps]i State Library, 478 S King St., Honolulu, HI
96813.
2. L[imacr]hu[revaps]e Public Library, 4344 Hardy St.,
L[imacr]hu[revaps]e, HI 96766.
3. Waimea Public Library, 9750 Kaumuali[revaps]i Hwy, Waimea, HI
96796.
The public involvement process is helpful in identifying public
concerns and local issues to be considered during the development of
the EIS and encouraging comments on the environmental analysis.
Federal, State, and local agencies; Native Hawaiian Organizations;
nongovernmental organizations; and interested persons are encouraged to
provide substantive comments on the Proposed Action and the
environmental analysis, as well as the project's potential to affect
historic properties as it relates to section 106 of the NHPA. All
comments provided at the in-person public meetings, electronically via
the project website, or mailed to the address provided in the ADDRESSES
section will be considered during the development of the Final EIS.
In-person public meetings with a virtual component will include an
open-house information session, a short presentation by DoN and NASA
representatives, and a public oral comment session. The presentation
will begin at approximately 6 p.m. HST. DoN and NASA representatives
will be available during the open-house information sessions to answer
questions and clarify information related to the Draft EIS. Attendees
will be able to submit oral and written comments during the in-person
public meetings. Oral comments from the public will be recorded by a
court reporter and each speaker's comments will be limited to three (3)
minutes. Equal weight will be given to oral and written statements.
A live-broadcast will commence during the presentation portion of
the public meetings. The virtual attendees will have the ability and
opportunity to provide comments orally after the in-person oral comment
session. An audio-only option will be available during the virtual
component of the public meeting. The project website has more
information on attending the in-person/virtual public meetings.
[[Page 26563]]
Dated: June 9, 2025.
Emily A. Pellegrino,
Program Analyst, Office of the Executive Secretariat, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, Federal Register Liaison Officer.
A.R. DeMaio,
Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2025-10684 Filed 6-20-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P 7510-13-P