Draft Environmental Impact Statement to Fully Integrate the Overhills Property Into the Fort Bragg Training Program, Fort Bragg, NC, 7249-7250 [05-2697]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 28 / Friday, February 11, 2005 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
to Fully Integrate the Overhills
Property Into the Fort Bragg Training
Program, Fort Bragg, NC
Department of the Army, DOD.
Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Department of the Army
announces the availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
to fully integrate the Overhills property
into the Fort Bragg Training Program,
Fort Bragg, Cumberland and Harnett
Counties, North Carolina. Presently,
realistic training in Fort Bragg’s
Northern Training Area (NTA), one of
Fort Bragg’s largest training areas, is
hampered by the two sets of training
rules that govern training in the units.
Although no physical barriers separate
the Overhills training units, NTA V–VII,
from NTA units I–IV, the Overhills
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
limits the number of personnel and
types of activities during training
exercises, effectively creating a training
barrier. Applying the same training
regulation to the Overhills that governs
training on the rest of the installation’s
training program, and maximize training
possibilities through the NTA.
DATES: Comments: To be considered in
preparation for the Final Environmental
Impact Statement, comments must be
received not later than March 28, 2005
by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
Meetings: A public meeting will be
held at the Cumberland County Library
and Information Center, 300 Maiden
Lane, Fayetteville, North Carolina, no
earlier than 15 days after the release of
the DEIS to the public.
ADDRESSES: Please direct written
comments or requests for copies to the
DEIS to David A. Heins, Chief,
Environmental Sustainment Division,
Public Works Business Center, ATTN:
AFZA–PW–E, Fort Bragg, NC 28310, or
e-mail to heinsd@bragg.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David A. Heins, (910) 396–8207 or email to heinsd@bragg.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort Bragg
serves as headquarters for the XVIII
Airborne Corps and Army Special
Operations Command, and is home to
the 82nd Airborne Division. The
primary mission of Fort Bragg is the
training and deployment of military
units. Fort Bragg supports the most
intensive and varied training program in
the continental United States. An
average of 2.5 million personnel days of
VerDate jul<14>2003
17:18 Feb 10, 2005
Jkt 205001
training is conducted at Fort Bragg and
Camp Mackall (a sub-installation to Fort
Bragg) each year. Training to sustain
readiness is Fort Bragg’s primary
activity.
Land upon which to train personnel
is vital to Fort Bragg’s mission. In 1995,
Fort Bragg directed a study that
identified a shortfall of maneuver land
of 81,876 acres, and a weapons range
and impact area shortfall of 43,636
acres. In order to reduce this training
land deficit, the Department of the
Army purchased the Overhills property
from the Rockefeller family in 1997.
The Overhills property comprises
10,580 acres in Cumberland and Harnett
Counties, North Carolina, and adjoins
the northern boundaries of Fort Bragg
and Pope Air Force Base. An
Environmental Assessment was
prepared in 1999 to adopt an Interim
Training Program (ITP) on the Overhills
tract. Under the ITP, training was
restricted to company-level, low impact
(limited) military training.
Presently, the maneuver/training
areas at Fort Bragg are so heavily
utilized that the land to support training
needs to be used to its fullest extent.
These factors, in conjunction with the
training land deficit identified by Fort
Bragg, demonstrate the need to make
maximum use of available training
lands on Fort Bragg. Fully incorporation
the Overhills tract, which represents the
eastern part of the NTA and comprises
almost half of the training area, into the
installation’s training program would
enhance training throughout the NTA,
and help sustain environmental
resources in other training areas on Fort
Bragg.
The Army proposes to fully integrte
the Overhills into Fort Bragg’s training
program. The DEIS analyzes the No
Action/Status Quo alternative as well as
three action alternatives. Alternatives
considered in detail in the DEIS are:
Alternative 1 (No Action)—Continue
limited training, existing recreation, and
preservation of the Overhills Historic
District (the District). Fort Bragg would
conduct this training in accordance with
the existing Fort Bragg SOP for training
on the Overhills. This SOP limits
training exercises to company-sized
units (approximately 250 personnel,
including exercise support personnel)
and prescribes the procedures for use of
the Overhills for training. Company-size
exercises generally require fewer than
75 vehicles per exercise. Exercises
would be scheduled 4–6 times per
month. The following types of exercises
are permitted under the Overhills SOP:
Dismounted movement: Air mobile
insertions; firing of blank small arms
ammunition (up to .50 caliber) and
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
7249
simulators; movement of wheeled
vehicles on maintained roads and trails;
fixed activities limited to bivouac,
signal, or medical in existing clearings;
military operations on urbanized terrain
(MOUNT) training in buildings, but
only on non-contributing elements
within the District and non-eligible
resources outside the District; hasty
hand-dug personnel fighting positions;
use of flame-producing munitions of
any type.
Hunting and fishing would continue
to be allowed subject to restrictions
imposed on public access by military
training schedules.
The District would be preserved in
accordance with the ‘‘Standards for
Preservation’’ in the Secretary of
Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of
Historic Properties (38 CFR Part 68).
Training in buildings considered
contributing elements would not be
permitted, but maneuvers in open areas
within the historic district boundary
would continue.
Alternative 2—Limited training,
additional recreation, and adaptive
reuse and/or layaway of selected
contributing elements within the
District. Training units would be limited
to company-size (250 personnel plus
support personnel), but training would
be conducted in accordance with the
Installation Range Regulation (IRR), not
the Overhills SOP. The following
additional training would be permitted:
Ground and air maneuvers involving
both mechanized and light infantry with
attached combat support and combat
service support; operation of wheeled
and tracked vehicles off road; river
crossing, bridging, and waterborne
operations (including water drops);
construction of fortifications and
obstacles; helicopter landing zones;
excavations (in addition to hand-dug
positions) for survivability
emplacements, such as vehicle fighting
positions; and use of tear gas and
obscurant smoke.
A youth golf program and a horse
stables program would be added to the
recreational programs at Fort Bragg.
These programs would utilize several of
the historic buildings and structures on
Overhills such as the Donald Ross golf
course, the polo barn, and riding stables.
New facilities would also be
constructed. Hunting and fishing would
continue as discussed under Alternative
1.
This alternative would maintain the
historic integrity of 15 of the 56
contributing elements of the historic
district. The remaining buildings and
structures would be incorporated into
the Fort Bragg training program after
mitigating for the loss of historical
E:\FR\FM\11FEN1.SGM
11FEN1
7250
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 28 / Friday, February 11, 2005 / Notices
integrity by fulfilling all requirements
under the National Historical
Preservation Act (NEPA), the Fort Bragg
Integrated Cultural Resource
Management Plan (ICRMP) and Army
Regulation 200–4, Cultural Resources
Management.
Alternative 3—Intermediate training,
additional recreation, and adaptive
reuse and/or layaway of selected
contributing elements within the
District. Under this alternative, the level
of activity on the Overhills would be
increased to accommodate battalionsized units (approximately 1,000
personnel), plus support personnel.
Training would occur in accordance
with the IRR. There are 40 battalions at
Fort Bragg. Battalion-size field exercises
typically use 75 or fewer vehicles per
exercise, including support vehicles.
Each battalion holds one or two 3-day
field exercises per year. Movement
between NTA units I–IV and Overhills
(NTA V–VIII) would be fluid with no
training restrictions other than the
number of personnel permitted on the
Overhills.
Additional recreation would consist
of the youth golf and horse stables
programs described for Alternative 2.
Hunting and fishing would continue to
be permitted, as discussed in
Alternative 1. This alternative would
treat the District as discussed under
Alternative 2.
Alternative 4 (Preferred Alternative)—
Maximum training, existing recreation,
and no preservation of the District.
Under this alternative, the level of
training would be increased to
accommodate brigade-sized units; the
Overhills would be fully incorporated
into the installation’s training program,
and used in the same manner as the
other training areas on Fort Bragg. Units
up to, and including brigade size, would
train in accordance with the IRR. Up to
approximately 5,000 personnel would
have access to the Overhills for training
purposes at one time.
No additional recreational use of the
Overhills would occur under maximum
training due to the need for maneuver
frontage and flexibility. Hunting and
fishing would continue as discussed
under Alternative 1.
After mitigating for the loss of
historical integrity by fulfillment of all
legal requirements under the NHPA, the
Fort Bragg ICRMP, and AR 200–4,
Cultural Resources Management, the 56
contributing elements would be
integrated into the training program. All
contributing and non-contributing
elements as well as standing structures
determined not eligible for the NRHP
would be evaluated for use in training
exercises. The buildings that could be
VerDate jul<14>2003
17:18 Feb 10, 2005
Jkt 205001
incorporated into the training program
would remain; the non-essential
buildings and structures would be
demolished.
The Overhills DEIS provides an
analysis of both the beneficial and
adverse environmental impacts of the
different use alternatives for the
Overhills, and analyzes quantitatively
and qualitatively the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed
alternatives. The resource areas
discussed and evaluated are: soils,
surface waters, groundwater, wetlands,
vegetation, wildlife, protected species,
hazardous materials/waste management,
solid waste management, air quality,
noise, safety, land use, demographics
and economy, recreation, archaeological
resources, and the historic district. The
DEIS indicates that Alternative 1 (No
Action) has the fewest potential impacts
because no new training types will be
added, and all of the historic buildings
and structures will be preserved.
Alternatives 2, 3, and 4 would have
some potential adverse impacts to
several of the analyzed resources;
however mitigations to reduce those
impacts are identified in the DEIS.
Scoping and Comments: Fort Bragg
has distributed a series of newsletters
that are also posted on the Fort Bragg
website and may be viewed at https://
www.bragg.army.mil/
envbrlreview.htm. All future
newsletters, notices of meetings, and
other public and stakeholder
participation opportunities will also be
posted on this website. Comments or
questions may also be submitted on this
website. Fort Bragg invites individuals
and organizations to participate in the
DEIS review process by submitting
written comments (see ADDESSES) and
by attending a public meeting. A public
meeting will be held at the Cumberland
County Library and Information Center
(see DATES).
Dan K. McNeill,
General, USA, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 05–2697 Filed 2–10–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710–08–M
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Proposed Information
Collection Requests
Department of Education.
The Leader, Information
Management Case Services Team,
Regulatory Information Management
Services, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, invites comments on the
proposed information collection
AGENCY:
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00027
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
requests as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: An emergency review has been
requested in accordance with the Act
(44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507(j)), since public
harm is reasonably likely to result if
normal clearance procedures are
followed. Approval by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) has
been requested by February 18, 2005. A
regular clearance process is also
beginning. Interested persons are
invited to submit comments on or before
April 12, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Written comments
regarding the emergency review should
be addressed to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Attention: Carolyn Lovett, Desk Officer,
Department of Education, Office of
Management and Budget; 725 17th
Street, NW., Room 10235, New
Executive Office Building, Washington,
DC 20503 or faxed to (202) 395–6974.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires
that the Director of OMB provide
interested Federal agencies and the
public an early opportunity to comment
on information collection requests.
OMB may amend or waive the
requirement for public consultation to
the extent that public participation in
the approval process would defeat the
purpose of the information collection,
violate State or Federal law, or
substantially interfere with any agency’s
ability to perform its statutory
obligations. The Leader, Information
Management Case Services Team,
Regulatory Information Management
Services, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, publishes this notice containing
proposed information collection
requests at the beginning of the
Departmental review of the information
collection. Each proposed information
collection, grouped by office, contains
the following: (1) Type of review
requested, e.g., new, revision, extension,
existing or reinstatement; (2) title; (3)
summary of the collection; (4)
description of the need for, and
proposed use of, the information; (5)
respondents and frequency of
collection; and (6) reporting and/or
recordkeeping burden. OMB invites
public comment.
The Department of Education is
especially interested in public comment
addressing the following issues: (1) Is
this collection necessary to the proper
functions of the Department; (2) will
this information be processed and used
in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate
of burden accurate; (4) how might the
Department enhance the quality, utility,
E:\FR\FM\11FEN1.SGM
11FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 28 (Friday, February 11, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7249-7250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2697]
[[Page 7249]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Draft Environmental Impact Statement to Fully Integrate the
Overhills Property Into the Fort Bragg Training Program, Fort Bragg, NC
AGENCY: Department of the Army, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces the availability of the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to fully integrate the
Overhills property into the Fort Bragg Training Program, Fort Bragg,
Cumberland and Harnett Counties, North Carolina. Presently, realistic
training in Fort Bragg's Northern Training Area (NTA), one of Fort
Bragg's largest training areas, is hampered by the two sets of training
rules that govern training in the units. Although no physical barriers
separate the Overhills training units, NTA V-VII, from NTA units I-IV,
the Overhills Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) limits the number of
personnel and types of activities during training exercises,
effectively creating a training barrier. Applying the same training
regulation to the Overhills that governs training on the rest of the
installation's training program, and maximize training possibilities
through the NTA.
DATES: Comments: To be considered in preparation for the Final
Environmental Impact Statement, comments must be received not later
than March 28, 2005 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Meetings: A public meeting will be held at the Cumberland County
Library and Information Center, 300 Maiden Lane, Fayetteville, North
Carolina, no earlier than 15 days after the release of the DEIS to the
public.
ADDRESSES: Please direct written comments or requests for copies to the
DEIS to David A. Heins, Chief, Environmental Sustainment Division,
Public Works Business Center, ATTN: AFZA-PW-E, Fort Bragg, NC 28310, or
e-mail to heinsd@bragg.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David A. Heins, (910) 396-8207 or e-
mail to heinsd@bragg.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort Bragg serves as headquarters for the
XVIII Airborne Corps and Army Special Operations Command, and is home
to the 82nd Airborne Division. The primary mission of Fort Bragg is the
training and deployment of military units. Fort Bragg supports the most
intensive and varied training program in the continental United States.
An average of 2.5 million personnel days of training is conducted at
Fort Bragg and Camp Mackall (a sub-installation to Fort Bragg) each
year. Training to sustain readiness is Fort Bragg's primary activity.
Land upon which to train personnel is vital to Fort Bragg's
mission. In 1995, Fort Bragg directed a study that identified a
shortfall of maneuver land of 81,876 acres, and a weapons range and
impact area shortfall of 43,636 acres. In order to reduce this training
land deficit, the Department of the Army purchased the Overhills
property from the Rockefeller family in 1997.
The Overhills property comprises 10,580 acres in Cumberland and
Harnett Counties, North Carolina, and adjoins the northern boundaries
of Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. An Environmental Assessment was
prepared in 1999 to adopt an Interim Training Program (ITP) on the
Overhills tract. Under the ITP, training was restricted to company-
level, low impact (limited) military training.
Presently, the maneuver/training areas at Fort Bragg are so heavily
utilized that the land to support training needs to be used to its
fullest extent. These factors, in conjunction with the training land
deficit identified by Fort Bragg, demonstrate the need to make maximum
use of available training lands on Fort Bragg. Fully incorporation the
Overhills tract, which represents the eastern part of the NTA and
comprises almost half of the training area, into the installation's
training program would enhance training throughout the NTA, and help
sustain environmental resources in other training areas on Fort Bragg.
The Army proposes to fully integrte the Overhills into Fort Bragg's
training program. The DEIS analyzes the No Action/Status Quo
alternative as well as three action alternatives. Alternatives
considered in detail in the DEIS are:
Alternative 1 (No Action)--Continue limited training, existing
recreation, and preservation of the Overhills Historic District (the
District). Fort Bragg would conduct this training in accordance with
the existing Fort Bragg SOP for training on the Overhills. This SOP
limits training exercises to company-sized units (approximately 250
personnel, including exercise support personnel) and prescribes the
procedures for use of the Overhills for training. Company-size
exercises generally require fewer than 75 vehicles per exercise.
Exercises would be scheduled 4-6 times per month. The following types
of exercises are permitted under the Overhills SOP:
Dismounted movement: Air mobile insertions; firing of blank small
arms ammunition (up to .50 caliber) and simulators; movement of wheeled
vehicles on maintained roads and trails; fixed activities limited to
bivouac, signal, or medical in existing clearings; military operations
on urbanized terrain (MOUNT) training in buildings, but only on non-
contributing elements within the District and non-eligible resources
outside the District; hasty hand-dug personnel fighting positions; use
of flame-producing munitions of any type.
Hunting and fishing would continue to be allowed subject to
restrictions imposed on public access by military training schedules.
The District would be preserved in accordance with the ``Standards
for Preservation'' in the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the
Treatment of Historic Properties (38 CFR Part 68). Training in
buildings considered contributing elements would not be permitted, but
maneuvers in open areas within the historic district boundary would
continue.
Alternative 2--Limited training, additional recreation, and
adaptive reuse and/or layaway of selected contributing elements within
the District. Training units would be limited to company-size (250
personnel plus support personnel), but training would be conducted in
accordance with the Installation Range Regulation (IRR), not the
Overhills SOP. The following additional training would be permitted:
Ground and air maneuvers involving both mechanized and light
infantry with attached combat support and combat service support;
operation of wheeled and tracked vehicles off road; river crossing,
bridging, and waterborne operations (including water drops);
construction of fortifications and obstacles; helicopter landing zones;
excavations (in addition to hand-dug positions) for survivability
emplacements, such as vehicle fighting positions; and use of tear gas
and obscurant smoke.
A youth golf program and a horse stables program would be added to
the recreational programs at Fort Bragg. These programs would utilize
several of the historic buildings and structures on Overhills such as
the Donald Ross golf course, the polo barn, and riding stables. New
facilities would also be constructed. Hunting and fishing would
continue as discussed under Alternative 1.
This alternative would maintain the historic integrity of 15 of the
56 contributing elements of the historic district. The remaining
buildings and structures would be incorporated into the Fort Bragg
training program after mitigating for the loss of historical
[[Page 7250]]
integrity by fulfilling all requirements under the National Historical
Preservation Act (NEPA), the Fort Bragg Integrated Cultural Resource
Management Plan (ICRMP) and Army Regulation 200-4, Cultural Resources
Management.
Alternative 3--Intermediate training, additional recreation, and
adaptive reuse and/or layaway of selected contributing elements within
the District. Under this alternative, the level of activity on the
Overhills would be increased to accommodate battalion-sized units
(approximately 1,000 personnel), plus support personnel. Training would
occur in accordance with the IRR. There are 40 battalions at Fort
Bragg. Battalion-size field exercises typically use 75 or fewer
vehicles per exercise, including support vehicles. Each battalion holds
one or two 3-day field exercises per year. Movement between NTA units
I-IV and Overhills (NTA V-VIII) would be fluid with no training
restrictions other than the number of personnel permitted on the
Overhills.
Additional recreation would consist of the youth golf and horse
stables programs described for Alternative 2. Hunting and fishing would
continue to be permitted, as discussed in Alternative 1. This
alternative would treat the District as discussed under Alternative 2.
Alternative 4 (Preferred Alternative)--Maximum training, existing
recreation, and no preservation of the District. Under this
alternative, the level of training would be increased to accommodate
brigade-sized units; the Overhills would be fully incorporated into the
installation's training program, and used in the same manner as the
other training areas on Fort Bragg. Units up to, and including brigade
size, would train in accordance with the IRR. Up to approximately 5,000
personnel would have access to the Overhills for training purposes at
one time.
No additional recreational use of the Overhills would occur under
maximum training due to the need for maneuver frontage and flexibility.
Hunting and fishing would continue as discussed under Alternative 1.
After mitigating for the loss of historical integrity by
fulfillment of all legal requirements under the NHPA, the Fort Bragg
ICRMP, and AR 200-4, Cultural Resources Management, the 56 contributing
elements would be integrated into the training program. All
contributing and non-contributing elements as well as standing
structures determined not eligible for the NRHP would be evaluated for
use in training exercises. The buildings that could be incorporated
into the training program would remain; the non-essential buildings and
structures would be demolished.
The Overhills DEIS provides an analysis of both the beneficial and
adverse environmental impacts of the different use alternatives for the
Overhills, and analyzes quantitatively and qualitatively the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed alternatives. The resource areas
discussed and evaluated are: soils, surface waters, groundwater,
wetlands, vegetation, wildlife, protected species, hazardous materials/
waste management, solid waste management, air quality, noise, safety,
land use, demographics and economy, recreation, archaeological
resources, and the historic district. The DEIS indicates that
Alternative 1 (No Action) has the fewest potential impacts because no
new training types will be added, and all of the historic buildings and
structures will be preserved. Alternatives 2, 3, and 4 would have some
potential adverse impacts to several of the analyzed resources; however
mitigations to reduce those impacts are identified in the DEIS.
Scoping and Comments: Fort Bragg has distributed a series of
newsletters that are also posted on the Fort Bragg website and may be
viewed at https://www.bragg.army.mil/envbr_review.htm. All future
newsletters, notices of meetings, and other public and stakeholder
participation opportunities will also be posted on this website.
Comments or questions may also be submitted on this website. Fort Bragg
invites individuals and organizations to participate in the DEIS review
process by submitting written comments (see ADDESSES) and by attending
a public meeting. A public meeting will be held at the Cumberland
County Library and Information Center (see DATES).
Dan K. McNeill,
General, USA, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 05-2697 Filed 2-10-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-M
