Notice of Availability of the Ballistic Missile Defense System Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, 7617-7618 [E7-2433]

Agencies

• Office of the Secretary
• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 32 (Friday, February 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7617-7618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-2433]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[DOD-2007-OS-0008]


Notice of Availability of the Ballistic Missile Defense System 
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Missile Defense Agency, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Missile Defense 
Agency's (MDA) Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Final 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), which analyzes the 
potential impacts to the environment of MDA's proposal to develop, 
test, deploy, and plan for decommissioning an integrated BMDS. The PEIS 
addresses the integrated BMDS and the development and application of 
new technologies; evaluates the range of complex programs, 
architecture, and assets that comprise the BMDS; and

[[Page 7618]]

provides a framework for future environmental analyses as activities 
evolve and mature.

DATES: A Record of Decision will be issued no earlier than 30 days from 
the date of this notice.
    Copies of the Final PEIS have been distributed to Federal, State, 
local agencies, and public officials that previously requested copies 
of the PEIS. Copies of the Final PEIS will be available at the 
following public libraries:
     Anchorage Municipal Library, 3600 Denali Street, 
Anchorage, AK 99503.
     Mountain View Branch Library, 150 S. Street, Anchorage, AK 
99508.
     California State Library, Library and Courts Building, 914 
Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814.
     Sacramento Public Library, 828 I Street, Sacramento, CA 
95814.
     Hawaii State Library, Hawaii Documents Center, 478 South 
King Street, Honolulu, HI 96813.
     University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hamilton Library, 2550 The 
Mall, Honolulu, HI 96822.
     Arlington County Public Library, Central Branch, 1015 
North Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22201.
     District of Columbia Public Library, Central Branch--
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street NW., Washington, 
DC 20001.
    Requests for electronic copies of the Final BMDS PEIS should be 
directed to MDA BMDS PEIS, c/o ICF International, 9300 Lee Highway, 
Fairfax, VA 22031; Phone (Toll-Free) 1-877-MDA-PEIS (1-877-632-7347); 
Fax (Toll-Free) 1-877-851-5451; E-mail mda.bmds.peis@icfconsulting.com; 
or Web site. An electronic version of the Final PEIS is available on 
the MDA Web site at https://www.mda.mil/mdalink/html/enviro.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please call Mr. Rick Lehner, MDA 
Director of Public Affairs, at (703) 697-8997.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: MDA has a requirement to develop, test, 
deploy, and prepare for decommissioning the BMDS to protect the United 
States, its deployed forces, friends, and allies from ballistic missile 
threats. The proposed action would provide an integrated BMDS using 
existing infrastructure and capabilities, when feasible, as well as 
emerging and new technologies, to meet current and evolving threats in 
support of the MDA's mission. Conceptually, the BMDS would be a layered 
system of weapons; sensors; Command and Control, Battle Management, and 
Communications (C2BMC); and support assets, each with specific 
functional capabilities, working together to defend against all classes 
and ranges of threat ballistic missiles in all phases of flight. 
Multiple defensive weapons would be used to create a layered defense 
comprised of multiple intercept opportunities along the incoming threat 
missile's trajectory. This would provide a layered defensive system of 
capabilities designed to back up one another.
    On April 11, 2003, MDA initiated the public scoping process by 
publishing the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare the PEIS for the BMDS 
in the Federal Register. MDA held public scoping meetings in Arlington, 
Virginia; Sacramento, California; Anchorage, Alaska; and Honolulu, 
Hawaii. The Notice of Availability (NOA) of the MDA Ballistic Missile 
Defense System Draft PEIS was published in the Federal Register on 
September 17, 2004. This initiated a public review and comment period 
for the Draft PEIS. MDA held public hearings in Arlington, Virginia; 
Sacramento, California; Anchorage, Alaska; and Honolulu, Hawaii. MDA 
received approximately 8,500 comments on the Draft PEIS; MDA considered 
all of these comments in preparing the Final PEIS. Responses to all of 
the in-scope comments can be found in Appendix K of the PEIS. Three 
recurring issues of public concern-orbital debris, perchlorate, and 
radar impacts to wildlife-were addressed in more technical detail in 
Appendices L, M, and N of the PEIS.

Alternatives Analysis

    The MDA considers two alternatives to implementing an integrated 
BMDS that address the use of weapons components from land-, sea-, air-, 
and space-based platforms in addition to the No Action alternative as 
required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
     Alternative 1. Under Alternative 1, the MDA would develop, 
test, deploy, and plan to decommission land-, sea-, and air-based 
platforms for BMDS weapons components and related architecture and 
assets. Alternative 1 would include space-based sensors, but would not 
include space-based defensive weapons.
     Alternative 2. Under Alternative 2, the MDA would develop, 
test, deploy, and plan to decommission land-, sea-, air-, and space-
based platforms for BMDS weapons components and related architecture 
and assets. Alternative 2 would be identical to Alternative 1, with the 
addition of space-based defensive weapons.
     No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, 
the MDA would not develop, test, deploy, or plan for decommissioning 
activities for an integrated BMDS. Instead, the MDA would continue 
existing development and testing of discrete systems as stand-alone 
missile defense capabilities. Individual systems would continue to be 
tested but would not be subjected to System Integration Tests.

    Dated: February 7, 2007.
L. M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, DoD.
 [FR Doc. E7-2433 Filed 2-15-07; 8:45 am]
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