Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) Transformation Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Evaluation of Environmental Effects of Continued Land and Mineral Withdrawal Under Public Law 104-201, 33983-33984 [07-3026]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 20, 2007 / Notices To obtain a copy of the FEIS contact the Fort Carson National Environmental Policy Act (NEPAP) Coordinator, Directorate of Environmental Compliance and Management, 1638 Elwell Street, Building 6236, Fort Carson, Colorado 80913–4000; e-mail: carsdecamnepa@conus.army.mil. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fort Carson NEPA Coordinator at (719) 526– 4666 or fax (719) 526–1705. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final Fort Carson Transformation EIS evaluates the environmental and socioeconomic effects of implementing three Army transformation programs at Fort Carson: BRAC 2005, Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy (also known as Global Defense Posture Realignment), and the Army Modular Force initiative. These programs are part of the overall Army restructuring and are needed to prepare the Army’s combat forces for deployment around the world. The Proposed Action evaluated in the Final Fort Carson Transformation EIS is the Army’s preferred alternative to implement the three transformational programs. The Proposed Action includes three primary components: (1) Changes in force structure resulting in a net gain of military units and personnel; (2) facility construction, renovation, and demolition; and (3) increased frequency of live-fire and maneuver training. The EIS also documents the compliance of the Proposed Action with the General Conformity Rule requirements of the Clean Air Act. In addition, the Final EIS evaluates the environmental effects of renewal of the current withdrawal and reservation of 3,133.02 acres of public land and 11,415.16 acres of federally owned minerals at Fort Carson (as required by Section 2908 of Public Law 104–201). Under the Proposed Action alternative, the number of troops at Fort Carson will increase by approximately 8,500 Soldiers. Military dependent, civilian, and contractor worker populations supported by Fort Carson also will increase. In total, Soldiers, their dependents, and support personnel will grow to approximately 59,700 by 2011, an increase of approximately 21,300 persons (60 percent) over the implementation period. The Army will construct 25 projects, primarily in the Cantonment area. In addition, facilities and infrastructure no longer needed to support the Proposed Action alternative will be demolished; facilities will be relocated to support new construction; and existing facilities rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES ADDRESSES: VerDate Aug<31>2005 18:25 Jun 19, 2007 Jkt 211001 and infrastructure will be renovated to support the new population and training activities. The Proposed Action alternative will provide for increased frequency of training for existing and new units stationed at Fort Carson. The installation’s downrange area will be used more frequently for individual and crew live fire, maneuver, and combined live fire and maneuver training. Fort Carson will continue to implement its existing land and environmental management programs to balance training requirements and land sustainability. Large area maneuver training for Fort Carson’s troops will continue to occur at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, which is Fort Carson’s maneuver-training area located approximately 150 miles southeast of Fort Carson. The Final EIS also evaluated the No Action alternative, which would result in not implementing the Proposed Action troop restationing; construction, renovation, and demolition projections; and increased frequency of training. The No Action alternative is not feasible because restationing has been directed by BRAC 2005. It was included in the Final EIS, as required by the Council on Environmental Quality and the Army’s NEPA implementing regulations, to provide a benchmark by which to compare the magnitude of environmental effects of the Proposed Action. Permanent restationing alternatives, therefore, were not considered in the Final EIS in accordance with the BRAC Act of 1990, which does not permit decisions on restationing troops to alternate installations to be revisited in NEPA documents. Other alternatives considered by the Army, but determined not to be feasible, included training troops at other locales, acquiring additional land for training, or varying training schedules to account for operational deployments. These alternatives were determined not to be reasonable because they either did not meet the purpose and need of the action or unreasonably restricted the Army’s ability to react to changing conditions. The Proposed Action has the potential to result in adverse effects to land use, air quality, geology and soils, water resources, biological resources, cultural resources, transportation, utilities, and hazardous and toxic materials. It could also result in cumulative environmental effects. Beneficial effects of the Proposed Action will result for socioeconomic resources. With implementation of mitigation measures and best management practices, PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 33983 significant adverse environmental impacts will not occur. An electronic version of the Final EIS can be viewed or downloaded online at https://www.hqda.army.mil/acsim/brac/ nepa_eis_docs.htm. Copies can be requested from the Fort Carson NEPA Coordinator or viewed at local libraries. Dated: June 13, 2007. Addison D. Davis, IV Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health). [FR Doc. 07–3025 Filed 6–19–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3710–08–M DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) Transformation Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Evaluation of Environmental Effects of Continued Land and Mineral Withdrawal Under Public Law 104–201 Department of the Army, Department of Defense. ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The Army announces the availability of the Final PCMS Transformation EIS evaluating the environmental effects of implementing restationing actions of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 and other Army transformation programs at the PCMS training area in Las Animas County in southeastern Colorado. The Final EIS also documents the U.S. Army’s evaluation of environmental effects of withdrawal of public land and mineral rights under Public Law 104–201. DATES: The waiting period for the Final EIS will end 30 days after publication of an NOA in the Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the FEIS contact the PCMS National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Coordinator, Directorate of Environmental Compliance and Management, 1638 Elwell Street, Building 6236, Fort Carson, CO 80913– 4000; e–mail: carsdecampcmsnepa&conus.army.mil FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: PCMS NEPA Coordinator at (719) 526– 0912 or fax (719) 526–17050. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final PCMS Transformation EIS evaluates the environmental and socioeconomic effects of implementing three Army transformation programs at the Fort E:\FR\FM\20JNN1.SGM 20JNN1 rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES 33984 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 20, 2007 / Notices Carson: BRAC 2005; Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy (also known as Global Defense Posture Realignment); and the Army Modular Force initiative. These programs are part of the overall Army restructuring and are needed to prepare the Army’s combat forces for deployment around the world. The Proposed Action evaluated in the Final PCMS Transformation EIS is the Army’s preferred alternative to implement the three transformation programs. The Proposed Action includes: (1) Increased use of the PCMS training areas to provide training for approximately 8,500 realigned Active Component (AC) soldiers and additional Reserve Component (RC) soldiers assigned to, or otherwise under the control of, Fort Carson, and (2) construction of facilities in the cantonment and training areas. The Final EIS also evaluates the environmental effects of the current withdrawal and reservation of 2,517.12 acres of public land and 130,139 acres of federally owned minerals within the PCMS borders (as required by Section 2908 of Pub. L. 140–201. The Proposed Action will provide for increased frequency of training for existing and new units stationed at, or otherwise assigned to Fort Carson. Training and maneuver activities would be similar to the types of activities that presently occur on the PCMS. The increased training requirements of additional AC and RC units, however, will result in increased frequency of use of the training areas. The Army will continue to implement land and environmental management programs and practices to sustain its training lands for continued use. Support facilities will be constructed in the PCMS cantonment area, including a brigade support complex, medical facilities, storage facilities, minimum soldier support functions, a vehicle maintenance facility, motor pools and upgrade of roads and utilities. Similar to existing facilities at the PCMS, the cantonment facilities constructed under the Proposed Action alternative would be austere. No units will be permanently stationed at the PCMS; therefore, the PCMS will not support long-term soldier care and will have no role in providing permanent support for dependents, civilian contractors, or personnel other than minimal custodial staff. Outside the cantonment, the Army will construct and operate a live hand grenade range, ammunition holding area, protective equipment training facility, and communication facilities, and upgrade an existing small-arms range building. These projects are VerDate Aug<31>2005 18:25 Jun 19, 2007 Jkt 211001 necessary to allow the PCMS to certify soldiers for operational deployments. The Final EIS also evaluated the No Action alternative in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality and Army NEPA implementing regulations to provide a benchmark against which to compare the magnitude of environmental effects of the Proposed Action. Under the No Action alternative, no additional soldiers would train at the PCMS despite the stationing of significant numbers of additional soldiers at Fort Carson. The Proposed Action’s construction would not occur. Existing land and environmental management programs would continue. This alternative is not feasible because restationing at Fort Carson has been directed by BRAC 2005, and soldiers assigned to Fort Carson need to be trained. Alternatives for the BRAC realignment at Fort Carson were not considered in the Final EIS in accordance with the BRAC Law, which exempts such alternatives from consideration. Other alternatives considered by the Army, but determined not to be feasible, included training troops at other locales, acquiring additional land for training, or varying training schedules to account for operational deployments. These alternatives were determined not to be reasonable because they did not meet the purpose and need of the action or unreasonably restricted the Army’s ability to react to changing conditions. Acquisition of additional land was also not considered reasonable, in part, because not enough information about it is currently known. The Proposed Action has the potential to result in adverse effects to land use, air quality, noise, geology and soils, water resources, biological resources, cultural resources, transportation, utilities, and hazardous and toxic substances. With implementation of mitigation measures and best management practices, none of the impacts would be significant. Minor temporary beneficial effects will occur for socioeconomic resources. The Proposed Action does not include expansion of the PCMS or land acquisition. The Proposed Action incorporates modifications to training requirements to best meet current training needs. The Army plans to prepare a separate EIS for PCMS land expansion once a proposed action and initial set of alternatives have been developed for that action. An electronic version of the Final EIS can be viewed or downloaded from the following Web site: https:// www.hqda.army.mil/acsim/brac/ PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 nepa_eis_docs.htm. Copies can be requested from the PCMS NEPA Coordinator or viewed at local libraries. Dated: June 13, 2007. Addison D. Davis, IV, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and Occupational Health). [FR Doc. 07–3026 Filed 6–19–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3710–08–M DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests Department of Education. The Acting Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before August 20, 2007. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Office of Management and Budget (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 Acting Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, publishes that notice containing proposed information collection requests prior to submission of these requests to OMB. 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 AGENCY: SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\20JNN1.SGM 20JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33983-33984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-3026]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army


Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final Pinon Canyon Maneuver 
Site (PCMS) Transformation Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and 
Evaluation of Environmental Effects of Continued Land and Mineral 
Withdrawal Under Public Law 104-201

AGENCY: Department of the Army, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Army announces the availability of the Final PCMS 
Transformation EIS evaluating the environmental effects of implementing 
restationing actions of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 
and other Army transformation programs at the PCMS training area in Las 
Animas County in southeastern Colorado. The Final EIS also documents 
the U.S. Army's evaluation of environmental effects of withdrawal of 
public land and mineral rights under Public Law 104-201.

DATES: The waiting period for the Final EIS will end 30 days after 
publication of an NOA in the Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the FEIS contact the PCMS National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Coordinator, Directorate of 
Environmental Compliance and Management, 1638 Elwell Street, Building 
6236, Fort Carson, CO 80913-4000; e-mail: 
carsdecampcmsnepa&conus.army.mil

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: PCMS NEPA Coordinator at (719) 526-
0912 or fax (719) 526-17050.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final PCMS Transformation EIS evaluates 
the environmental and socioeconomic effects of implementing three Army 
transformation programs at the Fort

[[Page 33984]]

Carson: BRAC 2005; Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy (also 
known as Global Defense Posture Realignment); and the Army Modular 
Force initiative. These programs are part of the overall Army 
restructuring and are needed to prepare the Army's combat forces for 
deployment around the world.
    The Proposed Action evaluated in the Final PCMS Transformation EIS 
is the Army's preferred alternative to implement the three 
transformation programs. The Proposed Action includes: (1) Increased 
use of the PCMS training areas to provide training for approximately 
8,500 realigned Active Component (AC) soldiers and additional Reserve 
Component (RC) soldiers assigned to, or otherwise under the control of, 
Fort Carson, and (2) construction of facilities in the cantonment and 
training areas. The Final EIS also evaluates the environmental effects 
of the current withdrawal and reservation of 2,517.12 acres of public 
land and 130,139 acres of federally owned minerals within the PCMS 
borders (as required by Section 2908 of Pub. L. 140-201.
    The Proposed Action will provide for increased frequency of 
training for existing and new units stationed at, or otherwise assigned 
to Fort Carson. Training and maneuver activities would be similar to 
the types of activities that presently occur on the PCMS. The increased 
training requirements of additional AC and RC units, however, will 
result in increased frequency of use of the training areas. The Army 
will continue to implement land and environmental management programs 
and practices to sustain its training lands for continued use.
    Support facilities will be constructed in the PCMS cantonment area, 
including a brigade support complex, medical facilities, storage 
facilities, minimum soldier support functions, a vehicle maintenance 
facility, motor pools and upgrade of roads and utilities. Similar to 
existing facilities at the PCMS, the cantonment facilities constructed 
under the Proposed Action alternative would be austere. No units will 
be permanently stationed at the PCMS; therefore, the PCMS will not 
support long-term soldier care and will have no role in providing 
permanent support for dependents, civilian contractors, or personnel 
other than minimal custodial staff. Outside the cantonment, the Army 
will construct and operate a live hand grenade range, ammunition 
holding area, protective equipment training facility, and communication 
facilities, and upgrade an existing small-arms range building. These 
projects are necessary to allow the PCMS to certify soldiers for 
operational deployments.
    The Final EIS also evaluated the No Action alternative in 
accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality and Army NEPA 
implementing regulations to provide a benchmark against which to 
compare the magnitude of environmental effects of the Proposed Action. 
Under the No Action alternative, no additional soldiers would train at 
the PCMS despite the stationing of significant numbers of additional 
soldiers at Fort Carson. The Proposed Action's construction would not 
occur. Existing land and environmental management programs would 
continue. This alternative is not feasible because restationing at Fort 
Carson has been directed by BRAC 2005, and soldiers assigned to Fort 
Carson need to be trained.
    Alternatives for the BRAC realignment at Fort Carson were not 
considered in the Final EIS in accordance with the BRAC Law, which 
exempts such alternatives from consideration. Other alternatives 
considered by the Army, but determined not to be feasible, included 
training troops at other locales, acquiring additional land for 
training, or varying training schedules to account for operational 
deployments. These alternatives were determined not to be reasonable 
because they did not meet the purpose and need of the action or 
unreasonably restricted the Army's ability to react to changing 
conditions. Acquisition of additional land was also not considered 
reasonable, in part, because not enough information about it is 
currently known.
    The Proposed Action has the potential to result in adverse effects 
to land use, air quality, noise, geology and soils, water resources, 
biological resources, cultural resources, transportation, utilities, 
and hazardous and toxic substances. With implementation of mitigation 
measures and best management practices, none of the impacts would be 
significant. Minor temporary beneficial effects will occur for 
socioeconomic resources.
    The Proposed Action does not include expansion of the PCMS or land 
acquisition. The Proposed Action incorporates modifications to training 
requirements to best meet current training needs. The Army plans to 
prepare a separate EIS for PCMS land expansion once a proposed action 
and initial set of alternatives have been developed for that action.
    An electronic version of the Final EIS can be viewed or downloaded 
from the following Web site: https://www.hqda.army.mil/acsim/brac/nepa_
eis_docs.htm. Copies can be requested from the PCMS NEPA Coordinator 
or viewed at local libraries.

    Dated: June 13, 2007.
Addison D. Davis, IV,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and 
Occupational Health).
[FR Doc. 07-3026 Filed 6-19-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-M
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.