Notice of Availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for Army Growth and Force Structure Realignment, 60661-60662 [07-5290]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
• Department of the Army
• Army Department

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 206 (Thursday, October 25, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60661-60662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5290]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army


Notice of Availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PEIS) for Army Growth and Force Structure Realignment

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA).

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces the availability of the 
Final PEIS for the growth and realignment of the U.S. Army. Pursuant to 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of the 
Army has prepared a PEIS that evaluates the potential environmental and 
socioeconomic effects associated with alternatives for growing and 
realigning the Army's force structure. The Army's preferred alternative 
identified in the Final PEIS is Alternative 3 which will allow the Army 
to grow and restructure its forces to accommodate modular forces 
initiatives and critical shortfalls, while adding six Brigade Combat 
Teams (BCTs) to the Army's end strength. Potential impacts have been 
analyzed at installations that are being considered for the stationing 
of 1,000 or more additional Soldiers.

DATES: The waiting period for the final PEIS 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 Final PEIS contact: Public Affairs 
Office, U.S. Army Environmental Command, Building E4460, Attention: 
IMAE-PA 5179 Hoadley Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5401. 
Questions may also be sent to: PublicComments@aec.apgea.army.mil.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Public Affairs Office at (410) 436-
2556; facsimile at (410) 436-1693 (during normal business hours Monday 
through Friday).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action and analysis within the 
Final PEIS covers those activities needed to increase the Army's end 
strength and realign its force structure from Fiscal Year 2008 through 
Fiscal Year 2013 to a size and composition that is better able to meet 
national security and defense requirements. The Proposed Action 
involves stationing decisions to align Army forces in support of 
military transformation, unit equipment and training readiness, and 
Soldier and Family quality of life needs. To implement the Proposed 
Action, new units must be stationed at locations that are able to 
accommodate unit training, garrison operations, maintenance activities, 
and Soldiers and their Families. In addition, final stationing 
locations must support the strategic deployment and mobilization 
requirements of the nation's Combatant Commanders to ensure they will 
have the forces necessary to support regional contingency operations 
and planning requirements.
    The Final PEIS examines major Army training installations and their 
ability to support new unit stationing actions in connection with the 
growth and realignment of the U.S. Army. The Final PEIS provides the 
Army senior leadership with a hard look at environmental and 
socioeconomic impacts associated with the Proposed Action and informs 
the decision-making process for selecting the final stationing 
locations for new units. This effort includes analysis of specific 
actions that will need to be taken (such as the construction of housing 
and quality of life facilities, the construction of new training ranges 
and infrastructure, and changes in the intensity of use of maneuver 
land and firing ranges) to station new units as part of the Army's 
overall efforts to grow and realign the force.
    After reviewing a full range of alternative sites, 17 installations 
capable of supporting the Army's growth and realignment have been 
evaluated for their ability to support three action alternatives. The 
installations carried forward for analysis included: Georgia: Fort 
Benning and Fort Stewart; Texas: Fort Bliss and Fort Hood: North 
Carolina: Fort Bragg; Kentucky: Fort Campbell and Fort Knox; Colorado: 
Fort Carson; New York: Fort Drum; California: Fort Hunter-Liggett and 
Fort Irwin; Washington: Fort Lewis and Yakima Training Center; 
Louisiana: Fort Polk; Kansas: Fort Riley; New Mexico: White Sands 
Missile Range; Arizona: Yuma Proving Ground. Each of these 
installations could receive 1,000 or more additional soldiers as part 
of alternatives being examined.
    Alternatives carried forward for analysis in the Final PEIS 
included: (1) Implementing Army force structure modifications between 
Fiscal Year 2008 and Fiscal Year 2013 to support the Army's Modular 
Transformation and Global Defense Posture Review (GDPR) decisions; (2) 
Executing those actions discussed as part of Alternative 1 and, in 
addition, adding approximately 30,000 Combat Support (CS) and Combat 
Service Support (CSS) soldiers to the Army to address critical 
shortfalls in high demand military skills in both Active Army and 
Reserve components; (3) Executing those actions proposed in 
Alternatives 1 and 2 and, in addition, grow the Army by up to six 
Active Duty BCTs. Additional BCTs would be stationed at existing or 
newly established Army stationing locations within the continental 
United States. In addition to these alternatives, the No Action 
Alternative is described and its impacts are fully assessed and 
considered.
    The Army's preferred alternative identified in the Final PEIS is to 
implement Alternative 3. This alternative allows for full support of 
Army modularity initiatives by adding necessary CS Soldiers to the 
Army's Active and Reserve components while increasing the size of the 
Army by six BCTs. Analysis within the Final PEIS covers those 
activities required to implement unit stationing actions associated 
with Army growth and realignment.
    Site-specific action that will need to be taken to support the 
preferred alternative include the construction of housing and quality 
of life facilities (i.e., gymnasiums, hospitals, shopping areas), the 
construction of new training ranges and infrastructure, and changes in 
the intensity of use of maneuver land and firing ranges associated with 
the increased frequency of training events. Stationing decisions made 
as part of this effort will also consider strategic military and 
national security considerations. New stationing actions must take 
place at locations that, if selected, are capable of supporting the 
National Security Strategy (2006), the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR 
2006), National Military Strategy, and the Army Campaign Plan (ACP).
    Direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the Proposed Action 
have been considered in the Final PEIS and identification of the 
environmental and socioeconomic impacts associated with various unit 
stationing actions at each of the 17 installations was carried forward 
for analysis. Impacts at sites would result from construction and 
training activities related to the growth and realignment of Army 
forces. Significant impacts to resources could be direct and long term. 
Decisions from the PEIS will be tiered into site-specific NEPA analyses 
at the installation level, as specific stationing decisions are 
determined. The Final PEIS provides Army planners and decision makers

[[Page 60662]]

with critical and timely information on the capacity and condition of 
each of the installation's environmental and socioeconomic resources 
preceding specific stationing actions. The No Action Alternative 
provides the baseline conditions for comparison to proposed 
alternatives.
    A copy of the Final PEIS can be accessed through the U.S. Army 
Environmental Command's Web site at (https://www.aec.army.mil).

    Dated: October 18, 2007.
Addison D. Davis, IV,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and 
Occupational Health).
[FR Doc. 07-5290 Filed 10-24-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-M