Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Military Relocation (2012 Roadmap Adjustments) and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings, 61746-61748 [2012-24972]
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61746
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2012 / Notices
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[FR Doc. 2012–25020 Filed 10–10–12; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Intent To Prepare a
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Guam and
Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands Military Relocation
(2012 Roadmap Adjustments) and
Notice of Public Scoping Meetings
Department of the Navy, DoD.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c)
of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by
the Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508),
the Department of the Navy (DoN)
announces its intent to expand the
scope of the ongoing Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)
for a live-fire training range complex on
Guam to evaluate the potential
environmental consequences from
construction and operation of a main
cantonment area, including family
housing, and associated infrastructure
on Guam to support the relocation of a
substantially reduced number of
Marines than previously analyzed. This
SEIS will supplement the Final EIS for
the ‘‘Guam and Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands Military
Relocation; Relocating Marines from
Okinawa, Visiting Aircraft Carrier
Berthing, and Army Air and Missile
Defense Task Force’’ dated July 2010.
Pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.9(c), the
SEIS is being prepared for the limited
purpose of supplementing the 2010
Final EIS regarding the establishment of
a live-fire training range complex, a
main cantonment area, including family
housing, and associated infrastructure
on Guam.
The purpose and need for the
proposed action is to ensure that the
relocated Marines are organized,
trained, and equipped as mandated in
Section 5063 of Title 10 of the U.S.
Code, to satisfy individual live-fire
training requirements as described in
the Final EIS and associated Record of
Decision (ROD), and to establish an
operational U.S. Marine Corps (USMC)
presence in Guam in accordance with
April 2012 adjustments to the May 2006
United States-Japan Roadmap for
Realignment Implementation
(Roadmap).
The proposed action that will be
analyzed in the SEIS is to construct and
operate a live-fire training range
complex on Guam that allows for
simultaneous use of all firing ranges to
support training and operations of the
SUMMARY:
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relocated Marines, and a main
cantonment area of sufficient size and
layout to provide military support
functions, including family housing.
The proposed action also includes the
construction of utilities and
infrastructure to support the range
complex, main cantonment, and
housing.
The live-fire training range complex
will consist of a Known Distance (KD)
rifle range, a KD pistol range, a Modified
Record of Fire Range, a nonstandard
small arms range, a Multipurpose
Machine Gun (MPMG) range, and a
hand grenade range. The main
cantonment area will provide military
support functions (also known as base
operations and support) to the relocated
Marines. Such functions include, but
are not limited to, headquarters and
administrative support, bachelor
housing, family housing, supply,
maintenance, open storage, community
support (e.g., retail, education,
recreation, medical, and day care), some
site-specific training, and open space
(e.g., parade grounds, open training
areas, and open green space in
communities). The proposed action also
includes the utilities and infrastructure
required to support the range,
cantonment, and housing areas.
The DoN has identified seven (7)
preliminary alternative locations for the
live-fire training range complex: Two
are adjacent to Route 15 in northeastern
Guam, three are located at or
immediately adjacent to the Naval
Magazine (NAVMAG), also known as
the Naval Munitions Site, one is located
at Andersen Air Force Base (AAFB)
Northwest Field in northern Guam, and
one is located at Naval Computer and
Telecommunications Station (NCTS)
Finegayan on the northwest coast of
Guam. The DoN has identified five (5)
preliminary alternatives for the main
cantonment/family housing: AAFB,
NCTS Finegayan, NCTS Finegayan
(main cantonment)/South Finegayan
Navy Housing (family housing), Navy
and Air Force Barrigada in the central
area of Guam, and Naval Base Guam in
the Apra Harbor area.
The preliminary alternatives may
continue to evolve as the DoN considers
public and regulatory agency input
through the NEPA process. For example,
the DoN is currently working with the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
to determine whether airspace impacts
would render an otherwise preliminary
alternative untenable. Should the FAA
conclude that an alternative’s conflicts
with existing airspace are unmitigatable,
that preliminary alternative would not
be carried forward for evaluation in the
SEIS.
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2012 / Notices
The DoN encourages government
agencies, private-sector organizations,
and the general public to participate in
the NEPA process for the SEIS. The DoN
has invited the U.S. Air Force, the FAA,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, the
Federal Highway Administration,
Environmental Protection Agency
Region 9, and the Office of Insular
Affairs in the U.S. Department of the
Interior to participate as cooperating
agencies in the preparation of the SEIS.
The DoN invites comments on the
expanded proposed scope and content
of the SEIS from all interested parties.
Comments on the scope of the SEIS may
be provided by mail and through the
SEIS Web site at: https://
guambuildupeis.us. In addition, the
DoN will conduct open-house style
public scoping meetings on Guam to
obtain comments on the scope of the
SEIS and to identify specific
environmental concerns or topics for
consideration in the SEIS. Meetings will
be held at the following locations and
times: Thursday, November 8, 2012,
from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Bldg. 4175 (Old
McCool School) Gym/Cafeteria, Santa
Rita, Guam; Friday, November 9, 2012,
from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Okkodo High
School, Dededo, Guam; and Saturday,
November 10, 2012, from 12 p.m. to 3
p.m., University of Guam Field House,
Mangilao, Guam.
Interested agencies, individuals, and
groups unable to attend the open-house
public scoping meetings are encouraged
to submit comments by December 10,
2012, Chamorro Standard Time (ChST).
Mailed comments should be postmarked
no later than December 10, 2012, ChST
to ensure they are considered. Mail
comments to: Joint Guam Program
Office Forward, P.O. Box 153246, Santa
Rita, Guam 96915.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Todd Spitler, Communications Director,
Joint Guam Program Office, phone 703–
602–4728. On Guam, please contact
Major Darren Alvarez, Joint Guam
Program Office Forward, phone 671–
339–3337.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DoN’s
proposed action is to construct and
operate a live-fire training range
complex, a main cantonment area,
including family housing, and
associated infrastructure in support of
the Guam Military Relocation.
Background
A ROD for the Final EIS was signed
on September 20, 2010 (75 FR 60438,
September 30, 2010). The ROD deferred
a decision on the specific site for a livefire training range complex. Regarding
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the establishment of the main
cantonment area, the ROD selected an
area utilizing Department of Defense
(DoD)-owned lands at NCTS Finegayan
and South Finegayan Navy Housing and
acquiring land known as the former
FAA parcel. The Final EIS identified
this total area as the Preferred
Alternative for establishment of the
main cantonment area.
In the months following the issuance
of the ROD, the DoN made adjustments
with regards to the live-fire training
range complex, including application of
probabilistic modeling that shrank the
overall footprint of the MPMG range.
DoN also formally committed that if the
Route 15 area was selected for the livefire training range complex, DoN would
provide for 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week access to Pagat Village and Pagat
Cave historical sites, to include the trail
leading to both.
Faced with this new information, the
DoN initially elected to prepare a SEIS
limited solely to the evaluation of
impacts associated with the location,
construction, and operation of the livefire training range complex. The DoN
issued its Notice of Intent (NOI) to
prepare the SEIS in February 2012 (77
FR 6787, February 9, 2012). In the NOI,
the DoN preliminarily identified five
alternatives for the range complex: Two
were adjacent to Route 15 in
northeastern Guam, and three were
located at or immediately adjacent to
the NAVMAG. Public scoping meetings
were conducted for the SEIS in March
2012, and the public scoping comment
period closed on April 6, 2012.
Shortly after the close of the public
comment period, on April 27, 2012, the
U.S.-Japan Security Consultative
Committee (SCC) issued a joint
statement announcing its decision to
adjust the plans outlined in the May
2006 Realignment Roadmap. In
accordance with the SCC’s adjustments,
the DoD adopted a new force posture in
the Pacific providing for a materially
smaller force on Guam. Specifically, the
adjustments include reducing the
originally planned relocation of
approximately 8,600 Marines and 9,000
dependents to a force of approximately
5,000 Marines and approximately 1,300
dependents on Guam. That decision
prompted the DoN’s review of the major
actions previously planned for Guam
and approved in the September 2010
ROD. This review concluded that while
some actions remain unchanged as a
result of the smaller force size, others,
such as the main cantonment and family
housing areas, could significantly
change as a result of the modified force.
The DoN has opted to issue a new NOI
and amend the scope of the ongoing
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61747
SEIS to add those actions that may
materially change as a result of the new
force posture.
Range of Preliminary Alternatives
The proposed reduction in the size of
the new force structure does not affect
all of the decisions that were made in
the September 2010 ROD. For example,
the relocation of the Marine Corps
Aviation Combat Element facilities to
AAFB, the development of the North
Gate and access road at AAFB, the
establishment of training ranges on
Tinian, Apra Harbor wharf
improvements, and the non-live-fire
training ranges on Andersen South
remain unaffected by the changes in
force structure resulting from the April
2012 Roadmap adjustments. These
actions will occur no matter where on
Guam the main cantonment and family
housing areas and live-fire training
range complex are situated. The
potential environmental effects of these
actions were fully and accurately
considered and analyzed in the 2010
Final EIS. For those decisions that are
not affected by the new force structure,
the September 2010 ROD stands as the
final agency action for those elements.
The expanded scope of the SEIS does
not include the transient aircraft carrier
berthing in Apra Harbor and the Army
Air and Missile Defense Task Force.
The reduction in the number of
Marines and dependents to be relocated
to Guam led to a reduction in the
footprint for the main cantonment area,
enabling development of new
preliminary alternatives to be
considered. The possibility of not
establishing the main cantonment area
at NCTS Finegayan opened that area up
for consideration as a new preliminary
alternative for the live-fire training
range complex. Consideration of public
input, refinement of range designs, and
a reassessment of operational
requirements, conflicts, and
opportunities resulted in AAFB
Northwest Field being added as a new
preliminary range alternative. The
number and size of the ranges
comprising the live-fire training range
complex are unaffected by the April
2012 adjustments to the Roadmap and
will remain as described in the 2010
Final EIS. Similarly, the qualification
standards have not changed.
The DoN has identified five (5)
preliminary alternatives for
establishment of the main cantonment/
family housing area: AAFB, NCTS
Finegayan, NCTS Finegayan (main
cantonment)/South Finegayan Navy
Housing (family housing), Navy and Air
Force Barrigada, and Naval Base Guam.
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61748
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2012 / Notices
The SEIS will also consider the No
Action Alternative. Under the No
Action Alternative, the DoN would
continue to implement the September
2010 ROD. The decision to construct
and operate the live-fire training range
complex would remain deferred, and
DoN would establish a main
cantonment area for approximately
8,600 Marines and approximately 9,000
dependents on DoD-controlled lands at
NCTS Finegayan and South Finegayan
and by acquiring land known as the
former FAA parcel. Although the No
Action Alternative presumes the present
course of action identified in the
September 2010 ROD, for purposes of
assessing the environmental impacts of
the proposed alternatives in the SEIS,
the DoN will compare the impacts of the
proposed action to the baseline
conditions identified in the July 2010
Final EIS. Baseline conditions will be
updated in the SEIS, as appropriate, if
new information is made available. The
No Action Alternative is not a
reasonable alternative. Foremost, it is
inconsistent with the new force posture
adopted by the DoD in accordance with
the SCC’s April 27, 2012 adjustments to
the Roadmap, which provide for a
materially smaller relocated force on
Guam. Furthermore, the No Action
Alternative neither satisfies the need for
training requirements for the relocated
Marines as mandated in Section 5063 of
Title 10 the U.S. Code, nor the
individual live-fire training
requirements as described in the Final
EIS and ROD.
The SEIS will evaluate environmental
effects associated with: Geology and
soils; water resources, which may
include surface and ground water,
floodplains, wetlands, wild and scenic
rivers; terrestrial biology; threatened
and endangered species and their
designated critical habitat (if
applicable); air quality; noise; airspace;
cultural resources; socioeconomics;
environmental justice (minority and low
income populations and children); land
use and coastal zone management
federal consistency; utilities,
transportation; hazardous materials/
hazardous waste/installation
restoration; public health and safety;
and other environmental concerns as
identified through scoping. The analysis
will include an evaluation of direct and
indirect impacts, and will account for
cumulative impacts from other relevant
activities in the area of Guam.
Additionally, the DoN will undertake
any consultations required by all
applicable laws or regulations.
No decision will be made to
implement any alternative until the
SEIS process is completed and a ROD is
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signed by the Assistant Secretary of the
Navy (Energy, Installations and
Environment) or her/his designee.
By publishing this Notice, the DoN is
initiating a scoping process to identify
community concerns and issues that
should be addressed in the SEIS.
Federal, Territorial, and local agencies,
and interested parties and persons are
encouraged to provide comments on the
proposed action that clearly describe
specific issues or topics of
environmental concern that the
commenter believes the DoN should
consider. Additional information will be
posted on the project web site as it
becomes available.
Comments may be submitted in
writing at one of the public scoping
meetings, through the project web site
at: https://guambuildupeis.us, or may be
mailed to: Joint Guam Program Office
Forward, P.O. Box 153246, Santa Rita,
Guam, 96915.
To ensure consideration, all written
comments on the scope of the SEIS must
be submitted or postmarked by
December 10, 2012, ChST.
LOCALIZATION, CLASSIFICATION
AND TRACKING OF MAGNETIC
OBJECTS//
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the
patents cited should be directed to
Office of Counsel, Naval Surface
Warfare Center Panama City Division,
110 Vernon Ave., Panama City, FL
32407–7001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
James Shepherd, Patent Counsel, Naval
Surface Warfare Center Panama City
Division, 110 Vernon Ave., Panama
City, FL 32407–7001, telephone 850–
234–4646.
Dated: October 4, 2012.
C.K. Chiappetta,
Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge
Advocate General, U.S. Navy, Federal
Register Liaison Officer.
Annual Public Meeting of the
Interagency Steering Committee on
Multimedia Environmental Modeling
[FR Doc. 2012–24972 Filed 10–10–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P
Authority: 35 U.S.C. 207, 37 CFR part 404.
Dated: October 3, 2012.
C.K. Chiappetta,
Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge
Advocate General, U.S. Navy, Federal
Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012–24967 Filed 10–10–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Environmental
Management, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
The annual public meeting of
the Federal Interagency Steering
Committee on Multimedia
Environmental Modeling (ISCMEM) will
convene to discuss the latest
developments in environmental
modeling applications, tools and
frameworks as well as new operational
initiatives for FY 2013 among the
participating agencies. The meeting will
be hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey,
one of the participants in the ISCMEM,
at its headquarters facility in Reston,
VA. The meeting is open to the public
and all interested parties may attend.
DATES: November 7 and 8, 2012, from
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., EST and
November 9, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to
noon, EST.
ADDRESSES: U.S. Geological Survey,
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston,
Virginia.
SUMMARY:
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Availability of GovernmentOwned Inventions; Available for
Licensing
Department of the Navy, DoD.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The inventions listed below
are assigned to the United States
Government as represented by the
Secretary of the Navy and are available
for domestic and foreign licensing by
the Department of the Navy.
The following patents are available for
licensing: Patent No. 7,810,498:
VOLUME EXPANSION SYSTEM FOR
BREATHING GAS IN CLOSED-CIRCUIT
BREATHING//Patent No. 7,813,529:
OPTICAL 3-D SURFACE
TOMOGRAPHY USING DEPTH FROM
FOCUS OF PARTIALLY OVERLAPPING
2-D IMAGES//Patent No. 7,905,527:
HARNESS ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN
UNDERWATER RECOVERY
OPERATIONS//Patent No. 7,932,718:
SYSTEM AND METHOD USING
MAGNETIC ANOMALY FIELD
MAGNITUDES FOR DETECTION,
SUMMARY:
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Preregistration may be accomplished
through the ISCMEM public Web site:
https://iemhub.org/topics/iscmem.
Instructions for registration through the
Web site may be requested by email to
Whelan.Gene@epamail.epa.gov. Other
inquiries and notice of intent to attend
the meeting may be faxed or emailed to:
Dr. Ming Zhu, ISCMEM Chair, U.S.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 197 (Thursday, October 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61746-61748]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24972]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Military Relocation (2012 Roadmap Adjustments) and Notice of Public
Scoping Meetings
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the
Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to expand the scope
of the ongoing Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for a
live-fire training range complex on Guam to evaluate the potential
environmental consequences from construction and operation of a main
cantonment area, including family housing, and associated
infrastructure on Guam to support the relocation of a substantially
reduced number of Marines than previously analyzed. This SEIS will
supplement the Final EIS for the ``Guam and Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands Military Relocation; Relocating Marines from
Okinawa, Visiting Aircraft Carrier Berthing, and Army Air and Missile
Defense Task Force'' dated July 2010.
Pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.9(c), the SEIS is being prepared for the
limited purpose of supplementing the 2010 Final EIS regarding the
establishment of a live-fire training range complex, a main cantonment
area, including family housing, and associated infrastructure on Guam.
The purpose and need for the proposed action is to ensure that the
relocated Marines are organized, trained, and equipped as mandated in
Section 5063 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code, to satisfy individual live-
fire training requirements as described in the Final EIS and associated
Record of Decision (ROD), and to establish an operational U.S. Marine
Corps (USMC) presence in Guam in accordance with April 2012 adjustments
to the May 2006 United States-Japan Roadmap for Realignment
Implementation (Roadmap).
The proposed action that will be analyzed in the SEIS is to
construct and operate a live-fire training range complex on Guam that
allows for simultaneous use of all firing ranges to support training
and operations of the relocated Marines, and a main cantonment area of
sufficient size and layout to provide military support functions,
including family housing. The proposed action also includes the
construction of utilities and infrastructure to support the range
complex, main cantonment, and housing.
The live-fire training range complex will consist of a Known
Distance (KD) rifle range, a KD pistol range, a Modified Record of Fire
Range, a nonstandard small arms range, a Multipurpose Machine Gun
(MPMG) range, and a hand grenade range. The main cantonment area will
provide military support functions (also known as base operations and
support) to the relocated Marines. Such functions include, but are not
limited to, headquarters and administrative support, bachelor housing,
family housing, supply, maintenance, open storage, community support
(e.g., retail, education, recreation, medical, and day care), some
site-specific training, and open space (e.g., parade grounds, open
training areas, and open green space in communities). The proposed
action also includes the utilities and infrastructure required to
support the range, cantonment, and housing areas.
The DoN has identified seven (7) preliminary alternative locations
for the live-fire training range complex: Two are adjacent to Route 15
in northeastern Guam, three are located at or immediately adjacent to
the Naval Magazine (NAVMAG), also known as the Naval Munitions Site,
one is located at Andersen Air Force Base (AAFB) Northwest Field in
northern Guam, and one is located at Naval Computer and
Telecommunications Station (NCTS) Finegayan on the northwest coast of
Guam. The DoN has identified five (5) preliminary alternatives for the
main cantonment/family housing: AAFB, NCTS Finegayan, NCTS Finegayan
(main cantonment)/South Finegayan Navy Housing (family housing), Navy
and Air Force Barrigada in the central area of Guam, and Naval Base
Guam in the Apra Harbor area.
The preliminary alternatives may continue to evolve as the DoN
considers public and regulatory agency input through the NEPA process.
For example, the DoN is currently working with the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) to determine whether airspace impacts would render
an otherwise preliminary alternative untenable. Should the FAA conclude
that an alternative's conflicts with existing airspace are
unmitigatable, that preliminary alternative would not be carried
forward for evaluation in the SEIS.
[[Page 61747]]
The DoN encourages government agencies, private-sector
organizations, and the general public to participate in the NEPA
process for the SEIS. The DoN has invited the U.S. Air Force, the FAA,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
the Federal Highway Administration, Environmental Protection Agency
Region 9, and the Office of Insular Affairs in the U.S. Department of
the Interior to participate as cooperating agencies in the preparation
of the SEIS.
The DoN invites comments on the expanded proposed scope and content
of the SEIS from all interested parties. Comments on the scope of the
SEIS may be provided by mail and through the SEIS Web site at: https://guambuildupeis.us. In addition, the DoN will conduct open-house style
public scoping meetings on Guam to obtain comments on the scope of the
SEIS and to identify specific environmental concerns or topics for
consideration in the SEIS. Meetings will be held at the following
locations and times: Thursday, November 8, 2012, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
Bldg. 4175 (Old McCool School) Gym/Cafeteria, Santa Rita, Guam; Friday,
November 9, 2012, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Okkodo High School, Dededo,
Guam; and Saturday, November 10, 2012, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.,
University of Guam Field House, Mangilao, Guam.
Interested agencies, individuals, and groups unable to attend the
open-house public scoping meetings are encouraged to submit comments by
December 10, 2012, Chamorro Standard Time (ChST). Mailed comments
should be postmarked no later than December 10, 2012, ChST to ensure
they are considered. Mail comments to: Joint Guam Program Office
Forward, P.O. Box 153246, Santa Rita, Guam 96915.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Todd Spitler, Communications
Director, Joint Guam Program Office, phone 703-602-4728. On Guam,
please contact Major Darren Alvarez, Joint Guam Program Office Forward,
phone 671-339-3337.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DoN's proposed action is to construct
and operate a live-fire training range complex, a main cantonment area,
including family housing, and associated infrastructure in support of
the Guam Military Relocation.
Background
A ROD for the Final EIS was signed on September 20, 2010 (75 FR
60438, September 30, 2010). The ROD deferred a decision on the specific
site for a live-fire training range complex. Regarding the
establishment of the main cantonment area, the ROD selected an area
utilizing Department of Defense (DoD)-owned lands at NCTS Finegayan and
South Finegayan Navy Housing and acquiring land known as the former FAA
parcel. The Final EIS identified this total area as the Preferred
Alternative for establishment of the main cantonment area.
In the months following the issuance of the ROD, the DoN made
adjustments with regards to the live-fire training range complex,
including application of probabilistic modeling that shrank the overall
footprint of the MPMG range. DoN also formally committed that if the
Route 15 area was selected for the live-fire training range complex,
DoN would provide for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access to Pagat
Village and Pagat Cave historical sites, to include the trail leading
to both.
Faced with this new information, the DoN initially elected to
prepare a SEIS limited solely to the evaluation of impacts associated
with the location, construction, and operation of the live-fire
training range complex. The DoN issued its Notice of Intent (NOI) to
prepare the SEIS in February 2012 (77 FR 6787, February 9, 2012). In
the NOI, the DoN preliminarily identified five alternatives for the
range complex: Two were adjacent to Route 15 in northeastern Guam, and
three were located at or immediately adjacent to the NAVMAG. Public
scoping meetings were conducted for the SEIS in March 2012, and the
public scoping comment period closed on April 6, 2012.
Shortly after the close of the public comment period, on April 27,
2012, the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee (SCC) issued a
joint statement announcing its decision to adjust the plans outlined in
the May 2006 Realignment Roadmap. In accordance with the SCC's
adjustments, the DoD adopted a new force posture in the Pacific
providing for a materially smaller force on Guam. Specifically, the
adjustments include reducing the originally planned relocation of
approximately 8,600 Marines and 9,000 dependents to a force of
approximately 5,000 Marines and approximately 1,300 dependents on Guam.
That decision prompted the DoN's review of the major actions previously
planned for Guam and approved in the September 2010 ROD. This review
concluded that while some actions remain unchanged as a result of the
smaller force size, others, such as the main cantonment and family
housing areas, could significantly change as a result of the modified
force. The DoN has opted to issue a new NOI and amend the scope of the
ongoing SEIS to add those actions that may materially change as a
result of the new force posture.
Range of Preliminary Alternatives
The proposed reduction in the size of the new force structure does
not affect all of the decisions that were made in the September 2010
ROD. For example, the relocation of the Marine Corps Aviation Combat
Element facilities to AAFB, the development of the North Gate and
access road at AAFB, the establishment of training ranges on Tinian,
Apra Harbor wharf improvements, and the non-live-fire training ranges
on Andersen South remain unaffected by the changes in force structure
resulting from the April 2012 Roadmap adjustments. These actions will
occur no matter where on Guam the main cantonment and family housing
areas and live-fire training range complex are situated. The potential
environmental effects of these actions were fully and accurately
considered and analyzed in the 2010 Final EIS. For those decisions that
are not affected by the new force structure, the September 2010 ROD
stands as the final agency action for those elements. The expanded
scope of the SEIS does not include the transient aircraft carrier
berthing in Apra Harbor and the Army Air and Missile Defense Task
Force.
The reduction in the number of Marines and dependents to be
relocated to Guam led to a reduction in the footprint for the main
cantonment area, enabling development of new preliminary alternatives
to be considered. The possibility of not establishing the main
cantonment area at NCTS Finegayan opened that area up for consideration
as a new preliminary alternative for the live-fire training range
complex. Consideration of public input, refinement of range designs,
and a reassessment of operational requirements, conflicts, and
opportunities resulted in AAFB Northwest Field being added as a new
preliminary range alternative. The number and size of the ranges
comprising the live-fire training range complex are unaffected by the
April 2012 adjustments to the Roadmap and will remain as described in
the 2010 Final EIS. Similarly, the qualification standards have not
changed.
The DoN has identified five (5) preliminary alternatives for
establishment of the main cantonment/family housing area: AAFB, NCTS
Finegayan, NCTS Finegayan (main cantonment)/South Finegayan Navy
Housing (family housing), Navy and Air Force Barrigada, and Naval Base
Guam.
[[Page 61748]]
The SEIS will also consider the No Action Alternative. Under the No
Action Alternative, the DoN would continue to implement the September
2010 ROD. The decision to construct and operate the live-fire training
range complex would remain deferred, and DoN would establish a main
cantonment area for approximately 8,600 Marines and approximately 9,000
dependents on DoD-controlled lands at NCTS Finegayan and South
Finegayan and by acquiring land known as the former FAA parcel.
Although the No Action Alternative presumes the present course of
action identified in the September 2010 ROD, for purposes of assessing
the environmental impacts of the proposed alternatives in the SEIS, the
DoN will compare the impacts of the proposed action to the baseline
conditions identified in the July 2010 Final EIS. Baseline conditions
will be updated in the SEIS, as appropriate, if new information is made
available. The No Action Alternative is not a reasonable alternative.
Foremost, it is inconsistent with the new force posture adopted by the
DoD in accordance with the SCC's April 27, 2012 adjustments to the
Roadmap, which provide for a materially smaller relocated force on
Guam. Furthermore, the No Action Alternative neither satisfies the need
for training requirements for the relocated Marines as mandated in
Section 5063 of Title 10 the U.S. Code, nor the individual live-fire
training requirements as described in the Final EIS and ROD.
The SEIS will evaluate environmental effects associated with:
Geology and soils; water resources, which may include surface and
ground water, floodplains, wetlands, wild and scenic rivers;
terrestrial biology; threatened and endangered species and their
designated critical habitat (if applicable); air quality; noise;
airspace; cultural resources; socioeconomics; environmental justice
(minority and low income populations and children); land use and
coastal zone management federal consistency; utilities, transportation;
hazardous materials/hazardous waste/installation restoration; public
health and safety; and other environmental concerns as identified
through scoping. The analysis will include an evaluation of direct and
indirect impacts, and will account for cumulative impacts from other
relevant activities in the area of Guam. Additionally, the DoN will
undertake any consultations required by all applicable laws or
regulations.
No decision will be made to implement any alternative until the
SEIS process is completed and a ROD is signed by the Assistant
Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations and Environment) or her/
his designee.
By publishing this Notice, the DoN is initiating a scoping process
to identify community concerns and issues that should be addressed in
the SEIS. Federal, Territorial, and local agencies, and interested
parties and persons are encouraged to provide comments on the proposed
action that clearly describe specific issues or topics of environmental
concern that the commenter believes the DoN should consider. Additional
information will be posted on the project web site as it becomes
available.
Comments may be submitted in writing at one of the public scoping
meetings, through the project web site at: https://guambuildupeis.us, or
may be mailed to: Joint Guam Program Office Forward, P.O. Box 153246,
Santa Rita, Guam, 96915.
To ensure consideration, all written comments on the scope of the
SEIS must be submitted or postmarked by December 10, 2012, ChST.
Dated: October 4, 2012.
C.K. Chiappetta,
Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-24972 Filed 10-10-12; 8:45 am]
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