Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Disposal and Reuse of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove, Horsham, Pennsylvania, and To Announce Public Meetings, 77440-77442 [2013-30505]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
• Department of the Navy

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77440-77442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30505]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Disposal and Reuse of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve 
Base Willow Grove, Horsham, Pennsylvania, and To Announce Public 
Meetings

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, 42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 4321-4370f), as 
implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 1500-1508), the Department of 
the Navy (DoN) has prepared and filed the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental consequences 
associated with the disposal of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base 
(NAS JRB) Willow Grove, Horsham, Pennsylvania, and its subsequent reuse 
by the local redevelopment authority. On September 15, 2011, the 
installation officially closed, as required by Public Law 101-510, the 
Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended in 2005. 
Public meetings will be held in an open house format to provide 
information and receive oral and written comments on the Draft EIS. 
Federal, state, and local agencies and interested individuals are 
invited to be present or represented at the meetings.

Dates and Addresses: The DoN is initiating a public comment period to 
provide the community an opportunity to comment on the Draft EIS. 
Federal, state, and local elected officials and agencies and the public 
are encouraged to provide written or oral comments at two scheduled 
open house public meetings to be held at the Horsham Township Community 
Center, located at 1025 Horsham Road in Horsham Township, Pennsylvania. 
The public meetings are scheduled as follows:

Monday, January 13, 2014 (5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.)

[[Page 77441]]

Tuesday, January 14, 2014 (11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, BRAC Program Management 
Office East, 4911 South Broad Street, Building 679, Philadelphia, PA 
19112-1303, telephone: 215-897-4900, fax: 215-897-4902, email: 
gregory.preston@navy.mil.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DoN has prepared the Draft EIS for the 
Disposal and Reuse of NAS JRB Willow Grove, Horsham, Pennsylvania, in 
accordance with the requirements of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321-4345) and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508). A Notice of Intent 
(NOI) for this Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on 
November 23, 2012 (Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 226/Friday, November 
23, 2012/Notices). The DoN is the lead agency for the proposed action. 
The purpose of the proposed action is the disposal of NAS JRB Willow 
Grove from federal ownership and its subsequent reuse in a manner 
consistent with the NAS JRB Willow Grove Redevelopment Plan as 
developed by the Horsham Township Authority in March 2012. NAS JRB 
Willow Grove was officially closed on September 15, 2011, as required 
by Public Law 101-510, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 
1990, as amended in 2005 (the BRAC Law). The BRAC Law exempts the 
decision-making process of the BRAC Commission from the provisions of 
NEPA. The Law also relieves the Department of Defense (DoD) from the 
NEPA requirements to consider the need for closing, realigning, or 
transferring functions and from looking at alternative installations to 
close or realign. However, in accordance with NEPA, before disposing of 
any real property, the DoN must analyze the environmental effects of 
the disposal of the property. This Draft EIS has identified and 
considered three redevelopment alternatives for the disposal and reuse 
of NAS JRB Willow Grove. The No Action Alternative was also considered, 
as required by NEPA and to provide a point of comparison for assessing 
impacts of the redevelopment alternatives.
    Alternative 1 includes the disposal of the former NAS JRB Willow 
Grove by the DoN and its reuse in a manner consistent with the NAS JRB 
Willow Grove Redevelopment Plan. This alternative has been identified 
as the Preferred Alternative by the DoN. Full build-out of the 
Redevelopment Plan would be implemented over a 20-year period. The plan 
calls for redevelopment of most of the former installation property and 
includes a mix of land use types and densities, as well as open space 
and natural areas. The airfield and most installation facilities would 
be demolished. The Redevelopment Plan incorporates mixed-use, 
pedestrian-oriented features (e.g., a town center, walkable 
neighborhoods, and bike lanes), open spaces, best management practices 
for stormwater management, and green and sustainable design principles. 
The redevelopment would make available approximately 2.3 million square 
feet of non-residential building space and a mix of 1,486 residential 
housing units.
    Alternative 2 provides for the disposal of the former installation 
property by the DoN but has a higher density of residential development 
than under Alternative 1 and a similar level of mixed-use development. 
As with Alternative 1, the airfield and most installation facilities 
would be demolished. This alternative includes a mix of land use types, 
open space, and natural areas and incorporates smart-growth principles 
that include pedestrian-friendly transportation and compact 
development. Full build-out is proposed to be implemented over a 20-
year period. This alternative calls for approximately 2.1 million 
square feet of non-residential building space and a mix of 1,999 
residential housing units.
    Alternative 3 would maintain the existing runway and a portion of 
the taxiways, parking aprons, and hangar space for airfield operations. 
After accounting for the area taken up by critical airfield/air 
operation elements (approximately 350 acres) and the areas that provide 
open space surrounding the airfield due to safety setbacks associated 
with the airfield (approximately 300 acres), the remaining land 
available for redevelopment would be approximately 210 acres. The 
layout of Alternative 3 incorporates the approximate sizes and 
locations of several elements from the Preferred Alternative 
(Alternative 1), such as the recreation center, aviation museum, and 
golf course. However, due to the land use constraints imposed by 
inclusion of the airfield, this option excludes a majority of 
residential development land uses within the former installation 
property, including a town center.
    The No Action Alternative is also analyzed in the Draft EIS, as 
required by NEPA. Under this alternative, NAS JRB Willow Grove would be 
retained by the U.S. government in caretaker status. No reuse or 
redevelopment would occur at the facility.
    The Draft EIS addresses potential environmental impacts under each 
alternative associated with: Land use, socioeconomics and environmental 
justice, community services, transportation, environmental management, 
air quality, noise, infrastructure and utilities, cultural resources, 
topography, geology, soils, water resources, vegetation, and wildlife. 
The analyses include direct and indirect impacts, and accounts for 
cumulative impacts from other foreseeable federal, state, or local 
activities at and around the former NAS JRB Willow Grove property. The 
DoN conducted the scoping process to identify community concerns and 
local issues that should be addressed in the EIS. The DoN considered 
the comments provided, which identified specific issues or topics of 
environmental concern, in determining the scope of the EIS. The Draft 
EIS has been distributed to various federal, state, and local agencies, 
as well as other interested individuals and organizations. In addition, 
copies of the Draft EIS have been distributed to the following 
libraries and publicly accessible facilities for public review: Horsham 
Township Library, 435 Babylon Road, Horsham, Pennsylvania, 19044-1224.
    An electronic copy of the Draft EIS is available for public viewing 
at https://www.willowgroveeis.com. Federal, state, and local agencies, 
as well as other interested parties, are invited and encouraged to be 
present or represented at the public meetings.
    Comments can be made in the following ways: (1) Written statements 
can be submitted to a DoN representative at the public meetings; (2) 
spoken comments can be provided to and recorded by a court reporter who 
will be present at the public meeting; (3) written comments can be 
mailed to 4911 South Broad Street, Building 679, Philadelphia, PA 
19112-1303, Attn: Willow Grove EIS; (4) comments can be emailed to 
gregory.preston@navy.mil; or (5) comments can be faxed to 215-897-4902, 
Attn: Willow Grove EIS. Comments may be submitted without attending the 
public meetings. Equal weight will be given to oral and written 
statements. All comments postmarked or emailed no later than midnight 
February 10, 2014, will become part of the public record and will be 
responded to in the Final EIS.
    Requests for special assistance, sign language interpretation for 
the hearing impaired, language interpreters, or other auxiliary aids 
for the scheduled public meetings must be sent by mail or email to Mr. 
Matthew Butwin, Ecology and Environment, Inc., 368 Pleasant View Drive, 
Lancaster, NY 14086, telephone: 716-684-8060, email: mbutwin@ene.com no 
later than January 6, 2014.


[[Page 77442]]


    Dated: December 17, 2013.
N.A. Hagerty-Ford,
Commander, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy, Federal 
Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-30505 Filed 12-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P