Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a Replacement Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Louisville, Kentucky, 66979-66980 [2015-27658]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 210 / Friday, October 30, 2015 / Notices
have been considered and are included
where relevant within the Draft EIS.
The VA BHHCS Reconfiguration Draft
EIS is available for viewing on the VA
BHHCS Web site www.blackhills.va.gov/
vablackhillsfuture/ and at the Hot
Springs, Rapid City Downtown, Sturgis,
Chadron, Alliance, Lied Scottsbluff, and
Pierre (Rawlins Municipal) public
libraries; as well as in Pine Ridge at the
Oglala Lakota College Pine Ridge Center
library on the high school campus.
Information related to the EIS process
is also available for viewing on the VA
BHHCS Web site www.blackhills.va.gov/
vablackhillsfuture/.
Meetings
Interested parties are invited to
participate in any of six public meetings
summarizing the results of the Draft EIS.
These meetings will be held in Rapid
City, SD; Hot Springs, SD; Pine Ridge,
SD; Chadron, NE; Alliance, NE; and
Scottsbluff, NE. The dates, times, and
locations for these meetings will be
published online at www.blackhills.va.
gov/vablackhillsfuture/.
At the public meetings, interested
parties will also have the opportunity to
comment regarding the National
Historic Preservation Act Section 106
process, which has been integrated into
this NEPA process.
Signing Authority
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or
designee, approved this document and
authorized the undersigned to sign and
submit the document to the Office of the
Federal Register for publication
electronically as an official document of
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Robert L. Nabors II, Chief of Staff,
Department of Veterans Affairs,
approved this document on October 26,
2015, for publication.
Dated: October 27, 2015.
Michael Shores,
Chief Impact Analyst, Office of Regulation
Policy & Management, Office of the General
Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2015–27684 Filed 10–29–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
National Research Advisory Council;
Notice of Meeting
The Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) gives notice under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C., App.
2, that the National Research Advisory
Council will hold a meeting on
Wednesday, December 9, 2015, at 810
Vermont Ave. NW., Conference Room
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:37 Oct 29, 2015
Jkt 238001
730, Washington, DC 20420. The
meeting will convene at 9:00 a.m. and
end at 4:00 p.m., and is open to the
public. Anyone attending must show a
valid photo ID to building security and
be escorted to the meeting. Please allow
15 minutes before the meeting begins for
this process.
The agenda will include a review of
the Million Veteran Program and a joint
meeting with the Association of
American Medical Colleges.
No time will be allocated at this
meeting for receiving oral presentations
from the public. Members of the public
wanting to attend, or needing further
information may contact Pauline
Cilladi-Rehrer, Designated Federal
Officer, ORD (10P9), Department of
Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue
NW., Washington, DC 20420, at (202)
443–5607, or by email at pauline.cilladirehrer@va.gov, at least 5 days prior to
the meeting date.
Dated: October 27, 2015.
Rebecca Schiller,
Advisory Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015–27680 Filed 10–29–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for a
Replacement Robley Rex Veterans
Affairs Medical Center, Louisville,
Kentucky
Department of Veterans Affairs.
Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), VA intends to
prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for constructing and
operating a new campus to replace the
existing VA Medical Center, Veterans
Benefits Administration office, and
three community-based outpatient
clinics in Louisville, Kentucky. VA
seeks public scoping input on the EIS.
DATES: Interested parties are invited to
submit scoping comments for the
Replacement Louisville VAMC EIS by
Monday, November 30, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Submit scoping comments
online through www.Louisville-EIS.com,
by email to LouisvilleReplacement
HospitalComments@va.gov, or by
regular mail to Robley Rex VAMC, Attn:
Replacement VAMC Activation Team
Office, 800 Zorn Avenue, Louisville, KY
40206.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robley Rex VAMC, Attn: Replacement
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00114
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
66979
VAMC Activation Team Office, 800
Zorn Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206 or
by email to LouisvilleReplacement
HospitalComments@va.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA
proposes to construct and operate a new
104-bed hospital, which will include
diagnostic and treatment facilities, a
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
regional office, and required site
amenities and improvements on a new
campus. This proposed project would
replace the existing Robley Rex VA
Medical Center (VAMC), three
community-based outpatient clinics,
and the existing VBA regional office
with new facilities of sufficient capacity
to meet the current and projected future
healthcare needs of Veterans in the
Louisville service area. The proposed
project is needed because the existing
Louisville VAMC facilities on Zorn
Avenue have reached the end of their
serviceable lives. The building
conditions and site configuration at the
existing 63-year old VAMC are
inadequate to effectively and efficiently
meet the expanding needs of VA’s
health care mission and VBA services in
the region. Within the Louisville service
area, 60,943 Veterans were enrolled to
receive care in Fiscal Year 2014.
Enrollment is expected to increase to
more than 68,000 by FY 2024. During
this same time period, outpatient clinic
stops are expected to increase from
763,104 to over 963,000. The existing
Louisville VAMC facility is insufficient
to meet the current and the increasing
future needs of VA’s health care mission
in the region. Therefore, VA conducted
studies beginning in 2009 that
recommended new facilities be
constructed on a new site that would be
better suited to meet future needs.
VA has identified two potential action
alternatives to be analyzed in detail in
this EIS: Construction and operation of
a replacement VAMC campus at the
‘‘Brownsboro Site’’ at 4906 Brownsboro
Road, Louisville; and construction and
operation of a replacement VAMC
campus at the ‘‘St. Joseph Site,’’ on a
parcel located east of I–265 and south of
Factory Lane in Louisville. The
Brownsboro and St. Joseph Sites were
identified through a site selection
process conducted by VA in 2011. The
Brownsboro Site was acquired by VA in
2012 as the proposed location for the
replacement VAMC. In addition to these
two action alternatives, the EIS also will
evaluate the impacts associated with No
Action or ‘‘status quo’’ as required by
the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and its implementing
regulations. The three community-based
outpatient clinics and the existing VBA
E:\FR\FM\30OCN1.SGM
30OCN1
66980
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 210 / Friday, October 30, 2015 / Notices
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
regional office are currently located in
leased spaces, for which the leases
would not be renewed under either
action alternative. VA has tentatively
determined that renovating the existing
Robley Rex VAMC is not a reasonably
foreseeable alternative and would
adversely affect VA’s ability to provide
needed services to Veterans.
Environmental topics that will be
addressed in the EIS include aesthetics,
air quality, cultural resources and
historic properties, geology and soils,
hydrology and water quality, wildlife
and habitat, noise, land use, floodplains
and wetlands, socioeconomics,
community services, solid waste and
hazardous materials, transportation and
traffic, utilities, and environmental
justice. Best management practices and
mitigation measures that could alleviate
any identified environmental effects
will be included where relevant.
Two prior environmental assessments
(EAs) addressed aspects of VA’s
proposal. In June 2012, VA completed a
Programmatic EA of the Proposed Site
Selection, Construction, and Operation
of a Replacement Louisville VA Medical
Center. This analysis concluded with a
Finding of No Significant Impact for
selecting and acquiring the Brownsboro
Site for the replacement Louisville
VAMC, with the provision that
mitigation measures would be identified
in a subsequent site-specific EA to
ensure that impacts would not be
significant. In December 2014, VA
published a Draft Site-Specific EA:
Proposed Replacement VA Medical
Center Campus, Louisville, Kentucky.
However, upon further review before
publishing a Final Site-Specific EA, VA
concluded that an EIS was the
appropriate level of NEPA
documentation for evaluating the
potential for adverse impacts from
constructing and operating a
replacement campus at the Brownsboro
Site. This Notice of Intent initiates the
EIS for the replacement Louisville
VAMC campus.
Extensive public input was provided
by Veterans, elected officials, residents
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:37 Oct 29, 2015
Jkt 238001
near the proposed new locations, and
other interested members of the public
throughout the scoping and public draft
reviews for the two EAs. These
comments remain in the project record
and are being incorporated as identified
scoping issues for this EIS.
VA does not intend to hold a public
scoping event specific to this EIS,
anticipating that any input would
largely reiterate issues that have been
previously identified. Upon specific
request, VA will consider whether an
additional in-person scoping event
would enhance public involvement in
this EIS. The event would be at a
Louisville venue at which a project fact
sheet would be available in hard copy,
posters summarizing the EIS process
would be available for viewing, and
members of the public could submit
written comments using either comment
forms or their own written format. There
would be no formal presentation by VA
or verbal public comment opportunity.
The comment form (this form is not a
required format for submitting scoping
comments), the fact sheet, and the two
previous EAs are available online at
www.louisville.va.gov/
newmedicalcenter/, along with other
information related to the EIS process.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or
designee, approved this document and
authorized the undersigned to sign and
submit the document to the Office of the
Federal Register for publication
electronically as an official document of
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Robert L. Nabors II, Chief of Staff,
Department of Veterans Affairs,
approved this document on October 22,
2015, for publication.
Dated: October 27, 2015.
Michael Shores,
Chief Impact Analyst, Office of Regulation
Policy & Management, Office of the General
Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
Commission on Care Meeting
In accordance with the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C., App.
2, the Commission on Care gives notice
that it will meet on Monday, November
16, 2015, and Tuesday, November 17,
2015, at the J.W. Marriott, Jr. ASAE
Conference Center, 1575 I St. NW.,
Washington, DC 20005. The meeting
will convene at 8:30 a.m. and end at
12:30 p.m. on both days. The meeting is
open to the public.
The purpose of the Commission, as
described in section 202 of the Veterans
Access, Choice, and Accountability Act
of 2014, is to examine the access of
Veterans to health care from the
Department of Veterans Affairs and
strategically examine how best to
organize the Veterans Health
Administration, locate health care
resources, and deliver health care to
Veterans during the next 20 years.
On the mornings of November 16 and
17, the Commission will hear from
experts who will provide insights on
work to be done by the Commission. On
the afternoons of November 16 and 17,
and the morning of November 18, the
Committee will convene closed sessions
in accordance with The Government in
the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(2)
and (c)(9)(B).
No time will be allocated at this
meeting for receiving oral presentations
from the public. The public may submit
written statements for the Commission’s
review to Sharon Gilles or John
Goodrich, Designated Federal Officers,
Commission on Care, at sharon.gilles@
va.gov or john.goodrich@va.gov,
respectively. Any member of the public
wanting to attend may contact Ms.
Gilles or Mr. Goodrich.
[FR Doc. 2015–27658 Filed 10–29–15; 8:45 am]
Dated: October 26, 2015.
Sharon Gilles,
Designated Federal Officer, Commission on
Care.
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
[FR Doc. 2015–27589 Filed 10–29–15; 8:45 am]
PO 00000
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
Frm 00115
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
E:\FR\FM\30OCN1.SGM
30OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 210 (Friday, October 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66979-66980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27658]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
a Replacement Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Louisville,
Kentucky
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), VA intends to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for constructing and operating a new campus to replace
the existing VA Medical Center, Veterans Benefits Administration
office, and three community-based outpatient clinics in Louisville,
Kentucky. VA seeks public scoping input on the EIS.
DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit scoping comments for
the Replacement Louisville VAMC EIS by Monday, November 30, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Submit scoping comments online through www.Louisville-EIS.com, by email to LouisvilleReplacementHospitalComments@va.gov, or
by regular mail to Robley Rex VAMC, Attn: Replacement VAMC Activation
Team Office, 800 Zorn Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robley Rex VAMC, Attn: Replacement
VAMC Activation Team Office, 800 Zorn Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206 or
by email to LouisvilleReplacementHospitalComments@va.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA proposes to construct and operate a new
104-bed hospital, which will include diagnostic and treatment
facilities, a Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) regional office,
and required site amenities and improvements on a new campus. This
proposed project would replace the existing Robley Rex VA Medical
Center (VAMC), three community-based outpatient clinics, and the
existing VBA regional office with new facilities of sufficient capacity
to meet the current and projected future healthcare needs of Veterans
in the Louisville service area. The proposed project is needed because
the existing Louisville VAMC facilities on Zorn Avenue have reached the
end of their serviceable lives. The building conditions and site
configuration at the existing 63-year old VAMC are inadequate to
effectively and efficiently meet the expanding needs of VA's health
care mission and VBA services in the region. Within the Louisville
service area, 60,943 Veterans were enrolled to receive care in Fiscal
Year 2014. Enrollment is expected to increase to more than 68,000 by FY
2024. During this same time period, outpatient clinic stops are
expected to increase from 763,104 to over 963,000. The existing
Louisville VAMC facility is insufficient to meet the current and the
increasing future needs of VA's health care mission in the region.
Therefore, VA conducted studies beginning in 2009 that recommended new
facilities be constructed on a new site that would be better suited to
meet future needs.
VA has identified two potential action alternatives to be analyzed
in detail in this EIS: Construction and operation of a replacement VAMC
campus at the ``Brownsboro Site'' at 4906 Brownsboro Road, Louisville;
and construction and operation of a replacement VAMC campus at the
``St. Joseph Site,'' on a parcel located east of I-265 and south of
Factory Lane in Louisville. The Brownsboro and St. Joseph Sites were
identified through a site selection process conducted by VA in 2011.
The Brownsboro Site was acquired by VA in 2012 as the proposed location
for the replacement VAMC. In addition to these two action alternatives,
the EIS also will evaluate the impacts associated with No Action or
``status quo'' as required by the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and its implementing regulations. The three community-based
outpatient clinics and the existing VBA
[[Page 66980]]
regional office are currently located in leased spaces, for which the
leases would not be renewed under either action alternative. VA has
tentatively determined that renovating the existing Robley Rex VAMC is
not a reasonably foreseeable alternative and would adversely affect
VA's ability to provide needed services to Veterans.
Environmental topics that will be addressed in the EIS include
aesthetics, air quality, cultural resources and historic properties,
geology and soils, hydrology and water quality, wildlife and habitat,
noise, land use, floodplains and wetlands, socioeconomics, community
services, solid waste and hazardous materials, transportation and
traffic, utilities, and environmental justice. Best management
practices and mitigation measures that could alleviate any identified
environmental effects will be included where relevant.
Two prior environmental assessments (EAs) addressed aspects of VA's
proposal. In June 2012, VA completed a Programmatic EA of the Proposed
Site Selection, Construction, and Operation of a Replacement Louisville
VA Medical Center. This analysis concluded with a Finding of No
Significant Impact for selecting and acquiring the Brownsboro Site for
the replacement Louisville VAMC, with the provision that mitigation
measures would be identified in a subsequent site-specific EA to ensure
that impacts would not be significant. In December 2014, VA published a
Draft Site-Specific EA: Proposed Replacement VA Medical Center Campus,
Louisville, Kentucky. However, upon further review before publishing a
Final Site-Specific EA, VA concluded that an EIS was the appropriate
level of NEPA documentation for evaluating the potential for adverse
impacts from constructing and operating a replacement campus at the
Brownsboro Site. This Notice of Intent initiates the EIS for the
replacement Louisville VAMC campus.
Extensive public input was provided by Veterans, elected officials,
residents near the proposed new locations, and other interested members
of the public throughout the scoping and public draft reviews for the
two EAs. These comments remain in the project record and are being
incorporated as identified scoping issues for this EIS.
VA does not intend to hold a public scoping event specific to this
EIS, anticipating that any input would largely reiterate issues that
have been previously identified. Upon specific request, VA will
consider whether an additional in-person scoping event would enhance
public involvement in this EIS. The event would be at a Louisville
venue at which a project fact sheet would be available in hard copy,
posters summarizing the EIS process would be available for viewing, and
members of the public could submit written comments using either
comment forms or their own written format. There would be no formal
presentation by VA or verbal public comment opportunity. The comment
form (this form is not a required format for submitting scoping
comments), the fact sheet, and the two previous EAs are available
online at www.louisville.va.gov/newmedicalcenter/, along with other
information related to the EIS process.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Robert L.
Nabors II, Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved
this document on October 22, 2015, for publication.
Dated: October 27, 2015.
Michael Shores,
Chief Impact Analyst, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office
of the General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2015-27658 Filed 10-29-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P
