Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Finding of No Practicable Alternative for the Proposed Heavy Off-Road Mounted Maneuver Training Area at Fort Benning, Georgia, 32365-32366 [2020-11540]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 104 / Friday, May 29, 2020 / Notices
any given form identified by docket
number, form number, and title.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request more information on this
proposed information collection or to
obtain a copy of the proposal and
associated collection instruments,
please write to the HQ USAF/A3OJ, 112
Luke Avenue, Suite 340, JBAB DC,
20032–6400, ATTN: Mr. James Rogers,
or call 202–404–7886.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title; Associated Form; and OMB
Number: Civil Aircraft Landing Permit
System; DD Form 2400, DD Form 2401,
DD Form 2402; OMB Number 0701–
0050.
Needs and Uses: The information
collection requirement is necessary to
ensure that the security and operational
integrity of military airfields are
maintained; to identify the aircraft
operator and the aircraft to be operated;
to avoid competition with the private
sector by establishing the purpose for
use of military airfields; and to ensure
the U.S. government is not held liable
if the civil aircraft becomes involved in
an accident or incident while using
military airfields, facilities, and
services.
Affected Public:
DD 2400: Businesses and Private Sector.
DD 2401: Individuals and Households.
DD 2402: Individuals and Households.
Annual Burden Hours:
DD 2400: 300 hours.
DD 2401: 300 hours.
DD 2402: 300 hours.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 900.
Number of Respondents:
DD 2400: 1,800.
DD 2401: 1,800.
DD 2402: 1,800.
Total Number of Respondents: 5,400.
Responses per Respondent:
DD 2400: 1.
DD 2401: 1.
DD 2402: 1.
Average Burden per Response:
DD 2400: 10 minutes.
DD 2401: 10 minutes.
DD 2402: 10 minutes.
Total Average Burden per Response: 10
minutes.
Frequency: On occasion.
Respondents are civil aircraft owners/
operators who are requesting authorized
landings at DoD airfields. These
requestors are required to submit the
indicated DD Forms (2400, 2401, and
2402). The completed forms included
are maintained by HQ USAF/A3OJ for 2
years for any required review. These
forms ensure only authorized civil
aircraft owners/operators are authorized
access to DoD airfields.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:06 May 28, 2020
Jkt 250001
Dated: May 22, 2020.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison
Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2020–11526 Filed 5–28–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
and Draft Finding of No Practicable
Alternative for the Proposed Heavy
Off-Road Mounted Maneuver Training
Area at Fort Benning, Georgia
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Department of the Army, DoD.
Notice of availability.
The Department of the Army
(Army) announces the availability of the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the proposed Heavy Off-Road
Mounted Maneuver Training Area
(HOMMTA) at Fort Benning, Georgia. In
accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the
Draft EIS analyzes the potential
environmental and socioeconomic
impacts, and recommends related
mitigation measures, associated with
constructing, operating, and
maintaining a HOMMTA of at least
2,400 contiguous acres at Fort Benning
to support off-road mounted maneuver
(Proposed Action). The Proposed Action
would support the Maneuver Center of
Excellence (MCoE) in its mission to
train the maneuver forces of the Army
and would increase the total amount of
heavy off-road maneuver training area
on Fort Benning, enabling Fort Benning
to conduct realistic training in
accordance with current Army training
requirements. The Proposed Action
would provide a training area to meet
existing training needs; it would not
result in additional Soldiers, traffic, or
any training off of the Installation.
Training land development would occur
over a 2- to 3-year period; development
would primarily include vegetation
removal and the construction of tank
trails, culverted water crossings, and
road upgrades, as well as burying
existing overhead utilities. As feasible,
buffers would be used to protect
environmentally sensitive resources
such as streams, wetlands, cemeteries,
and archaeological sites. A Draft
Finding of No Practicable Alternative
(FONPA) addressing potential impacts
on wetlands and 100-year floodplains is
also available in the Draft EIS for
comment.
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
32365
Comments must be received by
July 13, 2020 to be considered in the
preparation of the Final EIS.
ADDRESSES: Please send written
comments to Fort Benning
Environmental Management Division,
Attn: NEPA Program Manager, 6650
Meloy Drive, Building 6, Room 309, Fort
Benning, Georgia 31905–5122, or email
comments to john.e.brown12.civ@
mail.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Please contact Mr. John Brown, Fort
Benning Environmental Management
Division, at (706) 545–7549 between 9
a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. Fort Benning has
also established a web page that
contains information updates and
background on the HOMMTA and the
EIS at https://www.benning.army.mil/
Garrison/DPW/EMD/HOMMTA/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort
Benning plays a critical role in
supporting the Army’s overarching
mission. As the Army’s MCoE, the home
of the Army’s Armor and Infantry
Schools, Fort Benning must support the
institutional training of Infantry and
Armor Soldiers and leaders. The
institutional training conducted at Fort
Benning provides Army leaders with the
opportunity to respond to a wide variety
of situations that they can expect to
encounter on the modern battlefield.
Fort Benning is also home to several
deployable units that conduct off- road
mounted maneuver training, including
the 1st Security Force Assistance
Brigade, Task Force 1–28 Infantry, and
elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Fort Benning must be able to train and
develop highly skilled and cohesive
units capable of conducting operations
across the full spectrum of potential
conflicts. Inherent in and vital to
training Infantry and Armor Soldiers
and leaders properly is the requirement
to provide sufficient heavy off-road
mounted maneuver training area.
Currently, the only training area at Fort
Benning suitable for heavy off-road
mounted maneuver training is the Good
Hope Maneuver Training Area
(GHMTA).
Since the initial development of the
GHMTA, the Army’s training strategy
has changed to ‘‘cross-domain
movement and maneuver’’ that requires
additional contiguous area for heavy offroad maneuver. In an attempt to
accommodate this requirement, the
Army continued to improve the off-road
maneuver area within the GHMTA.
Despite these improvements, the
existing GHMTA landscape contains
slopes, streams, wetlands, and other
limitations that cannot support the
increased maneuver training
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\29MYN1.SGM
29MYN1
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
32366
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 104 / Friday, May 29, 2020 / Notices
requirements of the MCoE and Fort
Benning’s tenant units. As such, Fort
Benning proposes to construct a new
HOMMTA with sufficient contiguous
area to enable all units and courses to
complete required cross-domain
movement and maneuver training.
The Draft EIS analyzes the potential
environmental and socioeconomic
impacts associated with the Proposed
Action, including direct, indirect, and
cumulative effects. Mitigation of adverse
effects through avoidance and
environmentally sensitive design, such
as establishment of buffers, would be
used to avoid impacts to sensitive
resources to the maximum extent
practicable. Where these efforts are not
sufficient to avoid adverse effects, the
Draft EIS recommends additional
mitigation measures that the Army may
implement to further reduce identified
adverse impacts.
In support of the EIS, the Army is also
preparing other studies, analyses, and
permit applications to meet Federal
requirements, such as Section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act, Sections 401
and 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA),
and Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act.
The Army identified three reasonable
Action Alternatives that would meet the
purpose of and need for the Proposed
Action; these three Action Alternatives
(i.e., three distinct locations on Fort
Benning where a HOMMTA could be
constructed) are analyzed in detail in
the Draft EIS.
1. Alternative 1 (Preferred
Alternative): Northern Mounted
Maneuver Training Area Alternative:
This alternative includes approximately
4,724 acres and is located adjacent to
and east of the current Northern
Maneuver training Area and west of and
near Fort Benning’s Digital MultiPurpose Range Complex (DMPRC).
Of the Action Alternatives,
Alternative 1 would provide the most
preferable size and configuration to
enable high-quality heavy off-road
mounted maneuver training.
Accordingly, the Army has identified
Alternative 1 as the Preferred
Alternative to implement the Proposed
Action.
2. Alternative 2: Red Diamond
Alternative: This alternative includes
approximately 3,744 acres and is
located south of the Southern Maneuver
Training Area (SMTA) near the
Installation’s southern boundary.
3. Alternative 3: Eastern Boundary
Alternative: This alternative includes
approximately 2,405 acres and is
located between the northern dudded
impact area and the Installation’s
eastern boundary.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:06 May 28, 2020
Jkt 250001
The Army also carried forward the No
Action Alternative for detailed analysis
in the Draft EIS. While the No Action
Alternative would not satisfy the
purpose of or need for the Proposed
Action, this Alternative was retained to
provide a comparative baseline against
which to analyze the effects of the
Action Alternatives as required under
the Council on Environmental Quality’s
NEPA Regulation.
Resource areas analyzed in the Draft
EIS include: Land use (recreation), air
quality, noise, soils and topography,
water resources, biological resources,
cultural resources, socioeconomics,
infrastructure, and hazardous and toxic
materials and waste.
Based on the analysis presented in the
Draft EIS, potentially significant adverse
impacts could occur to biological
resources (i.e., from disturbance of
unique ecological areas). Impacts to all
other resource areas would be less-thansignificant adverse (i.e., negligible,
minor, or moderate), or beneficial.
Recommended mitigation measures are
presented in the Draft EIS to reduce
potential adverse effects.
All Action Alternatives for the
Proposed Action may adversely impact
wetlands and/or 100-year floodplains.
Accordingly, the Army has also
prepared a Draft FONPA to comply with
Executive Order (E.O.) 11988,
Floodplain Management, and E.O.
11990, Protection of Wetlands. As
described in the Draft EIS,
environmental protection measures
(e.g., buffers from heavy maneuver
training) and regulatory compliance
measures (e.g., permitting under
Sections 401 and 404 of the CWA)
would be implemented to minimize
adverse impacts on these resources.
Government agencies, Native
American Tribes, and the public are
invited to review and comment on the
Draft EIS. The public comment period
begins with the publication of this
Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register and will last for 45 days. The
Draft EIS and Draft FONPA are available
to the public on the HOMMTA web
page at https://www.benning.army.mil/
Garrison/DPW/EMD/HOMMTA/. The
comment period will also include a
public meeting that will provide an
opportunity for the public to comment
about the Proposed Action, Alternatives,
and environmental impact analysis. Due
to the COVID–19 Pandemic and the
need to maintain social distancing, Fort
Benning will host the public meeting by
telephone. Specific details of the
telephone meeting will be announced in
local media and on the HOMMTA
website, https://www.benning.army.mil/
Garrison/DPW/EMD/HOMMTA/. The
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
HOMMTA Draft EIS and meeting
materials will be provided online at
https://fortbenning.consultation.ai/. If
you cannot access the meeting materials
online, please submit a request to Mr.
John Brown at john.e.brown12.civ@
mail.mil or by mail to address provided
above so materials can be sent to you.
Please ensure your request is
postmarked no later than June 15, 2020
so that Fort Benning can mail the
meeting materials prior to the telephone
meeting date. Later requests for
documents will be accepted, but the
requests may not be fulfilled prior to the
HOMMTA telephone meeting date.
Following the public comment
period, the Army will consider all
public comments and prepare a Final
EIS and Record of Decision prior to
making any decision regarding the
Proposed Action. Comments must be
received or postmarked by July 13, 2020
to be considered during preparation of
the Final EIS.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020–11540 Filed 5–28–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5061–AP–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
[Docket ID DOD–2020–OS–0054]
Proposed Collection; Comment
Request
Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Department of Defense (DoD).
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Information collection notice.
In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Chief Information Officer announces a
proposed public information collection
and seeks public comment on the
provisions thereof. Comments are
invited on: Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed information collection; ways
to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and ways to minimize the
burden of the information collection on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
SUMMARY:
Consideration will be given to all
comments received by July 28, 2020.
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\29MYN1.SGM
29MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 104 (Friday, May 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32365-32366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11540]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Finding of No
Practicable Alternative for the Proposed Heavy Off-Road Mounted
Maneuver Training Area at Fort Benning, Georgia
AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of the Army (Army) announces the availability
of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed
Heavy Off-Road Mounted Maneuver Training Area (HOMMTA) at Fort Benning,
Georgia. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), the Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental and
socioeconomic impacts, and recommends related mitigation measures,
associated with constructing, operating, and maintaining a HOMMTA of at
least 2,400 contiguous acres at Fort Benning to support off-road
mounted maneuver (Proposed Action). The Proposed Action would support
the Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) in its mission to train the
maneuver forces of the Army and would increase the total amount of
heavy off-road maneuver training area on Fort Benning, enabling Fort
Benning to conduct realistic training in accordance with current Army
training requirements. The Proposed Action would provide a training
area to meet existing training needs; it would not result in additional
Soldiers, traffic, or any training off of the Installation. Training
land development would occur over a 2- to 3-year period; development
would primarily include vegetation removal and the construction of tank
trails, culverted water crossings, and road upgrades, as well as
burying existing overhead utilities. As feasible, buffers would be used
to protect environmentally sensitive resources such as streams,
wetlands, cemeteries, and archaeological sites. A Draft Finding of No
Practicable Alternative (FONPA) addressing potential impacts on
wetlands and 100-year floodplains is also available in the Draft EIS
for comment.
DATES: Comments must be received by July 13, 2020 to be considered in
the preparation of the Final EIS.
ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Fort Benning Environmental
Management Division, Attn: NEPA Program Manager, 6650 Meloy Drive,
Building 6, Room 309, Fort Benning, Georgia 31905-5122, or email
comments to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Mr. John Brown, Fort
Benning Environmental Management Division, at (706) 545-7549 between 9
a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. Fort Benning has also established a web page that
contains information updates and background on the HOMMTA and the EIS
at https://www.benning.army.mil/Garrison/DPW/EMD/HOMMTA/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort Benning plays a critical role in
supporting the Army's overarching mission. As the Army's MCoE, the home
of the Army's Armor and Infantry Schools, Fort Benning must support the
institutional training of Infantry and Armor Soldiers and leaders. The
institutional training conducted at Fort Benning provides Army leaders
with the opportunity to respond to a wide variety of situations that
they can expect to encounter on the modern battlefield. Fort Benning is
also home to several deployable units that conduct off- road mounted
maneuver training, including the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade,
Task Force 1-28 Infantry, and elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Fort Benning must be able to train and develop highly skilled and
cohesive units capable of conducting operations across the full
spectrum of potential conflicts. Inherent in and vital to training
Infantry and Armor Soldiers and leaders properly is the requirement to
provide sufficient heavy off-road mounted maneuver training area.
Currently, the only training area at Fort Benning suitable for heavy
off-road mounted maneuver training is the Good Hope Maneuver Training
Area (GHMTA).
Since the initial development of the GHMTA, the Army's training
strategy has changed to ``cross-domain movement and maneuver'' that
requires additional contiguous area for heavy off-road maneuver. In an
attempt to accommodate this requirement, the Army continued to improve
the off-road maneuver area within the GHMTA. Despite these
improvements, the existing GHMTA landscape contains slopes, streams,
wetlands, and other limitations that cannot support the increased
maneuver training
[[Page 32366]]
requirements of the MCoE and Fort Benning's tenant units. As such, Fort
Benning proposes to construct a new HOMMTA with sufficient contiguous
area to enable all units and courses to complete required cross-domain
movement and maneuver training.
The Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental and
socioeconomic impacts associated with the Proposed Action, including
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects. Mitigation of adverse effects
through avoidance and environmentally sensitive design, such as
establishment of buffers, would be used to avoid impacts to sensitive
resources to the maximum extent practicable. Where these efforts are
not sufficient to avoid adverse effects, the Draft EIS recommends
additional mitigation measures that the Army may implement to further
reduce identified adverse impacts.
In support of the EIS, the Army is also preparing other studies,
analyses, and permit applications to meet Federal requirements, such as
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, Sections 401 and 404 of the
Clean Water Act (CWA), and Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act.
The Army identified three reasonable Action Alternatives that would
meet the purpose of and need for the Proposed Action; these three
Action Alternatives (i.e., three distinct locations on Fort Benning
where a HOMMTA could be constructed) are analyzed in detail in the
Draft EIS.
1. Alternative 1 (Preferred Alternative): Northern Mounted Maneuver
Training Area Alternative: This alternative includes approximately
4,724 acres and is located adjacent to and east of the current Northern
Maneuver training Area and west of and near Fort Benning's Digital
Multi-Purpose Range Complex (DMPRC).
Of the Action Alternatives, Alternative 1 would provide the most
preferable size and configuration to enable high-quality heavy off-road
mounted maneuver training. Accordingly, the Army has identified
Alternative 1 as the Preferred Alternative to implement the Proposed
Action.
2. Alternative 2: Red Diamond Alternative: This alternative
includes approximately 3,744 acres and is located south of the Southern
Maneuver Training Area (SMTA) near the Installation's southern
boundary.
3. Alternative 3: Eastern Boundary Alternative: This alternative
includes approximately 2,405 acres and is located between the northern
dudded impact area and the Installation's eastern boundary.
The Army also carried forward the No Action Alternative for
detailed analysis in the Draft EIS. While the No Action Alternative
would not satisfy the purpose of or need for the Proposed Action, this
Alternative was retained to provide a comparative baseline against
which to analyze the effects of the Action Alternatives as required
under the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA Regulation.
Resource areas analyzed in the Draft EIS include: Land use
(recreation), air quality, noise, soils and topography, water
resources, biological resources, cultural resources, socioeconomics,
infrastructure, and hazardous and toxic materials and waste.
Based on the analysis presented in the Draft EIS, potentially
significant adverse impacts could occur to biological resources (i.e.,
from disturbance of unique ecological areas). Impacts to all other
resource areas would be less-than- significant adverse (i.e.,
negligible, minor, or moderate), or beneficial. Recommended mitigation
measures are presented in the Draft EIS to reduce potential adverse
effects.
All Action Alternatives for the Proposed Action may adversely
impact wetlands and/or 100-year floodplains. Accordingly, the Army has
also prepared a Draft FONPA to comply with Executive Order (E.O.)
11988, Floodplain Management, and E.O. 11990, Protection of Wetlands.
As described in the Draft EIS, environmental protection measures (e.g.,
buffers from heavy maneuver training) and regulatory compliance
measures (e.g., permitting under Sections 401 and 404 of the CWA) would
be implemented to minimize adverse impacts on these resources.
Government agencies, Native American Tribes, and the public are
invited to review and comment on the Draft EIS. The public comment
period begins with the publication of this Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register and will last for 45 days. The Draft EIS and Draft
FONPA are available to the public on the HOMMTA web page at https://www.benning.army.mil/Garrison/DPW/EMD/HOMMTA/. The comment period will
also include a public meeting that will provide an opportunity for the
public to comment about the Proposed Action, Alternatives, and
environmental impact analysis. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the
need to maintain social distancing, Fort Benning will host the public
meeting by telephone. Specific details of the telephone meeting will be
announced in local media and on the HOMMTA website, https://www.benning.army.mil/Garrison/DPW/EMD/HOMMTA/. The HOMMTA Draft EIS and
meeting materials will be provided online at https://fortbenning.consultation.ai/. If you cannot access the meeting
materials online, please submit a request to Mr. John Brown at
[email protected] or by mail to address provided above so
materials can be sent to you. Please ensure your request is postmarked
no later than June 15, 2020 so that Fort Benning can mail the meeting
materials prior to the telephone meeting date. Later requests for
documents will be accepted, but the requests may not be fulfilled prior
to the HOMMTA telephone meeting date.
Following the public comment period, the Army will consider all
public comments and prepare a Final EIS and Record of Decision prior to
making any decision regarding the Proposed Action. Comments must be
received or postmarked by July 13, 2020 to be considered during
preparation of the Final EIS.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-11540 Filed 5-28-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5061-AP-P
