Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement for Training and Public Land Withdrawal Extension, Fort Irwin, California, 27568-27569 [2021-10504]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 97 / Friday, May 21, 2021 / Notices
collected; and (d) Ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology. Comments submitted in
response to this notice will be
summarized and/or included in the
request for OMB approval. All
comments will become a matter of
public record.
Dated: May 18, 2021.
Suzan Muslu,
Data Governance Manager, Bureau of
Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2021–10794 Filed 5–20–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Draft Legislative Environmental Impact
Statement for Training and Public Land
Withdrawal Extension, Fort Irwin,
California
Department of the Army,
Department of Defense.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
The Department of the Army
announces the availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for Training and Public Land
Withdrawal Extension, Fort Irwin,
California. In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), the Draft EIS analyzes the
potential environmental effects resulting
from modernization of training activities
and improvement of training facilities at
the National Training Center (NTC) at
Fort Irwin, California. The Army is also
issuing this notice to inform the public
that the EIS will serve as a Legislative
Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS)
to support the extension of the public
land withdrawal for portions of Fort
Irwin.
DATES: Comments must be received July
6, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be forwarded to the NEPA Planner, Fort
Irwin Directorate of Public Works,
Environmental Division, Building 602,
Fifth Street, Fort Irwin, CA 92310–5085,
email: usarmy.jbsa.aec.nepa@mail.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Jason Miller, Fort Irwin Public Affairs
Office at 760–380–4511, Monday
through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. or via email at usarmy.irwin.ntc
.mbx.ntc-eis-info-request@mail.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort Irwin
consists of approximately 753,537 acres
in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino
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SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:15 May 20, 2021
Jkt 253001
County in southern California. The NTC
at Fort Irwin provides combined arms
training for maneuver Brigade Combat
Teams (BCTs), including the Army’s
Stryker BCTs and Armored BCTs.
Training also is provided for joint
military branches (Marine Corps, Navy,
and Air Force), Army Reserve, National
Guard units, and regular and
transitional law enforcement units, as
well as home station units. Because of
its size, design, and terrain, Fort Irwin
is one of the few places in the world
where brigade-size units (5,000+
soldiers) can test their combat readiness.
Fort Irwin’s mission is to train
Rotational Training Units (RTUs) and
joint, interagency, and multinational
partners to fight and win in a complex
world, while taking care of soldiers,
civilians, and family members. To
achieve this mission, NTC designs and
executes training exercises that prepare
brigade-level units for operational
deployments. Up to 12 BCT rotations
are executed per year.
The Draft EIS analyzes the potential
effects from the modernization of
training, the improvement of training
infrastructure, and the extension of the
existing land withdrawal. Training
changes are required to support new
training doctrine that focuses on large
Army formations operating against nearpeer adversaries. To reflect weapon
systems capabilities and evolving
mission requirements, improvements
need to be made to training
infrastructure.
Approximately 110,000 acres of Fort
Irwin training land areas are public land
that has been withdrawn from all types
of appropriation and reserved for
military purposes under Public Law
107–107 (2001). This public land
withdrawal terminates on December 28,
2026. The Army has identified a
continuing military need for the land
beyond the termination date and
intends to request that the U.S. Congress
extend the withdrawal for at least 25
years, or in the alternative, for an
indefinite period until there is no longer
a military need for the land. Upon a
separate application by the Army, the
Bureau of Land Management will file in
the Federal Register a separate notice of
withdrawal extension application. The
Final EIS will be submitted to the U.S.
Congress as an LEIS to support the
legislative request for extension of this
withdrawal and reservation.
The Draft EIS analyzes a range of
Proposed Mission Change Alternatives,
a No Mission Change Alternative, a
Withdrawal Extension Alternative, and
a No Withdrawal Extension Alternative.
The Mission Change Alternatives
consist of different magnitudes of
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
changes in training and training
infrastructure; for Fort Irwin’s Western
Training Area, the EIS considers a range
of medium-to-heavy intensity training
alternatives. The No Mission Change
Alternative would continue military
training at the current level and would
result in no modernization of training or
improvement of training infrastructure
on Fort Irwin. The Army is the decision
maker regarding the Mission Change
Alternatives.
The Withdrawal Extension
Alternative would extend the current
withdrawal for 25 years or indefinitely
until there is no longer a military need
for the land. The No Withdrawal
Extension Alternative would result in
portions of the installation returning to
public domain. The U.S. Congress is the
decision maker regarding the
Withdrawal Alternatives.
All military activities under
consideration would be conducted
within the existing boundaries of the
installation. The Draft EIS evaluates the
potential direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental and
socioeconomic effects of these
alternatives. Adverse effects would be
minimized to the extent possible
through the implementation of specified
avoidance, minimization, and
mitigation measures.
The Army Preferred Alternative has
not been determined at this time and
will be specified the Final EIS.
The resource areas analyzed in the
DEIS include air quality, transportation,
noise, water resources, geological
resources, biological resources, cultural
resources, noise, utilities, land use,
recreation, health and safety, and
hazardous materials and waste. The
effects on these resources may occur
from changing the scope or magnitude
of military training activities within the
current Fort Irwin boundaries. The
analysis also considers the potential for
cumulative environmental effects.
Both the Mission Change Alternatives
and the No Mission Change Alternative
would result in unavoidable
environmental effects. Under the No
Mission Change Alternative, there
would be less than significant effects on
all evaluated resources. The Mission
Change Alternatives would result in
minor-to-moderate adverse effects that
would be in addition to the effects of the
No Mission Change Alternative;
however, none of the effects would be
significant.
The environmental effects from the
Withdrawal Extension Alternative
would be comparable to those discussed
for the Mission Change Alternatives.
While the effects of the No Withdrawal
Extension Alternative are uncertain,
E:\FR\FM\21MYN1.SGM
21MYN1
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 97 / Friday, May 21, 2021 / Notices
because of the unknown future uses of
these areas if Army training is not
conducted, it is expected that the No
Withdrawal Extension Alternative
would result in negligible effects on
resources compared to the Withdrawal
Extension Alternative.
Federal, state, and local agencies,
Native Americans, Native American
organizations, and the public are invited
to be involved in the public comment
process for the Draft EIS by submitting
written comments. Written comments
must be received or postmarked by July
6, 2021. In response to the COVID–19
pandemic in the United States and the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s recommendations for
social distancing and avoiding large
public gatherings, the Army will not
hold in-person public comment
meetings for this action. All government
agencies, special interest groups, and
individuals are invited to participate in
the Army’s decision-making process for
this Proposed Action. [A 45-day public
review period for the Draft EIS will
begin after publication in the Federal
Register]. Information on the Draft EIS
will be provided online through a
virtual town hall, and the public
meeting will be hosted by telephone.
Interested parties are invited to attend
two public telephone meetings (date to
be determined, and included in this
notice, based on scheduled Federal
Register publication date). The first
telephone meeting will be held from
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight
Time and the second telephone meeting
will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Pacific Daylight Time. The dial-in
number for both telephone meetings is
888–251–2949 or 215–861–0694, with a
passcode of 6920265# for the 10:00 a.m.
meeting and 6091656# for the 4:00 p.m.
meeting. Persons unable to access the
virtual town hall can submit a request
for meeting materials to:
usarmy.jbsa.aec.nepa@mail.mil.
Specific details, including date, of the
telephone meetings will be announced
in local media and on the Fort Irwin EIS
website: https://aec.army.mil/
index.php/irwin-nepa-meeting.
The Draft EIS will be posted on the
website and, for those who do not have
ready access to a computer or the
internet, will be made available upon
request by mail. Inquiries, requests for
Draft EIS-related materials, and
comments regarding the Draft EIS may
be submitted by mail to the NEPA
Planner, Fort Irwin Directorate of Public
Works, Environmental Division,
Building 602, Fifth Street, Fort Irwin,
CA 92310–5085. Mail must be
postmarked no later than June 7, 2021,
to allow the meeting materials to be sent
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:15 May 20, 2021
Jkt 253001
by the U.S. Postal Service. An electronic
copy of the Draft EIS will be made
available for view online or download
from the Fort Irwin EIS website: https://
aec.army.mil/index.php/irwin-nepameeting. Notification of the public
telephone meetings will be announced
in the local news media and on the Fort
Irwin EIS website.
To ensure the Army has sufficient
time to consider public input in the
preparation of the Final EIS, written
comments must be submitted on the
website or mailed to the address listed
previously no later than July 6, 2021.
The Department of the Army will
consider all comments received on the
Draft EIS when preparing the Final EIS
and will announce the availability of the
Final EIS. The Bureau of Land
Management will organize public
participation following the publication
of its notice of application for extension
of the public land withdrawal.
James W. Satterwhite, Jr.,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–10504 Filed 5–20–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5061–AP–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of
Engineers
Intent To Prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement for the Lake
Okeechobee System Operating Manual
(LOSOM), Glades, Martin, Palm Beach,
Hendry, Lee, St. Lucie and
Okeechobee Counties, Florida. Effects
May Extend to Broward, Miami-Dade,
Monroe, and Collier Counties, Florida
Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by
the Council on Environmental Quality
regulations, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Jacksonville District (Corps)
is beginning preparation of an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Lake Okeechobee System
Operating Manual (LOSOM).
DATES: The draft EIS is scheduled to be
released for a minimum 45-day public
review in conjunction with the draft
operation plan in early 2022. The Final
EIS is anticipated in August 2022.
ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Planning and Policy
Division, Environmental Branch, 701
San Marco Blvd., Jacksonville, FL
32207.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
27569
Ms.
Jessica Menichino at (239) 221–2024;
email at Jessica.M.Menichino@
usace.army.mil or through the mail at
the above address. Additional
information is also available at https://
www.saj.usace.army.mil/LOSOM/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
a. Purpose and need: The purpose of
the LOSOM is to develop a new
regulation schedule for Lake
Okeechobee that accounts for the
completion of the Herbert Hoover Dike
(HHD) rehabilitation and considers
completed or near complete
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration
Plan (CERP) projects, while balancing
the congressionally authorized purposes
of the Central and Southern Florida
(C&SF) Project to include flood control,
water supply for agricultural,
municipal, and industrial uses, regional
groundwater control and prevention of
saltwater intrusion, enhancement of fish
and wildlife, and recreation. The
LOSOM aims to develop a new
regulation schedule that will improve
Lake Okeechobee ecological integrity
and the quantity, quality, timing, and
distribution of water moving in the
Northern Estuaries, Water Conservation
Areas (WCAs), and Everglades National
Park (ENP), while balancing the
congressionally-authorized project
purposes. The study will not propose
water quality improvement features and
will not propose new infrastructure
beyond evaluation of already authorized
projects.
b. Preliminary alternatives &
proposed action: Since the development
of structural works around Lake
Okeechobee, the Lake Okeechobee water
levels and the distribution, timing, and,
magnitude of releases out of the lake
have been determined by the active
regulation schedule. The last Lake
Okeechobee regulation schedule review,
called the 2008 Lake Okeechobee
Regulation Schedule (LORS 2008), was
completed in 2008 to improve Lake and
Northern Estuary ecology and to reduce
flood risk during rehabilitation of HHD.
The new regulation schedule, LOSOM,
is being developed to incorporate HHD
rehabilitation and additional relevant
South Florida Ecosystem Restoration
projects since the LORS 2008 schedule
update. Additionally, focused
objectives, based on updated conditions,
new science, and lessons learned since
LORS 2008 was approved, have been
developed to better meet the
congressionally authorized purposes,
which will incorporate critical
flexibility into Lake Okeechobee
operations. The balanced array of
alternatives will include different
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
E:\FR\FM\21MYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 97 (Friday, May 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27568-27569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10504]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement for Training and
Public Land Withdrawal Extension, Fort Irwin, California
AGENCY: Department of the Army, Department of Defense.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces the availability of the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Training and Public Land
Withdrawal Extension, Fort Irwin, California. In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Draft EIS analyzes the
potential environmental effects resulting from modernization of
training activities and improvement of training facilities at the
National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California. The Army is
also issuing this notice to inform the public that the EIS will serve
as a Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) to support the
extension of the public land withdrawal for portions of Fort Irwin.
DATES: Comments must be received July 6, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be forwarded to the NEPA Planner,
Fort Irwin Directorate of Public Works, Environmental Division,
Building 602, Fifth Street, Fort Irwin, CA 92310-5085, email:
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jason Miller, Fort Irwin Public
Affairs Office at 760-380-4511, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. or via email at usarmy.irwin.ntc .[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort Irwin consists of approximately 753,537
acres in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County in southern
California. The NTC at Fort Irwin provides combined arms training for
maneuver Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), including the Army's Stryker BCTs
and Armored BCTs. Training also is provided for joint military branches
(Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force), Army Reserve, National Guard
units, and regular and transitional law enforcement units, as well as
home station units. Because of its size, design, and terrain, Fort
Irwin is one of the few places in the world where brigade-size units
(5,000+ soldiers) can test their combat readiness.
Fort Irwin's mission is to train Rotational Training Units (RTUs)
and joint, interagency, and multinational partners to fight and win in
a complex world, while taking care of soldiers, civilians, and family
members. To achieve this mission, NTC designs and executes training
exercises that prepare brigade-level units for operational deployments.
Up to 12 BCT rotations are executed per year.
The Draft EIS analyzes the potential effects from the modernization
of training, the improvement of training infrastructure, and the
extension of the existing land withdrawal. Training changes are
required to support new training doctrine that focuses on large Army
formations operating against near-peer adversaries. To reflect weapon
systems capabilities and evolving mission requirements, improvements
need to be made to training infrastructure.
Approximately 110,000 acres of Fort Irwin training land areas are
public land that has been withdrawn from all types of appropriation and
reserved for military purposes under Public Law 107-107 (2001). This
public land withdrawal terminates on December 28, 2026. The Army has
identified a continuing military need for the land beyond the
termination date and intends to request that the U.S. Congress extend
the withdrawal for at least 25 years, or in the alternative, for an
indefinite period until there is no longer a military need for the
land. Upon a separate application by the Army, the Bureau of Land
Management will file in the Federal Register a separate notice of
withdrawal extension application. The Final EIS will be submitted to
the U.S. Congress as an LEIS to support the legislative request for
extension of this withdrawal and reservation.
The Draft EIS analyzes a range of Proposed Mission Change
Alternatives, a No Mission Change Alternative, a Withdrawal Extension
Alternative, and a No Withdrawal Extension Alternative. The Mission
Change Alternatives consist of different magnitudes of changes in
training and training infrastructure; for Fort Irwin's Western Training
Area, the EIS considers a range of medium-to-heavy intensity training
alternatives. The No Mission Change Alternative would continue military
training at the current level and would result in no modernization of
training or improvement of training infrastructure on Fort Irwin. The
Army is the decision maker regarding the Mission Change Alternatives.
The Withdrawal Extension Alternative would extend the current
withdrawal for 25 years or indefinitely until there is no longer a
military need for the land. The No Withdrawal Extension Alternative
would result in portions of the installation returning to public
domain. The U.S. Congress is the decision maker regarding the
Withdrawal Alternatives.
All military activities under consideration would be conducted
within the existing boundaries of the installation. The Draft EIS
evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental
and socioeconomic effects of these alternatives. Adverse effects would
be minimized to the extent possible through the implementation of
specified avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures.
The Army Preferred Alternative has not been determined at this time
and will be specified the Final EIS.
The resource areas analyzed in the DEIS include air quality,
transportation, noise, water resources, geological resources,
biological resources, cultural resources, noise, utilities, land use,
recreation, health and safety, and hazardous materials and waste. The
effects on these resources may occur from changing the scope or
magnitude of military training activities within the current Fort Irwin
boundaries. The analysis also considers the potential for cumulative
environmental effects.
Both the Mission Change Alternatives and the No Mission Change
Alternative would result in unavoidable environmental effects. Under
the No Mission Change Alternative, there would be less than significant
effects on all evaluated resources. The Mission Change Alternatives
would result in minor-to-moderate adverse effects that would be in
addition to the effects of the No Mission Change Alternative; however,
none of the effects would be significant.
The environmental effects from the Withdrawal Extension Alternative
would be comparable to those discussed for the Mission Change
Alternatives. While the effects of the No Withdrawal Extension
Alternative are uncertain,
[[Page 27569]]
because of the unknown future uses of these areas if Army training is
not conducted, it is expected that the No Withdrawal Extension
Alternative would result in negligible effects on resources compared to
the Withdrawal Extension Alternative.
Federal, state, and local agencies, Native Americans, Native
American organizations, and the public are invited to be involved in
the public comment process for the Draft EIS by submitting written
comments. Written comments must be received or postmarked by July 6,
2021. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for social
distancing and avoiding large public gatherings, the Army will not hold
in-person public comment meetings for this action. All government
agencies, special interest groups, and individuals are invited to
participate in the Army's decision-making process for this Proposed
Action. [A 45-day public review period for the Draft EIS will begin
after publication in the Federal Register]. Information on the Draft
EIS will be provided online through a virtual town hall, and the public
meeting will be hosted by telephone. Interested parties are invited to
attend two public telephone meetings (date to be determined, and
included in this notice, based on scheduled Federal Register
publication date). The first telephone meeting will be held from 10:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time and the second telephone
meeting will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
The dial-in number for both telephone meetings is 888-251-2949 or 215-
861-0694, with a passcode of 6920265# for the 10:00 a.m. meeting and
6091656# for the 4:00 p.m. meeting. Persons unable to access the
virtual town hall can submit a request for meeting materials to:
[email protected]. Specific details, including date, of the
telephone meetings will be announced in local media and on the Fort
Irwin EIS website: https://aec.army.mil/index.php/irwin-nepa-meeting.
The Draft EIS will be posted on the website and, for those who do
not have ready access to a computer or the internet, will be made
available upon request by mail. Inquiries, requests for Draft EIS-
related materials, and comments regarding the Draft EIS may be
submitted by mail to the NEPA Planner, Fort Irwin Directorate of Public
Works, Environmental Division, Building 602, Fifth Street, Fort Irwin,
CA 92310-5085. Mail must be postmarked no later than June 7, 2021, to
allow the meeting materials to be sent by the U.S. Postal Service. An
electronic copy of the Draft EIS will be made available for view online
or download from the Fort Irwin EIS website: https://aec.army.mil/index.php/irwin-nepa-meeting. Notification of the public telephone
meetings will be announced in the local news media and on the Fort
Irwin EIS website.
To ensure the Army has sufficient time to consider public input in
the preparation of the Final EIS, written comments must be submitted on
the website or mailed to the address listed previously no later than
July 6, 2021.
The Department of the Army will consider all comments received on
the Draft EIS when preparing the Final EIS and will announce the
availability of the Final EIS. The Bureau of Land Management will
organize public participation following the publication of its notice
of application for extension of the public land withdrawal.
James W. Satterwhite, Jr.,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-10504 Filed 5-20-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5061-AP-P
