Record of Decision for the Proposed Construction and Operation of a Currency Production Facility Within the National Capital Region, 58393-58394 [2021-22909]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
• Bureau of Engraving and Printing

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 201 (Thursday, October 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58393-58394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22909]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Bureau of Engraving and Printing


Record of Decision for the Proposed Construction and Operation of 
a Currency Production Facility Within the National Capital Region

AGENCY: Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Bureau of 
Engraving and Printing (BEP) announces the availability of the Record 
of Decision (ROD) for the proposed construction and operation of a 
Currency Production Facility (CPF) within the National Capital Region 
(NCR) (Proposed Action). Treasury previously published its Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Proposed Action on June 4, 
2021.
    In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
the ROD identifies all alternatives Treasury considered for the 
Proposed Action, identifies the environmentally preferable alternative, 
states Treasury's decision to implement the Preferred Alternative, and 
discusses factors balanced by the agency in making its decision. The 
ROD also adopts all practicable mitigation measures to avoid or 
minimize environmental harm and commits to monitoring their 
implementation. The Proposed Action will replace Treasury's 
insufficient Washington, DC production facility (DC Facility), and will 
provide Treasury with a modern, scalable, sufficiently sized production 
facility within the NCR that meets Treasury's needs. Treasury has also 
signed a Finding of No Practicable Alternative (FONPA) addressing 
potential impacts on wetlands Executive Order 11990, Protection of 
Wetlands.

DATES: Treasury's Acting Assistant Secretary for Management signed the 
ROD on October 8, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the ROD, Final EIS, FONPA, and other 
related materials are available on the project website at https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/home/bep-replacement-project. If you cannot 
access the materials online, you may request hard copies of the 
materials via the methods identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this NOA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Mr. Harvey Johnson, 
USACE--Baltimore, Programs and Project Management Division: (1) By 
email to: [email protected]; (2) by phone at: (410) 977-6733; or 
(3) by mail to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, ATTN: 
Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) Project EIS, Michael Schuster, 
Planning Division, 2 Hopkins Plaza, 10th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21201.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BEP's mission includes manufacturing U.S. 
currency notes; research, development, testing, and evaluation of 
counterfeit deterrents; and development of production automation 
technologies. Treasury currently operates two production facilities for 
this purpose: The DC Facility and a facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The 
DC Facility has been in operation for more than 100 years and is 
neither able to support modern currency production nor able to support 
Treasury's, and specifically the BEP's, current and future mission.
    Within the DC Facility, manufacturing processes are inefficient and 
inflexible. The DC Facility's configuration poses safety risks to 
staff, and the downtown location of the DC Facility prevents Treasury 
from complying with physical security standards. The condition, 
configuration, and location of the DC Facility severely limit 
Treasury's ability to modernize the DC Facility through renovation, 
rendering modernization of existing facilities an untenable long-term 
solution.
    Over the past 20 years, Treasury has considered several scenarios 
to address the inadequacy of its current facilities in the NCR, 
including renovation of the DC Facility and new construction within the 
NCR. Treasury concluded that construction of a new replacement CPF, as 
opposed to renovation of the DC Facility, was the most efficient and 
cost-effective option. As such, Treasury, on behalf of the BEP, 
proposed to construct and operate a new CPF within the NCR to replace 
its existing DC Facility. The Proposed Action will provide Treasury 
with a modern, scalable, sufficiently sized production facility, 
resulting in more efficient, streamlined currency production, while 
allowing Treasury to maintain its presence within the NCR.
    Treasury's Final EIS analyzed the potential environmental, 
cultural, and socioeconomic impacts associated with the Proposed 
Action, including cumulative effects. Minimization of adverse effects 
through avoidance and environmentally sensitive design will be used to 
avoid impacts to sensitive resources to the maximum extent practicable. 
Where these efforts are not sufficient to avoid adverse effects, the 
Final EIS identified additional mitigation measures that Treasury may 
implement to further reduce identified adverse impacts. The ROD 
identifies the mitigation measures that Treasury formally commits to 
implement and monitor.
    In support of the EIS, Treasury, with assistance from USACE, 
conducted site-specific studies in accordance with federal and state 
requirements, such as Sections 404/401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
    As part of the planning process, Treasury gathered data on numerous 
potential sites in the NCR that had the potential to support Treasury's 
initial minimum criteria for construction of a new CPF. Treasury 
evaluated each potential site against various screening criteria to 
identify reasonable alternatives. Following an extensive and thorough 
screening process, Treasury identified one reasonable Action 
Alternative (the Preferred Alternative) that would meet the purpose of 
and need for the Proposed Action. This Preferred Alternative is 
summarized below and analyzed in detail in the Final EIS.

Preferred Alternative: Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) 
200 Area--Former Poultry Research Area

    This alternative includes a 104.2-acre parcel of land located in 
BARC's Central Farm in the 200 Area building cluster (Treasury's 
proposed parcel). The parcel is located in Prince George's County, 
Maryland, between Odell Road to the north and Powder Mill Road to the 
south; Poultry Road runs north to south through the parcel. The parcel, 
generally

[[Page 58394]]

consisting of grassland, cropland, scattered trees, and abandoned 
buildings, is available for redevelopment. Treasury would construct a 
new entrance road connecting its proposed parcel to Powder Mill Road 
and would construct several minor modifications to Powder Mill Road in 
the vicinity of the new intersection. The entrance road and Powder Mill 
Road modifications require construction activities in an additional 18-
acre area, bringing the combined Project Site to a total of 
approximately 122 acres.
    Treasury also carried forward the No Action Alternative for 
detailed analysis in the Final EIS. While the No Action Alternative 
would not satisfy the purpose of or need for the Proposed Action, 
Treasury retained this Alternative to provide a comparative baseline 
against which to analyze the effects of the Preferred Alternative as 
required under the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations 
(40 Code of Federal Regulations 1502.14[c]).
    Resource areas analyzed in the Final EIS include: Land use; visual 
resources; air quality; noise; topography and soils; water resources; 
biological resources; cultural resources; traffic and transportation; 
utilities; socioeconomics and environmental justice (EJ); hazardous and 
toxic materials and waste; and human health and safety. Treasury 
dismissed air space, recreation, and geology from detailed study. 
Treasury determined the Proposed Action has no potential to cause 
significant adverse impacts to these resource areas.
    Based on the Final EIS analysis, without implementation of 
mitigation measures, significant adverse impacts could occur to visual 
resources, water resources, cultural resources, traffic and 
transportation, and EJ communities (i.e., due to disproportionate 
adverse traffic impacts). Impacts to all other resource areas would be 
less-than-significant adverse, negligible, or beneficial. However, in 
the ROD, Treasury has adopted all practicable means to avoid or 
minimize environmental harm from the Preferred Alternative. These 
mitigation measures will further minimize identified potential adverse 
impacts to each of these resource areas. Importantly, all potential 
significant adverse impacts will be reduced to less-than-significant 
levels.
    The Preferred Alternative for the Proposed Action will also 
adversely impact wetlands. Accordingly, Treasury has prepared a FONPA 
to comply with Executive Order 11990. As described in the Final EIS and 
ROD, regulatory compliance measures (e.g., permitting under Sections 
404/401 of the CWA) and adopted mitigation measures will be implemented 
to minimize adverse impacts on wetlands.
    A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the proposed project was 
published in the Federal Register on November 15, 2019 (84 FR 62565) 
and the public scoping period closed on December 15, 2019. Treasury 
held one public scoping meeting on December 3, 2019. A Notice of 
Availability of the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on 
November 6, 2020 (85 FR 71074) and the public review and comment period 
closed on December 21, 2020. Treasury held a Virtual Public Meeting on 
December 2, 2020. Treasury considered and addressed in the Final EIS 
comments received on the Draft EIS during the comment period. A Notice 
of Availability of the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register 
on June 4, 2021 (86 FR 30040).
    Treasury has taken into consideration information and analyses 
presented in the Final EIS, including potential environmental impacts 
and recommended mitigation measures; supporting studies; consultation 
with agencies and Native American Tribes; and the comments received 
from the public during formal review and comment periods. Treasury has 
also evaluated our national currency production needs, the BEP's 
mission requirements, and the purpose of and need for the Proposed 
Action. Based on these considerations, it is the decision of Treasury 
to implement the Preferred Alternative and the associated mitigation 
measures as outlined in the ROD.

    Dated: October 15, 2021.
Charles C. Davis,
Project Manager, Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
[FR Doc. 2021-22909 Filed 10-20-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P