Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Expansion and Modernization of Base Seattle, 61344-61346 [2022-22075]

Agencies

• Coast Guard
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61344-61346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22075]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket Number USCG-2021-0183]


Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Expansion and 
Modernization of Base Seattle

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of Availability for Draft Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement Expansion and Modernization of Base Seattle; and 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969 as amended and the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA 
Regulations, the U.S. Coast Guard announces the availability of the 
Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the 
Expansion and Modernization of Base Seattle. The Draft PEIS analyzes 
the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts, and identifies 
related mitigation measures, associated with land acquisition, facility 
and infrastructure modernization, and continued operation to support 
current and future Coast Guard missions at Base Seattle. By this 
notice, Coast Guard is announcing the availability of the draft PEIS 
for public review and comment.

DATES: Comments and related material must be post-marked or received by 
the Coast Guard on or before December 2nd, 2022.

ADDRESSES: The PEIS can be reviewed at https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Engineering-Logistics-CG-4-/Program-Offices/Environmental-Management/Environmental-Planning-and-Historic-Preservation/. Comments can be submitted to docket number 
USCG-2021-0183 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/. See the ``Public Participation and Request for 
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further 
instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be sent to Dean Amundson, Coast Guard; telephone 510-637-5541, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, sections 4321 et seq. 
of Title 42 United States Code, and Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations (sections 1500-1508 of Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations 
[CFR]; CEQ), the Coast Guard announces the availability of a Draft PEIS 
for public comment. The Coast Guard published a Notice of Intent (NOI) 
to prepare a PEIS on May 7, 2021 (FR24637). The NOI formally announced 
a formal 45 day scoping period in which comments were received. The 
Coast Guard used these comments to develop the Draft PEIS that is the 
subject of this Notice.

I. Public Participation and Comments

    The Coast Guard invites you to review the Draft PEIS. The Coast 
Guard will consider all submissions and may adjust our final analysis 
and decision based on your comments. If you submit a comment, please 
include the docket number for this notice, indicate the specific 
section of this document to which each comment applies, and provide a 
reason for each suggestion or recommendation.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft PEIS by 
one of the following methods:
     Via the Web: You may submit comments identified by docket 
number USCG-2021-0183 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov.
     Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Coast Guard, Shore Infrastructure 
Logistics Center, Environmental Management Division, Attn: Mr. Dean 
Amundson, 1301 Clay Street, Suite 700N, Oakland, CA 94612-5203. Please 
note that mailed comments must be post-marked on or before the comment 
deadline of December 2nd, 2022.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available in the docket.

II. Public Comment and Meeting

    After publication of this Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft 
PEIS, the Coast Guard will receive public comments for 57 days. During 
this time period, the Coast Guard will hold a public meeting in 
Seattle, Washington. The public meeting will provide an additional 
opportunity to submit written comments on the Draft PEIS. The date and 
time of the public meeting will be announced in the Seattle Times. If 
special assistance is required to attend the meeting, contact the U.S. 
Coast Guard as indicated in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Upon the completion of the 57 day public comment period, the Coast 
Guard

[[Page 61345]]

will prepare comment responses and publish its Final PEIS. This notice 
is issued under authority of NEPA, specifically in compliance with 42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) and CEQ implementing regulations in 40 CFR parts 1500 
through 1508.

III. Purpose and Need

    Base Seattle supports, and will continue to support, the Coast 
Guard's execution of its statutory missions, pursuant to 14 U.S.C. 102. 
The Coast Guard's Base Seattle is located on Puget Sound in Seattle, 
Washington. The Base serves as the homeport for several Coast Guard 
cutters and provides a full range of support functions for vessels and 
Coast Guard missions in the Pacific Northwest and Polar areas of 
operation.
    The purpose of the Proposed Action is to provide adequate 
facilities and infrastructure at Base Seattle to support current and 
future execution of the Coast Guard's statutory missions. Base Seattle 
is the largest Coast Guard facility in the Pacific Northwest and is an 
essential facility to support Coast Guard missions in the Pacific 
Northwest and Polar regions now and for the foreseeable future. To 
continue to support Coast Guard mission execution throughout these 
regions, expansion and extensive modernization of Base Seattle is 
required.
    The need for the Proposed Action is to address substantial existing 
deficiencies in facilities and infrastructure at Base Seattle that 
hinder the efficient execution of Coast Guard missions, as well as 
provide facility enhancements necessary to support current and future 
major cutters homeported at Base Seattle. Advances in major cutter 
technology require infrastructure enhancements and renovations to 
accommodate the increased size and shore-side support requirements 
associated with these advanced operating assets. The Coast Guard has 
identified deficiencies that include, but are not limited to, a lack of 
adequate land area, incompatible land uses, shortage of berthing 
capacity, out of date and inadequate facilities and infrastructure, and 
traffic congestion and parking shortfalls, as well as the need for 
improved resiliency in the event of natural disasters, and improved 
physical security capabilities.

IV. Scope of Analysis

    The Draft PEIS identifies and examines the proposed action to 
expand and modernize Base Seattle, the reasonable alternatives 
available to the Coast Guard, and assesses the potential environmental 
impact of each. Future decisions to homeport major cutters at Base 
Seattle, as well as the fate of cutters currently homeported at Base 
Seattle, are independent actions from the modernization program 
evaluated in this PEIS and therefore these actions are not within the 
scope of the PEIS analysis. Additionally, the EPA is the lead agency 
for a potential removal of contamination in Slip 36 at Base Seattle 
under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act (CERCLA). Since the Coast Guard is not the lead agency, 
and the project is being completed under CERCLA (exempt from NEPA), 
this action is independent of the Base Seattle modernization.

V. Alternatives

    The Coast Guard has determined the requirements to modernize and 
upgrade existing facilities and infrastructure at Base Seattle. These 
requirements include resolving incompatible land uses, increasing 
berthing capacity, upgrading existing facilities and infrastructure, 
reducing congestion and parking shortfalls, providing a safer work 
environment, enhancing physical security capabilities, and providing 
new infrastructure, as necessary.
    All action alternatives include demolition, rehabilitation/
renovation, and construction of structures. In addition to buildings, 
the proposed construction actions would include utility replacement, 
upgrade, and modernization; seismic soil stabilization; upgrades to 
base security (fencing); expanded parking and flexible use space; and 
repair of internal road surfaces, hardscaping, and landscaping.
    Once the program is fully executed, Base Seattle population would 
increase from the current level of 1,140 to an estimated 1,900 
personnel.
    The Coast Guard identified three reasonable alternatives that would 
meet the purpose and need of the Proposed Action.
    1. Alternative 1: Modernization with Additional Land and Two Berths 
at Terminal 46 (Preferred Alternative). Under Alternative 1, 
approximately 27 to 54 acres of land would be acquired, including the 
1.1-acre Belknap property and between 26 and 53 acres at Terminal 46 
from the Port of Seattle. The acquired property at Terminal 46 would 
provide 1,070 linear feet of new Coast Guard berthing space. In 
addition to the construction activities discussed above, Alternative 1 
would include the re-construction of portions of Terminal 46.
    2. Alternative 2: Modernization with Additional Land from Terminals 
30 and 46. Alternative 2 would expand Base Seattle both to the north 
and south. Under Alternative 2, many of the proposed infrastructure 
modernization and expansion elements would occur within the current 
Base boundaries or on land acquired at Terminal 30 and berthing 
requirements would be satisfied by the development of two new berths to 
the south (Pier 35 E/F). Land acquired at Terminal 46 would be used for 
active cutter support services, material laydown areas, and AT/FP 
setbacks. Land acquisition under Alternative 2 would include 21.5 to 
29.5 acres of land, with the majority being 13.5 to 21.5 acres at 
Terminal 30, which would include Jack Perry Memorial Park. Two new 
berths would provide 1,120 linear feet of wharf space. The berths would 
be constructed through the Pier 35E/F development with one berth on 
currently owned Coast Guard property and a second berth constructed on 
acquired property at Terminal 30.
    3. Alternative 3: Modernization with Additional Land and One Berth 
at Terminal 46. Under Alternative 3, Base Seattle would expand to the 
north through land acquisition at Terminal 46 and would infill the 
current Base footprint by acquiring currently leased properties. The 
minimum acquired land would total approximately 24.25 to 32.25 acres 
with the majority of land being 21.75 to 29.75 acres at Terminal 46. 
These elements include satisfying berthing requirements with 
construction of one new berth within the current Base boundaries (Pier 
35E) and one additional existing berth at Terminal 46. Under this 
alternative, one existing berth totaling 560 LF would be acquired at 
Terminal 46. No further modifications are required for this berth. One 
berth would be constructed on Coast Guard property at proposed Pier 35.
    The Coast Guard also carried forward the No Action Alternative for 
detailed analysis in the Draft PEIS. While the No Action Alternative 
would not satisfy the purpose and need for the Proposed Action, this 
alternative was retained to provide a comparative against which to 
analyze the effects of the Action Alternatives as required under CEQ's 
NEPA regulation.

VI. Findings of the Draft PEIS

    The Draft PEIS analyzes the potential environmental and 
socioeconomic impacts associated with the Proposed Action, action 
alternatives and the No Action Alternative; including direct, indirect, 
and cumulative effects, and mitigation measure to minimize impacts. 
Resource areas analyzed in the Draft PEIS include: land use, geological 
resources, water resources, transportation, air quality, biological 
resources, socioeconomics and

[[Page 61346]]

environmental justice, cultural resources, noise, utilities and public 
services, hazardous materials and wastes, visual resources, 
recreational resources, and greenhouse gases and climate change.
    Based on the analysis presented in the Draft PEIS, significant 
adverse impacts could occur to land use/Coastal Zone Management and 
socioconomics/environmental justice. Due to the programmatic nature of 
the Proposed Action, the analysis determined that there are adverse 
potentially significant impacts to cultural resources. When considered 
with other projects there will be both significant and potentially 
significant cumulative impacts. The Coast Guard invites public response 
and comments on the Draft PEIS to assist the Coast Guard in improving 
the analysis and mitigation of environmental impacts associated with 
the Proposed Action.

    Dated: September 29, 2022.
C.J. List,
Rear Admiral, USCG.
[FR Doc. 2022-22075 Filed 10-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P