Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for F-35A Lightning II Formal Training Unit Beddown at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, Oregon, 47927-47928 [2024-12132]

Download as PDF ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 4, 2024 / Notices Draft EIS is anticipated in early 2025. The Final EIS and a decision on which alternative to implement is expected later in 2025. DAF invites the public, stakeholders, and other interested parties to attend a public scoping meeting. Two in-person public scoping meetings will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on 25 and 26 June 2024. The location of both meetings will be at the Autry Technology Center (1201 W Willow Road, Enid, OK 73703) and information provided at the meetings will be available on the project website (https://vance.t-7anepadocuments.com/ ). Attendees of the public scoping meeting will have the opportunity to submit written comments. The scheduled date and time for the public scoping meeting will also be published in local media (Enid News & Eagle) a minimum of 15 days prior to the meeting. ADDRESSES: The project website (https:// vance.t-7anepadocuments.com/) provides additional information on the EIS and can be used to submit scoping comments. Scoping comments may also be submitted via email to chinling.chen@us.af.mil or via postal mail to Ms. Chinling Chen, AFCEC/CIE; Attn: Vance AFB T–7A Recapitalization EIS; Headquarters AETC Public Affairs; 100 H East Street, Suite 4; Randolph AFB, TX 78150. Please submit inquiries or requests for printed or digital copies of the scoping materials via the email or postal address above or contact the AETC Public Affairs office by phone at 210–652–4400. For printed material requests, the standard U.S. Postal Service shipping timeline will apply. Scoping materials are also available in print at the Enid Public Library at 120 W Maine Avenue, Enid, Oklahoma. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the proposed action is to continue the T–7A recapitalization program to prepare pilots to operate modern fourth and fifth generation aircraft. The need for the proposed action is to provide infrastructure and training systems to support the newer T–7A aircraft, allow for enhanced and improved flight and simulator training, and ensure DAF pilot training requirements are met. Recapitalization entails introduction of T–7A aircraft and flight operations at Vance AFB to replace all T–38C aircraft assigned to the installation; nighttime (between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.) flight operations; temporary changes to the number of personnel and dependents in the Vance AFB region during the 2-year transition period; and construction and upgrade of support and maintenance facilities. DAF is considering three VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:15 Jun 03, 2024 Jkt 262001 alternatives to implement the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative. For Alternative 1, Vance AFB would receive up to 68 T–7A aircraft and phase in T–7A operations at a level sustaining pilot training while simultaneously phasing out the T–38C. A temporary increase of approximately 100 personnel is projected. Several construction projects including (MILCON) projects, unspecified minor military construction (UMMC) projects, and facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization would potentially occur at Vance AFB to provide modern facilities and infrastructure to support T–7A aircraft maintenance, training, and operational requirements. For Alternative 2, Vance AFB would receive up to 68 T–7A aircraft and perform T–7A operations at a level that is approximately 25 percent greater than Alternative 1. Alternative 2 is intended to cover a scenario in which, for either broad strategic or tactical operational reasons, DAF requires a surge or increase in pilot training operations above current plan. The number of T– 7A aircraft arriving at Vance AFB and timeline of increased aircraft operations, new and renovated facilities, and personnel changes would be the same as described for Alternative 1. For Alternative 2, beginning in 2032, T–7A aircraft would perform annual operations at Vance AFB and associated SUA at an operational tempo that is 25 percent greater than Alternative 1. T–7A nighttime operations would occur with up to 873 annual nighttime operations at Vance AFB. For Alternative 3, Vance AFB would receive up to 99 T–7A aircraft and perform annual operations approximately 45% greater than Alternative 1 once the aircraft transition is complete. Alternative 3 is intended to provide DAF with operational flexibility, and inclusion of this alternative in this EIS provides analysis to evaluate future capacity needs. For the No Action Alternative, DAF would not implement T–7A recapitalization at Vance AFB. If the No Action Alternative were implemented, the T–7A aircraft disposition would be determined separately. Vance AFB’s existing fleet of T–38C aircraft would continue to be used in their current capacity even though they will reach the end of their service lives within the next decade. DAF anticipates potential for increased air emissions, particularly nitrogen oxides, and increased noise from the Proposed Action. Increased noise could have a disproportionate impact on environmental justice populations and impact off-installation PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 47927 land use compatibility. The EIS will model air emissions, noise levels, and the number of disturbance events, that would result from implementation of the proposed action and alternatives and compare them to current conditions. DAF will also consult with appropriate resource agencies and Native American tribes to determine the potential for significant impacts. Consultation will be incorporated into the preparation of the EIS and will include, but not be limited to, consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Scoping and Agency Coordination: To identify important environmental issues deserving of study and to deemphasize unimportant issues, narrowing the scope of the environmental impact statement process, DAF is soliciting comments from interested Federal, State, Tribal, and local, officials and agencies, as well as likely affected or interested members of the public. Comments are requested on alternatives and effects, as well as on relevant information, studies, or analyses with respect to the proposed action. Tommy W. Lee, Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer. [FR Doc. 2024–12131 Filed 6–3–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3911–44–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Air Force Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for F–35A Lightning II Formal Training Unit Beddown at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, Oregon National Guard Bureau, Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense. ACTION: Notice of Intent. AGENCY: The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts associated with beddown of F–35A aircraft that would replace the legacy F–15C/D aircraft at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The DAF and NGB are joint lead agencies preparing the EIS and the Federal Aviation Administration is participating as a cooperating agency. SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\04JNN1.SGM 04JNN1 47928 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 4, 2024 / Notices A public scoping period of 30 days will take place starting from the date of this NOI publication in the Federal Register. Identification of potential alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the Proposed Action are requested and will be accepted at any time during the EIS process. To ensure sufficient time to consider public input in the preparation of the Draft EIS, scoping comments should be submitted in writing to the website, or the address listed below within the 30-day scoping period. An in-person scoping meeting is scheduled at Klamath Falls, OR on June 26, 2024 at the Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport. The Draft EIS is anticipated in Spring 2025 and the Final EIS is anticipated in Spring 2026. The Record of Decision would be approved and signed no earlier than 30 days after the Final EIS is published. ADDRESSES: The project website www.KingsleyFieldF35EIS.com provides information on the EIS and the scoping process and can be used to submit scoping comments on-line. Scoping comments may also be submitted by email to NGB.A4.A4A.NEPA.COMMENTS.org@ us.af.mil, including ‘‘F–35A Beddown EIS’’ in the subject line, or by mail to Mr. Devin Scherer, National Guard Bureau, NGB/A4FR 3501 Fetchet Avenue, Joint Base Andrews, MD 20762; (240) 612–8244. EIS inquiries and requests for digital or print copies of scoping materials are available upon request to Mr. Scherer at the email or mailing address provided. For printed material requests, the standard U.S. Postal Service shipping timeline will apply. Members of the public who want to receive future mailings informing them about the availability of the Draft and Final EIS, or to receive periodic fact sheets, are encouraged to submit a comment that includes their name and email or postal mailing address. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Proposed Action is to replace aging F–15C/D aircraft currently utilized by the 173d Fighter Wing (173 FW) with the state-of-the-art fighter aircraft to better address future mission requirements, offer expanded capability, and provide life-cycle cost savings in comparison to continued operation of existing F–15C/D aircraft. The Proposed Action is needed because the F–15C/D aircraft are reaching the end of their service life. The EIS will assess the potential environmental consequences of beddown, operation, and associated infrastructure construction of one formal training unit squadron of F–35A Lightning II (F–35A) aircraft at Kingsley ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 DATES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:15 Jun 03, 2024 Jkt 262001 Field Air National Guard Base (ANGB) at the Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The squadron would consist of 24 F–35A Primary Aerospace Vehicles Authorized and two Backup Aerospace Vehicles Authorized and would replace the existing 26 F–15C/D aircraft currently operating at Kingsley Field ANGB. The EIS will also assess a No Action Alternative. Resource areas being analyzed for include noise, biological resources, cultural resources, socioeconomics, soils and geology, water resources, infrastructure and transportation, land use, hazardous materials and wastes, health and safety, air quality, and environmental justice and other sensitive receptors. Potential significant impacts include those related to aircraft noise, air quality, and land use. Should any permits or other authorizations be required, the NGB and DAF will identify and obtain each. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969; the Council on Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA; 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 1500–1508 as well as agency implementing regulations. Scoping and Agency Coordination: Consultation will include, but not necessarily be limited to, Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and will include consultations with federally recognized Native American Tribes. The scoping process will be used to involve the public early in the planning and development of the EIS to assist in identifying issues and information to be addressed in the analysis. To effectively define the full range of issues to be evaluated, NGB and DAF will determine the scope of the analysis by requesting comments, including potential alternatives, information, and analyses from interested local, State, and Federal elected officials and agencies, Tribes, members of the public, and others. Comments will be accepted throughout the process, but in order to have comments incorporated into the Draft EIS, comments should be received within 30 days of the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The scheduled dates, times, locations, and addresses for the scoping meetings are concurrently being published in local media and on the website. Public scoping will be accomplished by an inperson meeting during the scoping period and the project website will provide posters, a presentation, informational fact sheets, downloadable PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 comment forms to fill out and return by mail, and the capability for the public to submit scoping comments on-line. Comments received at the scoping meeting, via email, on the website, or by U.S. mail will be considered equally. Tommy W. Lee, Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer. [FR Doc. 2024–12132 Filed 6–3–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3911–44–P DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Applications for New Awards; Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Department of Education (Department) is issuing a notice inviting applications (NIA) for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2024 for the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program, Assistance Listing Number 84.116N. This notice relates to the approved information collection under OMB control number 1894–0006. DATES: Applications Available: June 4, 2024. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 5, 2024. Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: October 2, 2024. ADDRESSES: For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2022 (87 FR 75045) and available at www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-26554. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Njeri Clark, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 5th floor, Washington, DC 20202–4260. Telephone: (202) 453–6224. Email: Njeri.Clark@ed.gov. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7–1–1. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: Full Text of Announcement I. Funding Opportunity Description Purpose of Program: The Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program provides grants to eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs), or a consortia or system of such institutions, to advance systemic and sustainable E:\FR\FM\04JNN1.SGM 04JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47927-47928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12132]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Air Force


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for F-35A Lightning II Formal Training Unit Beddown at Kingsley 
Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, Oregon

AGENCY: National Guard Bureau, Department of the Air Force, Department 
of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is issuing this Notice 
of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to 
assess the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts 
associated with beddown of F-35A aircraft that would replace the legacy 
F-15C/D aircraft at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base in Klamath 
Falls, Oregon. The DAF and NGB are joint lead agencies preparing the 
EIS and the Federal Aviation Administration is participating as a 
cooperating agency.

[[Page 47928]]


DATES: A public scoping period of 30 days will take place starting from 
the date of this NOI publication in the Federal Register. 
Identification of potential alternatives, information, and analyses 
relevant to the Proposed Action are requested and will be accepted at 
any time during the EIS process. To ensure sufficient time to consider 
public input in the preparation of the Draft EIS, scoping comments 
should be submitted in writing to the website, or the address listed 
below within the 30-day scoping period. An in-person scoping meeting is 
scheduled at Klamath Falls, OR on June 26, 2024 at the Crater Lake-
Klamath Regional Airport. The Draft EIS is anticipated in Spring 2025 
and the Final EIS is anticipated in Spring 2026. The Record of Decision 
would be approved and signed no earlier than 30 days after the Final 
EIS is published.

ADDRESSES: The project website www.KingsleyFieldF35EIS.com provides 
information on the EIS and the scoping process and can be used to 
submit scoping comments on-line. Scoping comments may also be submitted 
by email to NGB.A4.A4A.NEPA.COMMENTS.org@us.af.mil">NGB.A4.A4A.NEPA.COMMENTS.org@us.af.mil, including ``F-35A 
Beddown EIS'' in the subject line, or by mail to Mr. Devin Scherer, 
National Guard Bureau, NGB/A4FR 3501 Fetchet Avenue, Joint Base 
Andrews, MD 20762; (240) 612-8244. EIS inquiries and requests for 
digital or print copies of scoping materials are available upon request 
to Mr. Scherer at the email or mailing address provided. For printed 
material requests, the standard U.S. Postal Service shipping timeline 
will apply. Members of the public who want to receive future mailings 
informing them about the availability of the Draft and Final EIS, or to 
receive periodic fact sheets, are encouraged to submit a comment that 
includes their name and email or postal mailing address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Proposed Action is to 
replace aging F-15C/D aircraft currently utilized by the 173d Fighter 
Wing (173 FW) with the state-of-the-art fighter aircraft to better 
address future mission requirements, offer expanded capability, and 
provide life-cycle cost savings in comparison to continued operation of 
existing F-15C/D aircraft. The Proposed Action is needed because the F-
15C/D aircraft are reaching the end of their service life. The EIS will 
assess the potential environmental consequences of beddown, operation, 
and associated infrastructure construction of one formal training unit 
squadron of F-35A Lightning II (F-35A) aircraft at Kingsley Field Air 
National Guard Base (ANGB) at the Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport 
in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The squadron would consist of 24 F-35A 
Primary Aerospace Vehicles Authorized and two Backup Aerospace Vehicles 
Authorized and would replace the existing 26 F-15C/D aircraft currently 
operating at Kingsley Field ANGB. The EIS will also assess a No Action 
Alternative.
    Resource areas being analyzed for include noise, biological 
resources, cultural resources, socioeconomics, soils and geology, water 
resources, infrastructure and transportation, land use, hazardous 
materials and wastes, health and safety, air quality, and environmental 
justice and other sensitive receptors. Potential significant impacts 
include those related to aircraft noise, air quality, and land use. 
Should any permits or other authorizations be required, the NGB and DAF 
will identify and obtain each. The EIS will be prepared in accordance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969; the Council 
on Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA; 40 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 1500-1508 as well as agency 
implementing regulations.
    Scoping and Agency Coordination: Consultation will include, but not 
necessarily be limited to, Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and will include 
consultations with federally recognized Native American Tribes. The 
scoping process will be used to involve the public early in the 
planning and development of the EIS to assist in identifying issues and 
information to be addressed in the analysis. To effectively define the 
full range of issues to be evaluated, NGB and DAF will determine the 
scope of the analysis by requesting comments, including potential 
alternatives, information, and analyses from interested local, State, 
and Federal elected officials and agencies, Tribes, members of the 
public, and others. Comments will be accepted throughout the process, 
but in order to have comments incorporated into the Draft EIS, comments 
should be received within 30 days of the publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. The scheduled dates, times, locations, and 
addresses for the scoping meetings are concurrently being published in 
local media and on the website. Public scoping will be accomplished by 
an in-person meeting during the scoping period and the project website 
will provide posters, a presentation, informational fact sheets, 
downloadable comment forms to fill out and return by mail, and the 
capability for the public to submit scoping comments on-line. Comments 
received at the scoping meeting, via email, on the website, or by U.S. 
mail will be considered equally.

Tommy W. Lee,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-12132 Filed 6-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3911-44-P
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