Department of Defense March 15, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), DTRA has prepared and issued a final PEIS for the proposed testing activities at WSMR. The PEIS addresses the potential environmental impacts associated with implementing the proposed action, alternative, and no action alternative over a 10 year period. The purpose of the proposed action is to provide adequate test areas and facilities to evaluate the lethality effectiveness of weapon systems used against simulated enemy ground targets producing, storing, or controlling Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). There is a need to improve weapon systems designed to defeat enemy military assets including hardened and reinforced structures. These enemy military assets can house WMD and pose a significant threat to international stability and peaceful coexistence among nations. The military structures and equipment of the United States and its allies must also be refined to better withstand attack by enemy weapons systems to reduce collateral damage. The PEIS presents descriptions of the proposed action, an overview of the affected environment at and near the test sites, and the potential environmental consequences associated with the proposed action and alternatives, including the no action alternative. The final PEIS evaluates two alternatives in addition to the no action alternative. The proposed action (alternative 1, DTRA's Preferred Alternative) involves expanding existing test beds and creating new ones; expanding the range of test types including targets, simulants, delivery systems and explosives; implementing infrastructure improvements at the Permanent High Explosive Test Site Administrative Park; and testing special weapons and delivery systems. Alternative two contains all of the actions described in alternative one plus the use of chemical simulants and taggants/tracers that are considered to have higher toxicity levels than those considered under alternative one. The increased hazards of using these chemicals lead to identifying alternative one as the preferred alternative.