Army Department 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is considering an application for Section 404 and Section 10 permits to conduct dredge and fill activities to redevelop and consolidate two existing container terminals for the construction of a 342-acre marine terminal including redevelopment of 294 acres of existing land and the placement of dredged material in open water to create 48 acres of new land. The primary reason for the revised notice of intent is because the proposed terminal expansion project has been modified to utilize additional existing land to reduce the amount of fill in open water by approximately 20 acres. The primary Federal concern is the dredging and discharging of materials within waters of the Unites States and potential significant impacts to the human environment. Therefore, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Corps is requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to consideration of any permit action. The Corps may ultimately make a determination to permit or deny the above project, or permit or deny modified versions of the above project. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Port of Long Beach will serve as Lead Agency for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for its consideration of development approvals within its jurisdiction. The Corps and the Port of Long Beach have agreed to jointly prepare a Draft EIS/EIR in order to optimize efficiency and avoid duplication. The Draft EIS/EIR is intended to be sufficient in scope to address both the Federal and the State and local requirements and environmental issues concerning the proposed activities and permit approvals.

On November 10, 2005, the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, Interior, issued a Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Notice of Public Hearings (see 70 CFR 68409). The due date for comments period provided in the DATES section of that notice was incorrectly identified as December 27, 2005. The correct due date for comments is January 3, 2006 (45 days from the November 18, 2005, Federal Register publication date of the EPA weekly notice of DEIS availability).

In compliance with 37 CFR 404 et seq., the Department of the Army hereby gives notice of its intent to grant to Akoura Biometrics Incorporated, a corporation having its principle place of business at 9990 Waterford Trail Chagrin Falls, OH 44023, an exclusive or partially exclusive license relative to ARL patents U.S. Patent 6,557,103 B1 entitled, ``Spread Spectrum Steganography''; April 29, 2003, Boncelet, Jr., et al. and U.S. Patent 6,831,990 B2 entitled, ``System and Method for Image Tamper Detection via Thumbnail Hiding''; December 14, 2004; Marvel et al.

The Department of the Army proposes to amend its regulation concerning law enforcement reporting, to implement portions of section 577(b)(5) of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, October 28, 2004, Pub. L. 108-375, pertaining to reporting of sexual assaults. This revision also implements Department of Defense policy concerning sexual assault.

The Department of the Army is proposing to amend a system of records notice in its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The study is being conducted in response to the authority contained in the following United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Resolution dated April 22, 1988, as quoted below:

The Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commissions were established by Public Law 101-510, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (BRAC Law), to recommend military installations for realignment and closure. The 2005 Commission's recommendations were included in a report which was presented to the President on September 8, 2005. The President approved and forwarded this report to Congress on September 16, 2005. Since a joint resolution to disapprove these recommendations did not occur within the statutorily provided time period, these recommendations have become law and must be implemented in accordance with the requirements of the BRAC Law. The BRAC Law exempts the decision-making process of the Commission from the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The Law also relieves the Department of Defense from the NEPA requirement to consider the need for closing, realigning, or transferring functions and from looking at alternative installations to close or realign. Nonetheless, the Department of the Army must still prepare environmental impact analyses during the process of property disposal, and during the process of relocating functions from a military installation being closed or realigned to another military installation after the receiving installation has been selected but before the functions are relocated. These analyses will include consideration of the direct and indirect environmental and socioeconomic effects of these actions and the cumulative impacts of other reasonably foreseeable actions affecting the installations. The Department of the Army intends to prepare individual Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of NEPA, regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1500- 1508), and the Army NEPA regulation (32 CFR 651 et seq.) for each of the actions listed below. Opportunities for public participation will be announced in the respective local newspapers. The public will be invited to participate in scoping activities for each EIS and comments from the public will be considered before any action is taken to implement these actions. Environmental Impact Statements are planned for each of the following realignment actions: a. Fort Meade, Maryland. The BRAC realignment action will co-locate and consolidate Department of Defense information and information technology missions at Fort Meade. (1) EIS alternatives could include evaluating siting locations for structures and related projects within Fort Meade that involve new building construction only or new building construction combined with renovation of existing facilities. The alternatives would evaluate areas to provide for construction of, but not be limited to, six to eight 4-story administration buidlings, a full day care child development center, a standard-design Whole Barracks Complex, and a physical fitness center. (2) The proposed BRAC action may have significant environmental impacts due to the infrastructure and facilities construction that will be required to accommodate an estimated increase of over 5,500 personnel. Significant issues to be analyzed in the EIS may include potential impacts to air quality from increased vehicle emissions, installation and regional traffic increases, land use changes, natural resources, water use, solid waste, cultural resources, and cumulative impacts from increased burdens to the facility based on projected growth. b. Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Maryland. APG will be receiving numerous Army, Navy and Air Force activities to transform it into a full spectrum research, development, acquisition center for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Defense Chemical and Biological Systems. The Army Test and Evaluation Command Headquarters and Civilian Personnel Offices will also be consolidated at APG. (1) Alternatives to be examined in the EIS could include alternative distribution of new activities between APG and the Edgewood Area for military field training exercises; alternative siting schemes for placement of buildings and related infrastructure to accommodate an increase of about 15,000 Army personnel within the APG and Edgewood Area. These may include siting schemes for new building construction only, or new building construction combined with renovation of existing facilities. (2) The proposed BRAC action may have significant environmental impacts due to the large amount of infrastructure and facilities construction that will be required to accommodate an increase of personnel and military training operations. Significant issues to be analyzed in the EIS will include on-post and local air quality conditions, on-post and regional traffic conditions, housing, socioeconomics, noise due to increased vehicle use, threatened and endangered species to include bald eagle habitat, historic buildings and archeological resources, wetlands, biological resources, land use, and community facilities and services. c. Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Fort Belvoir will be receiving numerous Department of Defense activities from leased space within the National Capital Region (NCR); National Geospatial Intelligence Agency units from various NCR leased locations and Bethesda, Maryland; primary and secondary medical care functions from Walter Reed Medical Center to a new, expanded DeWitt Army Hospital; and inventory control point functions for consumable items to the Defense Logistics Agency from the Naval Support Activist, Mechanisburg and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. (1) EIS alternatives may consist of moving all activities to the Fort Belvoir Main Post, moving all activities to the Engineer Proving Ground (EPG), or moving a portion of the activities to the Main Point and a portion to the EPG. Other alternatives could include alternative land locations for specific projects within Fort Belvoir, within the EPG, or a combination of both; new construction only; new construction combined with renovation of existing facilities; alternative facility siting schemes, or other modifications of specific projects. (2) The proposed BRAC action may have significant environmental impacts due to the large amount of infrastructure and facilities construction that will be required to accommodate an estimated increase of over 18,000 personnel. Significant issues to be analyzed in the EIS will include potential impacts to air quality condition in the Northern Virginia region, transportation systems in the Northern Virginia region, traffic conditions with Fort Belvoir, threatened and endangered species, historic buildings and archeological resources, wetlands, biological resources, land use, and community facilities and services. d. Fort Lee, Virginia. Fort Lee will receive the Transportation Center and School from Fort Eustis, Virginia, and the Ordnance Center and School from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. These functions will be consolidated with the Quartermaster Center and School, the Army Logistics Management College, and Combined Arms Support Command to establish a Combat Service Support Center at Fort Lee. (1) Alternatives to be examined in the EIS may include the usage of only Fort Lee for field training exercises, the usage of other military installations (Fort A.P. Hill) for field training exercises, or a combination of both; alternative land locations for specific projects with Fort Lee and Fort A.P. Hill; new construction only; new construction combined with renovation of existing facilities; alternative facility siting schemes, or other modifications of specific projects. (2) The proposed BRAC action may have significant environmental impacts due to the large amount of infrastructure and facilities construction that will be required to accommodate an estimated increase of over 7,000 personnel. Significant issues to be analyzed in the EIS will include air quality conditions, traffic conditions, noise due to increased training activities, threatened and endangered species, historic buildings and archeological resources, wetlands, biological resources, land use, and community facilities and services. e. Fort Benning, Georgia. Fort Benning will receive the Armor Center and School from Fort Knox, Kentucky; 81st Regional Readiness Center from Fort Gillem, Georgia; and the U.S. Army Reserve Center from Columbus, Georgia. (1) Alternatives to be examined by the EIS may consist of alternative siting locations with Fort Benning for facility construction projects, new construction only, renovation and use of existing facilities, or a combination of both new construction and use of existing facilities, and usage of alternatives land locations within Fort Benning for training activities. (2) As a result of new construction and training activities associated with moving nearly 10,000 personnel to Fort Benning, the BRAC action has the potential to cause significant environmental impacts to threatened and endangered species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, archeological sites, wetlands, soil erosion, and increased noise impacts to the surrounding public. f. Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Navy and Air Force medical training activities from various locations within the U.S. and the 59th Medical Wing from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, will move to Fort Sam Houston to form a Department of Defense medical training center. The Army Installation Management Agency (IMA) Headquarters from Virginia, the Northwest IMA Regional office from Illinois, and the Army Environmental Center from Maryland will also move to Fort Sam Houston. (1) Alternatives to be examined in the EIS could consist of alternative locations within Fort Sam Houston for siting facility construction, new construction only, renovation and use of existing facilities (to include historic buildings), or a combination of both new construction and use of existing facilities, and usage of alternative locations within Camp Bullis, a sub-post of Fort Sam Houston, for training activities. (2) As a result of moving approximately 9,000 new personnel to Fort Sam Houston and associated new construction, renovation and training activities, implementing the proposed BRAC action could have potential significant impacts to traffic on and off post, air quality and historic properties, to include contributing elements of the Fort Sam Houston National Historic Landmark District. g. Fort Carson, Colorado. Fort Carson will receive a Heavy Brigade Combat team and a Unit of Employment Headquarters from Fort Hood, Texas, and the inpatient care services from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado. Another Infantry Brigade Combat Team from overseas could also be transferred to Fort Carson as a result of the BRAC recommendation. (1) Alternatives that may be considered in the Fort Carson EIS could include phasing movement of units to the fort, alternative siting locations within the post of placement of new facilities, construction of only new facilities, utilization and renovation of existing facilities, a combination of new construction and utilization of existing facilities, and utilization of alternative locations within Fort Carson for training activities. (2) Fort Carson will gain approximately 10,000 Army personnel as a result of the BRAC action. Construction of new facilities, renovation of existing infrastructure and additional training activities could have significant environmental impacts on Fort Carson and its environs. Impacts could concur to local air and water quality, archaeological resources, noise and traffic. h. Pinion Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado. Pinion Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) is a subpost of Fort Carson and a primary training area for units stationed at Fort Carson and other Army posts. The new combat units stationed at Fort Carson will increase the training tempo at the PCMS. (1) The EIS to be prepared for the PCMS will examine a number of implementation alternatives that could include alternative placement of new construction projects, alternative locations within the PCMS for training activities, and alternative timing for units to conduct training activities at the PCMS. (2) The Fort Carson BRAC action has the potential to significantly impact natural resources at the PCMS since the approximately 10,000 new personnel to be stationed there will now be training at the PCMS on a regular basis. New construction and increased training activities at the PCMS could have an impact on archaeological resources, natural resources, air and water quality, and soil erosion.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Omaha District is preparing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the direct, indirect and cumulative effects of enlarging the Rueter-Hess Reservoir, currently under construction in Parker, CO. The current project was authorized in February 2004 with Corps Permit 199980472. The basic purpose of the proposed action is the same as defined in the original EIS, which is to provide a safe, adequate and sustainable municipal water supply to Parker Water and Sanitation District (PWSD), Parker, CO that is capable of meeting the peak demands for the District's service area for the next 50 years. In addition, the purpose for enlarging the reservoir is to provide peaking storage of Denver Basin groundwater for selected South Metro Denver area water providers and to assist in sustaining the Denver Basin Aquifer. The construction of the proposed project would result in additional temporary and permanent impacts to wetlands and other Waters of the United States, requiring a new section 404 permit. To familiarize the public and interested organizations with the project and potential environmental issues that may be involved; the Corps has prepared a Scoping Document for the project. This document includes a project description, preliminary list of alternatives and various environmental/resource issues that will be addressed in the Supplemental EIS. Copies of the Scoping Document will be available at the public scoping meetings or can be requested by mail. The Supplemental EIS will be prepared according to the Corps' procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), and consistent with the Corps' policy to facilitate public understanding and review of agency proposals.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch has completed a Draft EIS for the San Juan Creek Watershed/Western San Mateo Creek Watershed Special Area Management Plan (SAMP). The San Juan Creek Watershed/Western San Mateo Creek Watershed SAMP establishes three alternative permitting procedures that balance aquatic resource protection and reasonable economic development for the San Juan Creek Watershed and Western San Mateo Creed Watershed.

In accordance with 37 CFR part 404.6, announcement is made of the availability for licensing of U.S. Patent No. US 6,959,897 B2 entitled ``Low Cost Parachute'' issued November 1, 2005. This patent has been assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army.

The Department of the Army amends its regulation on Army Board for Correction of Military Records to be in compliance with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia decision (Daniel J. Lipsman v. Secretary of the ArmyCivil Action No. 02-0151 (RMU), Document Nos. 18, 20, decided September 7, 2004, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17866).

Notice is given of the names of members of a Performance Review Board for the Department of the Army. Effective Date: September 30, 2005.

The Department of the Army is proposing to revise our rules that prescribe policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards and to incorporate laws enacted and policies approved since the rule was last published in 1956.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to assess the social, economic and environmental effects of the proposed widening of portions of the Freeport Harbor Entrance and Jetty Channels. The DEIS will assess potential impacts of a range of alternatives, including the No Action and preferred alternatives. The Federal action is consideration of a Department of Army Permit application for work under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) and section 103 of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuary Act (33 U.S.C. 1413).

The above agencies announce the availability of the FPEIS that considers developing policies, guidance, and coordinated agency decision-making processes to minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, the adverse environmental effects to waters of the United States and to fish and wildlife resources affected by mountaintop mining operations, and to environmental resources that could be affected by the size and location of excess spoil-disposal sites in valley fills within the Appalachian study area in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. This FPEIS was prepared as part of a settlement agreement that resolved the Federal claims brought in Bragg v. Robertson, Civ. No. 2:98-0636 (S.D.W.Va.). This FPEIS was prepared consistent with the provision set forth in 40 CFR 1503.4(c) of the Council on Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA, which allow the agencies to attach an errata sheet to the statement instead of rewriting the draft statement and to circulate the errata, comments, responses, and the changes, rather than the entire document. The agencies are filing the entire statement with a new cover sheet as the FPEIS. The FPEIS is being made available by mail and can be viewed on the Internet at https://www.epa.gov/region3/ mtntop/index.htm. The FPEIS can also be viewed at local offices of the above agencies and at selected local libraries. Copies of the FPEIS may be obtained by writing to the address listed below.

The Department of the Army is proposing to add a system of records to its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

This notice sets forth the schedule and summary agenda for the meeting of the Board of Visitors (BoV) for the Western Hemisphere Institue for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). Notice of this meeting is required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463). This board was chartered on February 1, 2004 in compliance with the requirements set forth in Title 10 U.S.C. 2166. Dates: December 1-2, 2005. Time: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (December 1) and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (December 2). Location: Building 35, 7011 Morrison Ave., Fort Benning, GA 31905. Proposed Agenda: The WHINSEC BoV will receive new members and advisors, receive updates on the status of actions taken on past BoV recommendations and an update on new activities and efforts since December 2004; look into any matters it deems important; while meeting with groups of WHINSEC faculty and students

In accordance with 37 CFR 404.6 and 404.7, announcement is made of the availability for licensing of U.S. Patent Application No. 10/936,992 entitled ``Non-Contact Respiration Monitor,'' filed September 9, 2004. Foreign rights are also available (PCT/US02/29563). The United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Army, has rights in this invention.

The Department of the Army is publishing a revision to our rule concerning obtaining information from financial institutions. The regulation prescribes policies for the Department of the Army to obtain information on a customer's financial records from financial institutions.

In accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District has prepared a Final General Reevaluation Report (GRR) and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project (PIERP). The GRR/ SEIS evaluated the vertical and/or lateral expansion of the PIERP, design modifications to the existing project, the addition of recreational/educational opportunities to the existing project, and the potential to accept dredged material from additional channels not specified in the 1996 EIS for the existing project. A Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Draft GRR/SEIS was published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Federal Register on June 22, 2005 (70 FR 36129). The preferred alternative includes a northern lateral expansion consisting of approximately 575 acres, which would include wetland and upland habitat, and a protected open water embayment; construction of a 5-ft vertical raising of the existing upland Cells 2 and 6 at the PIERP; amending the existing project authorization and Project Cooperation Agreement to include the placement of dredged material from the southern approach channels to the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal; incorporation of design modifications required for the completion of the existing project, and development of recreational and educational enhancement for the PIERP.

The Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), as the Department of Defense (DoD) Traffic Manager for the Personal Property Program published the Defense Personal Property System (DPS) Phase II Business Rules for Industry comment. These rules were posted to the Families First Web Site located at https:// www.sddc.army.mil under Families First. This announcement is being made to provide an overview of the comments received by SDDC from the Federal Register notice published on April 26, 2005 (70 FR 21401). All stakeholders were given 30 days to review these draft business rules and provide SDDC their comments. Responses were returned in several ways, including letters, spreadsheets and the Frequently Asked Question process. SDDC received approximately 1300 comments from the industry. Some of the comments were unique, but there were many duplicates. After the initial review of the comments and identification of duplicates, the comments were assigned to SDDC Subject Matter Experts (SME) in each of the associated Functional Areas related to the development of DPS. These SME's performed a detailed review of these comments to determine if revision to the business rules were appropriate. Our review indicated that there were approximately 800 duplicates and 500 unique comments. Some of industries major concerns were: the new best value traffic distribution methodology, establishment of minimum performance score, claims metrics, issues with CWA/invoicing, prompt payment, hard copy documentation, low response customer survey response rate, lack of statistically valid number of Transportation Service Providers (TSPs), non-availability of interface with TSP systems, 13% cost growth limitation on the new program, access to rate filing instructions, tools required to perform rate filing, inadequate time to test the new system, shipment management, TSP/agent relationship and access to multiple SCACs. Our review indicated that all the comments required clarification to the business rules. SDDC is currently in the process of providing these clarifications in the business rules and will publish the Final Business Rule when incorporation of these changes is completed. In the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section, SDDC has identified Industry's major concerns.