Department of Justice February 1, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announces the availability of the Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared for the proposed contract to secure additional inmate bed space for the BOP's growing inmate population. As part of an initiative known as the Criminal Alien Requirement, the BOP has identified a specific requirement to confine a population of approximately 3,000 low-security adult male inmates (with one year or less remaining to serve) that are primarily criminal aliens. The BOP is seeking to reduce prison overcrowding by requesting additional contract beds. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Council of Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and the Department of Justice procedures for implementing NEPA (28 CFR part 61), the BOP has prepared an EA to evaluate the proposed action of contracting with one or more private contractors to house approximately 3,000 federal, low-security, adult male, criminal aliens at one or more privately owned and operated correctional facility(s). The BOP's EA evaluates the potential environmental consequences of three action alternatives and the No Action Alternative. Natural, cultural, and socioeconomic resource impacts associated with the implementation of the proposed action at each of the proposed alternative locations were analyzed to determine how these resources may be affected by the proposed action. The alternatives considered in the EA include the use of the following privately-owned and operated facilities: Diamondback Correctional Center, Watonga, Oklahoma; Great Plains Correctional Facility, Hinton, Oklahoma; and Willacy County Processing Center, Raymondville, Texas. Inmates housed in these facilities would be criminal aliens who have less than one year remaining to serve of their sentences.