Department of the Army June 26, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Army has completed a Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment (SPEA) for Army force structure realignment and is making a draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI) available for public comment. The draft FNSI incorporates the SPEA, which does not identify any significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, with the exception of socioeconomic impacts at most installations. The draft FNSI concludes that preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required. Current budgetary projections require the Army to analyze the reduction of active component end strength below the 490,000 Soldier reduction analyzed in the January 2013 Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Army 2020 Force Structure Realignment (PEA) as the further reductions exceed the scope of the 2013 PEA analysis. The SPEA builds on the foundation of the 2013 PEA and assesses the impacts of a potential reduction of an additional 70,000 Soldiers and associated reductions in Army civilians, down to an Active Component end-strength of 420,000 Soldiers. These reductions are necessary to achieve the savings required by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Nearly all Army installations will be affected in some way by additional reductions. The 2013 PEA evaluated 21 Army and joint base installations. With the deeper reductions now anticipated, the Army must consider nine additional installations that could experience reductions of 1,000 or more Active Component Soldiers and/or Army civilians. The SPEA does not identify any significant environmental impacts anticipated as a result of implementing the proposed action, with the exception of socioeconomic impacts at most installations; consequently, the preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required.