Department of the Navy June 27, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 4321); the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500-1508); Department of the Navy Procedures for Implementing NEPA (32 CFR 775); Executive Order (EO) 12114, Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions; and Department of Defense (DoD) regulations implementing EO 12114 (32 CFR 187) the Department of the Navy (Navy) has prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (EIS/OEIS) on June 16, 2008. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is a Cooperating Agency for the EIS/OEIS. The EIS/OEIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts over a 10-year planning horizon associated with Navy Atlantic Fleet training; research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) activities; and associated range capabilities enhancements (including infrastructure improvements) within the existing Virginia Capes (VACAPES) Range Complex Operating Area (OPAREA). The components of the VACAPES Range Complex include 28,672 square nautical miles (nm\2\) of special use area (SUA) warning area; 27,661 nm\2\ of offshore surface and subsurface OPAREA; and 18,092 nm\2\ of deep ocean area greater than 100 fathoms (600 feet). The geographic scope of the EIS/OEIS includes the airspace, seaspace, and undersea space of the VACAPES Range Complex. This area is referred to as the VACAPES Study Area. The VACAPES Study Area does not include any dry land. However, it does include the area from the mean high tide line east (seaward) to the 3nm boundary of the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. This 3-nm state boundary also serves as the western boundary of the VACAPES OPAREA. The VACAPES Study Area also includes 420 nm\2\ of the lower Chesapeake Bay. A Notice of Intent (NOI) for the EIS/OEIS was published in the Federal Register on December 8, 2006 (Federal Register Volume 71, No. 236, pp 71143-71145). A revised NOI was issued in the Federal Register (Volume 72, No. 171, pp 50940-50941) on September 5, 2007 when training areas in the southern Chesapeake Bay were identified for analysis. The Navy will conduct four public hearings to receive oral and written comments on the Draft EIS/OEIS. Federal agencies, state agencies, and local agencies and interested individuals are invited to be present or represented at the public hearings. This notice announces the dates and locations of the public hearings for this Draft EIS/OEIS. An open house session will precede the scheduled public hearing at each of the locations listed below and will allow individuals to review the information presented in the VACAPES Range Complex Draft EIS/OEIS. Navy representatives will be available during the open house sessions to clarify information related to the Draft EIS/OEIS.