Department of the Navy October 11, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to expand the scope of the ongoing Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for a live-fire training range complex on Guam to evaluate the potential environmental consequences from construction and operation of a main cantonment area, including family housing, and associated infrastructure on Guam to support the relocation of a substantially reduced number of Marines than previously analyzed. This SEIS will supplement the Final EIS for the ``Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Military Relocation; Relocating Marines from Okinawa, Visiting Aircraft Carrier Berthing, and Army Air and Missile Defense Task Force'' dated July 2010. Pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.9(c), the SEIS is being prepared for the limited purpose of supplementing the 2010 Final EIS regarding the establishment of a live-fire training range complex, a main cantonment area, including family housing, and associated infrastructure on Guam. The purpose and need for the proposed action is to ensure that the relocated Marines are organized, trained, and equipped as mandated in Section 5063 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code, to satisfy individual live- fire training requirements as described in the Final EIS and associated Record of Decision (ROD), and to establish an operational U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) presence in Guam in accordance with April 2012 adjustments to the May 2006 United States-Japan Roadmap for Realignment Implementation (Roadmap). The proposed action that will be analyzed in the SEIS is to construct and operate a live-fire training range complex on Guam that allows for simultaneous use of all firing ranges to support training and operations of the relocated Marines, and a main cantonment area of sufficient size and layout to provide military support functions, including family housing. The proposed action also includes the construction of utilities and infrastructure to support the range complex, main cantonment, and housing. The live-fire training range complex will consist of a Known Distance (KD) rifle range, a KD pistol range, a Modified Record of Fire Range, a nonstandard small arms range, a Multipurpose Machine Gun (MPMG) range, and a hand grenade range. The main cantonment area will provide military support functions (also known as base operations and support) to the relocated Marines. Such functions include, but are not limited to, headquarters and administrative support, bachelor housing, family housing, supply, maintenance, open storage, community support (e.g., retail, education, recreation, medical, and day care), some site-specific training, and open space (e.g., parade grounds, open training areas, and open green space in communities). The proposed action also includes the utilities and infrastructure required to support the range, cantonment, and housing areas. The DoN has identified seven (7) preliminary alternative locations for the live-fire training range complex: Two are adjacent to Route 15 in northeastern Guam, three are located at or immediately adjacent to the Naval Magazine (NAVMAG), also known as the Naval Munitions Site, one is located at Andersen Air Force Base (AAFB) Northwest Field in northern Guam, and one is located at Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station (NCTS) Finegayan on the northwest coast of Guam. The DoN has identified five (5) preliminary alternatives for the main cantonment/family housing: AAFB, NCTS Finegayan, NCTS Finegayan (main cantonment)/South Finegayan Navy Housing (family housing), Navy and Air Force Barrigada in the central area of Guam, and Naval Base Guam in the Apra Harbor area. The preliminary alternatives may continue to evolve as the DoN considers public and regulatory agency input through the NEPA process. For example, the DoN is currently working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to determine whether airspace impacts would render an otherwise preliminary alternative untenable. Should the FAA conclude that an alternative's conflicts with existing airspace are unmitigatable, that preliminary alternative would not be carried forward for evaluation in the SEIS. The DoN encourages government agencies, private-sector organizations, and the general public to participate in the NEPA process for the SEIS. The DoN has invited the U.S. Air Force, the FAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Highway Administration, Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, and the Office of Insular Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior to participate as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the SEIS. The DoN invites comments on the expanded proposed scope and content of the SEIS from all interested parties. Comments on the scope of the SEIS may be provided by mail and through the SEIS Web site at: https:// guambuildupeis.us. In addition, the DoN will conduct open-house style public scoping meetings on Guam to obtain comments on the scope of the SEIS and to identify specific environmental concerns or topics for consideration in the SEIS. Meetings will be held at the following locations and times: Thursday, November 8, 2012, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Bldg. 4175 (Old McCool School) Gym/Cafeteria, Santa Rita, Guam; Friday, November 9, 2012, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Okkodo High School, Dededo, Guam; and Saturday, November 10, 2012, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., University of Guam Field House, Mangilao, Guam. Interested agencies, individuals, and groups unable to attend the open-house public scoping meetings are encouraged to submit comments by December 10, 2012, Chamorro Standard Time (ChST). Mailed comments should be postmarked no later than December 10, 2012, ChST to ensure they are considered. Mail comments to: Joint Guam Program Office Forward, P.O. Box 153246, Santa Rita, Guam 96915.