Department of the Navy – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Navy proposes to alter a system of records in its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and regulations implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 1500- 1508), the Department of the Navy (DoN) has prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Draft EIS evaluates the potential environmental effects that may result from homebasing the U.S. Navy F- 35C (Joint Strike Fighter) aircraft at either Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, California or Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore, California. In addition, pursuant to the USEPA's Clean Air Act (CAA) General Conformity Regulations (40 CFR part 93, subpart B), the DoN has prepared a Draft CAA General Conformity Determination, which is included in the Draft EIS, to address air emission impacts associated with proposed F-35C homebasing. With the filing of the Draft EIS (including the Draft CAA General Conformity Determination), the DoN is initiating a 60-day public comment period beginning on February 15, 2013 and ending on April 22, 2013. During this period, the DoN will conduct two public meetings to receive oral and written comments on the Draft EIS and Draft CAA General Conformity Determination. This notice announces the dates, times, and locations of the public meetings and provides supplementary information about the environmental planning effort.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 42 United States Code 4321-4370h, as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality regulations, 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 1500-1508, the Department of Navy (DoN) NEPA regulations (32 CFR part 775), and Marine Corps Order P5090.2A (with Changes 1, 2) Marine Corps Environmental Compliance and Protection Manual, Chapter 12, the DoN, after carefully weighing the operational and environmental consequences of the proposed action in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), announces its decision to establish a large-scale Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) training facility at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California (``the Combat Center'') to accommodate a required new program of sustained, combined-arms, live-fire, and maneuver training for all elements of a Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB)-sized MAGTF, including full-scale MEB Exercises and associated MEB Building Block training. To accommodate the required MEB training activities, DoN, acting through the Combat Center, will: Purchase additional private and state lands adjacent to the Combat Center; request withdrawal by Act of Congress of additional public lands adjacent to the Combat Center; pursue through the Federal Aviation Administration the establishment and modification of military Special Use Airspace for proposed MEB- sized training range; and conduct the specified MEB training. Land withdrawal of more than 5,000 acres for the purposes of national defense may only be made by an Act of Congress. The DoN has selected Alternative 6, the Preferred Alternative, (with additional mitigation developed in consultation with the Bureau of Land Management [BLM]), for implementation and recommendation to Congress. Alternative 6 includes the withdrawal of public land and purchase of private and state lands collectively totaling approximately 167,971 acres west and south of the existing Combat Center. All practical means to avoid or minimize environmental harm from the Preferred Alternative that were identified in the Final EIS have been adopted.

Pursuant to section (102)(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the regulations implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with two actions: (1) The proposed construction and operation of Land-Water Interface (LWI) structures and (2) the proposed construction and operation of a Service Pier Extension (SPE) on Naval Base (NAVBASE) Kitsap Bangor. The DoN proposes two projects on NAVBASE Kitsap Bangor waterfront to: (1) Comply with Department of Defense (DoD) directives to protect Navy OHIO Class ballistic missile submarines (TRIDENT submarines) from increased and evolving threats and to prevent the seizure, damage, or destruction of military assets and (2) eliminate deployment constraints and improve maintenance of SEAWOLF Class submarines. The first proposed action includes constructing two LWI structures and modifying the existing floating Port Security Barrier (PSB) system for improved protection of TRIDENT submarines. Construction of the LWI structures would enclose the Navy Waterfront Restricted Area (WRA) on NAVBASE Kitsap Bangor by constructing security barriers in the intertidal zone at the Bangor waterfront. Construction is anticipated to take two years. Construction activities occurring in the water during the first year may involve pile driving and would be conducted July 2015 through February 2016. Once the pile driving is complete, activities other than pile driving may occur in the water up until February 2017. The second proposed action would relocate SEAWOLF Class submarines SSN-21 (SEAWOLF) and SSN-22 (CONNECTICUT) from NAVBASE Kitsap Bremerton to join SSN-23 (JIMMY CARTER) at NAVBASE Kitsap Bangor. The existing Service Pier would be extended and land based associated support facilities would be constructed including a Maintenance Support Facility, and utility upgrades including an emergency power generator, and a parking lot. Shore based facilities constructed on the pier would include a Pier Services and Compressor Building and a pier crane. Construction would occur from April 2015 to March 2017. Construction in the water is planned for July through February of each year, beginning in July 2015 and concluding in February 2017. The relocation would result in the consolidation of berthing and support for the SEAWOLF Class submarines at NAVBASE Kitsap Bangor. NAVBASE Kitsap is the action proponent. The LWI construction and PSB modifications are for the DoN's Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), which directs research, development, manufacturing, test, evaluation, and operational support of the TRIDENT program. The SPE and supporting facilities are for Commander, Submarine Development Squadron Five (CSDS-5). CSDS-5 is the Immediate Superior in Command for all three SEAWOLF Class submarines and four DoN research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) detachments based at NAVBASE Kitsap Bangor. The DoN is the lead federal agency for this action. The DoN is requesting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Marine Fisheries Service to be Cooperating Agencies. The DoN will hold public scoping meetings to receive oral and/or written comments on environmental concerns related to the proposed actions, to determine the scope of issues to address in the Draft EIS, and to identify and refine alternatives to the proposed actions. Federal, state, and local agencies, American Indian tribes, and the public are invited to participate in the scoping process. The public scoping meetings will be conducted in English and will be arranged in an informal, open-house format. Attendees will be provided the opportunity to sign in and then visit various stations hosted by DoN representatives and technical staff assigned to provide information and answer questions. Several large display boards will be located throughout the meeting locations to assist attendees in understanding the proposed actions and the alternatives. Fact sheets about the proposed actions and alternatives will be available to attendees. A comment table with comment sheets will be placed in an easily accessible location.

The U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors will meet to make such inquiry, as the Board shall deem necessary, into the state of morale and discipline, the curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, and academic methods of the Naval Academy. The executive session of this meeting from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on March 4, 2013, will include discussions of disciplinary matters and personnel issues at the Naval Academy; the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. For this reason, the executive session of this meeting will be closed to the public.

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 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 1500-1508), and Executive Order 12114, the Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare a supplement to the 2011 Gulf of Alaska Navy Training Activities Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/ Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (OEIS). The SEIS/OEIS will support authorization of incidental takes of marine mammals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and incidental takes of threatened and endangered marine species, under the Endangered Species Act. These federal regulatory permits and authorizations expire in May 2016. The DoN will evaluate new, relevant information and incorporate that information into revised analyses where appropriate. The SEIS/OEIS will also analyze data using an acoustic model not available for the 2011 EIS/OEIS, the Navy Acoustics Effects Model, to estimate potential marine species effects. The DoN has requested the National Marine Fisheries Service be a cooperating agency in preparation of this SEIS/OEIS pursuant to 40 CFR Sec. 1501.6. Dates and Addresses: Given that the DoN's Proposed Action and alternatives have not changed, public scoping meetings will not be held, but public comments will be accepted during the scoping period from January 16, 2013 to March 18, 2013. The DoN will accept scoping comments through the Web site and mail. Additional information concerning acceptance of scoping comments is available on the SEIS/OEIS web page located at: https:// www.GOAEIS.com.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and regulations implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 1500- 1508), and in accordance with the requirements of the California Military Lands Withdrawal and Overflights Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-433, part of the California Desert Protection Act), the Department of the Navy (DoN) prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) for renewal of the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake public land withdrawal. A Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS/LEIS was published in the Federal Register on August 10, 2012 (77 FR 47839). The public review period for the Draft EIS/LEIS ended on November 8, 2012. This notice announces the availability of additional reference materials and the reopening of the public comment period until February 11, 2013.

The inventions listed below are assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Navy and are available for licensing by the Department of the Navy. The following patents are available for licensing: Patent application 12/650,413: Finite State Machine Architecture for Software Development (a system for developing an application program having functionality that corresponds to a finite state machine model)//U.S. Patent No. 8,238,924: Real-Time Optimization of Allocation of Resources//U.S. Patent No. 7,685,207: Adaptive Web-Based Asset Control System.

The Department of the Navy (DoN) is amending its certifications and exemptions under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (72 COLREGS), to reflect that the Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General (DAJAG) (Admiralty and Maritime Law) has determined that USS CORONADO (LCS 4) is a vessel of the Navy which, due to its special construction and purpose, cannot fully comply with certain provisions of the 72 COLREGS without interfering with its special function as a naval ship. The intended effect of this rule is to warn mariners in waters where 72 COLREGS apply.

The Department of the Navy hereby gives notice of its intent to grant to Fiber Optic Sensor Systems Technology Corporation a revocable, nonassignable, exclusive license to practice the field of use of electrical power measurements for the measurement or control of temperature, pressure, strain, vibration, acceleration, and any other measurement enabled in electrical power systems, including but not limited to, substations, generating facilities, transmission lines, distribution facilities and other electrical power infrastructure and in electrical power systems equipment, including but not limited to, generators, motors, transformers, switches, power supplies, batteries and other devices employed to generate, transform, transport, distribute or store electrical energy; the field of use microphones for the measurement of sound pressure; the field of use of monitoring and control systems used in industrial production and infrastructure monitoring and control, including particularly supervisory control systems and distributed control systems used in manufacturing, mining and utilities in the United States, the Government-owned inventions described in U.S. Patent No. 7,020,354: Intensity Modulated Fiber Optic Pressure Sensor, Navy Case No. 83,816.//U.S. Patent No. 7,149,374: Fiber Optic Pressure Sensor, Navy Case No. 84,557.//U.S. Patent No. 7,379,630: Multiplexed Fiber Optic Sensor System, Navy Case No. 97,488.//U.S. Patent No. 7,460,740: Intensity Modulated Fiber Optic Static Pressure Sensor System, Navy Case No. 97,279.//U.S. Patent No. 7,646,946: Intensity Modulated Fiber Optic Strain Sensor, Navy Case No. 97,005.//U.S. Patent No. 7,697,798: Fiber Optic Pressure Sensors and Catheters, Navy Case No. 97,569.//U.S. Patent No. 8,195,013: Miniature Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors, Navy Case No. 98,030.//U.S. Patent Application No. 12/698,646: Miniature Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors, Navy Case No. 100,134 and any continuations, divisionals or re-issues thereof.

The Ocean Research Advisory Panel will hold a regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting will be open to the public.

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 prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental consequences of the disposal and reuse of the former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NAS JRB) Willow Grove, Horsham, Pennsylvania, per Public Law 101-510, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended in 2005 (BRAC Law). Potential impacts associated with reuse of NAS JRB Willow Grove, including the change in land use and traffic patterns, will be evaluated and will contribute to the alternatives considered.

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

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and regulations implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 Code of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508), the Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare a Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Introduction of the P-8A Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) to the U.S. Navy Fleet. The Supplemental EIS will address the potential environmental impacts of new homebasing alternatives and updated P-8A MMA program information.

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(4), the Department of Navy (DoN) announces the appointment of members to the DoN's Senior Executive Service (SES) Organizational Pay Pools (PPs) and the DoN Performance Review Board (PRB). The purpose of the PPs/PRB is to provide fair and impartial review of the annual SES performance appraisal prepared by the senior executive's immediate and second level supervisor; to make recommendations to appointing officials regarding acceptance or modification of the performance rating; and to make recommendations for performance bonuses. Composition of the specific PPs and PRB will be determined on an ad hoc basis from among the individuals listed below.

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 prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental consequences of the disposal and reuse of the former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NAS JRB) Willow Grove, Horsham, Pennsylvania, per Public Law 101-510, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended in 2005 (BRAC Law). Potential impacts associated with reuse of NAS JRB Willow Grove, including the change in land use and traffic patterns, will be evaluated and will contribute to the alternatives considered.

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.

The inventions listed below are assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Navy and are available for domestic and foreign licensing by the Department of the Navy. The following patents are available for licensing: Patent No. 7,603,251: MAGNETIC ANOMALY SENSING SYSTEM FOR DETECTION, LOCALIZATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF A MAGNETIC OBJECT IN A CLUTTERED FIELD OF MAGNETIC ANOMALIES//Patent No. 7,621,410: REMOVABLE EXTERNALLY MOUNTED BRIDGE CRANE FOR SHIPPING CONTAINERS//Patent No. 7,637,224: COMMAND INFLATABLE BOAT STOPPING BARRIER//Patent No. 7,654,262: SYSTEM FOR REDUCING HYDROSTATIC LOAD IMBALANCES IN A DRIVERS' OPEN-CIRCUIT BREATHING APPARATUS//Patent No. 7,688,072: PORTABLE MAGNETIC SENSING SYSTEM FOR REAL-TIME POINT-BY-POINT DETECTION, LOCALIZATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF MAGNETIC OBJECTS//Patent No. 7,712,727: AIR CUSHION VEHICLE BOW SKIRT RETRACTION SYSTEM//Patent No. 7,712,429: LAUNCH AND RECOVERY SYSTEM FOR UNMANNED UNDERSEA VEHICLES//Patent No. 7,721,666: HULL-MOUNTED LINE RETRIEVAL AND RELEASE SYSTEM//Patent No. 7,721,669: COMMON PAYLOAD RAIL FOR UNMANNED VEHICLES//Patent No. 7,726,497: REMOVABLE EXTERNALLY MOUNTED SLEWING CRANE FOR SHIPPING CONTAINERS// Patent No. 7,730,843: HULL-MOUNTED LINE RETRIEVAL AND RELEASE SYSTEM// Patent No. 7,735,781: METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DEPLOYMENT OF ORDNANCE FROM AN AIRCRAFT IN MID-FLIGHT//Patent No. 7,753,319: ADJUSTABLE CABLE HANGER FOR SECURING CABLES EXTERNALLY//Patent No. 7,760,438: AIR-TO- WATER DE-ANAMORPHOSER AND METHOD OF AIR-TO-WATER DE-ANAMORPHOSIS.//

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 4332(2)(c), the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 1500-1508), the Department of the Navy (DoN) NEPA regulations (32 CFR part 775), and the Marine Corps Environmental Compliance and Protection Manual (Marine Corps Order P5090.2A, Change 2), the DoN announces its decision to upgrade and improve the Basewide water infrastructure at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California (MCBCP). More specifically, the DoN has decided to implement Alternative 5, the Preferred Alternative of the Basewide Water Infrastructure Improvements Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which entails two separate projects to construct, operate, and maintain water infrastructure upgrades, expansions, and improvements at MCBCP. These potable water infrastructure improvements will include construction, operation, and maintenance of a new Northern Advanced Water Treatment plant and associated facilities, an effluent discharge system, and connection of the MCBCP northern and southern water systems. All practical means to avoid or minimize environmental impacts resulting from implementation of the Preferred Alternative have been adopted.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, as amended), notice is hereby given that the following meeting of the Board of Advisors (BOA) to the Presidents of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the Naval War College (NWC) and its subcommittees will be held. This meeting will be open to the public.

The Department of the Navy proposes to alter a system of records in its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Department of the Navy is amending two systems of records notices in its existing inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Board of Visitors of the Marine Corps University will meet to review, develop and provide recommendations on all aspects of the academic and administrative policies of the University; examine all aspects of professional military education operations; and provide such oversight and advice, as is necessary, to facilitate high educational standards and cost effective operations. The Board will be focusing primarily on the internal procedures of Marine Corps University. All sessions of the meeting will be open to the public.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370h); the Council on Environmental Quality regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508); Department of the Navy (DoN) Procedures for Implementing NEPA (32 CFR Part 775); and Marine Corps NEPA directives (Marine Corps Order P5090.2A), the DoN, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Reclamation, has prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) that evaluates the potential environmental consequences that may result from renewing the withdrawal of approximately 228,465 acres of public land for continued use as part of the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range (CMAGR) in Imperial and Riverside counties, California. With the filing of the Draft LEIS, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) is initiating a 90-day public comment period and has scheduled four public meetings to receive oral and written comments on the Draft LEIS. Federal, state, and local agencies; Native American tribes; and interested parties are encouraged to provide comments in person at any of the public meetings, or in writing anytime during the public comment period. This notice announces the dates and locations of the public meetings and provides supplementary information about the environmental planning effort. These public meetings also meet the requirement set forth in Section 806 of the California Desert Protection Act for the Secretary of the Navy to hold a public hearing in the State of California to receive public comments on the Draft LEIS.

The Department of the Navy, after carefully weighing the operational, scientific, technical, and environmental implications of the alternatives considered, announces its decision to employ up to four Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) sonar systems with certain geographical restrictions and monitoring mitigation designed to reduce potential adverse effects on the marine environment. This decision, which pertains to the employment of up to four SURTASS LFA sonar systems (as originally analyzed in the 2001 Final Overseas Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Statement [FOEIS/EIS] for SURTASS LFA Sonar) initially augmented in the 2007 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement [FSEIS]), and further augmented on the 2012 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS/SOEIS) implements the preferred alternative, Alternative 2, identified in the 2012 FSEIS/SOEIS for SURTASS LFA sonar.