[Federal Register: January 6, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 4)]
[Notices]
[Page 920-921]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06ja06-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Final Environmental Impact Statement To Fully Integrate the
Overhills Property Into the Fort Bragg Training Program, Fort Bragg, NC
AGENCY: Department of the Army, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces the availability of the
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to full integrate the
Overhills property into the Fort Bragg Training Program, Fort Bragg,
Cumberland and Harnett Counties, NC. Presently, realistic training in
Fort Bragg's Northern Training Area (NTA), one of Fort Bragg's largest
training areas, is hampered by the two sets of training rules that
govern training in the units. Though no physical barriers separate the
Overhills training units, NTA V-VIII, from NTA units I-IV, the
Overhills Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) limits the number of
personnel and types of activities during training exercises,
effectively creating a training barrier. Applying the same training
regulation to the Overhills that governs training on the rest of the
installation would allow Fort Bragg to full incorporate the Overhills
into the installation's training program, and maximize training
possibilities throughout the NTA.
DATES: Written comments on the FEIS must be received no later than 30
days after publication of the notice of availability (NOA) in the
Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be
considered in preparation of the Record of Decision.
ADDRESSES: Please direct written comments or requests for copies of the
FEIS to David A. Heins, Chief, Environmental Sustainment Division,
Public Works Business Center, ATTN: AFZA-PW-E, Fort Bragg, NC 28310, or
e-mail to david.a.heins@us.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David A. Heins, (910) 396-8207 or e-
mail david.a.heins@us.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort Bragg serves as headquarters for the
XVIII Airborne Corps and Army Special Operations Command, and is home
to the 82nd Airborne Division. The primary mission of Fort Bragg is the
training and deployment of military units. Fort Bragg supports the most
intensive and varied training program in the continental United States.
An average of 2.5 million personnel days of training is conducted at
Fort Bragg and Camp Mackall (a sub-installation to Fort Bragg) each
year. Training to sustain readiness is Fort Bragg's primary activity.
Land upon which to train personnel is vital to Fort Bragg's
mission. In 1995, Fort Bragg directed a study that identified a
shortfall of maneuver land of 81,876 acres, and a weapons range and
impact area shortfall of 43,636 acres. In order to reduce this training
land deficit, the Department of the Army purchased the Overhills
property from the Rockefeller family in 1997.
The Overhills property comprises 10,580 acres in Cumberland and
Harnett Counties, NC, and adjoins the northern boundaries of Fort Bragg
and Pope Air Force Base. An Environmental Assessment was prepared in
1999 to adopt an Interim Training Program (ITP) on the Overhills tract.
Under the ITP, training was restricted to company-level, low impact
(limited) military training.
Presently, the maneuver/training areas at Fort Bragg are so heavily
utilized that the land to support training needs to be used to its
fullest extent. These factors, in conjunction with the training land
deficit identified by Fort Bragg, demonstrate the need to make maximum
use of available training lands on Fort Bragg. Fully incorporating the
Overhills tract, which represents the eastern part of the NTA and
comprises almost half of the training area, into the installation's
training program would enhance training throughout the NTA, and help
sustain environmental resources in other training areas on Fort Bragg.
The Army proposes to fully integrate the Overhills into Fort
Bragg's training program. The FEIS analyzes the No Action/Status Quo
alternative as well as three action alternatives. Alternatives
considered in detail in the FEIS are:
Alternative 1. (No Action)--Continue limited training, existing
recreation, and preservation of the Overhills Historic District (the
District). Fort Bragg would conduct this training in accordance with
existing Fort Bragg Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) for training on
the Overhills. This SOP limits training exercises to company-sized
units (approximately 250 personnel, including exercise support
personnel) and prescribes the procedures for use of the Overhills for
training. Company-size exercises generally require fewer than 75
vehicles per exercise. Exercises would be scheduled 4-6 times per
month. The following types of exercises are permitted under the
Overhills SOP:
Dismounted movement; Air mobile insertions; Firing of blank small
arms ammunition (up to .50 caliber) and simulators; Movement of wheeled
vehicles on maintained roads and trails; Fixed activities limited to
bivouac, signal, or medical in existing clearings; Military operations
on urbanized terrain training in buildings, but only on non-
contributing elements within the District and non-eligible resources
outside the District; hasty hand-dug personnel fighting positions; Use
of flame-producing munitions of any type. Hunting and fishing would
continue to be allowed subject to restrictions imposed on public access
by military training schedules.
The District would be preserved in accordance with the ``Standards
for Preservation'' in the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the
Treatment of Historic Properties (38 CFR Part 68). Training in
buildings considered contributing elements would not be permitted, but
maneuvers in open areas within the historic district boundary would
continue.
Alternative 2. Limited training, additional recreation, and
adaptive reuse and/or layaway of selected contributing elements within
the District. Training units would be limited to company-size (250
personnel plus support personnel), but training would be conducted in
accordance with the Installation Range Regulation (IRR), not the
Overhills SOP. The following additional training would be permitted:
Ground and air maneuvers involving both mechanized and light
infantry with attached combat support and combat service support;
Operation of wheeled and tracked vehicles off road; River crossing,
bridging, and waterborne operations (including water drops);
Construction of fortifications and obstacles; Helicopter landing zones;
Excavations (in addition to hand-dug positions) for survivability
emplacements, such as vehicle fighting positions; and use of tear gas
and obscurant smoke.
A youth golf program and a horse stables program would be added to
the recreational programs at Fort Bragg. These programs would utilize
several of the historic buildings and structures on Overhills such as
the Donald Ross golf course, the polo barn, and riding stables. New
facilities would also be constructed. Hunting and fishing would
[[Page 921]]
continue as discussed under Alternative 1.
This alternative would maintain the historic integrity of 15 of the
56 contributing elements of the historic district. The remaining
buildings and structures would be incorporated into the Fort Bragg
training program after mitigating for the loss of historical integrity
by fulfilling all requirements under the National Historic Preservation
Act (NHPA), the Fort Bragg Integrated Cultural Resource Management Plan
(ICRMP) and Army Regulation (AR) 200-4, Cultural Resources Management.
Alternative 3. Intermediate training, additional recreation, and
adaptive reuse and/or layaway of selected contributing elements within
the District. Under this alternative, the level of activity on the
Overhills would be increased to accommodate battalion-sized units
(approximately 1,000 personnel), plus support personnel. Training would
occur in accordance with the IRR. There are 40 battalions at Fort
Bragg. Battalion-size field exercises typically use 75 or fewer
vehicles per exercise, including support vehicles. Each battalion holds
one or two 3-day field exercises per year. Movement between NTA units
I-IV and Overhills (NTA V-VIII) would be fluid with no training
restrictions other than the number of personnel permitted on the
Overhills. Additional recreation would consist of the youth golf and
horse stables programs described for Alternative 2. Hunting and fishing
would continue to be permitted, as discussed in Alternative 1. This
alternative would treat the District as discussed under Alternative 2.
Alternative 4. (Preferred Alternative)--Maximum training, existing
recreation, and no preservation of the District. Under this
alternative, the level of training would be increased to accommodate
brigade-sized units (up to approximately 5,000 personnel); the
Overhills would be fully incorporated into the installation's training
program, and used in the same manner as the other training areas on
Fort Bragg. Units up to, and including brigade size, would train in
accordance with the IRR. Hunting and fishing would continue as
discussed under Alternative 1. No additional recreational use of the
Overhills would occur under maximum training due to the need for
maneuver frontage and flexibility.
After mitigating for the loss of historical integrity by
fulfillment of all legal requirements under the NHPA, the Fort Bragg
ICRMP, and AR 200-4, the 56 contributing elements would be integrated
into the training program. All contributing and non-contributing
elements as well as standing structures determined not eligible for the
NRHP would be evaluated for use in training exercises. The buildings
that could be incorporated into the training program would remain; the
non-essential buildings and structures would be demolished.
The Overhills FEIS provides an analysis of both the beneficial and
adverse environmental impacts of the different use alternatives for the
Overhills, and analyzes quantitatively and qualitatively the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed alternatives. The resource areas
discussed and evaluated are: Soils, surface waters, groundwater,
wetlands, vegetation, wildlife, protected species, hazardous materials/
waste management, solid waste management, air quality, noise, safety,
land use, demographics and economy, recreation, archaeological
resources, and the historic district. The FEIS indicates that
Alternative 1 (No Action) has the fewest potential impacts because no
new training types would be added, and all of the historic buildings
and structures would be preserved. Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 would have
some potential adverse impacts to several of the analyzed resources;
however, mitigations to reduce those impacts are identified in the
FEIS.
Minimal comments were received during the 45-day DEIS comment
period and changes made to the document were exclusively clarifications
and minor factual changes. Therefore, in accordance with 32 CFR
651.45(h), only the DEIS comments, responses to the comments and the
errata sheet are being circulated. Copies of the comments, responses
and the errata sheet are available for review at major libraries in the
study area. A copy of the DEIS, comments and responses, and the errata
sheet may be viewed at: http://www.bragg.army.mil/envbr/nepa_review.htm
.
Thomas M. Jordan,
Brigadier General, USA, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7
(Readiness), U.S. Army Forces Command.
[FR Doc. 06-100 Filed 1-5-06; 8:45 am]
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