[Federal Register: December 29, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 250)]
[Notices]
[Page 78410-78411]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29de06-36]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) in Support of New Facilities for the U.S. Army Medical
Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, MD
AGENCY: U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command, Department of
the Army, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army announces the availability of an FEIS which
evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the construction and
operation of new USAMRIID facilities and the decommissioning and
demolition and/or re-use of existing USAMRIID facilities at Fort
Detrick.
DATES: The waiting period for the FEIS will end 30 days after
publication of the NOA in the Federal Register by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caree Vander Linden, USAMRIID Public
Affairs, 1425 Porter Street, Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5011; telephone
(301) 619-2285; fax: (301) 619-4625, or through the public USAMRIID EIS
Web site at http://www.usamriid.army.mil/eis.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action and subject of the EIS
is the construction and operation of new USAMRIID facilities and the
decommissioning and demolition and/or re-use of existing USAMRIID
facilities at Fort Detrick.
The proposed new USAMRIID facilities would provide biocontainment
laboratory space, animal facilities, and administrative offices, as
well as operational and administrative support facilities. These new
facilities would be located adjacent to the existing
[[Page 78411]]
USAMRIID facilities within the National Interagency Biodefense Campus
on Area A of Fort Detrick and near the biomedical research facilities
of mission partners, including the Agricultural Research Service
Foreign Disease-Weed Research Unit of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases'
Integrated Research Facility, and the Department of Homeland Security's
National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center. The existing
USAMRIID facilities on Area A would be decommissioned and either
demolished and/or re-used following occupancy of the new USAMRIID
facilities.
The construction would occur in two stages. Stage 1 would provide
approximately 700,000 gross square feet (gsf) of new building space for
the replacement of outdated and compressed existing USAMRIID facilities
in order to sustain the current mission and to expand medical test and
evaluation (T&E) capacity in support of immediate Department of Defense
(DoD) and national demand. Stage 2 would encompass approximately
400,000 gsf of new building space for the balance of USAMRIID's
expanded mission and for additional capacity to meet intensified
national requirements for medical test and evaluation in support of
biodefense research as well as to accommodate increased collaborative
efforts among USAMRIID's mission partners. In addition, approximately
200,000 gsf of the existing USAMRIID facilities may be renovated and
re-used for laboratory or non-laboratory use, to be determined by
evolving biodefense requirements.
The significant issues analyzed in the FEIS included: Safety of
laboratory operations and demolition of the existing biocontainment
laboratories; public health and safety; handling, collection,
treatment, and disposal of research wastes; water supply and other
utility requirements; traffic; pollution prevention; and analysis of
other risks to include discussion of the risk of terrorist attack. In
addition, possible adverse health and safety impacts on laboratory
workers in the proposed new USAMRIID facilities and on nearby residents
during the operational phase of the project were identified and
evaluated. The risks were deemed to be negligible and mitigable through
adherence to ``Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical
Laboratories'' (BMBL) and other standards for safe operational
practices.
Three alternatives were considered: Construction and Operation of
New USAMRIID Facilities and Decommissioning and Demolition of the
Existing USAMRIID Facilities on Area A of Fort Detrick, Maryland
(Alternate I), Construction and Operation of New USAMRIID Facilities
and Decommissioning and Partial Demolition of the Existing USAMRIID
Facilities and Re-Use of the Remaining Facilities on Area A of Fort
Detrick, Maryland (Alternate II), and the No Action Alternative, under
which the proposed new USAMRIID facilities would not be built and
operated and the existing USAMRIID facilities would not be
decommissioned and demolished and/or re-used.
Following the end of the 30-day waiting period, a decision will be
made by the U.S. Army as to which of the alternatives will be
implemented. This decision will be based on consideration of a number
of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to,
environmental considerations, laws and regulations, mission needs (at
Fort Detrick as well as from a national perspective), budget
considerations, schedule, and public concerns. A Record of Decision
will then be executed.
Dated: December 18, 2006.
Addison D. Davis, IV,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, (Environment, Safety and
Occupational Health).
[FR Doc. 06-9837 Filed 12-28-06; 8:45 am]
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