[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 237 (Friday, December 11, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65761-65763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29565]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Public Hearings for the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement for the Gulf of
Alaska Navy Training Activities
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA); the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for
implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (Title 40 Code of
Federal Regulations Parts 1500-1508); and Executive Order 12114,
Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions, 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) for public release on
December 11, 2009. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is a
Cooperating Agency for the EIS/OEIS.
The Draft EIS/OEIS evaluates the potential environmental effects of
the Proposed Action from Navy training activities conducted in the Gulf
of Alaska and Alaska's inland training areas, collectively referred to
as the Alaska Training Areas (ATA). The Draft EIS/OEIS addresses
ongoing and proposed military training activities, as well as proposed
force structure changes and the introduction of new weapons and systems
to the Fleet. The Proposed Action serves to achieve and maintain Fleet
readiness using the ATA to support and conduct current, emerging, and
future training activities. A Notice of Intent for this Draft EIS/OEIS
was published in the Federal Register on March 17, 2008 (73 FR 14237).
The Navy will conduct five public hearings to receive oral and
written comments on the Draft EIS/OEIS. Federal, State, and local
agencies, elected officials, and other interested individuals and
organizations 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 Draft EIS/OEIS. Navy
representatives will be available during the open house sessions to
clarify information related to the Draft EIS/OEIS.
Dates and Addresses: Five public hearings will be held in Alaska to
receive oral and written comments on the Draft EIS/OEIS. All meetings
will start with an open house session from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed
by a presentation and formal public comment period from 7 p.m. to 8:30
p.m. Public hearings will be held on the following dates and at the
following locations:
[[Page 65762]]
1. Thursday, January 7, 2010, at Kodiak High School Cafeteria, 722
Mill Bay Road, Kodiak, Alaska;
2. Friday, January 8, 2010, at Fairview Recreation Center Main
Gymnasium, 1121 E. 10th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska;
3. Saturday, January 9, 2010, at West Homer Elementary School
Gymnasium, 995 Soundview Avenue, Homer, Alaska;
4. Monday, January 11, 2010, at Juneau Arts and Culture Center Main
Hall, 350 Whittier Street, Juneau, Alaska;
5. Tuesday, February 12, 2010, at Orca Adventure Lodge Meeting Room
& Caf[eacute], 2500 Orca Road, Cordova, Alaska.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naval Facilities Engineering Command
Northwest, Attention: Mrs. Amy Burt, Gulf of Alaska Navy Training
Activities EIS/OEIS Project Manager, 1101 Tautog Circle, Suite 203,
Silverdale, WA 98315-1101; or http://www.GulfofAlaskaNavyEIS.com.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Air and sea training activities are
conducted within the Gulf of Alaska Temporary Maritime Activities Area
(TMAA) which is part of the ATA. The land, air, and sea components of
the ATA provide the space and resources needed to realistically train
Navy Sailors to achieve and maintain Fleet readiness. Navy air and sea
training activities originate from Navy ships located within the TMAA.
The TMAA is situated south of Prince William Sound and east of Kodiak
Island and includes 42,146 square nautical miles of airspace, sea
space, and undersea space. The Navy also conducts activities in
established U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army inland training areas, which
include more than 65,000 square miles of airspace and land area. The
ATA serve as the principal training venue for annual joint training
exercises, which can involve forces from the U.S. Navy, Air Force,
Army, Coast Guard, and local, state, and nongovernmental agencies. The
ATA are used for training activities including operating aircraft,
ships, and submarines; conducting training against moving ships and
aircraft; practicing aerial surveillance; and detecting and locating
submarines.
The purpose of the Navy's Proposed Action is to: Achieve and
maintain Fleet readiness using the ATA to support and conduct current,
emerging, and future training activities.
The need for the Proposed Action is to: (1) Maintain current levels
of military readiness by training in the ATA; (2) accommodate future
increases in levels of training activities in the ATA; (3) adequately
support the training need for new aircraft, ships, submarines, and
weapons systems; (4) identify shortfalls in training, particularly
training instrumentation, and address through enhancements; (5)
maintain the long-term viability of the ATA as a Navy training area
while protecting human health and the environment, and enhancing the
quality, capabilities, and safety of the training area; and (6) be able
to bring U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard assets together
into one geographic area for joint training.
Under the No Action Alternative, training activities within the ATA
would continue at current levels over a maximum time frame of 14 days.
This alternative includes one annual Carrier Strike Group training
exercise and excludes the use of mid-frequency active sonar.
Alternative 1 proposes an increase in the number of training activities
from current levels as necessary to support Fleet exercise requirements
over a maximum time frame of 21 days in the summer months (April--
October), to include the use of active sonar; and accommodates training
enhancement instrumentation, including the use of a Portable Undersea
Tracking Range, and force structure changes associated with the
introduction of new weapon systems, vessels, and aircraft into the
Fleet. Alternative 2, the Preferred Alternative, consists of all
elements of Alternative 1. In addition, Alternative 2 includes an
increase in the number of training activities over Alternative 1 levels
by conducting a second annual Carrier Strike Group training exercise,
which could also last up to 21 days in the summer months, and
conducting a Sinking Exercise during each summertime exercise (a
maximum of two).
The Draft EIS/OEIS addresses potential environmental impacts on
multiple resources, including but not limited to: Air quality; water
resources; biological resources; cultural resources; socioeconomics;
and public health and safety.
No significant impacts are identified for most resources within the
ATA that cannot be mitigated. The results of the analysis indicate,
however, that while there is the possibility for physiological effects
and altered behavior from sound in the water from active sonar and
explosives, no mortality to marine mammals is anticipated. Furthermore,
the estimation of sound exposures does not consider the Navy's use of
protective measures, which would reduce the likelihood of exposures at
the highest sound levels. The Navy has requested from NMFS a Letter of
Authorization (LOA) in accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act
to authorize the incidental take of marine mammals that may result from
the implementation of the activities analyzed in the Gulf of Alaska
Navy Training Activities Draft EIS/OEIS.
In accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, the
Navy is consulting with NMFS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
for potential impacts to federally listed species. Navy analysis has
indicated that under the Clean Air Act requirements, while emissions
over current levels may occur, these emissions would not exceed air
quality standards, and under the Clean Water Act there would be no
significant impacts to water quality. Analysis under the National
Historic Preservation Act, in addition to other applicable laws and
regulations, indicates that no significant impacts to cultural
resources would occur if the Proposed Action or alternatives were
implemented. Implementation of the Proposed Action or alternatives
would not result in a significant adverse effect on the population of a
migratory bird and fish species.
The decision to be made by the Navy is to determine which of the
alternatives analyzed in the EIS/OEIS best meet the operational needs
of the Navy given that all reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts
have been considered.
The Draft EIS/OEIS was distributed to Federal, State, and local
agencies, elected officials, and other interested individuals and
organizations. The public comment period will end on January 25, 2010.
Copies of the Draft EIS/OEIS are available for public review at the
following libraries: Z.J. Loussac Library, Government Documents, 3600
Denali Street, Anchorage, AK; Alaska State Library, Government
Documents, 333 Willoughby Avenue, 8th Floor, Juneau, AK; A. Holmes
Johnson Memorial Library, 319 Lower Mill Bay Road, Kodiak, AK;
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Rasmussen Library, Government
Documents, 310 Tanana Loop, Fairbanks, AK; Cordova Public Library, 622
First Street, Cordova, AK; Copper Valley Community Library, Mile 186
Glenn Highway, Glennallen, AK; Seward Community Library, 238 5th
Avenue, Seward, AK; Homer Public Library, 500 Hazel Avenue, Homer, AK.
The Gulf of Alaska Navy Training Activities Draft EIS/OEIS is also
available for electronic public viewing at: http://www.GulfofAlaskaNavyEIS.com. A paper copy of the Executive Summary or a
single CD with the Draft EIS/OEIS
[[Page 65763]]
will be made available upon written request by contacting Naval
Facilities Engineering Command Northwest, Attention: Mrs. Amy Burt,
Gulf of Alaska Navy Training Activities EIS/OEIS Project Manager, 1101
Tautog Circle, Suite 203, Silverdale, WA 98315-1101.
Federal, State, and local agencies, elected officials, and
interested individuals and organizations are invited to be present or
represented at the public hearing. Written comments can also be
submitted during the open house sessions preceding the public hearings.
Oral statements will be heard and transcribed by a stenographer;
however, to ensure the accuracy of the record, all statements should be
submitted in writing. All statements, both oral and written, will
become part of the public record on the Draft EIS/OEIS and will be
responded to in the Final EIS/OEIS. Equal weight will be given to both
oral and written statements. In the interest of available time, and to
ensure all who wish to give an oral statement have the opportunity to
do so, each speaker's comments will be limited to three (3) minutes. If
you have prepared a written statement, you may read it out loud if you
can do so within the three minute time limit, or you may turn it in at
the public hearing or mail the statement to Naval Facilities
Engineering Command Northwest, Attention: Mrs. Amy Burt, Gulf of Alaska
Navy Training Activities EIS/OEIS Project Manager, 1101 Tautog Circle,
Suite 203, Silverdale, WA 98315-1101. In addition, comments may be
submitted online at http://www.GulfofAlaskNavyEIS.com during the
comment period. All written comments must be postmarked by January 25,
2010, to ensure they become part of the official record. All comments
will be addressed in the Final EIS/OEIS.
Dated: December 7, 2009.
A.M. Vallandingham,
Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-29565 Filed 12-10-09; 8:45 am]
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