[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80480-80481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32174]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) for Disposal and Reuse of Fort McPherson, GA
AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA).
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army announces the availability of the
FEIS, which evaluates the potential environmental impacts associated
with the disposal and reuse of Fort McPherson, Georgia.
DATES: The waiting period for the FEIS will end 30 days after
publication of an NOA in the Federal Register by the U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the FEIS contact Mr. Larry Gissentanna,
McPherson BRAC Environmental Coordinator, 1508 Hood Ave., Building 714,
Fort Gillem, GA 30297 or [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Larry Gissentanna at (404) 469-
3559.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FEIS covers activities associated with
the disposal and reuse of Fort McPherson, Georgia. In accordance with
the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC)
[[Page 80481]]
Commission Report, the Army is required to close Fort McPherson and
relocate certain tenant organizations to Pope Air Force Base, North
Carolina; Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina; Fort Eustis, Virginia;
and Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The tenant relocation actions were the
subject of separate National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses.
After tenants are relocated and all non-caretaking operations have
ceased on the installation, the Army will close Fort McPherson. Closure
is required no later than 15 September 2011.
Following closure, the property (approximately 487 acres) will be
excess to Army needs. Accordingly, the Army proposes to dispose of its
real property interests at Fort McPherson. The DoD and the Army have
recognized the McPherson Planning Local Redevelopment Agency (MPLRA) as
the local reuse authority for reuse planning associated with Fort
McPherson. The MPLRA developed the Fort McPherson Reuse Plan, which is
pending notification from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development required under the BRAC Act and the Stewart B. McKinney
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.). The plan is
available electronically at http://www.mcphersonredevelopment.com/. On
9 September 2009, Governor Purdue authorized the establishment of the
McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority, which will be
responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Reuse Plan.
Four alternatives were analyzed in the FEIS: (1) A No Action
Alternative, under which the Army would continue operations at Fort
McPherson at levels similar to those occurring prior to the BRAC
Commission's recommendation for closure; (2) an Early Transfer
Alternative, under which transfer and reuse of the property would occur
before environmental remedial actions have been completed (but
consistent with protection of human health and the environment); (3) a
Traditional Disposal Alternative, under which transfer and reuse of the
property would occur once environmental remediation is complete for
individual parcels of the installation; and (4) a Caretaker Status
Alternative, which begins following the closure of the installation in
the event that the Army is unable to dispose of the property, after
which time the maintenance of the property would be reduced to minimal
activities necessary to ensure security, health, and safety, and to
avoid physical deterioration of facilities. Alternative 2 (Early
Transfer) is the Army's preferred alternative, which would make the
property available for reuse sooner than under the traditional disposal
alternative. Three reuse scenarios, based on medium, medium-high, and
high intensity levels of reuse are also evaluated as secondary actions
of disposal of Fort McPherson. These reuse scenarios encompass the
level of reuse expected under the Reuse Plan, which is considered the
medium-high intensity reuse scenario.
For early transfer and traditional disposal alternatives, moderate
adverse effects would be expected to occur to aesthetics and visual
resources, noise, water resources, biological resources, cultural
resources (to include the historic district at Fort McPherson),
transportation, and utilities. Reuses analyzed in the EIS could result
in significant adverse effects in the areas of land use, air quality,
and transportation. Disposal of the property for reuse in accordance
with the Reuse Plan would mitigate to less than significant the direct
and cumulative impacts of disposal and reuse.
A Record of Decision stating which alternative the Army has
selected will not be issued earlier than 30 days after this notice.
An electronic version of the FEIS can be viewed or downloaded from
the following Web site: http://www.hqda.army.mil/acsim/brac/nepa_eis_docs.htm.
Dated: December 13, 2010.
Hershell E. Wolfe,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and
Occupational Health).
[FR Doc. 2010-32174 Filed 12-21-10; 8:45 am]
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