[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 30, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17752-17753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7435]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center (SFVAMC)
Institutional Master Plan
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.), the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural
Requirements of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), VA's Implementing
Regulations (38 CFR part 26), as well as the settlement agreement
resulting from Planning Association for Richmond, et al v. U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs, C-06-02321-SBA (filed 6 June 2008), VA
intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the
proposed implementation of the SFVAMC Institutional Master Plan (IMP)
in San Francisco, California. The SFVAMC IMP involves development and
construction of patient care buildings, research buildings, business
occupancy buildings, and parking structures, as well as retrofitting
seismically deficient buildings. The EIS will address environmental
issues associated with 945,000 square feet of new construction and
approximately 500,000 square feet of retrofitted development to upgrade
the SFVAMC for purposes of meeting the needs of Veterans of the North
Coast and San Francisco Bay Area over the next 20 years.
DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments on or before
April 29, 2011 to ensure full consideration during the scoping process.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to John Pechman, Facility
Planner, San Francisco VA Medical Center (001), 4150 Clement Street,
San Francisco, California 94121, or sent electronically to
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Pechman, Facility Planner, SFVAMC
at the address above or by telephone, (415) 221-4810. The SFVAMC IMP is
available for viewing on the SFVAMC Web site: http://www.sanfrancisco.va.gov/visitors/noi.asp.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA operates the SFVAMC, located at Fort
Miley in San Francisco, California. It is the only VA medical center in
the City and County of San Francisco and is considered an aging
facility with need for retrofitting and expansion. The SFVAMC has
identified a need for retrofitting existing buildings to the most
recent seismic safety requirements and for an additional 945,000 square
feet of medical facility space (in addition to the existing 1.02
million square feet of medical facility space) to meet the needs of San
Francisco Bay Area and northern California coast Veterans over the next
20 years.
VA has identified four reasonable alternatives for evaluation in
the EIS:
Alternative 1 involves the existing SFVAMC site, which is a 29-acre
site located at Fort Miley in the northwestern portion of the City of
San Francisco. The site is bounded by Clement Street on the south,
Lincoln Park on the north and east, and the National Park Service on
the west. Implementation of the SFVAMC Institutional Master Plan
Alternative 1 at this site would include approximately 939,200 square
feet of new and/or retrofitted development. This alternative would
involve development or retrofitting of buildings for patient care,
research, business occupancy, residential and parking structures.
Alternative 2 involves a combination of new development and
renovation of existing buildings within the existing SFVAMC campus, and
relocation of some aspects of the medical center to an alternate site
within the City of San Francisco. This alternative may involve retrofit
and development of clinical, research, and administrative buildings at
the existing SFVAMC site and the construction of a new clinical
ambulatory care center, medical research buildings, and parking
structures at the new alternate site.
Alternative 3 involves construction and relocation of the entire
medical center campus to an alternate site within the City of San
Francisco. This alternative would include construction of approximately
1.9 million square feet of new health care, clinical, research, and
administrative facilities, including a new ambulatory care center,
inpatient and outpatient care, research, business
[[Page 17753]]
occupancy buildings, and parking structures.
In addition to the three aforementioned action alternatives, the
EIS will evaluate potential environmental effects associated with the
no action alternative (Alternative 4). Potential issues to be addressed
in the EIS include, but are not limited to biological resources,
historic and archaeological resources, geology and soils, hazards,
hydrology and water quality, air quality, and transportation. Relevant
and reasonable measures that could alleviate environmental effects will
be considered.
VA will undertake necessary consultations with regulatory entities
pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, National
Historic Preservation Act, and any other applicable law or regulation.
Consultation will include but is not limited to the following Federal,
state, and local agencies: State Historic Preservation Officer; U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and
the National Park Service.
Information related to the EIS process, including notices of public
meetings, will be available for viewing on the SFVAMC Web site: http://www.sanfrancisco.va.gov/.
Approved: March 18, 2011.
John R. Gingrich,
Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2011-7435 Filed 3-29-11; 8:45 am]
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