[Federal Register: August 29, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 167)]
[Notices]
[Page 51188-51189]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29au06-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS)/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (OEIS) for a Proposal To
Enhance Training, Testing, and Operational Capability Within the Hawaii
Range Complex and To Announce Public Scoping Meetings
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 of 1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental
Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and Executive Order 12114
(Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions), the Department
of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare an EIS/OEIS. This
EIS/OEIS will evaluate the potential environmental effects of
increasing usage and enhancing the capability of the Hawaii Range
Complex to achieve and maintain Fleet readiness and to conduct current,
emerging, and future training and research, development, test, and
evaluation (RDT&E) operations. The EIS/OEIS will consider two action
Alternatives to accomplish these objectives, in addition to the No
Action Alternative.
The following will be invited to be cooperating agencies:
Department of Energy, Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Army, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service.
DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held in Hawaii to receive oral
and/or written comments on environmental concerns that should be
addressed in the EIS/OEIS. The public scoping meetings will be held on:
1. Wednesday, September 13, 2006, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Maui Arts and
Cultural Center, One Cameron Way, Kahului, Maui, Hawaii.
2. Thursday, September 14, 2006, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Disabled American
[[Page 51189]]
Veterans Hall, 2685 North Nimitz Highway, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii.
3. Saturday, September 16, 2006, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Hilo Hawaiian
Hotel, 71 Banyan Drive, Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii.
4. Monday, September 18, 2006, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Kauai Civil Defense
Agency, Suite 100, 3990 Kaana Street, Kauai, Lihue, Hawaii.
Each of the four scoping meetings will consist of an informal, open
house session with information stations staffed by DoN representatives.
Additional information concerning the meetings will be available on the
EIS/OEIS Web page located at: http://www.govsupport.us/navynepahawaii.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Tom Clements, Pacific Missile
Range Facility, P.O. Box 128, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii 96752-0128,
telephone 1-866-767-3347.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Hawaii Range Complex geographically
encompasses offshore, nearshore, and onshore areas located on or around
the major islands of the Hawaiian Island chain. The geographic scope of
this EIS/OEIS (Study Area) includes the Hawaii Offshore Operation
Areas, consisting of 170,000 square nautical miles of ocean, generally
from 17 to 26 degrees north latitude and from 154 to 162 degrees west
longitude, land areas used by the DoN within these Operation Areas, and
the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) Temporary Operating Area,
consisting of 2.1 million square nautical miles to the north and west
of Kauai. These ranges and Operation Areas are used to conduct
operations and training involving military hardware, personnel,
tactics, munitions, explosives, and electronic combat systems. Several
of the areas are also used for RDT&E, including missile defense
testing.
The purpose of the Proposed Action is to: (1) Provide the Hawaii
Range Complex with sufficient capabilities to support Fleet and DoD
training, major exercises based on training requirements identified to
support the U.S. Unified Commanders, and the development, testing, and
evaluation of existing, upgraded, and newly developed DoD and other
federal agency systems; (2) provide additional range capabilities and
support facilities at the Hawaii Range Complex, to include the PMRF, to
fully integrate range services in a modern, multi-threat, multi-
dimensional environment, ensuring safe conduct and evaluation of
training and RDT&E missions; and (3) fulfill DoN commitment to update
analyses on marine mammal exposures to noise in the water.
The need for the Proposed Action is to: (1) Ensure a robust
training, testing, and operational capability within the Hawaii Range
Complex operating areas and to take advantage of Hawaii's location to
not only provide training for local assets, but also provide capability
for short notice and surge deployments from the West Coast; (2) support
the acquisition and integration into the Fleet of advanced military
technology and accommodate future increases in operational training
tempo; and (3) maintain the long-term viability of the range complex
while protecting human health and the environment.
The No Action Alternative is the continuation of training
operations, RDT&E activities, ongoing base operations, and maintenance
of the technical and logistical facilities that support these
operations and activities, and the monitoring of marine mammals. The No
Action Alternative includes the current level of training and test
activities, including the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercises.
Alternative 1 includes the activities described in the No Action
Alternative with the addition of increased training necessary to
support the Fleet Response Training Plan, Hawaii Range Complex
improvements and modernizations, planned RDT&E activities, and
necessary force structure changes. Alternative 2 would include all of
the activities described in Alternative 1 with the addition of major
events, such as supporting three carrier strike groups training at the
same time, increasing the tempo of training exercises, and additional
RDT&E programs at PMRF. Future RDT&E programs proposed as part of
Alternative 2 would include directed energy programs involving lasers.
Key environmental issues that will be addressed in the EIS/OEIS, as
applicable, include: biological resources (marine mammals and
threatened and endangered species), cultural resources, environmental
justice, health and safety, and noise. The DoN has been involved in
long-term research plans studying the quantification of exposure of
marine mammal species to acoustic emissions with differing experimental
approaches and detailed observations of effects. Now that initial
findings are available, this EIS/OEIS will include acoustic exposure
modeling and effects-analysis for marine mammals within the defined
study area.
The DoN is initiating the scoping process to identify community
concerns and local issues that will be addressed in the EIS/OEIS.
Federal, state, and local agencies, the public, and interested persons
are encouraged to provide oral and/or written comments to the DoN to
identify specific environmental issues or topics of environmental
concern that the commenter believes the DoN should consider. All
comments, written or provided orally at the scoping meetings, will
receive the same consideration during EIS/OEIS preparation.
Written comments on the scope of the EIS/OEIS should be postmarked
no later than October 13, 2006. Comments may be mailed to Mr. Tom
Clements, Pacific Missile Range Facility, P.O. Box 128, Kekaha, Kauai,
Hawaii 96752-0128.
Dated: August 24, 2006.
Saundra K. Melancon,
Paralegal Specialist, Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-14324 Filed 8-28-06; 8:45 am]
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