[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 25, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 4897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-1889]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
Disposal and Reuse of Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida
Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act as implemented by
the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), the Department of the Navy announces its intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential
environmental effects of disposal and reuse of Naval Air Station (NAS)
Cecil Field, located in Duval and Clay Counties near Jacksonville,
Florida.
In accordance with the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act
(DBCRA) (PL 101-510), as implemented by the 1993 Base Realignment And
Closure process, the Navy has been directed to close and dispose of NAS
Cecil Field and its associated Outlying Landing Field (OLF) at
Whitehouse.
The proposed action to be evaluated in the EIS involves the
disposal of land, buildings, and infrastructure at NAS Cecil Field,
including OLF Whitehouse which is located approximately seven miles to
the north. The Navy intends to analyze the environmental effects of
disposal of NAS Cecil Field based upon reasonable reuse scenarios for
the property. The community established a local redevelopment
authority, identified as the Cecil Field Development Commission (CFDC),
that is charged with planning appropriate new uses for the properties.
The EIS will evaluate these alternative reuse scenarios, including the
``no action'' alternative (retention of the property in caretaker
status). However, because of the process mandated by DBCRA, selection
of the ``no action'' alternative would be considered impracticable for
the Navy to implement.
The EIS will evaluate the impacts of disposal and reuse of NAS
Cecil Field properties on the natural environment, including but not
limited to, plant and wildlife habitats, water resources such as
streams and wetlands, and air quality. It will also evaluate effects on
the socioeconomic environment, including potential impacts to the
regional economy, the local tax base, and land uses. In addition, as
required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the
Navy will be preparing a cultural resources survey to determine if any
sensitive archaeological resources or historic buildings or structures
will be affected by the proposed reuse.
The Navy is initiating a scoping process for the purpose of
determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying
significant issues related to proposed reuse. The Navy will hold a
public scoping meeting on February 9, 1995, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in
the Main Drill Hall at the Post of Snyder, Florida Army National Guard
Center, 9900 Normandy Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida. The location of
this meeting will also be advertised in local and regional newspapers.
A brief presentation will precede a request for public comment and
will include a presentation on proposed uses that have been identified
for the properties. Navy representatives will be available at this
meeting to receive comments regarding issues of concern to the public.
It is important that federal, state, and local agencies and interested
individuals take this opportunity to identify environmental concerns
that should be addressed during the preparation of the EIS. Further,
because it is anticipated that the CFDC reuse-plan will not be
completed until July, 1995, the scoping process offers an opportunity
to incorporate public environmental concerns into the CFDC planning
process.
Agencies and the public are also invited and encouraged to provide
written comment in addition to, or in lieu of, oral comments at the
scoping meeting. To be most helpful, scoping comments should clearly
describe the specific issues or topics the commenter believes the EIS
should address. In the interest of available time, each speaker will be
asked to limit oral comments to five minutes. Written statements and/or
questions regarding the scoping process should be mailed no later than
March 11, 1995, to: Commanding Officer, Southern Division, Naval
Facilities Engineering Command, P.O. Box 190010, North Charleston, SC
29419-9010, (Attn: Mr. Robert Teague, Code 203RT) telephone (803) 743-
0785.
Dated: January 20, 1995.
L. R. NcNees,
LCDR, JAGC, USN, Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-1889 Filed 1-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P
