[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 209 (Friday, October 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58382-58383]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28403]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Public Hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) for the Transfer and Reuse of Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve
Plant (NWIRP), Bethpage, NY
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy has prepared and filed with the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a DEIS for the transfer and
reuse of NWIRP Bethpage, New York. A public hearing will be held for
the purpose of receiving oral and written comments on the DEIS.
Federal, state and local agencies, and interested individuals are
invited to be present or represented at the hearing.
DATES: The public hearing will be held on November 18, 1999, beginning
at 7:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Bethpage High School, Cherry
Street, Bethpage, New York.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Ostermueller (Code 202) at
Northern Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, 10 Industrial
Highway, Lester, Pennsylvania 19113, telephone (610) 595-0759,
facsimile (610) 595-0778).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the
Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508),
the Department of the Navy has prepared and filed with the EPA a DEIS
for the transfer and reuse of NWIRP Bethpage, New York. A Notice of
Intent for this DEIS was published in the Federal Register on March 8,
1999 and a public scoping meeting was held in Bethpage, New York, on
March 23, 1999.
The proposed action is the U.S. Navy's transfer of the NWIRP
Bethpage to the County of Nassau, New York. The transfer of NWIRP
Bethpage was authorized by the Department of Defense Authorization Act
for fiscal year 1998. The legislation authorizes the Secretary of the
Navy to convey NWIRP Bethpage to Nassau County, New York for economic
redevelopment purposes or such other public purposes. The NWIRP
Bethpage property consists of two non-contiguous land parcels
encompassing approximately 109.5 acres and an individual building
(Plant 5) located within the former 605-acre Northrop Grumman
manufacturing campus in the hamlet of Bethpage,
[[Page 58383]]
Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York. Currently, the property is
developed with manufacturing, light industrial, and administrative land
uses. In December 1998, Nassau County, through the Grumman Master
Planning Council, identified a Preferred Reuse Plan for NWIRP Bethpage,
described in Navy/Grumman Site Reuse Plan-Alternative Report. This plan
is presented as the preferred reuse alternative that, along with its
alternatives, is analyzed in the DEIS.
The DEIS evaluates three reuse alternatives. The Reuse Plan
Alternative (preferred alternative) proposes a mix of light industry
and office, with some warehousing on the 105-acre parcel and commercial
use on the 4.5-acre parcel. The Preferred Reuse Plan would result in an
estimated 5,410 full-time jobs. ``Reuse Alternative A'' comprises a mix
of light industry and warehousing with limited office use. ``Reuse
Alternative B would develop the properties entirely for office use. A
``No Action Alternative'' was also evaluated that assumes no disposal,
and therefore, retention of the property by the U.S. Navy in caretaker
status.
Potential impacts evaluated in the DEIS include, but are not
limited to: Land use, socioeconomics, community facilities,
transportation, air quality, noise, infrastructure, cultural resources,
natural resources, hazardous wastes and soils contamination. Analysis
includes the evaluation of direct, indirect, short-term, and cumulative
impacts; and irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources
associated with the proposed action. No decision on the proposed action
will be made until the NEPA process has been completed and a Record of
Decision is signed.
The DEIS has been distributed to various federal, state, and local
agencies, elected officials, and special interest groups and public
libraries. The DEIS is also available for public review at the Bethpage
Public Library located at 47 Powell Avenue, Bethpage, New York 11714.
Navy will conduct a public hearing to receive oral and written
comments concerning the DEIS. A brief presentation will precede a
request for public information and comments. Navy representatives will
be available at the hearing to receive information and comments from
agencies and the public regarding issues of concern. Federal, state,
and local agencies, and interested parties are invited and urged to be
present or represented at the hearing. Those who intend to speak will
be asked to submit a speaker card (available at the door). Oral
comments will be heard and transcribed by a stenographer. To ensure
accuracy of the record, all statements should also be submitted in
writing. All statements, both oral and written, will become part of the
public record in the study. Equal weight will be given to both oral and
written comments. In the interest of available time, each speaker will
be asked to limit oral comments to three minutes. Longer comments
should be summarized at the public hearing and submitted in writing
either at the hearing or mailed to: Commanding Officer, Northern
Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Code 202, 10 Industrial
Highway, Lester, Pennsylvania 19113, (Attn. Mr. Robert Ostermueller,
telephone (610) 595-0759, facsimile (610) 595-0778). Written comments
must be received not later than Monday, December 13, 1999.
Dated: October 26, 1999.
C.G. Carlson,
Major, U.S. Marine Corps, Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 99-28403 Filed 10-28-99; 8:45 am]
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