97-8019. FY96-97 Climate Change Fuel Cell Program Environmental Assessment

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 61 (Monday, March 31, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 15165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8019]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

FY96-97 Climate Change Fuel Cell Program Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: U.S. Army Armament Research Development & Engineering Center 
(ARDEC).

ACTION: Notice of availability (request for comments).

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SUMMARY: An Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared to discuss 
the significant impacts of the FY96-97 Congressional Climate Change 
Fuel Cell Program. ARDEC was selected by the Deputy Under Secretary of 
Defense for Environmental Security to manage this FY96-97 Climate 
Change Fuel Cell Program. ARDEC is publishing the EA for review and 
comment. Copies of the EA are available by contacting Mr. Robert Scola 
at the address listed below. Under this Program, Fuel Cells are to be 
located throughout the United States including selected Department of 
Defense (DOD) installations, both CONUS or OCONUS. A DOD installation 
is to form a partnership with a private party and submit an application 
for a rebate for their cell purchase. The selection of the 
installations is to be completed by a selection board which will 
consider the attributes of each installation's application and the 
benefits which a Fuel Cell will provide. The actual selection of the 
DOD installations will be completed in the future and therefore are 
unknown as of the time of the EA preparation.

DATES: Comments must be received on the EA no later than April 30, 
1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to U.S. Army, Armament Research 
Development & Engineering Center, Industrial Ecology Center, AMSTA-AR-
ET (ATTN: Mr. Garry O. Kosteck P.E.), Building 172, Picatinny Arsenal, 
NJ 07806-5000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Daniel Tolliver at [phone] or Mr. Robert Zanowicz at (201) 
724-5744.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    Currently, the only commercial available fuel cell is a Phosphoric 
Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC) and it is most likely that this unit is to be 
installed at all the selected DOD installations. As of the date of this 
document's preparation, over 70 PAFCs have been installed and are 
operating throughout the world.

Background

    Since the selected DOD installations will most likely choose the 
same PAFC, it has been decided to prepare a programmatic EA rather than 
individual ones for each installation to discuss the similar issues of 
installing and operating a Fuel Cell. The Council of Environmental 
Quality's regulations(s) permit environmental documentation to be 
written in a non-specific manner when the action is essentially the 
same but at different locations. This is the situation here and this EA 
is being prepared to allow it to be ``tiered'' to local conditions. 
Selected installations shall be required to incorporate the material of 
this document for any local environmental documentation to eliminate 
any repetitious issues and to focus upon local issues not discussed 
herein. The selected DOD installations shall be required to submit a 
certification letter indicating that local environmental issues such as 
historical buildings, wetlands, etc. have been identified, reviewed and 
mitigated where necessary.
Gregory D. Showalter,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 97-8019 Filed 3-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-M