96-5388. Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Disposal and Reuse of Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant McGregor, TX

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 46 (Thursday, March 7, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9152-9153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-5388]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Disposal and Reuse of Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant 
McGregor, TX

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 as implemented in the Council on Environmental 
Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Department of Navy 
announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
for the Disposal of Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant (NWIRP), 
McGregor, Texas.
    NWIRP McGregor is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility. 
The operating contractor, Hercules, Inc./Alliant Techsystems, has 
determined that its operations should be consolidated at the Allegheny 
Ballistics Laboratory (ABL), West Virginia. Naval Air Systems Command 
has determined that once the contractor vacates the property, there is 
no requirement to retain the land or the buildings. The property 
occupies 9,756 acres of land situated mostly in McLennan County, Texas, 
with a small portion in Coryell County, Texas. The property includes 
more than 150 buildings containing more than 846,000 square feet of 
usable floor space and approximately 60 miles of improved roadways.
    The Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 authorizes the 
Secretary of the Navy to convey the property directly to the City of 
McGregor without consideration of the standard disposal procedures 
implemented in the Federal Property management Regulations. The 
conveyance is subject to the condition that the city use the property 
for economic redevelopment to replace all or part of the economic 
activity being lost at the facility. Any part of the facility not 
conveyed to the City would be disposed of by the General Services 
Administration (GSA) in accordance with the Federal Property and 
Administrative Services Act of 1944, that is implemented in the Federal 
Property Management Regulations.
    The objective of the EIS is to describe the existing conditions at 
NWIRP McGregor, describe the disposal alternatives, and evaluate the 
environmental impacts associated with the various reuse alternatives. 
The EIS will also serve as technical support for the National Historic 
Preservation Act Section 106 consultation process. Environmental issues 
that will be addressed in the EIS include air quality, water quality, 
wetland impacts, endangered species impacts, cultural resource impacts, 
and socioeconomic impacts.
    The Navy will hold a scoping meeting to solicit input on 
significant issues that should be addressed in the EIS. The meeting 
will be held on Tuesday, March 26, 1996, beginning at 7:00 P.M. at the 
McGregor High School Auditorium, 903 South Johnston Drive, McGregor, 
TX. Navy representatives will make a brief presentation, then members 
of the public will provide their comments. It is important that 
federal, state, and local agencies and interested individuals take this 
opportunity to identify environmental concerns that should be addressed 
in the EIS. In the interest of time, speakers will be asked to limit 
their comments to five minutes.

ADDRESSES: Agencies and the public are encouraged to provide written 
comments in addition, or, in lieu of, oral comments at the scoping 
meeting. To be most helpful, comments should clearly describe specific 
issues or topics which the EIS should address. Written comments must be 
postmarked by April 26, 1996, and should be mailed to Commanding 
Officer, Southern Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, P.O. 
Box 190010, North Charleston, South Carolina 29419-9010 (Attn: Public 
Affairs Office), telephone

[[Page 9153]]

[phone]. The scoping meeting will be conducted in English, and 
requests for language interpreters or other special communications 
needs should be made to Mr. Laurens Pitts at [phone] before at 
least one week prior. The Navy will make every reasonable effort to 
accommodate these needs.

    Dated: March 4, 1996.
M.D. Schetzsle,
LT, JAGC, USNR, Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 96-5388 Filed 3-6-96; 8:45 am]
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