95-5647. Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Shock Testing of the Seawolf Submarine

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 12748]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5647]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Shock Testing of the Seawolf Submarine

    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 announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) to evaluate the environmental effects of shock testing the 
SEAWOLF Submarine at a site to be located off the east coast of the 
United States.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 1501.6, the National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS) will be a cooperating agency in the preparation and development 
of the EIS.
    A ``shock test'' is the name given to a series of underwater 
detonations that are used to propagate a shock wave through a ship's 
hull (similar to those encountered in combat). It is required to test 
the hull, all ship systems, and crew survivability of each new class of 
Navy ships. This test provides important information which will be used 
to improve the initial design and enhance the effectiveness and overall 
survivability of the ship and crew. The improvements are applied to 
follow-on ships of that class. The shock test of the lead ship of the 
class is an integral part of the Live Fire Test (LFT) Program mandated 
by Congress. Shock tests have proven their value as recently as the 
Persian Gulf War when ships were able to survive battle damage and 
continue their mission because of ship design, crew survivability, and 
crew training lessons learned during previous shock tests.
    The proposed action would subject the SEAWOLF submarine to a total 
of five explosive charges, 10,000 lbs. each, while monitoring the 
results. The decision to be addressed in the Environmental Impact 
Statement is the siting of shock test. Important logistical 
considerations include: a Naval base proximate to the test location, 
and water depth of 500 feet, which, for the sites being considered, 
range from 70 to 100 miles offshore. The shock test is proposed to 
occur over a five week period between April 1 and October 1, of 1997.
    Alternative sites that would be considered include a number of 
different sites off the eastern U.S. coast. These areas are off the 
coast of Norfolk, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida, due to the 
existence of supporting Naval Bases at those sites. The ``no action'' 
alternative of not conducting the shock test will be addressed in the 
EIS.
    Physical and biological issues that will be addressed in the EIS 
include impacts on air and water resources, impacts to other uses of 
the area, and impacts to marine life including marine mammals and 
endangered and threatened species.
    The Navy will initiate a scoping process for the purpose of 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying the 
significant issues related to this action. The Navy will hold three 
public scoping hearings to receive comments from the public on the 
proposed action. The first hearing will be held on March 23, 1995, at 
10 a.m., in the auditorium of NMFS Office, 1335 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, Maryland. The second meeting will be on March 28, 1995, 
at 7 p.m., in the auditorium of the Granby High School, 701 Granby 
Street, Norfolk, Virginia. The last meeting will be on March 29, 1995, 
at 7 p.m., in the cafeteria of the Mayport Middle School, 2600 Mayport 
Road, Atlantic Beach, Florida. The meeting will be advertised in area 
newspapers.
    A brief presentation will precede the request for public comment. 
Navy representatives will be available at this meeting to receive 
comments from the public 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. In the 
interest of available time, each speaker will be asked to limit oral 
comments to five minutes.
    Agencies and the public are also invited and encouraged to provide 
written comments in addition to, or in lieu of, oral comments at the 
public meeting. To be most helpful, scoping comments should clearly 
describe specific issues or topics which the commenter believes the EIS 
should address. Written statements and/or questions regarding the 
scoping process should be mailed no later than May 1, 1995 to: 
Commanding Officer, Southern Division, Naval Facilities Engineering 
Command, P.O. Box 190010, North Charleston, SC 29419-9010 (Attention: 
Mr. Will Sloger, Code 064WS), telephone [phone], FAX [phone].

    Dated: March 3, 1995.
M.D. Schetzsle,
Lt, JAGC, USNR, Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-5647 Filed 3-7-95; 8:45 am]
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