[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 69 (Friday, April 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17824-17825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-9561]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Public Hearing for the Pacific Missile Range Facility
Enhanced Capability Draft Environmental Impact Statement at Pacific
Missile Range
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy announces that it will hold two
public hearings to inform the public of the Pacific Missile Range
Facility Enhanced Capability Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) findings and to solicit comments.
Federal, state, and local agencies and interested parties are
invited and urged to be present or represented at the hearings. Oral
statements will be heard and transcribed by a stenographer. However, to
assure the accuracy of the record, all statements should be submitted
in writing. All statements, both oral and written, will become part of
the public record on this action and will be given equal consideration.
In the interest of available time, each speaker will be asked to
limit his or her oral comments to five minutes. If longer statements
are to be presented, they should be summarized at the public hearing(s)
and submitted in writing either at the public hearing(s) or mailed
[[Page 17825]]
to the address below. Written comments on the DEIS should be mailed to
the address below and must be postmarked not later than May 26, 1998 to
be part of the official record.
The DEIS has been distributed to various federal, state and local
agencies, elected officials, special interest groups, the media, and
concerned citizens. Copies of the DEIS have also been placed in local
libraries in Hawaii. A limited number of copies are available at the
address below.
DATES AND ADDRESSES: Public hearing dates and locations are as follows:
1. Saturday, April 25, 1998, 10 a.m., Waimea United Church of Christ
Educational Center, Waimea, Hawaii
2. Tuesday, April 28, 1998, 5 p.m., Weinberg Memorial Hall, Disabled
American Veterans Park, 2685 North Nimitz Hwy., Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, TO PROVIDE COMMENTS OR FOR A COPY OF THE DEIS
CONTACT: Ms. Vida Mossman, P.O. Box 128, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii, 96752-
0128.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Council on Environmental Quality
regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) implementing the procedural
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Department of
the Navy has prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) Enhanced Capability
Draft Environmental Impact Statement at Pacific Missile Range Facility.
The DEIS assesses the potential impacts associated with enhancing PMRF
capabilities. The Proposed Action would enable PMRF to fully
accommodate the testing and training needs of the Navy's Theater
Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD) program as well as other DOD Theater
Missile Defense (TMD) programs. The proposed enhancement would also
serve to increase PMRF's viability in the future by providing the
capability for potential customers to develop, test and train in the
use of evolving defensive systems.
The DEIS analyzes additional missile launch and support locations,
facility construction, launch preparation activities, missile flight
tests, radar and optical tracking operations, and intercept tests in
the Pacific Ocean.
Environmental issues analyzed in the DEIS for enhancing PMRF
include: Air quality; airspace control; biological resources; cultural
resources; geology and soils; hazardous materials and waste; safety and
health; land use; noise; socioeconomics; transportation; utilities;
visual and aesthetics; and water resources. In addition, the document
addresses ocean areas and environmental justice.
Proposed Action
The Navy proposes to enhance capabilities of PMRF to conduct
missile defense testing by (1) upgrading existing radar, telemetry,
optics, electronic warfare, differential global positioning system, and
other instrumentation facilities; and (2) the construction and
operation of additional missile launch sites, sensor and
instrumentation facilities, and a missile storage building.
Areas being considered for the launch and/or instrumentation sites
include (1) Kauai and Niihau; (2) land-based support locations on Tern
Island and Johnston Atoll; and (3) ocean areas within and outside U.S.
territorial waters. Any testing would comply with current U.S. policy
concerning compliance with treaties and international agreements.
No Action
The No-Action Alternative is the continuation of existing range and
land-based training and operations; existing research development,
testing and evaluation activities; and ongoing base operations and
maintenance of the technical and logistical facilities that support the
training and operations missions conducted at PMRF.
Dated: April 7, 1998.
Lou Rae Langevin,
LT, JAGC, USN, Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-9561 Filed 4-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P
