97-10244. Notice of Public Meeting and Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 76 (Monday, April 21, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19322-19323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10244]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION


Notice of Public Meeting and Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement

AGENCY: General Services Administration, National Capital Region Patent 
and Trademark Office.

ACTION: Proposed construction and operation of a consolidated Patent 
and Trademark Office in northern Virginia.

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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration and the Patent and 
Trademark Office announce their intent to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed new consolidated Patent and 
Trademark Office in northern Virginia and to conduct two public 
meetings to discuss the proposal pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the 
Council of Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as 
amended, and in accordance with the Environmental Policies and 
Procedures implemented by General Services Administration.
    This Notice of Intent (NOI) initiates the formal environmental 
review/scoping process for this project. A comprehensive Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) is considered to be the appropriate 
environmental document for this project and it is expected that 
completion of an EIS will discharge all obligations under Federal 
environmental laws. Two public meetings will be held to determine the 
significant issues related to the construction and operation of the new 
consolidated Patent and Trademark Office. One will be held in Arlington 
County and one will be held in the City of Alexandria, Virginia. The 
meetings will serve as part of the formal environmental review/scoping 
process for the preparation of the EIS that is required for this 
project. The public is encouraged to submit written comments on the 
potential impacts of the proposed Patent and Trademark Office buildings 
at the alternative sites under consideration. The comments and

[[Page 19323]]

responses received on the alternatives and potential impacts, as a 
result of this NOI, will be considered for the environmental document. 
The public is encouraged to provide additional comments once the Draft 
EIS is released. The General Services Administration anticipates that 
release date to be January 1998.
    The proposed consolidated Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will 
include approximately 2 million square feet in up to eight buildings 
and will require between 3,500 to 7,000 parking spaces. It is proposed 
to be located in northern Virginia in either Arlington County or the 
City of Alexandria and is scheduled to be gully occupied by the year 
2004. The EIS will analyze the environmental impacts and mitigation 
options associated with five alternatives for the construction and 
operation of the proposed PTO. At present those alternatives may 
include: (1) construction of the PTO in Arlington at Crystal City 
between the George Washington Memorial Parkway and Route 1 with 
20th Street as the northern boundary and the overpass connecting 
Route 1 to National Airport as the southern boundary; (2) construction 
of the PTO in Alexandria in the Potomac Yards/Potomac Greens between 
the George Washington Memorial Parkway and U.S. Route 1 south of Four 
Mile Run and north of the Monroe Avenue Bridge; (3) construction of the 
PTO at the Carlyle site in Alexandria at Dulaney Street and Eisenhower 
Avenue between Elizabeth Lane and Carlyle Street; (4) construction of 
the PTO in Alexandria at 2111 Eisenhower Avenue at the Eisenhower 
Avenue Metro station; and, (5) a No Action Alternative which would not 
result in a consolidated Patent and Trademark Office in northern 
Virginia. Topics for environmental analysis will include the short-term 
impacts of construction; the long-term impacts of site operations and 
maintenance on land use, historic resources, visual resources, 
physical-biological resources, public transportation, traffic and 
parking, public services and utilities, and socio-economic conditions 
within the project areas; and, the cumulative impacts associated with 
this and other projects in the future.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The public meetings will be held:

Wednesday, June 4, 1997, 7:00 p.m.
    Aurora Hills Recreation Center, 735 18th Street, Arlington, 
Virginia,
Thursday, June 5, 1997, 7:30 p.m.
    Alexandria City Hall, 301 King Street, Room 2000, Alexandria, 
Virginia

    Public meetings will be advertised in local and regional 
newspapers. Adequate signs will be posted to direct meeting 
participants. A short formal presentation will precede the request for 
public comments. General Services Administration and the Patent and 
Trademark Office representatives will be available at this meeting to 
receive comments from the public regarding issues of concern. It is 
important that Federal, regional, and local agencies, and interested 
individuals and groups take this opportunity to identify environmental 
concerns that should be addressed during the preparation of the Draft 
EIS. In the interest of available time, each speaker will be asked to 
limit oral comments to ten (10) minutes. A document summarizing the 
written and oral comments received will be prepared.
    An Informational Packet will be available for review at the public 
meetings or upon request to the GSA contact identified below. Agencies 
and the general public are invited and are encouraged to provide 
written comments on the scoping issues in addition to, or in lieu of 
oral comments at the public meeting. To the most helpful, environmental 
review/scoping comments would clearly describe specific issues or 
topics which the community believes the EIS should address.

DATES: All written statements regarding environmental review of the 
proposed Patent and Trademark Office must be postmarked no later than 
May 19, 1997 to the following address: General Services Administration, 
Attn: Carl W. Winters, Property Acquisition and Realty Services 
(WPEMC), 7th and D Streets, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20407.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Carl W. Winters, General 
Services Administration, [phone]. E-mail [e-mail]

    Dated: April 14, 1997.
Douglas G. Benton,
Director, Property Acquisition and Realty Services Division, National 
Capital Region.
[FR Doc. 97-10244 Filed 4-18-97; 8:45 am]
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