[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28451-28452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13639]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Enhancement of the Capability of the Pacific Missile Range
Facility, Kauai, HI To Conduct Missile Defense Testing and Training
Activities
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 the
Navy announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the enhancement of the capability of the Pacific Missile
Range Facility (PMRF), Kauai, Hawaii to conduct missile defense testing
and training activities. Agencies invited to cooperate in the
preparation of this EIS include the Department of the Army, Department
of the Air Force, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Coast Guard,
Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, Federal Aviation
Administration, and the State of Hawaii.
The 42,000-square-mile range, located on the west and north side of
Kauai and in the adjacent ocean area, is currently operated as a
missile test and training facility by the Navy. Congress has directed
the Navy to develop a Theater Ballistic Missile Defense Program (TBMD).
Implementing the program at PMRF is in accordance with the Senate
Report 103-321 on the 1995 Defense Appropriations Bill, which
designated PMRF as ``the primary test range for the completion of Navy
(TBMD) flight tests.''
The proposed action is to enhance the capability of PMRF to allow
testing and training for the Navy's TBMD program and for the overall
DoD Theater Missile Defense (TMD) program. The no-action alternative is
the continuation of PMRF's current activities in support of existing
DoD test and training programs. This EIS will examine environmental
impacts of developing and operating potential launch sites and tracking
stations/areas. Areas being considered for the launch and/or
instrumentation sites include: (1) Kauai and the Hawaiian Islands, (2)
other Pacific land-based support locations, and (3) ocean areas within
and outside U.S. territorial waters.
The distances between PMRF and some of the locations under
consideration may exceed limitations in current international
agreements related to distances for target missile flights, but they
will not exceed distances to the anticipated areas of operations. Any
testing would comply with current U.S. policy concerning compliance
with treaties and international agreements.
In accordance with Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 343, the
Governor of Hawaii has determined that an EIS is required. Since the
State and Federal actions and decisions are interconnected, the
analyses will be documented in a single joint EIS. The decisions to be
made by the State of Hawaii are: (1) Whether to revise the existing
restrictive easement with the Navy to extend the easement term from
January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2030, and (2) Whether to extend and/or
revise other Navy leases and concur with or grant approvals as may be
required for Navy use of lands in the Northwestern Hawaiian chain, to
support the enhancement of PMRF to facilitate development and testing
of TMD systems.
The objective of the EIS is to describe and evaluate environmental
impacts of existing activities at the range (the no-action
alternative), describe the alternatives for enhancing the range for
purposes of testing TBMD systems, and evaluate the environmental
impacts from various enhancement alternatives. Environmental resource
areas that will be addressed in the EIS include air quality; biological
resources, including threatened and endangered species; cultural
resources; geology and soils; hazardous materials and waste; health and
safety; land use; noise; socioeconomics; transportation, including
airspace; utilities; visual and aesthetic resources; and water quality.
The Navy will host four scoping meetings to solicit input on
significant issues that should be addressed in the EIS. Each scoping
meeting will provide opportunities for clarification of the EIS and
alternatives and solicit input from representatives of government
agencies and interested individuals. The Navy will set up information
stations at these scoping meetings. Each information station will be
attended by a Navy representative who will be available to answer
questions from meeting attendees. Comments will be entered into the
official record via written comment sheets available at each meeting.
Written comments will also be accepted via mail or fax. Regardless of
the commenting method chosen, all comments will receive the same
attention and consideration during EIS preparation.
The four public scoping meetings will be held at the following
times and locations: (1) June 17 from 4:00-8:00 pm at the Waimea
Neighborhood Center, Waimea, Kauai; (2) June 19 from 4:00-8:00 pm at
the Kilauea Neighborhood Center, Kilauea, Kauai; (3) June 21 from 1:00-
4:00 pm at the Wilcox Elementary School Cafeteria, Lihue, Kauai; and
(4) June 23 from 4:00-8:00 pm at the US Army Reserve Center Assembly
Hall, Room 101, Ft. Schafter Flats, Ft. Schafter, Oahu.
ADDRESSES: Agencies and the public are encouraged to provide written
comments. To be most helpful, comments should clearly describe specific
issues or topics that the EIS
[[Page 28452]]
should address. Please mail written comments to: Vida Mossman, Pacific
Missile Range Facility, P.O. Box 128, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii, 96752-
0128, or send by facsimile at (808) 335-4660. Please postmark comments
by June 23, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information concerning this
notice may be obtained by contacting Vida Mossman, Pacific Missile
Range Facility, P.O. Box 128, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii, 96752-0128,
telephone (808) 335-4740.
Dated: May 20, 1997.
D. E. Koenig,
LCDR, JAG, USN, Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 97-13639 Filed 5-22-97; 8:45 am]
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