[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 13, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-22546]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 13, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Office Complex at
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Prince George's County, MD
Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) has prepared a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for construction of a 350,000 square foot, low-
rise office complex plus associated parking on federal land within the
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Prince George's County,
Maryland. The project provides for consolidation of USDA functions
currently located in leased facilities in Maryland and the District of
Columbia, and in the USDA Headquarters South Building, which will be
renovated. Since initiating the EIS process with a public scoping
meeting in January, 1994, the size of the proposed office complex has
been decreased by USDA from 700,000 s.f. to 350,000 s.f.
The Draft EIS considers environmental impacts from project
implementation on each of three (3) possible government-owned sites:
Site A, 100 acres north of the Capital Beltway, southeast
of the Rhode Island Avenue/Sunnyside Avenue intersection; Site B,
120 acres east of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway,
southeast of the Powdermill Road/Soil Conservation Service Road
intersection; and Site D, 94 acres southeast of the
Edmonston Road/Beaverdam Road intersection. A ``No Action'' alternative
is also considered. Potential environmental impacts include short-term
construction-related impacts, and long-term changes in traffic, socio-
economic and physical conditions. The Draft EIS is available for
inspection at the Beltsville, Greenbelt, and College Park Public
Libraries, and upon request from the USDA Headquarters at the address
given below.
A Public Hearing on the Draft EIS will be held on October 27, 1994,
at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Beltsville Agricultural Research
Center, Building 003, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland
20705. A short presentation by USDA summarizing the Draft EIS will
precede a period for public comments. Oral comments should be limited
to ten (10) minutes each. Agencies and the public are invited to
provide written comments on the Draft EIS, in addition to, or in lieu
of, oral comments at the Public Hearing. All written comments must be
mailed, no later than October 27, 1994 to: Mr. Michael V. Sazonov,
Contracting Office Technical Representative, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Office of Operations, Washington Area Service Center,
South Building, Room S-313, 14th and Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, D.C. 20250; Telephone (202) 720-2804.
Wardell C. Townsend, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary for Administration.
[FR Doc. 94-22546 Filed 9-12-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-98-M
