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Notices Federal Register

103 

Vol. 84, No. 8 

Friday, January 11, 2019 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Air Force 

Decision Memorandum Accepting 

Alternative Arrangements for the U.S. 

Air Force’s Interim Beddown of the 

F–22 Formal Training Unit at Eglin Air 

Force Base, Florida 

AGENCY: Department of the Air Force, 

DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of Decision 

Memorandum. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the Air 

Force announces its decision to accept 

alternative arrangements approved by 

the Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ) for the Air Force’s interim 

beddown of the F–22 Formal Training 

Unit at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. 

ADDRESSES: For further information 

contact: Mr. Jack Bush, 703–614–0237 

or jack.c.bush.civ@mail.mil 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of 

the entire Decision Memorandum is 

provided as follows: 

Decision Memorandum—Alternative 

Arrangements for Interim Beddown of 

F–22 Formal Training Unit 

On December 21, 2019, the 

Department of the Air Force (Air Force) 

sought Council of Environmental 

Quality (CEQ) approval of alternative 

arrangements pursuant to 40 CFR 

1506.11 for implementing the 

procedural provisions of the National 

Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 

4321, et seq. (NEPA), for the beddown 

of the Air Force’s F–22 Formal Training 

Unit. This memorandum documents the 

Air Force’s decision to accept the 

alternative procedures. 

Background 

NEPA: NEPA requires the Air Force to 

undertake an assessment of the 

environmental effects of its proposed 

actions prior to making decisions. The 

CEQ Regulations for Implementing the 

Procedural Provisions of the National 

Environmental Policy Act provide for 

situations when emergency 

circumstances make it necessary to 

make a decision and take action with 

potentially significant environmental 

impact without observing the provisions 

of the CEQ Regulations (40 CFR 

1506.11). Specifically, the agency 

should consult with CEQ about 

alternative arrangements for actions 

necessary to control the immediate 

impacts of the emergency. 

F–22 Raptor: The F–22 is the United 

States’ premier fighter aircraft, which is 

essential to national security. It is a 

specialized ‘‘Fifth-Generation’’ fighter 

which introduces a large array of 

sensors that can detect both air and 

ground targets and share that data with 

other U.S. and Allied aircraft. The F–22 

possesses a sophisticated sensor suite 

allowing the pilot to track, identify, 

shoot and kill air-to-air threats before 

being detected. Significant advances in 

cockpit design and sensor fusion 

improve the pilot’s situational 

awareness. It is also ‘‘Low Observable,’’ 

which makes it a stealth platform that 

can be extremely difficult to detect. This 

combination means that F–22 pilots can 

see the enemy, but cannot be seen. The 

F–22’s characteristics provide a 

synergistic effect ensuring F–22 lethality 

against all advanced air threats. The 

combination of stealth, integrated 

avionics and supercruise (traveling 

faster than the speed of sound without 

using afterburner) drastically shrinks 

surface-to-air missile engagement 

envelopes and minimizes enemy 

capabilities to track and engage the F– 

22. The combination of reduced 

observability and supercruise 

accentuates the advantage of surprise in 

a tactical environment. Maintenance of 

these advantages is vital as the Air Force 

prepares for conflicts with near-peer 

nations, and would also be invaluable 

against others emerging threats. 

Nature of the Emergency: In October 

2018, Hurricane Michael displaced the 

Air Force’s only F–22 Formal Training 

Unit (FTU), which consists of the F–22 

aircraft in the 43rd Fighter Squadron 

and its associated T–38 Talon aircraft, a 

two-seat twinjet supersonic jet trainer in 

the 2d Fighter Training Squadron, from 

its home at Tyndall Air Force Base 

(AFB), Florida, to Joint Base LangleyEustis in Virginia. This temporary 

relocation disrupted the current student 

pilot full-rate Basic Course. Hurricane 

Michael’s subsequent devastation of 

Tyndall AFB further aggravated 

deficiencies in the F–22 pilot 

production pipeline by rendering many 

of the FTU’s facilities unusable for the 

foreseeable future. The production of 

trained and qualified F–22 pilots 

completely stopped for two months, 

exacerbating the current pilot shortage 

that the Air Force is facing. This 

situation will worsen unless the Air 

Force can restart F–22 FTU full-rate 

training by January 2019, because all 

student pilots are currently unable to 

perform qualifying flights. As current F– 

22 pilots retire or separate from the 

Service, the Air Force needs to produce 

the same numbers and more to maintain 

its combat readiness. 

When Hurricane Michael struck 

Tyndall AFB, the F–22 FTU had 14 

Basic Course students, two Track 2 

students, and one Track 1 student 

enrolled in training. Track 2 is for 

previously qualified F–22 pilots who are 

no longer current, and Track 1 is for 

current fighter pilots who have not 

flown the F–22. The Track 1 student 

had completed a majority of his training 

and returned to his operational unit to 

complete his transition. The two Track 

2 students were returned to their 

gaining operational units without 

accomplishing any training. The gaining 

operational units will assume the 

resource burden and risk to train the 

one Track 1 and the two Track 2 

students. The 14 Basic Course students 

were approximately 90 days into their 

160 day course. On average the students 

had completed only 8 of the 38 total 

syllabus flying sorties. The F–22 FTU 

restarted limited student flying at Eglin 

AFB on December 6, 2018, after nearly 

two months of no flying. Flying was 

limited so that operations would fall 

within the parameters of an existing Air 

Force Categorical Exclusion (CATEX), 

CATEX A2.3.31 in 32 CFR part 989, 

Appendix B, which covers relocating a 

small number of aircraft that does not 

significantly increase flying hours or 

number of operations. The Air Force 

will be unable to rely on this CATEX 

beyond January 31, 2019. The delays in 

F–22 FTU student training will delay 

the Basic Course pilots arriving at their 

operational units, negatively impacting 

unit manning. 

The F–22 is a niche fighter 

community due to the small number of 


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104 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 8 / Friday, January 11, 2019 / Notices 

primary mission aircraft inventory 

(combat-coded aircraft), just 123 total 

jets. There are less than 250 Regular Air 

Force F–22 pilots plus an additional 40 

full-time Air Reserve Component F–22 

pilots actively serving. These numbers 

include all F–22 student pilots, 

operational pilots, pilots on staff and at 

school. The goal for active component 

Air Force manning in operational units 

by June 2019 is 100%. In fiscal year (FY) 

2018, the Air Force lost 19 F–22 pilots 

due to retirement, separation, or 

promotion to Colonel (O–6). 

Additionally, only 6 of the 11 F–22 

pilots (54%) eligible for the initial pilot 

bonus in FY18 accepted the bonus, 

indicating 5 more F–22 pilots will be 

leaving the Air Force soon. The small 

size of the F–22 community, combined 

with the number of pilots either lost or 

uncommitted, demands the continued 

full-scale production of F–22 Basic 

Course students. 

Purpose and Need for Agency Action: 

The purpose of the proposed action is 

to enable the Air Force to quickly get 

back to full-rate Basic Course Student, 

Transition, and Instructor Pilot 

production to mitigate potentially 

severe adverse impacts to the Nation’s 

military readiness. On average, the F–22 

FTU trains 28 Basic Course pilots, 20 

Transition Course pilots, and 9 

Instructor Pilots each fiscal year. The 

need for the proposed action is to enable 

the Air Force to avoid further delay to 

restarting F–22 FTU operations or 

achieving full F–22 pilot production 

capacity that will have negative impacts 

to the entire F–22 operational force, the 

United States’ sole fully-operational 5th 

Generation fighter. Delays to restarting 

F–22 FTU operations will create a 

bottleneck in fighter pilot production, 

generate a backlog of undergraduate 

pilot training graduates, and exacerbate 

the fighter pilot manning crisis. 

Agency Proposal 

Proposed Action and Alternatives: 

The proposed action is to restore 

training of replacement pilots for the F– 

22 FTU by January 31, 2019 at Eglin 

AFB, Florida until the Air Force decides 

on and implements a permanent 

beddown. While Hurricane Michael 

rendered many of the facilities used by 

the F–22 FTU inoperable, and total 

recovery is estimated to take between 

three and five years, two very important 

facilities for the F–22 FTU at Tyndall 

AFB survived Michael’s destruction: 

The Special Access Program (SAP) flight 

simulators and the low observable 

coatings maintenance facility. 

These two facilities at Tyndall AFB 

are approximately 89 miles away from 

Eglin AFB. The survival of the 

simulators and low observable 

maintenance facilities, coupled with 

other factors such as the substantial 

instructor and maintenance workforce 

made up of contractors, civilian 

employees, and Air Force Reserve and 

Guard personnel who are unable or 

unwilling to relocate, in part because 

they need to attend to the repair of their 

own homes, make nearby Eglin AFB the 

only near-term alternative to quickly 

reestablish and resume the F–22 pilot 

production pipeline. Further, the Air 

Force Reserve and Guard personnel 

make up twenty-five percent of the F– 

22 FTU’s instructor pilots. Nearby Eglin 

AFB’s main airfield (Eglin Main) has 

existing ramp and operating capacity for 

the F–22 FTU. Relocating the F–22 FTU 

to Eglin AFB also enables the F–22 FTU 

to use the same Special Use Airspace in 

the Gulf of Mexico that it is accustomed 

to training in and access to its Air Force 

Reserve/Guard, civilian, and contractor 

personnel in the region. Joint Base 

Langley-Eustis has no F–22 FTU 

instructors and lacks the robust 

simulators that are available at Tyndall 

AFB. Moving the SAP simulators at 

Tyndall AFB to another location is 

estimated to take one year and cost $22 

million, and the Air Force cannot accept 

further delayed or degraded F–22 

simulator capacity for training. 

The lack of ready access to F–22 

simulator capacity, F–22 weapons and 

tactics trainer cockpits, classified 

academic space, and F–22 qualified 

academic/simulator instructors at any 

location other than Tyndall AFB is the 

reason no other F–22 base, to include 

Joint Base Langley-Eustis, is a 

reasonable alternative compared to 

Eglin AFB at the current time. The 

Academic Simulator Building (ASB) at 

Tyndall AFB serves as the hub for all F– 

22 FTU instruction—from computer 

based instruction, academic lessons, 14 

weapons and tactics trainer cockpits, 

and eight full mission simulators—the 

ASB support over 68% of the F–22 

Basic Course syllabus. The ASB 

received minimal damage from 

Hurricane Michael and has already been 

restored to full operational capability. 

The ASB is the cornerstone to F–22 FTU 

operations. 

Affected Environment: Currently there 

are 52,000 annual operations at Eglin 

Main. Projected annual operations for 

the FTU’s F–22s and associated T–38s 

could reach 31,000. Interim basing of 

the F–22 FTU at Eglin AFB would 

therefore potentially result in a 45% 

increase to Eglin Main’s 52,000 annual 

operations, including a potential 

nineteen-percent increase in nighttime 

operations. 

The Air Force has preliminarily 

identified noise as the only projected 

significant environmental impact from 

the proposed action under the 

alternative arrangements. A preliminary 

noise analysis of adding the F–22 FTU 

to Eglin AFB revealed potentially 

significant impacts. The increase in 

operations from the FTU’s aircraft will 

create a measurable increase in the 65 

decibel (dB) Day-Night Average Sound 

Level (DNL) noise contour on the south, 

east, and west side of Eglin Main. 

Additionally, operations from the FTU’s 

aircraft will increase the 65 dB DNL 

contour to the southwest and northeast 

which will impact populated areas and 

other noise sensitive environments 

including residential homes, schools, 

churches, recreational facilities, and 

other community facilities. The DNL 

noise contour increases suggest that the 

mission will have the potential to cause 

significant impacts to the areas to the 

west and southwest of Eglin Main due 

to increases of 5 dB in the 65 dB and 

above DNL noise contours from 

proposed F–22 operations. 

The FTU’s F–22 closed-pattern and 

departure operations of up to 22,000 

and 4,000 annual operations, 

respectively, are the primary cause of 

projected noise increases at and around 

Eglin Main. Tyndall AFB will not be 

available as a Precision Instrument 

Approach Field for any closed-pattern 

operations until the Air Traffic Control 

Tower, the Radar Approach Control 

system, and navigational aids are 

restored. The Air Force’s current best 

estimate is that these functions will not 

be fully restored at Tyndall AFB before 

July 2019. Therefore, Tyndall AFB will 

not be available as a potential 

operational mitigation for noise from F– 

22 closed-pattern and approach 

operations until that time. Ultimately, 

any final suite of mitigation measures 

for the interim basing of the F–22 FTU 

at Eglin AFB will have to account for 

other relevant non-FTU aircraft 

operations. 

Environmental Impact Assessment 

and Alternative Arrangements: The Air 

Force will prepare an environmental 

impact statement (EIS) for the 

permanent beddown for the F–22 FTU, 

with scoping planned for next year. This 

EIS will inform the Air Force Strategic 

Basing Process’ selection of a permanent 

beddown location for the F–22 FTU. 

The Strategic Basing Process typically 

involves the identification and 

Secretarial approval of objective basing 

criteria, the rank ordering of locations 

based on application of those criteria 

from an enterprise of locations, the 

winnowing of those locations to a small 

number of candidate bases, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 8 / Friday, January 11, 2019 / Notices 105 

identification of preferred and 

reasonable locations, and the final 

selection of the basing location. The 

candidate bases constitute the 

reasonable alternatives for NEPA 

purposes, and once identified, allow for 

the issuance of a NEPA Notice of Intent. 

The Air Force cannot delay F–22 pilot 

production until these actions are 

completed without irreparable harm to 

the National Security Strategy posture. 

Therefore, in accordance with the 

provisions of 40 CFR 1506.11, the Air 

Force initiated consultation with the 

CEQ and requested alternative 

arrangements for the interim basing of 

the F–22 FTU at Eglin AFB, Florida. 

Alternative Arrangements: The Air 

Force accepts the alternative 

arrangements prescribed below, as 

approved by CEQ’s letter of December 

21, 2018, for the interim beddown of the 

F–22 FTU at Eglin AFB. 

Environmental Assessment: The Air 

Force will undertake immediately the 

preparation of an environmental 

assessment of the interim beddown. The 

Air Force will strive to complete the 

draft EA by February 28, 2019, and issue 

it for public review and comment for at 

least 30 days. The draft EA will identify 

any proposed mitigation measures that 

would address any significant impacts 

identified in the draft EA. The Air Force 

will complete the final EA and issue a 

Record of Decision no later than April 

30, 2019. The Record of Decision will 

set forth the practicable mitigation 

measures that the Air Force will 

implement for the interim beddown in 

accordance with 40 CFR 1505.2 and 

1505.3. 

Environmental Impact Statement: The 

Air Force will undertake an EIS for the 

permanent beddown of the F–22 FTU. 

The EIS will include an assessment of 

the reasonable alternatives for the 

permanent beddown. The Air Force will 

issue a Notice of Intent to prepare an 

EIS as soon as possible, but no later than 

April 1, 2019. The Air Force will 

develop a timeline for the NEPA 

process, including all milestones and 

authorization processes, and submit the 

timeline to CEQ for its review and 

approval. To ensure that NEPA 

compliance proceeds as expeditiously 

as possible, and consistent with 

Executive Order 13807 on Establishing 

Discipline and Accountability in the 

Environmental Review and Permitting 

Process for Infrastructure, the Air Force 

will develop a permitting timetable that 

identifies milestones for this 

environmental review and authorization 

process. The Air Force will provide its 

timetable to CEQ within one month of 

the date of CEQ’s letter and update the 

timetable monthly to ensure that the 

environmental review process is 

completed as expeditiously as is 

practicable, with a goal of completion of 

a Record of Decision approximately 2 

years (or less) from the date of the 

Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS. The 

Air Force’s Federal Register notice for 

the EIS preparation will describe these 

alternative arrangements and their 

relationship to the EIS for long-term F– 

22 beddown decisions. 

Public Participation Measures: The 

alternative arrangements include the 

following public participation measures 

that supplement the proposal set forth 

in the Air Force letter. The Air Force 

will provide notice of these alternative 

arrangements and submit this Decision 

Memorandum for publication in the 

Federal Register within 10 business 

days. The Air Force also will publish 

notice of these alternative arrangements 

in local newspapers likely to reach 

interested parties including the 

Northwest Florida Daily News and the 

Bay Beacon. 

Additionally, the Air Force will 

provide notice of these alternative 

arrangements to the interested parties 

listed in Appendix A of the 2014 Final 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement. The notices will specifically 

seek input on the interim and final 

beddown, and include an offer to meet 

with Air Force representatives and CEQ 

to discuss the alternative arrangements. 

The Air Force will reconstitute and 

reconvene the Noise Committee with 

representatives of the counties and 

municipalities of Walton, Okaloosa, and 

Santa Rosa Counties. The Air Force will 

use the Noise Committee to gather 

information for the development of the 

environmental assessment and 

environmental impact statement. 

The Air Force will provide CEQ with 

copies of any notices made in 

accordance with these alternative 

arrangements and post notices online at 

https://www.eglin.af.mil/. 

Other Measures: The Air Force and 

CEQ will convene monthly meetings to 

discuss the status of the NEPA process 

with interested components of the 

Executive Office of the President. At the 

conclusion of the alternative 

arrangements and no later than 2 years 

from the date of the Notice of Intent to 

prepare an EIS, the Air Force will 

provide a report to CEQ on the use of 

the alternative arrangements that 

reviews the value and effectiveness of 

these arrangements. The Air Force will 

provide notice of the report in the 

Federal Register, local newspapers, 

including those specified above, and 

online at https://www.eglin.af.mil/. 

Henry Williams, 

Civ, DAF, Acting Air Force Federal Register 

Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2019–00052 Filed 1–10–19; 8:45 am] 

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