[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6228-6229]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3345]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Notice of Announcement of Public Hearing and Notice of 
Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for 
Military Training in the Marianas, Territory of Guam and Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands

SUMMARY: The U.S. Pacific Command (USCINCPAC) is announcing the public 
hearing and availability of the above referenced DEIS. The DEIS has 
been distributed to various federal, territorial, and commonwealth 
agencies, elected officials, individuals and organizations in the 
community, public libraries, and the media. A limited number of single 
copies is available at the address listed at the end of this notice.
    The DEIS evaluates alternatives for training by Navy, Army, Air 
Force, Marine Corps, National Guard, and Army Reserve forces on Guam, 
Rota, Tinian, and Farallon de Medinilla. The DEIS describes a large 
number of training activities already occurring on these islands and a 
small number of newly proposed activities or newly proposed locations 
for training. The three alternatives are: (1) No Action, consisting of 
all ongoing training activities and all locations in which such 
training have occurred; (2) Augmented Set of Training Activities, 
consisting of all requested new training activities and locations, in 
addition to ongoing activities; and (3) Mitigated Set of Training 
Activities (the preferred alternative), which consists of ongoing and 
new training activities modified to avoid significant impacts on the 
environment. Therefore, no significant impacts are expected to result 
from the preferred alternative.
    Introduction of forces existing and proposed training include: 
aircraft landing at airfields, paradrops of personnel and cargo, 
helicopter insertion/extraction, and amphibious assaults. Combat 
training include: Field maneuvers (tactical operations, command post 
exercises, road and cross-country movement, seizing an airfield, 
military working dogs), aviation support to ground troops (close air 
support, field carrier landing practice, confined area landings, cargo 
delivery, heliborne water buckets for fire-fighting, medical 
evacuations, search and rescue, night vision goggle training, and 
various types of parachute operation), and ordnance training at 
specific locations (air-to-surface gunnery, naval gunnery, live fire at 
firing ranges and shooting houses, demolition training at established 
demolition pits and underwater, and pyrotechnics used during field 
maneuvers). Combat service support training includes: bivouacs and 
associated support functions, construction battalion exercises, and 
logistics support (shipping, staging, inspecting, and maintaining 
equipment and cargo), forward area refueling).
    The proposed action includes: Construction of several facilities (a 
sniper range and breaching house in the NAVACTS Ordnance Annex; 
extension of an existing firing range at NAVACTS Waterfront Annex; a 
small base support camp, firing range, mortar range, and breaching 
house on Tinian; and installation of various targets on FDM).
    The training areas on Guam are military sites (Andersen Air Force 
Base, NAVACTS Guam Waterfront Annex and Ordnance Annex, Naval Computer 
and Telecommunications Area Master Station Finegayan and Barrigada), 
the Ylig and Talofofo Rivers, and a non-military paradrop zone in 
Dandan. Training areas on Rota consist of the airport, a small area 
within West Harbor, and a land area at the high school. Training on 
Tinian occurs within the Military Lease Area, with limited activities 
in San Jose Harbor. The entire island of Farallon de Medinilla is used 
as a live fire range.
    The public hearings will be conducted by the Navy on behalf of the 
U.S. Pacific Command. Government 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. To assure 
accuracy of the record, statements may also be submitted in writing. 
Both oral and written statements will become part of the public record 
on this study, with equal weight given to each.
    In the interest of available time, speakers will be asked to limit 
their comments to five minutes. If longer statements are to be 
presented, they should be summarized at the public hearing and 
submitted in writing either at the hearing or mailed to the address 
listed at the end of this announcement. All written statements must be 
postmarked by April 1, 1997 to be incorporated in the official record.

DATES: Public hearings to inform the public of the DEIS findings and to 
solicit comments will be held at the following times and locations in 
the northern Mariana islands and Guam:

[[Page 6229]]

    <bullet> Monday, March 3, 1997, 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM at Community 
Roundhouse, Rota.
    <bullet> Tuesday, March 4, 1997, 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM at KBC Bldg., 
2nd Floor, Conference Room, Tinian.
    <bullet> Wednesday, March 5, 1997, 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM at Garapan 
Central Park Roundhouse, Saipan.
    <bullet> Thursday, March 6, 1997, 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM at 155 Hesler 
Street., Public Hearing Room, Agana, Guam.

ADDRESSES: Request for single copies of the DEIS and submittal of 
written comments for inclusion into the official record should be 
forwarded to Mr. Fred Minato (Code 231FM), Pacific Division, Naval 
Facilities Engineering Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 96860-7300.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Fred Minato (Code 231FM), by voice 
telephone (808) 471-9338 or facsimile transmission (808) 474-5909.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the 
Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), 
the U.S. Pacific Command has prepared and filed with the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency the above referenced DEIS.

    Dated: February 5, 1997.
D. E. Koenig, Jr.,
LCDR, JAGC, USN, Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 97-3345 Filed 2-10-97; 8:45 am]
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