Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 40 / Monday, March 2, 2015 / Notices 11155 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Notice of the Draft Environmental 

Assessment for the Subtropical 

Agricultural Research Station Land 

Transfer 

AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, a 

Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) 

has been prepared to evaluate the 

proposed transfer of approximately 

3,800 acres of land at the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) 

Subtropical Agricultural Research 

Station (STARS) in Brooksville, Florida 

to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical 

University (FAMU). This notice is 

announcing the opening of a 30-day 

public comment period. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 1, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments related to the STARS Land 

Transfer to Cal Mather, Environmental 

Protection Specialist, USDA–ARS– 

SHEMB, by any of the following 

methods: Mail: NCAUR, 1815 North 

University Street, Room 2060, Peoria, 

Illinois 61604; FAX: 309–681–6682; or 

email: cal.mather@ars.usda.gov. 

Hard copies of the Draft EA are 

available upon request. Copies of the 

Draft EA for the USDA–ARS STARS 

Land Transfer are also available for 

public viewing during normal business 

hours at the following locations: 

• Samuel H. Coleman Memorial Library 

(FAMU), 525 Orr Drive, Tallahassee, 

Florida 32307 

• Istachatta Library Station, 16246 

Lingle Road, Brooksville, Florida 

34601 

• East Hernando Branch Library, 6457 

Windmere Road, Brooksville, Florida 

34602 

• Spring Hill Branch Library, 9220 

Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill, Florida 

34608 

• West Hernando Branch Library, 6335 

Blackbird Avenue, Brooksville, 

Florida 34613 

• Main Library/Brooksville, 238 Howell 

Avenue, Brooksville, Florida 34601 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USDA 

is proposing to transfer approximately 

3,800 acres of land and facilities located 

on four separate properties at the 

USDA–ARS STARS in Brooksville, 

Florida to FAMU. In accordance with 

the March 1, 2014, Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) executed 

between the U.S. Government, 

represented by the Secretary of 

Agriculture, and the University Board of 

Trustees, upon transfer to FAMU, the 

land will be used for agricultural and 

natural resources research for a period 

of no less than 25 years, supporting the 

1890 land grant university mission, 

promoting education and community 

collaboration, and establishing a 

Beginning Farmers and Ranchers 

Program at the Property. FAMU would 

assume responsibility for management 

and maintenance of the constructed 

facilities and land to be conveyed from 

USDA–ARS. 

The USDA–ARS STARS was closed in 

accordance with Public Law (Pub. L.) 

112–55, Consolidated and Further 

Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012. 

The proposed transfer of land and 

facilities from USDA–ARS to FAMU 

would be in accordance with Section 

732 of Public Law 112–55, as extended 

under Public Law 113–76, 2014 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

which authorizes the Secretary to 

convey, with or without consideration, 

certain USDA–ARS facilities to entities 

that are eligible to receive real property, 

including: Land-grant colleges and 

universities (as defined in Section 

1404(13) of the National Agricultural 

Research, Extension, and Teaching 

Policy Act of 1977); 1994 Institutions (as 

defined in Section 532 of the Equity in 

Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 

1994); and Hispanic-serving agricultural 

colleges and universities (as defined in 

Section 1404(10) of the National 

Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

Teaching Policy Act of 1977). Under 

Public Law 113–76, the conveyance 

authority expires on September 30, 

2015, and all conveyances must be 

completed by that date. 

Two alternatives are analyzed in the 

Draft EA, the Proposed Action 

Alternative and the No Action 

Alternative. The Draft EA addresses 

potential impacts of these alternatives 

on the natural and human environment. 

• Alternative 1—Proposed Action. 

Under the proposed action alternative, 

the Secretary would transfer the USDA– 

ARS land and facilities to FAMU, and 

FAMU, its tenant(s), and/or its 

partner(s) would implement the 

Reasonably Foreseeable Future Actions 

described in the Draft EA upon transfer 

of the land and facilities. The land 

would be used for agricultural and 

natural resources research for a period 

of no less than 25 years. 

• Alternative 2—No Action. Under 

the no action alternative, the USDA– 

ARS land and facilities would not be 

transferred to FAMU. Under the no 

action alternative, USDA–ARS would 

have no resources to operate and/or 

maintain the properties and the 

properties would fall into a state of 

disrepair. 

In addition, one alternative was 

considered in the Draft EA but 

eliminated from detailed study. In this 

alternative, USDA–ARS would retain 

possession of the land and it would be 

transferred to the General Services 

Administration for disposal. Since it 

cannot reasonably be determined who 

would ultimately take possession of the 

property and how it would be utilized, 

it was not analyzed in detail in the EA. 

The USDA–ARS will use and coordinate 

the NEPA commenting process to satisfy 

the public involvement process for 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470(f) as 

provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3)). 

Following the public comment period, 

comments will be used to prepare the 

Final EA. The USDA–ARS will respond 

to each substantive comment by making 

appropriate revisions to the document 

or by explaining why a comment did 

not warrant a change. A Notice of 

Availability of the Final EA will be 

published in the Federal Register. All 

comments, including any personal 

identifying information included in the 

comment will become a matter of public 

record. While you can ask us in your 

comment to withhold your personal 

identifying information from public 

review, we cannot guarantee that we 

will be able to do so. 

Dated: February 18, 2015. 

Chavonda Jacobs-Young, 

Administrator, Agricultural Research Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–04302 Filed 2–27–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Foreign-Trade Zones Board 

[B–78–2014] 

Foreign-Trade Subzone 83D—Decatur, 

Alabama; Authorization of Production 

Activity; General Electric Company 

(Household Refrigerators) 

On October 22, 2014, the HuntsvilleMadison County Airport Authority, 

grantee of FTZ 83, submitted a 

notification of proposed production 

activity to the Foreign-Trade Zones 

(FTZ) Board on behalf of General 

Electric Company, within Subzone 83D, 

in Decatur, Alabama. 

The notification was processed in 

accordance with the regulations of the 


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