15470 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 1997 / Notices

South Carolina

Jerome J. Davis, Director, Federal Building,

Suite 872, 1835 Assembly Street,

Columbia, SC 29201–2430, (803) 765–5771,

(803) 765–5777 Fax

South Dakota (and ND)

John C. Pohlman, Director, 225 South Pierre

Street, Room 225, Pierre, SD 57501–2452,

(605) 224–5996, (605) 224–9201 Fax

Tennessee

Alfred E. Johnson, Director, 265 Cumberland

Bend Drive, Nashville, TN 37228, (615)

736–5561, (615) 736–7937 Fax

Texas

Jerry G. Thompson, Director, 903 San Jacinto

Blvd., Suite 130, Austin, TX 78701, (512)

916–5671, (512) 916–5806 Fax

Utah

Rick Crawford, Director, U.S. Courthouse,

350 South Main St., Rm. 504, Salt Lake

City, UT 84101, (801) 524–5411, (801) 524–

3599 Fax

Vermont (and NH)

Peter Bender, Director, 91–93 North State

Street, Concord, NH 03301–3939, (603)

225–1450, (603) 225–1459 Fax

Virginia (and DC)

Thomas Harmon, Director, 400 North 8th St.,

Rm T012, P.O. Box 10066, Richmond, VA

23240, (804) 771–2197, (804) 771–2157 Fax

Washington

John A. Miller, Director, Jackson Federal

Building, 915 Second Avenue, Suite 3190,

Seattle, WA 98174, (206) 220–7745, (206)

553–4415 Fax

West Virginia

Judith Russell, Director, One Bridge Place,

Suite 203, #10 Hale Street, Charleston, WV

25301, (304) 347–5246, (304) 347–5464 Fax

Wisconsin

Michael P. Murphy, Director, Henry Reuss

Federal Plaza, 310 W. Wisconsin Ave.,

Room 1240E, Milwaukee, WI 53203, (414)

297–1118, (414) 297–1863 Fax

Wyoming

Patrick Gallizzi, Director, 2120 Capitol

Avenue, Rm. 1110, Cheyenne, WY 82001–

3649, (307) 772–2385, (307) 772–2389 Fax

[FR Doc. 97–8176 Filed 3–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6050–28–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy

Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Continued Use of the Pinecastle

Target Range, Ocala National Forest,

Marion County, Florida

SUMMARY: Per 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 Continued Use of

the Pinecastle Target Range, Ocala

National Forest, Marion County,

Florida. The U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service is a

cooperating agency in the preparation of

the EIS.

The 5,825-acre range, located on

USDA Forest Service property in the

Ocala National Forest, is operated by the

Navy under a special use agreement

from the USDA Forest Service. The

agreement expires December 31, 1999,

and the EIS will examine environmental

impacts resulting from renewal of the

agreement.

The objective of the EIS is to describe

the existing conditions at the range,

describe the alternatives for reuse or

closure of the range, and evaluate the

environmental impacts from various

renewal or closure alternatives. A

biological assessment and Section 7

consultation pursuant to the

Endangered Species Act are being

completed. Environmental issues that

will be addressed in the EIS include air

quality, water quality, noise, safety,

wetland impacts, endangered species

impacts, cultural resources impacts, and

socioeconomic impacts.

The Navy will hold two scoping

meetings to solicit input on significant

issues that should be addressed in the

EIS. The first meeting will be held on

Thursday, April 17, 1997, from 5:00

p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the Umatilla

Community Center, 1 South Central

Avenue, Umatilla, FL. The second

meeting will be held on Tuesday, April

29, 1997, from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

at the Ocala City Auditorium, 836 N.E.

Sanchez Avenue, Ocala, FL. Navy

representatives will accept comments

from members of the public at the

meeting. It is important that Federal,

state, local agencies, and interested

individuals take this opportunity to

identify environmental concerns that

should be addressed in the EIS.

ADDRESSES: Agencies and the public are

encouraged to provide written

comments in addition to, or, in lieu of,

oral comments at the scoping meeting.

To be most helpful, comments should

clearly describe specific issues or topics

which the EIS should address. Written

comments must be postmarked by May

29, 1997 and should be mailed to

Commanding Officer, Southern

Division, Naval Facilities Engineering

Command, P.O. Box 190010, North

Charleston, South Carolina 29419–9010

(Attn: Mr. Tom Burst, Code 064TB).

Written comments may be submitted to

Mr. Burst via facsimile at (803) 820–

7472.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Tom Burst at (803) 820–5590.

Dated: March 27, 1997.

M.A. Waters,

LCDR, JAGC, USN, Alternate Federal Register

Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–8194 Filed 3–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P

Notice of Public Hearing for the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement for

Disposal and Reuse of the Naval

Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant,

Calverton, NY

SUMMARY: Per Council on Environmental

Quality Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500–

1508), implementing procedural

provisions of the National

Environmental Policy Act, the

Department of the Navy has prepared

and filed, on March 14, 1997, with the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

a Draft Environmental Impact Statement

(DEIS) for the disposal and subsequent

reuse of the Naval Weapons Industrial

Reserve Plant (NWIRP), Calverton, New

York. The DEIS addresses the

environmental consequences of disposal

of NWIRP Calverton, and

implementation of the proposed

Community Reuse Plan for the base

prepared by the Calverton Air Facility

Joint Planning and Redevelopment

Commission, an entity established by

the Riverhead Town Board. The DEIS

evaluates environmental effects of three

reuse alternatives which represent a

reasonable range of alternative

redevelopment intensities for the base if

the decision is made to dispose of the

property.

ADDRESSES: The Department of the Navy

will hold a public hearing to inform the

public of the DEIS findings and to

solicit comments. The hearing will be

held on Thursday, April 17, 1997,

beginning at 7:30 p.m., at the Ramada

East End, 1830 Route 25, Riverhead,

New York. Please call the point of

contact below or the Ramada Inn in the

case of inclement weather.

Federal, state, local agencies and

interested parties are invited and urged

to attend or be represented at the

hearing. Oral statements will be heard

and transcribed by a stenographer;

however, to assure the accuracy of the

record, all statements should be

submitted in writing. All statements,

both oral and written, will become part

of the public record on this action and

will be given equal consideration.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 1997 / Notices 15471

Additional copies of the DEIS have

been placed in the Riverhead Free

Library, 330 Court Street, Riverhead,

New York.

Written comments on the DEIS should

be mailed to the address noted below

and must be postmarked not later than

May 9, 1997 to be part of the official

record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Additional information concerning this

notice may be obtained by contacting

Mr. Kurt Frederick (Code 202) Northern

Division, Naval Facilities Engineering

Command, 10 Industrial Highway, MSC

82, Lester, PA 19113, telephone (610)

595–0728, facsimile (610) 595–0778.

Dated: March 27, 1997.

M.A. Waters,

LCDR, JAGC, USN, Alternate Federal Register

Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–8192 Filed 3–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P

Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement for;

the Implementation of a

Comprehensive Land Use Management

Plan at the Naval Air Weapons Station,

China Lake, CA

SUMMARY: Per Section 102(2)(c) of the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969, as implemented by the Council on

Environmental Quality (CEQ)

regulations (40 CFR part 1500–1508) the

Department of the Navy announces its

intent to prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the

potential environmental effects of

implementing a comprehensive Land

Use Management Plan for the Naval Air

Warfare Center Weapons Division

(NAWCWD), located at the Naval Air

Weapons Station (NAWS), China Lake,

California. The Navy is the lead agency

in the preparation of the EIS. It is

anticipated that other Department of

Defense installations, and Department of

the Interior agencies such as the Bureau

of Land Management and the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, will act as

cooperating agencies.

The California Desert Protection Act

(the Act) of 1994, reauthorized the

Navy’s continued use of public

withdrawn lands to support China

Lake’s Research, Development, Test and

Evaluation (RDT&E) and training

mission. The Act requires the

development of a land use management

plan for these withdrawn lands, in

accordance with the requirements of the

Federal Land Policy and Management

Act, by October 1997. Additionally, in

response to military downsizing

initiatives and potential influences of

evolving technologies on weapons

systems RDT&E and training

requirements, the Navy recognizes the

need to implement a comprehensive

management system that integrates

operational and environmental planning

processes.

The Navy’s proposed action is the

implementation of a comprehensive

Land Use Management Plan (LUMP) at

NAWS China Lake for managing

existing and proposed land uses

authorized under the California Desert

Protection Act. Proposed land uses

include, but are not limited to, ongoing

and future military operations, public

health and safety practices, and ongoing

and future environmental resources

management and conservation at NAWS

China Lake. The LUMP will be

developed in conformance with the

Federal Land Policy and Management

Act (FLPMA, 1976).

The EIS will also evaluate a range of

land use management practices,

including the ‘‘no action’’ alternative.

Alternative land use management

practices could include a range of

activities of greater or lessor intensity of

land use type or tempo. The ‘‘no action’’

alternative would implement a Land

Use Management Plan that would not

change the ongoing type or tempo of

land uses and environmental resources

management direction or emphasis

currently in place at China Lake.

The EIS will evaluate the potential

immediate and cumulative effects of

implementing a comprehensive Land

Use Management Plan on the physical,

natural, and human environments of the

affected geographic area. Major

environmental issues that will be

addressed in the EIS include, but are not

limited to: geology/soils; biology; water

resources/hydrology, noise, air quality

(visibility & conformity), land use, nonmilitary land use and access, cultural

resources, socio-economics,

transportation, public health and safety,

and hazardous materials.

The Navy will initiate a scoping

process for the purpose of determining

the extent of issues to be addressed and

identifying the significant issues related

to the China Lake EIS. Scoping meetings

will be held in the towns of Trona,

Inyokern, Independence, Barstow,

Johannesburg, and Ridgecrest. Meeting

sites and times will be published in the

Federal Register, and in local and

regional newspapers. During the

scoping meetings, presentation of

information on the proposed action will

precede the request for public comment.

Navy representatives will accept

comments from members of the public

at the meeting. It is important that

Federal, state, and local agencies, and

interested individuals take this

opportunity to identify environmental

concerns that should be addressed in

the EIS.

ADDRESSES: Agencies and the public are

invited and encouraged to provide

written comments in addition to, or in

lieu of, oral comments at the public

scoping meetings. To be most helpful,

scoping comments should clearly

describe specific issues or topic which

the EIS should address. Written

comments must be postmarked by June

30, 1997 and should be mailed to

Commander, Naval Air Weapons Station

China Lake, Attn: Ms. Robin Hoffman,

Land Use Planning Office, China Lake,

CA 93555, telephone (619) 939–0935,

fax (619) 939–2541.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Robin Hoffman at (619) 939–0935.

Dated: March 27, 1997.

M.A. Waters,

LCDR, JAG, USN, Alternate Federal Register

Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–8193 Filed 3–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE DEFENSE

Department of the Navy

Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement for

Implementation of the Draft Integrated

Management Plan for the Patuxent

River Complex, Maryland

SUMMARY: Per 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 Department of the Navy announces

its intent to prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the

potential environmental effects of

implementing the draft Integrated

Management Plan for the Patuxent River

Complex, Maryland. The Patuxent River

Complex includes the Patuxent River

Naval Air Station (NAS) including the

Test Pilot School, Webster Field Annex

(an Outlying Field), and the Chesapeake

Test Range, which are assets under the

exclusive control and scheduling

authority of the Naval Air Warfare

Center—Aircraft Division (NAWCAD).

The Patuxent River Complex is

located 60 miles southeast of

Washington, DC, in southern Maryland,

where the Navy has actively conducted

aircraft test and evaluation activities for

more than 50 years. In recent years, the

post-Cold War shift from the threat of

nuclear superpower confrontation to

regional conflicts has required the