Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 99 / Friday, May 22, 1998 / Notices 28375

The EIS analyzes the environmental

consequences of the disposal and

subsequent reuse of the 638 acres

comprising Fort Ritchie. Two disposal

alternatives were analyzed: (1) The No

Action Alternative, which entails

maintaining the property in caretaker

status after closure; and (2) the

Encumbered Disposal Alternative,

which entails transferring the property

to future owners with Army-imposed

limitations, or encumbrances, on the

future use of the property. Additionally,

the Final EIS analyses the potential

environmental and socioeconomic

consequences of three reuse

alternatives: (1) Low Intensity Reuse

Alternative; (2) Low-Medium Intensity

Reuse Alternative; and (3) Medium

Intensity Reuse Alternative. Disposal

alternatives were developed by the

Army. Reuse alternatives were

developed by the Fort Ritchie Local

Redevelopment Authority. The

resources areas evaluated for potential

impacts by the proposed action

(disposal) and the secondary action

(reuse) include: Land Use; Climate; Air

Quality; Noise; Geology, Soils, and

Topography; Water Resources;

Infrastructure; Hazardous and Toxic

Substances; Biological Resources and

Ecosystems; Cultural Resources; Legacy

Resources; Sociological Environment;

Economic Development; Quality of Life;

Installation Agreement, and Permits and

Regulatory Authorizations. The Army’s

preferred alternative for disposal of Fort

Ritchie is disposal with encumbered

title on all Fort Ritchie property

transfers. An encumbrance is any Armyimposed or legal constraint on the

future use or development of the

property. Encumbrances support future

Army interests, regulatory and statutory

compliance, promote continued

protection of sensitive resources to

foster environmentally sustainable

redevelopment, hasten availability of

property, or provide mitigation

requirements. Encumbrances

determined relevant in the EIS to

disposal of Fort Ritchie relate to

wetlands, historical resources,

threatened and endangered species,

utilities easements, easements and

rights-of-way, access easements, utility

interdependencies, remedial activities,

and lead-based paint. Property will be

remediated as appropriate and retained

in caretaker status until transfer by

encumbered title.

The Army proposes to make the 638

acres available for conveyance to, and

subsequent reuse by, the Fort Ritchie

Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA).

COPIES: Comments received on the Draft

EIS have been considered and responses

included in a document dated January

1998. This document, together with the

Draft EIS dated July 1997, constitute the

Final EIS. Copies of the January 1998

document, along with the July 1997

Draft EIS, will be available for review at

the following locations: Adams County

Library, Gettysburg, PA; Alexander

Hamilton Library, Waynesboro, PA;

Blue Ridge Summit Library, Blue Ridge

Summit, PA; C. Burr Artz Central

Library, Frederick, MD; Robert F.

Barrick Library, Fort Ritichie, MD; and

the Washington County Free Library,

Hagerstown, MD.

DATES: Written pubic comments and

suggestions received within 30 days of

the publication of the Environmental

Protection Agency’s Notice of

Availability for this action will be

considered by the Army during final

decision making.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the January 1998

document and the July 1997 Draft EIS,

together which constitute the Final

Impact Statement, may be obtained

from, and comments provided to, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN:

Mr. Clifford Kidd (CENAB–PL–EM),

Baltimore District, P.O. Box 1715,

Baltimore, Maryland 21203–1715, or by

calling direct to (410) 962–3100.

Dated: May 14, 1998.

Raymond J. Fatz,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army

(Environment, Safety and Occupational

Health) OASA (I,L&E).

[FR Doc. 98–13722 Filed 5–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–08–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of

Engineers

Notice of Availability and Public

Hearings for Draft Environmental

Impact Statement for Beaufort Sea Oil

and Gas Development/Northstar

Project, Beaufort Sea, Alaska

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

DoD.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4371 et

seq.), the Army Corps of Engineers,

Alaska District, in coordination with the

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA); the Minerals Management

Service (MMS); the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (USFWS); the National

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); and

the North Slope Borough as cooperating

agencies, is issuing a Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)

for oil and gas development activities

within the Northstar Unit in the

Beaufort Sea, Alaska.

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS,

draft National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (NPDES) permit, or

draft 1422 Underground Injection

Control (UIC) permit will be accepted

during the public review period,

beginning June 1, 1998 and ending July

30, 1998. All written comments on the

DEIS and related federal permits and

approvals should be sent to the Alaska

District Army Corps of Engineers,

Regulatory Branch no later than July 30,

1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Copies of the DEIS including

appendices, or information on matters

pertaining to this notice can be obtained

on request from: Ms. Terry Carpenter,

Project Manager, Alaska District Army

Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch,

P.O. Box 898, Anchorage, AK 99506–

0898, fax (907) 753–5567.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. BP

Exploration (Alaska) Inc. (BPXA)

proposes to develop and produce oil

and gas from the Northstar Unit, located

between 2 and 8 miles offshore of Point

Storkersen in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea.

Oil and gas drilling, processing, and

production is proposed to be located at

Seal Island, a manmade gravel island

built during the 1980s. BPXA’s

proposed project includes

reconstructing and enlarging Seal Island

and directionally drilling production,

gas injection, and disposal wells from

the island. Transportation of oil and gas

would be by buried subsea pipelines

from Seal Island to shore and aboveground pipelines from the shore to

onshore facilities and the beginning of

the TransAlaska Pipeline System

(TAPS) at Pump Station 1.

2. Because this project represents the

first development of Outer Continental

Shelf oil and gas resources in the

Alaskan Beaufort Sea, the DEIS

addresses a range of potentially

applicable technologies and

development/production options and

provides useful information to evaluate

future development proposals.

3. Analysis of these options for the

Northstar reservoir resulted in

identification of 4 action alternatives for

development/production of oil and gas

from the Northstar Unit. The DEIS

evaluates the impacts of the 4 action

alternatives and a no action alternative,

and identifies an environmentally

preferred alternative.

4. The DEIS consists of 4 volumes,

with an additional 3 volumes of

appendices (A-Project Description; BBiological Assessment; C-J-other
28376 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 99 / Friday, May 22, 1998 / Notices

information, including NPDES

documents). The DEIS Executive

Summary can also be viewed at the

following web site: http://

www.northstareis.com.

5. Copies of the DEIS and appendices

are also available for public review at:

a. Alaska Resources Library and

Information Services, 3150 C Street,

Suite 100, Anchorage, Alaska 99503.

b. Z.J. Loussac Library, 3600 Denali

Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99503.

c. Tuzzy Consortium Library, Barrow,

Alaska.

d. North Slope Borough Office,

Barrow, Alaska.

e. Barrow City Office, Barrow, Alaska.

f. Alaska Eskimo Whaling

Commission Office, Barrow, Alaska.

g. Nuiqsut City Office, Nuiqsut,

Alaska.

h. Kaktovik City Office, Kaktovik,

Alaska.

i. Noel Wien Public Library, 1215

Cowles Street, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701.

j. Valdez Consortium Library, P.O.

Box 609, Valdez, Alaska 99686.

k. Juneau Public Library, 292 Marine

Way, Juneau, Alaska 99801.

6. This DEIS is intended to meet the

NEPA compliance and/or other public

notice requirements for the following

agency actions:

a. Corps of Engineers: Section 10,

Rivers and Harbors Act; Section 404,

Clean Water Act; Section 103, Marine

Protection, Resources, and Sanctuary

Act.

b. Environmental Protection agency:

Section 402, Clean Water Act (NPDES);

Part C, Safe Drinking Water Act (UIC).

c. Minerals Management Service:

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)

Development and Production Plan.

7. EPA’s draft 402 NPDES and UIC

permits and explanatory fact sheets are

included in this DEIS as Appendices F,

G, H, and J and are intended for public

review and comment.

8. The MMS is requesting comments

on the Northstar Project Description

(Appendix A of the DEIS, and analyzed

as Alternative 2 in the DEIS). The

Northstar development project includes

drilling wells into, and producing oil

from, two OCS leases, and requires an

approved Development and Production

Plan (DPP). The Northstar Project

Description (Appendix A) was

developed to meet the submission

requirements under 30 CFR 250.34 for a

DPP. The MMS has determined that the

Project Description, in conjunction with

the DEIS, meets the requirements under

30 CFR 250.34(f). The Northstar

development offshore facilities will be

located on State of Alaska submerged

lands. An oil spill contingency plan will

be submitted pursuant to 30 CFR 254.50

and 254.53. The plan will be reviewed

under the State of Alaska Department of

Environmental Conservation process,

and is not part of either the DEIS or

DPP.

9. No OCS action to approve,

disapprove, or require modification to

the DPP will be taken by MMS until the

Final EIS is released. No OCS

development and production activities

can be conducted unless and until the

DPP is approved as required by 30 CFR

250.34(1).

10. A Biological Assessment, as

required by the Endangered Species Act,

is included as Appendix B to the DEIS.

This document will be used to initiate

formal consultation under Section 7 of

the Endangered Species Act with the

USFWS and NMFS on three species: the

endangered bowhead whale, and the

threatened spectacled and Steller’s

eiders.

11. All written comments on the

DEIS, draft NPDES permit, draft UIC

permit, or DPP should be sent to: Ms.

Terry Carpenter, Project Manager,

Regulatory Branch, Alaska District

Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 898,

Anchorage, AK 99506–0898. Comments

specific to EPA’s draft permit will be

forwarded to EPA for their

consideration, and those specific to

MMS’s DPP will be forwarded to MMS.

12. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

will be conducting public workshops at

5 locations in Alaska early in the 60-day

comment period. These workshops are

intended to help the public become

familiar with the DEIS and the draft

NPDES and UIC permits.

13. To collect oral and written

comments on the DEIS (Corps), the draft

NPDES and UIC permits (EPA), or the

DPP (MMS), separately scheduled

public hearings will be held at the same

5 locations in Alaska. A court reporter

will record the proceedings at each

public hearing.

14. The public workshops and public

hearings will be held on the following

dates:

a. Public Workshops:

(1) Tuesday, June 23, 1998, 7:30

p.m.—Nuiqsut Community Center,

Nuiqsut, Alaska.

(2) Wednesday, June 24, 1998, 6:00

p.m.—Kaktovik Community Center,

Kaktovik, Alaska.

(3) Thursday, June 25, 1998, 7:30

p.m.—North Slope Borough Assembly

Room, Barrow, Alaska.

(4) Tuesday, June 30, 1998, 7:00

p.m.—BLM Conference Room,

Fairbanks, Alaska.

(5) Wednesday, July 1, 1998, 7:00

p.m.—Federal Building Conference

Room, Anchorage, Alaska.

b. Public Hearings:

(1) Monday, July 13, 1998, 7:30 p.m.—

North Slope Borough Assembly Room,

Barrow, Alaska.

(2) Tuesday, July 14, 1998, 7:00

p.m.—Kaktovik Community Center,

Kaktovik, Alaska.

(3) Wednesday, July 15, 1998, 7:00

p.m.—Nuiqsut Community Center,

Nuiqsut, Alaska.

(4) Thursday, July 16, 1998, 7:00

p.m.—BLM Conference Room,

Fairbanks, Alaska.

(5) Monday, July 20, 1998, 7:00 p.m.—

Wilda Marston Theatre at Z.J. Loussac

Library, Anchorage, Alaska.

15. An Inupiat translator will be

available at the public hearings held in

Barrow, Kaktovik and Nuiqsut. Oral and

written comments on the DEIS received

during the public review period will be

addressed in the Final Environmental

Impact Statement.

16. The federal permits and approvals

are also subject to review for

consistency with the State Coastal

Management Program. Coastal

Consistency review of the Northstar

development project will be initiated on

June 1, 1998 with release of the DEIS.

Gregory D. Showalter,

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 98–13751 Filed 5–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–NL–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy

Public Hearing for the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement for

Increased Flight and Related

Operations in the Patuxent River

Complex, Patuxent River, MD

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD.

ACTION: Announcement of public

hearing.

SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy

has prepared and filed with the

Environmental Protection Agency the

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

(DEIS) for Increased Flight and Related

Operations in the Patuxent River

Complex, Patuxent River, MD. A public

hearing will be held for the purpose to

receive oral and written comments on

the DEIS. Federal, state and local

agencies, and interested individuals are

invited to be present or represented at

the hearing.

DATES: Hearing dates are as follows:

1. June 10, 1998, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.,

Lusby, MD

2. June 15, 1998, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.,

Cambridge, MD

3. June 17, 1998, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.,

Heathsville, VA