2514 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Notices 

disclosed under APO in accordance 

with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely 

written notification of return or 

destruction of APO materials or 

conversion to judicial protective order is 

hereby requested. Failure to comply 

with the regulations and the terms of an 

APO is a sanctionable violation. 

We are issuing and publishing these 

results in accordance with sections 

751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 

CFR 351.221(b)(4). 

Dated: January 7, 2009. 

Ronald K. Lorentzen, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import 

Administration. 

Appendix I - Issues and Decision 

Memorandum 

Company–Specific Issue 

Whether Certain Research and 

Development (‘‘R&D’’) Grants Under the 

Industrial Development Act (‘‘IDA’’) Are 

Tied to Non–Subject Merchandise 

[FR Doc. E9–633 Filed 1–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Basing the U.S. Marine Corps Joint 

Strike Fighter F–35B on the East Coast 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: 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 

Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 

1500–1508), the Department of the Navy 

NEPA regulations (32 CFR Part 775), 

and Marine Corps NEPA directives 

(Marine Corps Order P5090.2A, change 

1), the Department of the Navy intends 

to prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) and conduct public 

scoping meetings for the proposed 

basing and operation of 13 Joint Strike 

Fighter (JSF) F–35B squadrons at Marine 

Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort, in 

Beaufort, South Carolina and MCAS 

Cherry Point in Havelock, North 

Carolina. 

DATES: Public scoping meetings, 

following an informal open house 

format, will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 

p.m. on the dates indicated below, at the 

following locations: 

(1) February 3, 2009, Holiday Inn 

Resort, Conference Room, 2225 

Boundary St., Beaufort, SC. 

(2) February 4, 2009, Senior Center, 

15 Thornton Drive, NE., Ludowici, GA. 

(3) February 5, 2009, McIntosh 

County Middle School, Cafeteria, 500 

Green Street, Darien, GA. 

(4) February 10, 2009, Havelock 

Tourist and Event Center, 201 Tourist 

Center Drive, Havelock, NC. 

(5) February 11, 2009, Emerald Isle 

Community Center, 7500 Emerald Isle 

Dr., Emerald Isle, NC. 

(6) February 12, 2009, Fred A. 

Anderson Elementary School, Cafeteria, 

507 Anderson Dr., Bayboro, NC. 

Federal, state, and local agencies, and 

interested parties and persons are 

encouraged to attend any of the open 

house scoping meetings. At these open 

houses, proposal-related displays and 

material will be available for public 

review; Marine Corps and Navy staff 

will be present to address questions; 

and the public will have an opportunity 

to submit written comments on 

environmental concerns that should be 

addressed in the EIS. 

ADDRESSES: All are encouraged to 

provide comments on the proposed 

action and alternatives at any public 

scoping open houses and anytime 

during the 30-day scoping comment 

period, which ends February 16, 2009. 

There are three ways in which 

comments can be submitted: (1) By 

attending one of the public scoping 

open houses, (2) by e-mail using the 

project public Web site at http:// 

www.usmcJSFeast.com or (3) by mail. 

All written comments on the scope of 

the EIS should be submitted and 

postmarked no later than February 16, 

2009. Comments submitted by mail 

should be sent to: USMC F–35B East 

Coast Stationing EIS, P.O. Box 56488, 

Jacksonville, FL 32241–6488. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

F–35B EIS Project Manager at 757–444– 

1126. Please submit requests for special 

assistance, sign language interpretation 

for the hearing impaired, or other 

auxiliary aids needed at the public 

meeting to the F–35B EIS Project 

Manager by January 28, 2009. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Marine Corps variant of the JSF, the F– 

35B, is a short take-off/vertical landing 

(STOVL), multi-role fighter aircraft 

whose primary emphasis is air-toground combat. The aircraft is designed 

to replace existing fleets of F–18 A/C/D 

Hornets (strike fighter), AV–8B Harriers 

(attack), and the EA–6B Prowler 

(electronic warfare) aircraft. The F–35B 

East Coast basing proposal would take 

approximately 11 years to implement 

and would begin in 2012. The proposal 

would base up to 216 aircraft (i.e., 10 

active-duty and 1 reserve squadron of 

up to 16 aircraft each and 2 Pilot 

Training Center (PTC) squadrons at 20 

aircraft each) at MCAS Beaufort and 

MCAS Cherry Point. Facility 

construction and modifications would 

occur prior to and continue throughout 

F–35B squadron arrivals; the F–35B 

would operate within existing airspace 

and at training ranges currently used by 

Marine Corps Hornet, Harrier, and 

Prowler aircraft. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action would base and 

operate a total of 13 F–35B (the Marine 

Corps variant of the JSF) squadrons at 

both MCAS Beaufort and MCAS Cherry 

Point. This F–35B is a next generation, 

stealth, supersonic, multi-role fighter 

aircraft that will replace aging Marine 

Corps fleets of F–18 A/C/D Hornets, 

AV–8B Harriers, and EA–6B Prowlers in 

the 2nd and 4th Marine Air Wings. 

Specifically, the squadrons would 

include up to 10 F–35B active-duty 

squadrons of up to 16 aircraft per 

squadron, 1 reserve F–35B squadron 

comprising up to 16 aircraft, and 2 PTC 

F–35B squadrons composed of up to 20 

aircraft per squadron. 

Purpose and Need 

To meet any crisis or conflict that may 

arise both now and into the future, 

Marine Corps Aviation must be manned, 

trained, and equipped to conduct worldwide air combat operations. For this 

reason, technological superiority in its 

air fleet is an essential requirement. The 

purpose of the proposed action, 

therefore, is to provide state-of-the art 

F–35B aircraft to Marine Corps fleets by 

replacing aging aircraft inventories. The 

basing action would provide both the 

facilities and functions to support and 

maintain these new aircraft as well as 

the airfields, airspace, and ranges to 

train air crews in these next-generation 

aircraft. 

Preliminary Alternatives 

The Marine Corps developed a range 

of reasonable basing alternatives in a 

three-tiered alternatives development 

process. The process applied the 

purpose and need to identify potential 

sites that could maximize JSF 

integration into existing Marine Air 

Ground Task Force organizations, 

maximize utilization of existing 

infrastructure, and provide efficient use 

of existing ranges. The alternative 

development process identified five 

preliminary basing alternatives. These 

alternatives distribute differing 

combinations of F–35B active-duty, 

reserve, and PTC squadrons at MCAS 

Beaufort and MCAS Cherry Point. The 

basing alternatives include: 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2009 / Notices 2515 

• No-action alternative, where F–35B 

aircraft would not replace F–18A/C/D, 

AV–8B, and EA–6B squadrons at MCAS 

Beaufort and MCAS Cherry Point. The 

no-action alternative, while required by 

NEPA from which to measure potential 

impacts, would not meet the purpose 

and need of the proposed action and 

would prevent the Marine Corps from 

fulfilling its assigned combat missions. 

• Alternative 1 would base three F– 

35B squadrons and the PTC (with two 

squadrons) at MCAS Beaufort; MCAS 

Cherry point would receive eight 

squadrons. 

• Alternative 2 would base the PTC 

(with two squadrons) at MCAS Beaufort; 

MCAS Cherry Point would receive 

eleven squadrons. 

• Alternative 3 would base eight 

squadrons at MCAS Beaufort; MCAS 

Cherry Point would receive three 

squadrons and the PTC (with two 

squadrons). 

• Alternative 4 would base eleven 

squadrons at MCAS Beaufort; MCAS 

Cherry Point would receive the PTC 

(with two squadrons). 

• Alternative 5 would base two F– 

35B squadrons and the PTC (with two 

squadrons) at MCAS Beaufort; MCAS 

Cherry point would receive nine 

squadrons. 

Environmental Issues and Resources To 

Be Examined 

The EIS will evaluate the potential 

environmental effects associated with 

each of the above alternatives. Issues to 

be addressed may include, but are not 

limited to, biological resources, historic 

and archaeological resources, geology 

and soils, hydrology, water quality, air 

quality, noise, safety, hazardous 

materials and waste, visual resources, 

socioeconomics, and environmental 

justice. Relevant and reasonable 

measures that could avoid or mitigate 

environmental effects will also be 

analyzed. 

Additionally, the Marine Corps will 

undertake any consultations required by 

the Endangered Species Act, Clean 

Water Act, National Historic 

Preservation Act, and any other 

applicable law or regulation. 

EIS Schedule 

This Notice of Intent is the first phase 

of the EIS process and announces the 

30-day public comment period to 

identify community concerns and local 

issues that should be addressed in the 

EIS. The next phase occurs when the 

Department of the Navy publishes a 

Notice of Availability (NOA) in the 

Federal Register and local media to 

publicly release the Draft EIS. A 45-day 

public comment period for the Draft EIS 

will commence upon publication of the 

NOA in the Federal Register . The 

Marine Corps will consider and respond 

to all comments received on the Draft 

EIS when preparing the Final EIS. The 

Department of the Navy intends to issue 

the Final EIS no later than October 

2010, at which time an NOA will be 

published in the Federal Register and 

local media. A Record of Decision will 

be issued 30 days following publication 

of the Final EIS. 

Dated: January 12, 2009. 

A.M. Vallandingham, 

Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate 

Generals Corps, U.S. Navy, Federal Register 

Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–834 Filed 1–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

basing the U.S. Marine Corps Joint 

Strike Fighter F–35B on the West 

Coast 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: 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 

Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 

1500–1508), the Department of the Navy 

NEPA regulations (32 CFR Part 775), 

and Marine Corps NEPA directives 

(Marine Corps Order P5090.2A, change 

1), the Department of the Navy intends 

to prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) and conduct public 

scoping meetings for the proposed 

basing and operation of 12 Joint Strike 

Fighter (JSF) F–35B squadrons at Marine 

Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, in 

San Diego, California and MCAS Yuma 

in Yuma, Arizona. 

The Department of the Navy is 

initiating the public scoping process to 

identify community concerns and local 

issues that should be addressed in the 

EIS. Federal, state and local agencies 

and interested parties are encouraged to 

provide written comments to identify 

specific issue or topics of environmental 

concern that should be addressed in the 

EIS. The Department of the Navy will 

consider these comments in 

determining the scope of the EIS. 

DATES: Public scoping open houses will 

be held from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the 

dates indicated below, at the following 

locations: 

(1) February 3, 2009, Miramar, Mira 

Mesa Branch Library, 8405 New Salem 

St., San Diego, CA. 

(2) February 4, 2009, Gila Ridge High 

School, 7151 E 24th St., Yuma, AZ. 

Federal, state, and local agencies, and 

interested parties are encouraged to 

attend any of the open house scoping 

meetings. At these open houses, 

proposal-related displays and material 

will be available for public review; 

Marine Corps and Navy staff will be 

present to address questions; and the 

public will have an opportunity to 

submit written comments on 

environmental concerns that should be 

addressed in the EIS. 

ADDRESSES: All are encouraged to 

provide written comments on the 

proposed action and alternatives at any 

public scoping open houses and 

anytime during the scoping comment 

period, which ends February TBD, 2009. 

There are three ways to submit written 

comments: (1) By attending one of the 

public scoping open houses, (2) by email using the project public Web site 

at http://www.usmcJSFwest.com or (3) 

by mail. All written comments on the 

scope of the EIS should be submitted 

and postmarked no later than February 

TBD, 2009. Comments submitted by 

mail should be sent to: JSF West Coast 

EIS Project Manager, NAVFAC 

SOUTHWEST, 1220 Pacific Hwy, San 

Diego, CA 93132. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: F– 

35B West Coast EIS Project Manager at 

(619) 532–4742. Please submit requests 

for special assistance, sign language 

interpretation for the hearing impaired, 

or other auxiliary aids needed at the 

public meeting to the F–35B West Coast 

EIS Project Manager by January 6, 2009. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Marine Corps variant of the JSF, the F– 

35B, is a short take-off/vertical landing 

(STOVL), multi-role fighter aircraft 

whose primary emphasis is air-toground combat. The aircraft is designed 

to replace existing fleets of F–18 A/C/D 

Hornets (strike fighter) and AV–8B 

Harriers (attack). It is also intended to 

adopt the electronic warfare mission of 

the EA–6B Prowler aircraft. The F–35B 

West Coast basing proposal would take 

approximately 12 years to implement 

and would begin in 2012. The proposal 

would base up to 182 aircraft (i.e., 10 

active-duty and 1 reserve squadron of 

up to 16 aircraft each and 1 OT& E 

squadron with 6 aircraft) at MCAS 

Miramar and MCAS Yuma. Facility 

construction and modifications would 

occur prior to and continue throughout 

F–35B squadron arrivals; the F–35B 

would operate within existing airspace 

and at training ranges currently used by 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES