60830 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 207 / Friday, October 26, 2007 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) for the 2005 Base Realignment 

and Closure (BRAC) and 

Transformation Actions at Fort 

Benning, GA 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD 

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA). 

SUMMARY: The Department of the Army 

announces the availability of the FEIS 

which evaluates the potential 

environmental and socioeconomic 

impacts associated with the BRAC and 

Transformation Actions at Fort Benning, 

Georgia. 

DATES: The waiting period for the FEIS 

will end 30 days after publication of an 

NOA in the Federal Register by the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency. 

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the FEIS 

contact Mr. John Brent, Fort Benning 

Directorate of Public Works, 

Environmental Management Division, 

Bldg #6 (Meloy Hall), Room 310, Fort 

Benning, GA 31905; e-mails to 

john.brent@benning.army.mil. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Monica Manganaro at (706) 545–3438, 

Fort Benning Public Affairs Office or 

Mr. Brandon Cockrell at (706) 545–3210. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FEIS 

covers the construction activities, 

personnel increases, and training 

activities associated with the BRAC 

Commission recommendations, the 

Global Defense Posture Realignment 

(GDPR) overseas restationing actions, 

Army Modular Force (AMF) initiatives, 

and other discretionary stationing 

activities at Fort Benning, Georgia. 

As a result of BRAC 

recommendations, Fort Benning will be 

receiving personnel, equipment, and 

missions from various realignment and 

closure actions within the Department 

of Defense. To implement the BRAC 

Commission recommended initiatives, 

the Army will provide the necessary 

facilities/buildings and infrastructure to 

support the changes. Permanent 

facilities will be constructed to house 

the Armor Center and School as well as 

several other unit relocations. Fort 

Benning also proposes to implement 

other transformation actions as the 

Army undergoes restructuring to meet 

the demands of the 21st century. The 

AMF initiative involves the Army’s 

transition from a division-centric design 

to a standard brigade organization. The 

reshaping of the military force structure 

also includes provision for the return of 

units currently based overseas to United 

States installations as part of the GDPR. 

Finally, discretionary stationing actions 

(activations, inactivations, realignments, 

and relocations) are proposed, which 

contribute to and are interrelated with 

the transformation process. 

Following an examination of all 

implementation alternatives, those 

alternatives found not to be viable were 

dropped from further analysis in the 

Fort Benning FEIS. Alternatives carried 

forward are: (1) Transformation 

Alternative A, which entails 

cantonment area development, 

construction of small- and large-caliber 

weapons ranges, heavy maneuver areas 

and corridors, a driver’s training course, 

off-road driver’s training area, and a 

vehicle recovery area to support the 

training range requirements; (2) 

Transformation Alternative B (the 

Army’s Preferred Alternative), which is 

similar to Transformation Alternative A, 

with cantonment, maneuver and range 

projects, but with additional 

development of new tank training areas 

in the Good Hope area in the southern 

part of Fort Benning; and (3) the No 

Action Alternative, under which Fort 

Benning missions would continue as 

they were being performed in November 

2005, when the BRAC Commission 

recommendations became law. The No 

Action Alternative provides the 

environmental baseline conditions for 

comparison to the impacts associated 

with the action alternatives. 

Environmental consequences of two 

action alternatives (Alternative A and 

the Preferred Alternative), as well as the 

No Action Alternative, were evaluated 

for 13 resources. Under Alternative A, 

approximately 10,700 acres would be 

disturbed by Transformation activities; 

under the Preferred Alternative, 

approximately 19,100 acres would be 

disturbed. With the Preferred 

Alternative, there could potentially be 

land use compatibility issues for lands 

adjacent to the proposed Good Hope 

Maneuver Area. Changes would occur to 

aesthetic and visual resources, but 

impacts would not be significant. In 

terms of socioeconomics, development 

would take place and personnel growth 

would result in economic gains under 

both action alternatives, although the 

majority of the regional population 

increase is due to non-Army, private 

sector decisions; housing would be 

required; and if the local market could 

not support this increase in needs, there 

could be minor short-term effects. The 

Army and the local community are 

planning and coordinating to 

accommodate the increased student 

population. One available funding 

source for additional school 

construction is the Qualified Public 

Educational Facility (QPEF) Bond 

Program. On-post traffic congestion both 

during the construction period and 

operational phase is anticipated as well 

as traffic buildup at the main gate 

during peak hours; however, these 

would not be to such an extent to be 

significant with implementation of 

mitigation measures. Air quality would 

experience short-term construction 

emissions increases but would not 

significantly affect regional air quality 

in the long term. Noise would increase 

both on and off post, increasing the 

potential for annoyance in adjacent 

communities, but would not be 

significant with implementation of 

existing complaint processes. Utilities, 

safety, cultural resources, and 

hazardous and toxic materials and waste 

would not be significantly impacted by 

the proposed action. However, soils, 

water resources (including wetlands and 

state designated impaired streams), 

special status species (particularly, a 

population of relict trillium and the Rdcockaded woodpecker), and Unique 

Ecological Areas could experience 

significant impacts under either action 

alternative. Cumulative impacts are 

expected to be the same for both action 

alternatives and would add significant 

impacts for socioeconomics given the 

anticipated additional Army and private 

growth in the area. 

Fort Benning proposes to mitigate 

significant negative effects through a 

variety of strategies, including avoiding 

sensitive cultural resource sites, and 

preparation of an operational noise plan 

among others. Implementing applicable 

road improvements on post could 

minimize significant impacts to 

increased traffic. Through formal 

consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, plans to minimize the effects on 

federally listed species will also be 

implemented, as specified in a 

biological assessment and opinion. 

A Record of Decision will be signed 

at the end of the 30-day waiting period. 

An electronic version of the FEIS can 

be viewed or downloaded from the 

following Web site: http:// 

www.hqda.army.mil/acsim/brac/ 

nepa_eis_docs.htm. 

Dated: October 18, 2007. 

Addison D. Davis, IV, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, 

(Environment, Safety and Occupational 

Health). 

[FR Doc. 07–5250 Filed 10–25–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–08–M 


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