Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 36 / Friday, February 22, 2008 / Notices 9779 

Dated: February 19, 2008. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–3298 Filed 2–21–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army 

Notice of availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) for the Permanent Stationing of 

the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division 

Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA). 

SUMMARY: The Department of the Army 

announces the availability of a FEIS for 

the permanent stationing of the 2nd 

Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (2/25th) 

SBCT. Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Department of the Army has prepared 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) to disclose potential impacts to the 

natural, physical, and human 

environment resulting from the 

permanent stationing of the 2/25th 

SBCT. Potential impacts have been 

analyzed at installations that are capable 

of meeting the SBCTs training, 

operational, Soldier and Family quality 

of life, and strategic deployment 

requirements. This FEIS identifies 

Schofield Barracks Military Reservation 

in Hawaii as the Army’s preferred 

alternative for the stationing location of 

the 2/25th SBCT. A Record of Decision 

(ROD) will announce the final location 

decision after the 30-day waiting period 

for the FEIS has been completed. 

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: Send all written comments 

concerning this EIS to: Public Affairs 

Office, U.S. Army Environmental 

Command, Building E4460, 5179 

Hoadley Road, Attention: IMAE–PA, 

Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010–

5401. E-mail comments should be sent 

to: 

PublicComments@aec.apgea.army.mil. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Public Affairs Office at (410) 436–2556; 

facsimile: (410) 436–1693 during normal 

business hours Monday through Friday 

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern standard time. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

proposed action and analysis within the 

FEIS covers those activities required to 

implement the stationing of the 2/25th 

SBCT. These activities include garrison 

construction, training range 

construction, live-fire training, and 

maneuver training. 

In May 2004, the Department of the 

Army (Army) released the FEIS for 

Transformation of the 2nd Brigade, 25th 

Infantry Division (Light) to the 2/25th 

SBCT. The SBCT is a maneuver brigade 

that includes approximately 4,100 

Soldiers (infantry, artillery, engineers, 

and other Army specialties) and 1,000 

vehicles (including about 320 Stryker 

Combat Vehicles). In July 2004, the 

Army released a ROD documenting its 

decision to transform the 2/25th from an 

Infantry Brigade to an SBCT and 

permanently home station it in Hawaii. 

The Stryker is an armored infantry 

wheeled combat vehicle and provides 

Soldiers and commanders with 

increased firepower, maneuverability, 

and, most importantly, survivability in 

a combat environment. The increased 

speed and maneuver capabilities of the 

SBCT allow operations to be conducted 

across much larger areas than the 

Army’s traditional legacy brigades. 

These capabilities have allowed the 

SBCT to successfully conduct a broad 

range of missions in support of 

Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

To be effective when operationally 

deployed abroad requires that the SBCT 

have the proper training and support 

facilities at home station. Such facilities 

include training ranges, maneuver land, 

housing, administrative, and quality of 

life infrastructure for the SBCTs 

Soldiers, their Families, vehicles, and 

equipment. Without these resources, the 

SBCT cannot attain the readiness levels 

needed to ensure the successful 

accomplishment of its missions and 

safety of its Soldiers. In addition to 

these requirements, the SBCT must be 

stationed in a location from which it can 

rapidly deploy to support national 

security requirements. 

The 2/25th began its transformation to 

an SBCT shortly after completion of the 

2004 FEIS and signing of the ROD. 

Since this time, the Brigade has 

completed its transformation in Hawaii 

and is currently deployed to Southwest 

Asia. The SBCT is scheduled to return 

to the permanent stationing location 

selected by the Army in early 2009. 

In October 2006, the Federal Court of 

Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 

determined that the Army had not fully 

complied with NEPA for the 

transformation of the 2/25th because it 

did not adequately address or analyze 

potentially reasonable alternative 

locations for the transformation and 

training of this unit. In particular, the 

Court concluded that the Army had a 

duty under NEPA to consider locations 

other than Hawaii for the permanent 

stationing of the 2/25th SBCT, and the 

Court ordered the Army to prepare an 

EIS to address a broader range of 

alternatives. The Army has prepared an 

EIS in accordance with the Court’s 

guidance to examine reasonable 

alternative locations for the proposed 

action to station the 2/25th SBCT 

permanently. 

The Army analyzed 140 installations 

for their suitability to meet the 

appropriate training infrastructure, 

maneuver land, compatible mission and 

garrison support infrastructure to 

support the SBCT. Out of the 140 

installations, three Army installations 

were determined to have the 

appropriate infrastructure capable of 

supporting the permanent stationing of 

the 2/25th SBCT. The FEIS examines 

the three Army installations. The EIS 

will provide the Army senior leadership 

with a hard look at environmental 

impacts associated with the proposed 

action and better inform their decisionmaking process for selecting the final 

stationing location. This effort includes 

analysis of all activities (training, 

facilities construction, and Soldier and 

Family support) required to 

permanently station the 2/25th SBCT. 

This EIS effort will assist the Army in 

arriving at a decision that can 

accommodate the Brigade’s training, 

operations, and quality of life 

requirements while meeting the 

strategic defense needs of the nation. 

After reviewing the full range of 

potential Army stationing locations, 

three alternatives for implementing the 

proposed action have been identified by 

the Army as reasonable alternatives 

capable of meeting the Army’s needs 

and screening criteria. Alternatives for 

implementing the proposed action 

included: (1) Permanently stationing the 

2/25th SBCT at Schofield Barracks 

Military Reservation while conducting 

required training at military training 

sites in Hawaii; (2) permanently 

stationing the 2/25th SBCT at Fort 

Richardson while conducting required 

training at military training sites in 

Alaska; and (3) permanently stationing 

the 2/25th SBCT at Fort Carson while 

conducting required training at military 

training sites in Colorado. In addition to 

these alternatives, the No Action 

alternative, which provides the baseline 

conditions for comparison to the 

proposed alternative, was fully assessed 

and considered. 

Direct, indirect, and cumulative 

impacts of the proposed action have 

been considered in the FEIS along with 

public comments received during 

scoping and on the Draft EIS published 

in July 2007. The EIS identifies impacts 

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9780 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 36 / Friday, February 22, 2008 / Notices 

at each of the three alternative locations 

that would occur as a result of 

implementing the proposed action and 

responds to public comments. Impacts 

at alternative sites would result from 

construction and training activities. 

Each of the impacts can be mitigated. 

The Army invited full public 

participation to promote open 

communication and better decision 

making. All persons and organizations 

that have an interest in the permanent 

stationing of the 2/25th SBCT were 

urged to participate in this NEPA 

evaluation process. The public has 

provided input and comments at 

scoping meetings and public meetings 

held at all potential alternative 

stationing locations for the 2/25th. The 

Army held scoping meetings in January 

and February 2007 and Draft EIS 

meetings in September and October 

2007. Responses to the public comments 

are addressed in this FEIS. 

The FEIS is available for review at 

http://www.aec.army.mil. 

Dated: February 15, 1008. 

Addison D. Davis, IV, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, 

(Environment, Safety and Occupational 

Health). 

[FR Doc. 08–793 Filed 2–21–08: 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3170–08–M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Intent To Prepare Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement for Updated Water 

Control Manuals for the ApalachicolaChattahoochee-Flint River Basin 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (Corps), Mobile District, 

intends to prepare an update and 

revision of the water control manuals 

for the Apalachicola-ChattahoocheeFlint (ACF) River Basin. Concurrent 

with that revision, a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

will be prepared, as required by the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA). The Draft EIS will address 

updated operating criteria and 

guidelines for managing the water 

storage and release actions of agency 

water managers and associated 

environmental impacts. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the manual update or 

NEPA process can be answered by: Mr. 

Brian Zettle, Inland Environment Team, 

Environment and Resources Branch, 

Planning and Environmental Division, 

U.S. Army Engineer District-Mobile, 

Post Office Box 2288, Mobile, AL 

36628–0001; Telephone (251) 690–2115; 

or delivered by electronic facsimile at 

(251) 694–3815; or E-mail: 

brian.a.zettle@usace.army.mil. You may 

also request to be included on the 

mailing list for public distribution of 

notices, meeting announcements and 

documents associated with the 

preparation and review of the Draft EIS. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background. Water control manuals 

are guidance documents that assist 

Federal water managers in the operation 

of individual and multiple 

interdependent Federal reservoirs on 

the same river system. They provide 

technical, historical, hydrological, 

geographic, demographic, policy and 

other information that guide the proper 

management of reservoirs during times 

of high water, low water, and normal 

conditions. The manuals contain water 

control plans for each of the reservoirs 

within the basin system and specify 

how the various reservoir projects will 

be operated as a balanced system. The 

manuals also contain drought plans and 

zones to assist Federal water managers 

in knowing when to reduce or increase 

reservoir releases and conserve storage 

in the Federal reservoirs, and how to 

ensure the safety of dams during 

extreme conditions such as floods. The 

authority and guidance for the Corps to 

prepare and update these manuals may 

be found in Section 7 of the 1944 Flood 

Control Act, and the following Corps of 

Engineer Regulations: ER 1110–2–240, 

ER 1110–2–241, ER 1110–2–1941 and 

ER 1110–2–8156. 

The ACF Basin provides water 

resources for multiple purposes from 

northwestern GA down, along the 

Alabama-Georgia border and then into 

Florida and the Gulf Coast at 

Apalachicola Bay, extending a distance 

of approximately 540 miles along the 

Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers 

and an additional 350 miles on the Flint 

River, and encompassing an area of 

approximately 19,600 square miles. The 

master operating manual for the ACF 

River Basin dates to 1958, prior to the 

completion of most of the reservoir 

projects in the basin, and the individual 

reservoir project water control manuals 

were last updated at various dates as far 

back as the 1970s and 1980s, with 

primarily administrative updates 

approved in the 1990s. There are 16 

major dams and reservoirs (five Federal 

and 11 non-Federal) located in the 

basin. The Federal projects owned and 

operated by the Corps include Buford 

Dam and Lake Lanier, West Point Dam 

and Lake, Walter F. George Dam and 

Lake, George W. Andrews Dam and 

Lake located on the Chattahoochee 

River; and Jim Woodruff Dam and Lake 

Seminole located on the Apalachicola 

River at the confluence of the 

Chattahoochee and Flint River. The 

authorized project purposes at the Corps 

lakes include flood control, 

hydropower, navigation, water supply, 

water quality, fish and wildlife 

conservation, and recreation. 

Other non-Federal reservoirs located 

on the Chattahoochee River and Flint 

River include power projects owned and 

operated by the Georgia Power 

Company and Crisp County, Georgia. 

The non-Federal power lakes are 

primarily run-of-river projects that do 

not impact Federal project operations 

significantly, but operations between 

the Georgia Power projects and the 

Federal projects are coordinated as 

necessary to meet downstream water 

quality and water supply demands. 

In 1989, a draft master manual for the 

ACF basin was proposed which 

described operations current at that 

time. This draft manual was never 

finalized due to the initiation of 

litigation by the State of Alabama, 

which is still ongoing. However, since 

that time, Corps operations have 

continued to conform with the 

operations described in the 1989 draft 

manual and other more recently 

updated water control manuals for the 

various Federal projects. The new 

manuals will eventually replace any 

current ones and will address the basinwide management of those water 

resources. 

Public participation throughout the 

water control manual revision process is 

essential. The Corps invites full public 

participation at all stages to promote 

open communication and better 

decision making. All persons, 

stakeholders, and organizations that 

have an interest in water-related 

resources in the ACF basin, including 

minority, low-income, disadvantaged 

and Native American groups, are urged 

to participate in this NEPA 

environmental analysis process. 

Assistance will be provided upon 

request to anyone having difficulty 

understanding how to participate. Dates 

and locations for public scoping 

meetings will be announced by future 

publication in the Federal Register and 

in the local news media. Tentative dates 

for publication of the draft water control 

manuals and EIS and other 

opportunities for public involvement 

will also be announced at that time. 

Public comments are welcomed anytime 

throughout the NEPA process. 

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