Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 25, 2010 / Notices 29323 

Dated: May 20, 2010. 

Mitchell S. Bryman, 

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison 

Officer, Department of Defense. 

[FR Doc. 2010–12522 Filed 5–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Notice of Public Hearings of the Draft 

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, and regulations 

implemented by the Council on 

Environmental Quality (40 Code of 

Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 1500– 

1508), Department of Navy (DoN) NEPA 

regulations (32 CFR part 775), and U.S. 

Marine Corps (USMC) NEPA directives 

(Marine Corps Order P5090.2A, changes 

1 and 2), DoN has prepared and filed 

with the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) a Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) that evaluates 

the potential environmental 

consequences that may result from the 

basing of the F–35B Joint Strike Fighter 

(JSF) on the West Coast of the United 

States. 

With the filing of the Draft EIS, DoN 

is initiating a 46-day public comment 

period and has scheduled two public 

comment meetings to receive oral and 

written comments on the Draft EIS. 

Federal, State and local agencies, and 

interested parties are encouraged to 

provide comments in person at any of 

the public comment meetings, or in 

writing anytime during the public 

comment period. This notice announces 

the date and location of the public 

meetings and provides supplementary 

information about the environmental 

planning effort. 

DATES: The Draft EIS public review 

period will begin May 21, 2010, and end 

on July 6, 2010. Each of the two public 

meetings will be conducted as an 

informational open house. Individuals 

will have the opportunity to review the 

information presented in the Draft EIS. 

Marine Corps and Navy representatives 

will be available to clarify information 

related to the Draft EIS. Public comment 

meetings will be held: 

(1) June 15, 2010, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at 

Scripps-Miramar Ranch Library 

Miramar, 10301 Scripps Lake Drive, San 

Diego, CA. 

(2) June 17, 2010, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at 

Gila Vista Junior High School, 2245 S. 

Arizona Ave., Yuma, AZ. 

Attendees will be able to submit 

written comments at the public 

meetings. A stenographer will be 

present to transcribe oral comments; 

however, to ensure the accuracy of the 

record, all statements should be 

submitted in writing. Equal weight will 

be given to oral and written statements. 

All statements, oral transcription and 

written, submitted during the public 

review period will become part of the 

public record on the Draft EIS and will 

be responded to in the Final EIS. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

regular U.S. mail or electronically as 

described below. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the Draft EIS is 

available at the project Web site, 

http://www.usmcjsfwest.com, and at the 

local libraries identified at the end of 

this notice. Comments on the Draft EIS 

can be submitted via the project Web 

site, or submitted in writing to: Naval 

Facilities Engineering Command 

Southwest, Attn: JSF EIS Project 

Manager, 1220 Pacific Highway, San 

Diego, California 92132–5190. Mailed 

comments must be postmarked by July 

6, 2010, and electronic comments must 

be submitted on or before July 6, 2010, 

to be considered in this environmental 

review process. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Adrianne Saboya, Environmental 

Planner, Central Integrated Product 

Team at telephone: 619–532–4742, by 

fax: 619–532–4160 or write to Naval 

Facilities Engineering Command 

Southwest, Attn: Ms. Adrianne Saboya, 

1220 Pacific Highway, San Diego, 

California 92132–5190. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice 

of Intent (NOI) for the EIS was 

published in the Federal Register on 

January 19, 2009 (Vol. 74, No. 10, p. 

2515). 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action would base up to 

11 operational F–35B squadrons and 1 

Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) 

squadron (184 aircraft) on the West 

Coast, and would replace eight F/A–18 

squadrons (126 aircraft) and four AV–8B 

squadrons (56 aircraft) currently 

authorized for basing on the West Coast. 

The proposed action also includes 

construction and/or renovation of 

airfield facilities necessary to 

accommodate and maintain the F–35B 

squadrons, including construction of an 

auxiliary landing field on the Barry M. 

Goldwater Range West in Arizona; 

changes to personnel in support of 

basing; and conducting F–35B training 

and readiness operations in existing 

airspace and on existing ranges to 

ensure pilots attain and maintain 

combat ready status. The eight F/A–18 

squadrons to be replaced are currently 

authorized for basing at Marine Corps 

Air Station (MCAS) Miramar. The four 

AV–8B squadrons are based at MCAS 

Yuma. 

Purpose and Need 

The purpose of the Proposed Action 

is to efficiently and effectively maintain 

combat capability and mission readiness 

as the Marine Corps faces increased 

deployments across a spectrum of 

conflicts, and a corresponding increased 

difficulty in maintaining an aging legacy 

aircraft inventory. The need for the 

proposed action is to replace aging 

legacy aircraft and integrate the 

operational and OT&E F–35B squadrons 

into the existing Marine Corps 

command and organizational structure. 

This action would also ensure that the 

Marine Corps’ aircrews benefit from the 

aircraft’s major technological 

improvements and enhanced training 

and readiness requirements. 

Alternatives Considered in the Draft 

EIS 

The proposed F–35B squadrons 

would be split between two aviation 

facilities. Evaluations were made of the 

following five split-basing alternatives. 

• Alternative 1 (Preferred)—Six 

operational squadrons at MCAS 

Miramar in San Diego County, 

California, and five operational 

squadrons plus one OT&E squadron at 

MCAS Yuma in southwestern Arizona. 

• Alternative 2—Four operational 

squadrons at MCAS Miramar and seven 

operational squadrons plus one OT&E 

squadron at MCAS Yuma. 

• Alternative 3—Seven operational 

squadrons plus one OT&E squadron at 

MCAS Miramar and four operational 

squadrons at MCAS Yuma. 

• Alternative 4—One operational 

squadron plus one OT&E squadron at 

MCAS Miramar and ten operational 

squadrons at MCAS YUMA. 

• Alternative 5—Ten operational 

squadrons at MCAS Miramar and one 

operational squadron plus one OT&E 

squadron at MCAS Yuma. 

Under all basing alternatives, MCAS 

Miramar would lose eight F/A–18 

squadrons and MCAS Yuma would lose 

four AV–8B squadrons. Construction of 

an auxiliary landing field within the 

Barry M. Goldwater Range West, as well 

as operations within the Bob Stump 

Training Range Complex and Barry M. 

Goldwater Range East are included as 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
29324 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 25, 2010 / Notices 

part of each basing alternative. A sixth 

alternative, No Action, assumes no 

aircraft would be replaced, aircraft 

operations would continue at the 

current level, and no infrastructure 

improvements or personnel changes 

related to basing the F–35B aircraft on 

the West Coast would occur. 

Potential impacts were evaluated in 

the Draft EIS under all alternatives for 

the following resources: airfields and 

airspace; noise; air quality; safety and 

environmental health; land use; 

infrastructure and utilities; 

socioeconomics; community facilities 

and services; ground traffic and 

transportation; environmental justice; 

hazardous materials management; 

biological resources; topography, 

geology and soils; water resources; and 

cultural and traditional resources. 

The preferred alternative would result 

in a reduction of 30 aircraft and 635 

military personnel at MCAS Miramar 

and an increase of 32 aircraft and 491 

military personnel at MCAS Yuma. New 

support facilities at MCAS Miramar 

would include two new hangars, 

helipad and apron expansion, wash 

racks and rinse facilities, a simulator 

facility, and a runway upgrade. New 

support facilities at MCAS Yuma would 

include four new hangars, modifications 

to an existing hangar, new wash racks, 

runway upgrades, enlisted quarters and 

dining facility, a simulator facility, new 

parking apron, and other minor 

infrastructure improvements. 

Environmental consequences of the 

proposed action would principally arise 

from construction; impacts from 

operation of the F–35B would be 

relatively minor. The Draft EIS 

enumerates an array of conservation and 

construction measures and features of 

project design and planning that would 

avoid and minimize most potential 

impacts. The proposed action would 

fully comply with regulatory 

requirements for the protection of 

environmental resources. 

Unavoidable impacts of implementing 

the preferred alternative include 

construction impacts on biological 

resources at MCAS Miramar, especially 

one threatened (Coastal California 

Gnatcatcher) and one endangered 

species (San Diego Fairy Shrimp), and 

loss of 0.05 acres of vernal pool habitat. 

Construction of an auxiliary landing 

field at the Barry M. Goldwater Range 

West would affect habitat for a species 

(flat-tailed horned lizard) proposed for 

listing as threatened. A Biological 

Assessment has been submitted to the 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 

compliance with Section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act. 

The other alternatives have similar 

types and levels of impacts, with the 

most extensive unavoidable impacts 

occurring at MCAS Miramar under 

Alternative 5 (10 operational squadrons 

at MCAS Miramar, 1 operational and 1 

OT&E squadron at MCAS Yuma) related 

to the loss of an area supporting vernal 

pool habitat and associated federally 

listed species. 

Schedule 

The Notice of Availability publication 

in the Federal Register and local print 

media starts the 46-day public comment 

period for the Draft EIS. DoN will 

consider and respond to all written and 

electronic comments, including e-mail, 

submitted as described above in 

preparing the Final EIS. DoN intends to 

issue the Final EIS in September 2010, 

at which time an NOA will be published 

in the Federal Register and local print 

media. A Record of Decision is expected 

in December 2010. Copies of the Draft 

EIS can be found on the project Web 

site, http://www.usmcjsfwest.com or at 

the following locations: 

(1) San Diego County Public Library 

Fallbrook Branch, 124 S. Mission Road, 

Fallbrook, CA 92028, telephone: 760– 

728–2373, 

(2) San Diego Public Library Mira 

Mesa Branch, 8405 New Salem Street, 

San Diego, CA 92126, telephone: 858– 

538–8165, 

(3) Scripps-Miramar Ranch Library 

Miramar, 10301 Scripps Lake Drive, San 

Diego, CA 92131, telephone: 858–538– 

8158, 

(4) Yuma County Library Heritage 

Branch (Main Library) 350 Third 

Avenue, Yuma, AZ 85364, telephone: 

928–782–1871. 

Dated: May 18, 2010. 

A.M. Vallandingham, 

Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate 

General’s Corps, U.S. Navy, Federal Register 

Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–12525 Filed 5–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Preferred Supplier Program (PSP) 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed policy letter. 

SUMMARY: The Deputy Assistant 

Secretary of the Navy, Acquisition and 

Logistics Management (DASN (A&LM)), 

is soliciting comments that the 

Department of the Navy (DON) may use 

in drafting a policy that will establish a 

Preferred Supplier Program (PSP). 

Under the PSP, contractors that have 

demonstrated exemplary performance, 

at the corporate level; in the areas of 

cost, schedule, performance, quality, 

and business relations would be granted 

Preferred Supplier Status (PSS). 

Contractors that achieved PSS would 

receive more favorable contract terms 

and conditions in DON contracts. Upon 

approval of the policy by the Assistant 

Secretary of the Navy for Research, 

Development and Acquisition, DON 

will initiate the pilot phase of the PSP. 

DATES: DON invites interested parties 

from both the public and private sectors 

to provide comments to be considered 

in the formulation of the final policy 

letter. In particular, DON encourages 

respondents to offer their views as 

discussed below, in Section D, 

‘‘Solicitation of Public Comment.’’ 

Interested parties should submit 

comments, in writing, to the address 

below, on or before July 15, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

E-mail: preferredsupplier@navy.mil. 

Facsimile: 703–614–9394. 

Mail: DASN (A&LM), ATTN: Clarence 

Belton, 1000 Navy Pentagon, Room 

BF992, Washington, DC 20350–1000. 

Instructions: Please submit comments 

only and cite ‘‘Proposed DON PSP 

Policy Letter’’ in all correspondence. All 

comments received will be posted, 

without change or redaction, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, so commenters 

should not include information that 

they do not wish to be posted (for 

example, personal or businessconfidential). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Clarence Belton, 703–693–4006 or 

clarence.belton@navy.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

Companies in the private sector that 

have implemented PSPs have 

significantly improved performance. 

Cash flow, profit, and contract terms 

and conditions that reduce contractor 

costs and risk are powerful incentives 

that can be used to motivate contractors 

to perform at a high level. DON and its 

contractors negotiate these key 

components of the business 

arrangement contract by contract. As a 

result of this decentralized and 

individual approach, DON loses an 

extremely important opportunity. This 

policy would establish the PSP to 

recover that opportunity through the use 

of favorable contract terms and 

conditions that would be available to 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES