Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 1, 1996 / Notices 19263

Act of 1969, as implemented by the

Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ) regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500–

1508), the Department of the Navy

announces its intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

to evaluate the environmental effects of

realigning the Airborne Early Warning

Wing (AEWWING), consisting of four E–

2 aircraft squadrons and associated

personnel, presently located at Naval

Air Station (NAS) Miramar to another

naval air station with compatible

mission and function.

The realignment is in accordance with

the legislative requirements of the

Defense Base Closure and Realignment

Act (DBCRA) of 1990 (Public Law 101–

510), as implemented by the Base

Realignment and Closure (BRAC)

processes of 1993 and 1995. BRAC–1993

directed the closure of Marine Corps Air

Stations (MCAS) EL Toro and Tustin

and realigned aviation units, functions

and personnel at MCAS El Toro and

MCAS Tustin to NAS Miramar and

MCAS Camp Pendleton. The Navy and

Marine Corps agreed to transfer

ownership of NAS Miramar from Navy

to Marine Corps in September 1997.

Accordingly, the four AEWWING

squadrons must be relocated from their

present location at NAS Miramar.

The proposed action entails relocating

four E–2 squadrons (16 aircraft), as well

as related support personnel,

equipment, and functions from NAS

Miramar to another naval air station.

The Navy has identified NAS North

Island, NAS Lemoore, Naval Air

Warfare Center (NAWC) Point Mugu

and Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro

as potential receiving sites for the

relocated squadrons. To accommodate

the AEWWING relocation, military

construction projects (new construction,

expansion, modification or demolition)

would be necessary at any receiving site

under consideration. The amount of

construction required is dependent

upon availability and compatibility of

existing space at each alternative base.

In all cases, new or modified hangar

space, aircraft parking aprons,

maintenance facilities and E–2 specific

training facilities would be required.

Construction or modification of

community support facilities would be

based on the adequacy and capacity of

existing resources at each base.

The Navy intends to analyze the

environmental effects of the realignment

and potential construction at the four

alternative base locations. Major

environmental issues that will be

addressed in the EIS include, but are not

limited to: geology/soils/seismicity;

biology; water resources/hydrology/

drainage/flood control; noise; air

quality/conformity; land use; cultural

resources; socioeconomics;

transportation/circulation; public health

and safety/hazardous materials;

aesthetics; public services/utilities; and

environmental justice.

The Navy will initiate a scoping

process for the purpose of determining

the extent of issues to be addressed and

identifying the significant issues related

to the AEWWING realignment. The

public and interested parties are invited

to participate in the scoping process, to

review the draft EIS, and to attend a

public meeting on the draft EIS. Public

scoping meetings will be conducted at

all four alternative base locations on the

following dates starting at 7:00 p.m.:

• Tuesday, May 21, 1996 at the

Oxnard Center for Performing Arts,

Thousand Oaks/Hueneme Room, 800

Hobson Way, Oxnard, California.

• Thursday, May 23, 1996 at the

Board of Supervisors Chambers, County

Administration Center (Second Floor),

940 West Main Street, EL Centro,

California.

• Tuesday, May 28, 1996 at Coronado

High School Auditorium, 650 D

Avenue, Coronado, California.

• Wednesday, May 29, 1996 at

Lemoore Union High School Cafeteria,

Back Room, 101 East Bush Street,

Lemoore, California.

A brief presentation on the proposed

action will precede the request for

public comment. Navy representatives

will be available at these meetings to

receive comments from the public

regarding issues of concern. It is

important that federal, state, local

agencies and interested individuals take

this opportunity to identify

environmental concerns that should be

addressed during the preparation of the

draft EIS.

Agencies and the public are invited

and encouraged to provide written

comments in addition to, or in lieu of,

oral comments at the public scoping

meetings. To be most helpful, scoping

comments should clearly describe

specific issues or topics which the

commenter believes the draft EIS should

address. In the interest of time, speakers

will be asked to limit comments to five

minutes.

ADDRESSES: Written statements or

questions regarding the scoping process

should be postmarked no later than June

6, 1996, to Commanding Officer,

Southwest Division, Naval Facilities

Engineering Command, 1220 Pacific

Highway, San Diego, CA 92132–5190

(Attention: Ms. Kelly Knight, Code

232.KK). Ms. Knight may be reached by

phone at (619) 532–1158 or by fax at

(619) 532–3824.

Dated: April 26, 1996.

M. A. Waters,

LCDR, JAGC, USN, Federal Register Liaison

Officer.

[FR Doc. 96–10744 Filed 4–30–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–M

Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Realignment of Naval Sea Systems

Command Headquarters Within the

Washington, DC Area

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c)

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 as implemented in the

Council on Environmental Quality

regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508),

the Department of the Navy announces

its intent to prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) for the

Realignment of Naval Sea Systems

Command Headquarters (NAVSEA)

within the Washington DC area.

As directed by the Defense Base

Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as

implemented by the 1995 Base Closure

and Realignment (BRAC) process, the

receiver site designated by the 1993

BRAC process was changed from the

White Oak facility in Silver Spring, MD,

to another location within the

Washington, DC area. The preferred

receiver site is the Washington Navy

Yard.

Approximately 4,100 NAVSEA

personnel will move by 2001. The

NAVSEA activities involved in the

realignment are primarily

administrative, and will require 1.15

million square feet of office space,

parking for 3,500 vehicles, and

infrastructure upgrades. Alternatives to

implement this realignment include a

combination of adaptive reuse of

existing structures, demolition, and/or

new construction. The EIS will address

the following impact areas of concern:

cultural resources; air quality; water

quality; floodplains; flora and fauna;

socioeconomics (traffic, employment,

services, access, environmental justice);

permitting requirements; safety; and

compatibility with existing military and

civilian functions.

The Navy will hold two public

scoping meetings for the purpose of

further identifying the scope of issues to

be addressed in the EIS. The meetings

will be held on Thursday, May 16, 1996,

and Saturday, May 18, 1996. The first

meeting will be held at the Washington

Navy Yard’s Officer’s Club (Building

101, 901 M Street SE). It will begin with

an open house at 7:00 PM, followed by

the scoping meeting at 8:00 PM. The

second meeting will be held at the Hine

Junior High School Auditorium (8th and
19264 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 1, 1996 / Notices

Pennsylvana Ave. SE). It will begin with

an open house at 1:00 PM followed by

the scoping meeting at 2:00 PM. Navy

representatives will make a brief

presentation, then members of the

public will be asked to provide their

comments. It is important that federal,

state, and local agencies and interested

individuals take this opportunity to

identify environmental concerns that

should be addressed in the EIS. In the

interest of time, speakers will be asked

to limit comments to five minutes.

ADDRESSES: Agencies and the public are

encouraged to provide written

comments in addition to, or, in lieu of,

oral comments at the scoping meeting.

To be most helpful, comments should

clearly describe specific issues or topics

which the EIS should address. Written

comments must be postmarked by June

1, 1996, and should be mailed to

Commanding Officer, Engineering Field

Activity Chesapeake, Naval Facilities

Engineering Command, Washington

Navy Yard, Bldg. 212, 901 M Street SE,

Washington DC 20374–5018 (Attn: Mr.

Hank Riek), telephone (202) 685–3064,

facsimile (202) 685–3350. The scoping

meeting will be conducted in English,

and requests for language interpreters or

other special communications needs

should be made to Mr. Riek at least one

week prior to the meeting. The Navy

will make every reasonable effort to

accommodate these needs.

Dated: April 26, 1996.

M.A. Waters,

LCDR, JAGC, USN, Federal Register Liaison

Officer.

[FR Doc. 96–10746 Filed 4–30–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–M

Notice of Availability of a Draft Plan for

U.S. Navy Compliance With

Regulations 5 of Annex V to the

MARPOL Convention, and of a Draft

Environmental Impact Statement

(DEIS) for Disposal of U.S. Navy

Shipboard Solid Waste, and Notice of

Public Hearing To Receive Comments

on the DEIS

SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy

(DON) announces the availability of two

documents pertaining to the

management of solid waste aboard Navy

ships. The first is a Draft Plan for

Compliance with Regulation 5 of Annex

V to the MARPOL Convention by

vessels owned or operated by the

Department of the Navy. The second

document is a Draft Environmental

Impact Statement (DEIS) for Disposal of

U.S. Navy Shipboard Solid Waste.

Copies of these documents can be

obtained by contacting Mr. Robert

Ostermueller, Planner in Charge,

Northern Division, Naval Facilities

Engineering Command, 10 Industrial

Highway, Mail Stop #82, Lester,

Pennsylvania 19113–2090, telephone

(610) 595–0759, fax (610) 595–0778.

Federal, state and local agencies, and

interested individuals, are encouraged

to submit comments regarding the draft

Plan and/or the DEIS. Written

comments may be submitted to Mr.

Ostermueller at the above address. The

Navy will also hold two public meetings

to receive oral or written comments on

either or both documents. The first

meeting will be held at 7:30 PM on

Tuesday May 28, 1996, at the Holiday

Inn, 625 First Street, Alexandria,

Virginia, 22314. The second meeting

will be held at 7:30 PM on Thursday,

May 30, 1996, at the Clift Hotel, 495

Geary Street, San Francisco, CA, 94120.

In the interest of available time, each

speaker will be asked to limit oral

comments to five minutes. Longer

comments should be summarized at the

public meeting or mailed to the address

indicated above.

DATES: Written comments on the Plan

and/or the DEIS will be considered if

received by Mr. Ostermueller at the

above address not later than June 17,

1996. Oral or written comments will

also be considered if presented at one of

the public meetings discussed above, to

be held on May 28 and 30, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

CDR Lane Willson, U.S. Navy,

Shipboard Solid Waste Project Manager,

Chief of Naval Operations (N45) 2211 S.

Clark Place, Arlington, VA 22244–5108,

(703) 602–8794.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Special Area Compliance Plan is being

prepared pursuant to Section 1003(c)(2)

of the National Defense Authorization

Act for Fiscal Year 1994, Public Law

103–160, codified at 33 U.S.C. 1902(2)–

(4). That statute requires the Secretary of

the Navy to submit, by 30 November

1996, a plan for compliance by all ships

owned or operated by the DON with the

requirements of Regulation 5 of Annex

V of the International Convention for

the Prevention of Pollution from Ships

(MARPOL). Regulation 5 of Annex V

establishes rules pertaining to discharge

of shipboard solid waste from vessels

operating in designated ‘‘special areas’’

of the world, of which three are

currently in effect: the Baltic Sea, the

North Sea and the Antarctic Region.

Essentially Regulation 5 of Annex V

prohibits all discharges of solid waste,

other than food waste, from ships in

‘‘in-effect’’ special areas.

The Compliance Plan must be

submitted in consultation with the

Secretary of State, the Secretary of

Commerce, the Secretary of

Transportation and the Administrator of

the Environmental Protection Agency.

The statute also requires the

opportunity for public participation in

the Plan’s development, and for public

comment on the Plan.

Pursuant to the statutory mandate to

provide opportunity for public

participation in the development of the

plan, DON announced commencement

of the Plan’s development in the

Federal Register of July 21, 1994 (59

Fed. Reg. 37223). That announcement

identified three solid waste management

alternatives that would be considered:

on-board destruction through

incineration or some form of advanced

waste destruction technology; storage

aboard ship for later offload ashore; and

on-board processing and discharge at

sea of waste products. The

announcement solicited public

comment on the Compliance Plan,

specifically requesting comment on the

scope of alternatives to be considered,

on the studies considered necessary, on

measures of merit by which to evaluate

the alternatives, and on suggested

technologies or strategies for

compliance. Written comments from the

public were invited. The July 21, 1994,

Federal Register notice also announced

a September 20, 1994 public meeting, at

which the Navy presented information

on and received public comment

concerning preparation of the

Compliance Plan. In November 1995

and again in February 1996 the Navy

met with representatives of federal and

state environmental agencies, industry

and environmental interest groups in

order to obtain their views regarding the

Plan. These efforts, this notice’s request

for comments on the Plan, and the

opportunity for public involvement in

the DEIS development, described below,

provide the public with the opportunity

to participate in development of the

Compliance Plan.

The draft Plan concludes that it is not

technologically feasible, within the

foreseeable future, for certain Navy

vessels to comply fully with the special

area discharge limitations of Regulation

5 of Annex V, while at the same time

maintaining the required level of

operational capability. Full compliance

would require all naval vessels

operating in ‘‘in-effect’’ special areas to

adopt either the onboard destruction or

the storage and retrograde approach to

shipboard solid waste management. The

draft Plan demonstrates that, given the

current state of demonstrated shipboard

solid waste management technology,

adoption of either approach would

materially interfere with the operations