81 FR 58496 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Legislative Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test and Training Range Military Land Withdrawal at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Air Force

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 165 (August 25, 2016)

The United States Air Force (Air Force) is issuing this notice to notify the public of its intent to prepare a Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) for the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) military land withdrawal at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The LEIS is being prepared in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969; 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 1500-1508, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA; and the Air Force Environmental Impact Analysis Process (EIAP) [32 CFR part 989]. This notice also serves to invite early public and agency participation in determining the scope of environmental issues and alternatives to be analyzed in the LEIS and to identify and eliminate from detailed study the issues which are not significant. To effectively define the full range of issues and concerns to be evaluated in the LEIS, the Air Force is soliciting scoping comments from interested local, state and federal agencies, interested American Indian tribes, and interested members of the public. This NOI also serves to provide early notice of compliance with Executive Order (EO) 11990, ``Protection of Wetlands'' and EO 11988, ``Floodplain Management.'' State and federal regulatory agencies with special expertise in wetlands and floodplains have been contacted to request comment. Scoping comments may be submitted to the Air Force at the planned public scoping meetings and/or in writing.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 165 (Thursday, August 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58496-58497]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20401]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

 Air Force


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Legislative Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Nevada Test and Training Range Military Land 
Withdrawal at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

AGENCY: United States Air Force (lead agency) and Bureau of Land 
Management, United States Department of Energy, United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service, and Nevada Department of Wildlife (cooperating 
agencies)

ACTION: Notice of Intent

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SUMMARY: The United States Air Force (Air Force) is issuing this notice 
to notify the public of its intent to prepare a Legislative 
Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) for the Nevada Test and Training 
Range (NTTR) military land withdrawal at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. 
The LEIS is being prepared in accordance with National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969; 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 
1500-1508, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for 
implementing NEPA; and the Air Force Environmental Impact Analysis 
Process (EIAP) [32 CFR part 989].
    This notice also serves to invite early public and agency 
participation in determining the scope of environmental issues and 
alternatives to be analyzed in the LEIS and to identify and eliminate 
from detailed study the issues which are not significant. To 
effectively define the full range of issues and concerns to be 
evaluated in the LEIS, the Air Force is soliciting scoping comments 
from interested local, state and federal agencies, interested American 
Indian tribes, and interested members of the public. This NOI also 
serves to provide early notice of compliance with Executive Order (EO) 
11990, ``Protection of Wetlands'' and EO 11988, ``Floodplain 
Management.'' State and federal regulatory agencies with special 
expertise in wetlands and floodplains have been contacted to request 
comment.
    Scoping comments may be submitted to the Air Force at the planned 
public scoping meetings and/or in writing.

DATES: The Air Force plans to hold five public scoping meetings from 5 
p.m. to 9 p.m., on the dates and at the locations listed below.

 Wednesday, October 12, 2016: Beatty Community Center, 100 A 
Avenue South, Beatty, NV 89003
 Thursday, October 13, 2016: Tonopah Convention Center, 301 
Brougher Avenue, Tonopah, NV 89049
 Tuesday, October 18, 2016: Caliente Elementary School, 289 
Lincoln Street, Caliente, NV 89008
 Wednesday, October 19, 2016: Pahranagat Valley High School, 
151 S. Main Street, Alamo, NV 89001
 Thursday, October 20, 2016: Aliante Hotel, 7300 Aliante 
Parkway, North Las Vegas, NV 89084

The agenda for each scoping meeting is as follows:

 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.--Open House and comment submission
 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.--Air Force Presentation
 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.--Open House and comment submission 
resumes

Local notices announcing scheduled dates, locations, and addresses for 
each meeting will be published in the Bullseye, Pahrump Valley Times, 
Lincoln County Record, Tonopah Times-Bonanza, and Las Vegas Review-
Journal newspapers a minimum of fifteen (15) days prior to each 
meeting.
    Comments will be accepted at any time during the Environmental 
Impact Analysis Process (EIAP). However, to ensure the Air Force has 
sufficient time to consider public input in the preparation of the 
Draft LEIS, scoping comments must be submitted no later than December 
10, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Information on the NTTR Military Land Withdrawal and LEIS 
process can be accessed at the project Web site at www.nttrleis.com. 
The project Web site can be used to submit scoping comments to the Air 
Force, or comments and inquiries may also be submitted by mail or email 
to the 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, 4430 Grissom Ave., Ste. 107, 
Nellis AFB, NV 89191 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The current NTTR land withdrawal expires in 
November, 2021. In accordance with the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 
1999, the Air Force has notified Congress of a continuing military need 
for the NTTR withdrawal. Military land withdrawal applications have 
been prepared and submitted to Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The 
segregation of lands proposed for military withdrawal are addressed in 
a separate BLM Federal Register notice.
    The Air Force LEIS supports Congressional decision-making for the 
proposed military land withdrawal and will be programmatic in nature, 
adding value by setting out a broad view of environmental impacts and 
alternatives for Congress to consider. Following Congressional action 
on the NTTR land withdrawal proposals, site specific proposals based on 
particular DoD or Air Force defined needs for the range would be 
evaluated with the appropriate level of tiered or supplemental NEPA.
    In particular, the LEIS will analyze alternatives for military land 
withdrawal of the NTTR to improve the range capacity and capability to 
support military test and training requirements now and into the 
future. The LEIS will assess the potential environmental consequences 
of the proposal to extend the existing NTTR military land

[[Page 58497]]

withdrawal beyond the current withdrawal expiration date. As part of 
the withdrawal extension, the Air Force proposes to continue military 
operations on the NTTR's existing 2,949,603 acres of land. In addition 
to extending the existing land withdrawal, the Air Force is also 
proposing to withdraw up to an additional 301,507 acres to improve the 
range's capacity to support military testing and training.
    The alternatives being evaluated in the LEIS include: (1) Extending 
the existing land withdrawal and management of the NTTR (Status Quo); 
(2) extending the existing land withdrawal and providing the Air Force 
with increased access for military activities in the South Range of the 
NTTR; (3) Alternative 1 or 2 and expanding the existing withdrawal by 
including up to 301,507 additional acres, via three sub-alternatives; 
(4) establishing the time period of the withdrawal as either 20 years, 
50 years, or as an indefinite military withdrawal; and (5) the No 
Action alternative which includes returning NTTR lands to the public 
domain, through the Department of the Interior. The alternatives 
structure allows for combining elements of alternatives in an additive 
fashion. For example, Alternative 2, could be selected along with sub-
alternatives of Alternatives 3 (an option for expansion) and 4 (option 
for duration) as part of the Air Force's recommendation to Congress for 
the future military withdrawal. Within the framework of these 
alternatives, the LEIS will support Congressional action by identifying 
and evaluating potential impacts to land use, airspace, safety, noise, 
hazardous materials and solid waste, earth resources, water resources, 
air quality, transportation, wilderness and wilderness study areas, 
cultural resources, biological resources, socioeconomics, and 
environmental justice.

Henry Williams,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-20401 Filed 8-24-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 5001-10-P