81 FR 79119 - Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Reconfiguration of VA Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS)

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 218 (November 10, 2016)

VA announces the availability of the Final EIS for the Reconfiguration of the VA Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS). Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ's) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500- 1508), VA's NEPA regulations titled ``Environmental Effects of the Department of Veterans Affairs Actions'' (38 CFR part 26), and VA's ``NEPA Interim Guidance for Projects'' (VA 2010), VA has considered comments received on the Draft EIS, which was issued in October 2015 and identifies VA's preferred alternative in the Final EIS. The Final EIS uses the substitution approach for integrating compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) into the EIS process.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 218 (Thursday, November 10, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79119-79120]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27207]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the Reconfiguration of VA Black Hills Health Care System 
(BHHCS)

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: VA announces the availability of the Final EIS for the 
Reconfiguration of the VA Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS). 
Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Council on Environmental 
Quality's (CEQ's) regulations for implementing the procedural 
provisions of NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500-
1508), VA's NEPA regulations titled ``Environmental Effects of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs Actions'' (38 CFR part 26), and VA's 
``NEPA Interim Guidance for Projects'' (VA 2010), VA has considered 
comments received on the Draft EIS, which was issued in October 2015 
and identifies VA's preferred alternative in the Final EIS. The Final 
EIS uses the substitution approach for integrating compliance with 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) into the 
EIS process.

DATES: VA will publish a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days 
after publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Notice 
of Availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: The 2016 Final EIS is available for viewing on the Web site 
www.blackhills.va.gov/vablackhillsfuture/. Copies of the Final EIS are 
also available in the following locations: Hot Springs; Rapid City 
Downtown; Sturgis; Chadron; Alliance; Lied Scottsbluff; and Pierre 
(Rawlins Municipal) public libraries, as well as in Pine Ridge at the 
Oglala Lakota College Pine Ridge Center library on the high school 
campus.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Staff Assistant to the Director, VA 
Black Hills Health Care System, 113 Comanche Road, Fort Meade, SD 
57741, or by email to [email protected].
    Information related to the EIS process is also available for 
viewing on the VA BHHCS Web site www.blackhills.va.gov/vablackhillsfuture/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA BHHCS provides health care to 
approximately 19,000 Veterans over 100,000 square miles in western 
South Dakota (SD), northwestern Nebraska (NE), and eastern Wyoming 
(WY). VA BHHCS consists of two medical centers at Fort Meade and Hot 
Springs, 11 community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), and six 
Compensated Work Therapy locations. VA BHHCS has identified a need to 
reconfigure the health care services to ensure it continues to provide 
high quality, safe, and accessible health care services across its 
service area. The existing locations and facilities constrain the 
quality of care, range of services, and access to care that VA offers 
in the catchment area. The Hot Springs campus includes buildings 
constructed in 1907 as part of the Battle Mountain Branch of the 
National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The Battle Mountain 
Sanitarium was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 2011.
    Pursuant to NEPA, VA has identified and analyzed potential 
environmental impacts for a range of alternatives to the Proposed 
Action. These include seven alternatives, including the No Action 
Alternative, as well as a supplement to five of the alternatives for 
re-use of part or all of the existing Hot Springs campus. The 
alternatives propose

[[Page 79120]]

different locations and combinations of facilities serving as a 
community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC), a multi-specialty outpatient 
clinic (MSOC), and a residential rehabilitation treatment program 
(RRTP) facility; expanding, renovating, or vacating existing 
facilities; and taking no action. The new preferred Alternative, 
referred to as A-2 in the Final EIS, is a hybrid of Alternatives A and 
C evaluated in the Draft EIS. It was identified by consulting parties 
during the public comment period on the Draft EIS and includes 
renovating Building 12 on the existing Hot Springs campus to operate as 
a CBOC a new MSOC (replacing the existing leased CBOC), and a 100-bed 
RRTP in Rapid City.
    VA is substituting the implementation and review procedures of 
Section 102 of NEPA for consultation under Section 106 of the NHPA. 
This process meets the integration intent of the NEPA regulations (40 
CFR 1500.2(c) and 1502.25(a)) and the substitution intent of the NHPA 
regulations (36 CFR 800.8(c)). This process follows the joint CEQ-ACHP 
guidance for integrating NEPA and Section 106 compliance (CEQ-ACHP 
2013). The EIS includes identification and evaluation of impacts to 
historic properties. Formal consultation and identification and 
resolution of effects to historic properties are documented throughout 
the Final EIS.
    In the Final EIS, VA has analyzed the environmental impacts of the 
Proposed Action/Preferred Alternative, a reasonable range of 
alternatives, and a No Action Alternative.
    The Final EIS considers comments on the Draft EIS, including those 
submitted during the public comment period that officially began on 
November 6, 2015, and ended on June 20, 2016, following three comment 
period extensions. The extensions were provided in response to requests 
from the public and other stakeholders, including consulting parties 
participating in the NEPA/NHPA substitution and consultation process.
    As indicated above, VA's purpose and need is to improve the 
availability of high quality, safe and accessible health care services 
for Veterans residing in the VA BHHCS service area.
    While developing the Final EIS, VA considered the alternatives 
analyzed in the Draft EIS, the comparisons of impacts for each resource 
area, and input received on the Draft EIS, including the identification 
of a new hybrid alternative A-2. Based on the information presented in 
the Final EIS, VA has identified Alternative A-2--operation of a CBOC 
in a renovated Building 12 on the existing Hot Springs campus and a new 
MSOC and RRTP in Rapid City--as its preferred alternative in the Final 
EIS.

Signing Authority

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as 
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Gina S. 
Farrisee, Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, 
approved this document on November 4, 2016, for publication.

    Dated: November 4, 2016.
Jeffrey Martin,
Office Program Manager, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, 
Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2016-27207 Filed 11-9-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8320-01-P