82 FR 19794 - Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement for a Replacement Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Louisville, Kentucky

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 81 (April 28, 2017)

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the siting, construction, and operation of a new campus to replace the existing Robley Rex VA Medical Center (VAMC), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) regional office, and three community-based outpatient clinics (CBOC) in Louisville, Kentucky. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ's) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA, and VA's NEPA regulations titled ``Environmental Effects of the Department of Veterans Affairs Actions,'' VA has considered comments received on the Draft EIS, which was issued in October 2016 and identifies VA's preferred alternative in the Final EIS.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 81 (Friday, April 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 19794]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08562]



[[Page 19794]]

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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for a Replacement Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 
Louisville, Kentucky

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announces the 
availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 
siting, construction, and operation of a new campus to replace the 
existing Robley Rex VA Medical Center (VAMC), Veterans Benefits 
Administration (VBA) regional office, and three community-based 
outpatient clinics (CBOC) in Louisville, Kentucky. Pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the 
Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ's) regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of NEPA, and VA's NEPA regulations titled 
``Environmental Effects of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
Actions,'' VA has considered comments received on the Draft EIS, which 
was issued in October 2016 and identifies VA's preferred alternative in 
the Final EIS.

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 2017 Final EIS is available for viewing on the Web site 
www.louisville.va.gov/newmedicalcenter/. Copies are also available at 
the St. Matthews and Westport Branches of the Louisville Free Public 
Library located at 3940 Grandview Avenue, Louisville, KY 40207 and 8100 
Westport Road, Louisville, KY 40222.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Replacement VAMC Activation Team 
Office, 800 Zorn Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206 or by email to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA plans to site, construct, and operate a 
VAMC and VBA regional office to replace the existing Robley Rex VAMC 
located on Zorn Avenue in Louisville, KY. The existing 63-year-old VAMC 
facilities have reached the end of their serviceable lives and need to 
be replaced. The existing building conditions and site configuration 
are inadequate to effectively and efficiently meet the expanding needs 
of VA's health care mission in the region. The replacement campus will 
include diagnostic and treatment facilities and required site amenities 
and improvements needed to provide sufficient capacity to meet the 
current and projected future health care needs of Veterans in the 
Louisville service area.
    In the Final EIS, VA has analyzed the environmental impacts of 
three alternatives for the replacement VAMC. Alternative A proposes 
construction and operation of a replacement VAMC campus at the 
Brownsboro Site at 4906 Brownsboro Road, Louisville, KY. Alternative B 
would construct and operate a replacement VAMC campus at the St. Joseph 
site on a parcel located east of I-265 and south of Factory Lane in 
Louisville, KY. Alternative C is the No Action alternative, which would 
consist of not constructing and operating a new replacement VAMC and 
VBA but continuing to operate the existing Louisville VAMC at 800 Zorn 
Avenue, all eight CBOCs and the VBA regional office at 321 West Main 
Street. The No Action alternative is required by NEPA and its 
regulations and also provided a baseline for comparing potential 
impacts from the action alternatives.
    VA's preferred alternative is Alternative A, the construction and 
operation of a replacement VAMC campus at the Brownsboro Site at 4906 
Brownsboro Road, in Louisville, KY. VA will relocate medical facility 
operations to the Brownsboro Site from Zorn Avenue and a later process 
will evaluate the future use or disposition of the Zorn Avenue 
property.
    Environmental topics addressed in the Final EIS include aesthetics, 
air quality, cultural resources, geology and soils, hydrology and water 
quality, wildlife and habitat, noise, land use, floodplains and 
wetlands, socioeconomics, community services, solid waste and hazardous 
materials, transportation and parking, utilities, and environmental 
justice.
    Best management practices and mitigation measures that could 
alleviate environmental effects have been considered and are included 
where relevant within the Final EIS. Unavoidable adverse impacts 
include effects to air quality, aesthetics, noise, land use, solid 
waste and hazardous materials, utilities, and transportation and 
traffic. With the exception of aesthetics and land use, implementation 
of specified mitigation measures, including the Kentucky Transportation 
Cabinet's planned construction (2019) of the single point urban 
interchange (SPUI) at the KY 22 Brownsboro site location, would 
substantially decrease the magnitude of these impacts.
    The Final EIS considers comments on the Draft EIS, including those 
submitted during the public comment period that officially began on 
October 27, 2016, and ended on January 11, 2017, following a 30-day 
comment period extension that VA determined was sufficient in response 
to requests from the public for a 60-day extension.
    The 2017 Replacement Robley Rex VAMC Final EIS is available for 
viewing on the VA Web site at www.louisville.va.gov/newmedicalcenter/ 
and at the St. Matthews and Westport Branches of the Louisville Free 
Public Library located at 3940 Grandview Avenue, Louisville, KY 40207 
and 8100 Westport Road, Louisville, KY 40222, respectively. Information 
related to the EIS process is also available for viewing on the VA Web 
site at www.louisville.va.gov/newmedicalcenter/.

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 April 21, 2017, for publication.

    Dated: April 21, 2017.
Jeffrey Martin,
Office Program Manager, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, 
Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2017-08562 Filed 4-27-17; 8:45 am]
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