SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

The Draft EA evaluates the potential environmental impacts of a proposal by OA to make improvements to the granite façade of the EEOB and bring it into visual alignment with the neighboring White House. Section 590 of Public Law 100-461 authorizes the OA Director to accept gifts, property, and voluntary services to support renovation and rehabilitation of the EEOB, and establishes a United States Treasury Fund for those purposes. OA is not a Federal agency and is therefore is not required to comply with either NEPA or the NHPA. Moreover, given the EEOB's location on White House grounds, it is exempt from the requirements of the NHPA under Section 107. Nonetheless, OA is voluntarily following the NEPA and NHPA procedures for this Project because those procedures provide a generally well-understood framework for considering potential effects and receiving input from agencies, the public, and interested parties.

Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action

The subject of the Project, the EEOB, is located to the west of the White House at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The Project is proposed to rehabilitate and improve the granite façade of the EEOB to restore and beautify its physical appearance, consistent with Executive Order 14344, Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again. At present, several areas of the EEOB's façade are deteriorating, including through granular disintegration, delamination, incipient spalling, cracking, and chipping, as well as gypsum salt accumulation, efflorescence, stains from exposure to contaminants, and biological growth. This deterioration has worsened over time and diminished the EEOB's appearance and stature. Further, the gray façade of the EEOB, combined with its size and massing, conveys a dark, drab, and uninspiring presence that detracts from the aesthetic presentation of the much smaller White House directly adjacent to it. In carrying out proposed exterior improvements, OA proposes to address existing areas of degradation, engage in various masonry preservation measures, and coat the façade with white, mineral silicate paint. The proposed action would not only address areas of disrepair on the EEOB's façade, but would also visually align the EEOB with the White House, of which it is a functional extension.

Alternatives Under Consideration

The EA will consider three Action Alternatives ( i.e., the Exterior Painting Alternative, the Partial Painting Alternative, and the Cleaning and Lighting Alternative) and the No Action Alternative. Under the Exterior Painting Alternative (the “Preferred Alternative”), the EEOB's whole granite façade (excluding interior courtyards) would be painted with a white, mineral silicate paint. Prior to painting, the granite facade would be prepared for ( printed page 65715) painting, which would include a conservation-based cleaning regimen and stone repair and preservation measures implemented in accordance with the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Façade lighting also would be installed. The Partial Painting Alternative involves painting only the exterior granite walls of the upper floors of all four elevations, leaving the raised foundation (currently a different type, texture, and shade of granite) unpainted. As with the Preferred Alternative, the paint would be a shade of white, mineral silicate paint, the courtyard elevations would remain unpainted, the exterior walls would undergo cleaning and stone repair prior to painting, and façade lighting would be installed. The Cleaning and Lighting Alternative involves only cleaning the exterior granite using a gentle, conservation-based cleaning method to remove dirt and soiling on all four exterior elevations, to remove unattractive stains, and to improve the overall appearance of the exterior facade. Under the No Action Alternative, cleaning and painting of the EEOB façade would not occur. Weathering and deterioration of the building façade would continue, and the aesthetics of the building would remain unaligned with that of the White House.

OA welcomes comments on all four alternatives, as well as suggestions for additional alternatives.

Public Input and Consultation

This notice of availability provides a period for the public to identify issues and potential alternatives for consideration. Federal agencies; state, tribal, and local governments; and the general public will have the opportunity to assist OA in identifying the following for analysis: historic properties that could be affected by the Project, potential adverse effects, reasonable alternatives, and potential mitigation measures to be analyzed.

OA will use the NEPA coordination process provided for in the NHPA regulations (36 CFR 800.8). OA will consider all written requests from individuals or organizations to participate as consulting parties under NHPA and, as discussed below, will determine who among those parties will be a consulting party in accordance with NHPA regulations.

NHPA Consulting Parties: Certain individuals and organizations with a demonstrated interest in the Project can request to participate as NHPA consulting parties under 36 CFR 800.2(c)(5), due to the nature of their legal or economic relation to the undertaking or affected properties, or their concern with the undertaking's effects on historic properties.

Interested individuals or organizations can request to be consulting parties by emailing: ConsultingParties@oa.eop.gov. Parties requesting consulting status should provide all information that would allow OA to fully evaluate the request. OA will determine which interested parties should be consulting parties.

Comments: Federal agencies; tribal, state, and local governments; and other interested parties are requested to comment on the scope of this EA, significant issues that should be addressed, and alternatives that should be considered. For information on how to submit comments, see the ADDRESSES section above.

Authority:42 U.S.C. 4321-4347.

91 FR 65714