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10 June 2008
[Federal Register: June 10, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 112)]
[Notices]
[Page 32682-32683]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10jn08-21]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
TRIDENT Support Facilities Explosives Handling Wharf, Naval Base
Kitsap-Bangor, Silverdale, Kitsap County, WA and To Announce Public
Scoping Meeting
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section (102)(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, and the regulations implemented by the Council on
Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Department of the
Navy (Navy) announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts
associated with the construction and operation of a proposed new
Explosives Handling Wharf (EHW) located adjacent to, but separate from,
the existing EHW on Hood Canal, NBK-Bangor, WA, to support TRIDENT
submarines.
The proposed action consists of in-water and land-based
construction and infrastructure enhancements including a covered
ordnance operations area, a support building on the wharf, and a
warping wharf. As part of the Navy's sea-based strategic deterrence
mission, the Navy Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) directs research,
development, manufacturing, test, evaluation, and operational support
of the TRIDENT Fleet Ballistic Missile program. SSP is the Action
Proponent and the Navy is the lead agency for this project.
The Navy will hold a public scoping meeting for the purpose of
further identifying the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS.
Federal, State, and local agencies and the public are invited to
participate in the scoping process for the EIS. Comments are being
solicited to help identify significant issues or concerns related to
the proposed action, determine the scope of issues to be addressed in
the EIS, and identify and refine alternatives to the proposed action.
The Navy will conduct a public scoping meeting to receive oral and/
or written comments on environmental concerns that should be addressed
in the EIS. The public scoping meeting will be conducted in English and
will be arranged in an informal, open house format. Attendees will be
asked to sign in and will be directed to various stations manned by
Navy representatives and technical staff assigned to provide
information and answer questions. Several large display boards will be
located throughout the meeting location to assist attendees in
understanding the project and the alternatives. A comment table,
supplied with comment sheets, will be placed in an easily accessible
and comfortable location. Fact sheets about the project and
alternatives will be available to participants.
Dates and Addresses: The public scoping meeting will be held on
Thursday, June 26, 2008 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Silverdale
Community Center, 9729 Silverdale Way, NW., Evergreen Room, Silverdale,
WA 98383.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jack Spiller, Public Affairs
Officer, Department of the Navy, Strategic Systems Programs, 2521 South
Clark Street, Suite 1000, Arlington, VA 22202-3930, telephone: 703-601-
9009, e-mail at: nbkehweis@ssp.navy.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is to construct and
operate a proposed new EHW located adjacent to, but separate from, the
existing EHW on Hood Canal, NBK-Bangor, WA, to support TRIDENT
submarines. The purpose of the proposed action is to meet current and
future technical program requirements for the TRIDENT mission. The need
for the proposed action is to provide capability for loading and
unloading missiles and torpedoes on submarines homeported at NBK-
Bangor.
The new EHW is needed to maintain operational availability of the
TRIDENT Program. The original plan for the TRIDENT base at Bangor,
described in an environmental impact statement dated July 1974 provided
for three EHWs. Two EHWs were constructed for the TRIDENT base at Kings
Bay, Georgia, and operations at Kings Bay have demonstrated the
efficiency and
[[Page 32683]]
effectiveness that can be achieved by a second EHW. Eight of the Navy's
14 TRIDENT submarines are now homeported at Bangor, increasing the need
to construct the second EHW envisioned in the original plan for Bangor.
Alternatives for the proposed action were identified based on
capability for meeting TRIDENT Program mission requirements, ability to
avoid or minimize environmental impacts, siting requirements including
proximity to existing infrastructure, availability of waterfront
property, constructability of essential project features, and master
planning issues such as explosives safety restrictions.
Alternatives to be considered include: (1) Deep-Water Trestle EHW;
(2) Onshore Trestle EHW; (3) No Action Alternative. For both action
alternatives, the EHW would be located in deep water, parallel to and
600 feet from the shore, and placement of structures over the
intertidal zone would be minimized. The new EHW would include a covered
operations area approximately 600 feet long and 250 feet wide,
supplemented by an uncovered wharf extension approximately 700 feet
long and 40 feet wide.
The wharf would either be an anchored floating structure or a
structure supported by piles. Separate pile-supported entrance and exit
trestles, or bridges, would provide a roadway for missile transport
vehicles to travel from shore to the EHW and back to shore. For both
action alternatives, the entrance trestle would be constructed from the
end of the existing EHW access road to connect to the north end of the
new EHW. The two action alternatives differ in the location of the exit
trestle, which would connect the south end of the new EHW to the
existing EHW access road.
Under the Deep-Water Trestle alternative, parallel entry and exit
trestles would be constructed to transport ordnance to and from the
wharf. The exit trestle would be constructed over deep water to the
extent possible, crossing the intertidal zone and returning to land at
the existing EHW access road. The Deep-Water Trestle alternative would
require approximately 1,000 feet of additional in-water construction
but would avoid construction of a road on the steep embankment adjacent
to the proposed site for the EHW.
For the Onshore Trestle alternative, the exit trestle would be
constructed to take the shortest distance to shore from the south end
of the new EHW. This alternative would require extension of the exit
trestle approximately 1,400 feet along the edge of the steep embankment
on the shore, away from the intertidal zone, to connect to the existing
access road.
No decision will be made to implement any alternative until the EIS
process is completed and a Record of Decision is signed by the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Phased construction of the project
would be completed in four years.
The impacts to be evaluated include, but will not be limited to,
impacts on fish and marine mammals, essential fish habitat, effects on
endangered and threatened species, impacts relating to underwater
noise, loss of underwater habitat, decreased opportunities for
migratory and transient movement within the waterfront, impacts on
cultural resources, reduction in water quality, impacts on wetlands,
terrestrial impacts, effects on tribal resources, and consistency with
the Coastal Zone Management Act.
The analysis will include an evaluation of direct, indirect, short
term, and long term impacts and will account for cumulative impacts
from other Navy and non-Navy activities in the project area.
The Navy is initiating the scoping process to identify community
concerns and local issues to be addressed in the EIS. Federal agencies,
state agencies, local agencies, and interested persons are encouraged
to provide written comments in addition to, or in lieu of, oral
comments at scheduled public scoping meetings.
Written comments must be postmarked by midnight July 14, 2008 and
should be submitted to: Mr. Jack Spiller, Public Affairs Officer,
Department of the Navy, Strategic Systems Programs, 2521 South Clark
Street, Suite 1000, Arlington, VA 22202-3930, telephone: 703-601-9009,
e-mail at: nbkehweis@ssp.navy.mil.
Dated: June 5, 2008.
L.R. Almand,
Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy, Alternate Federal
Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E8-12993 Filed 6-9-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P