Availability of the Finding of No Significant Impact for the Proposed Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Initial Development Program Environmental Assessment

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Availability of the Finding of No Significant Impact for the

Proposed Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Initial Development

Program Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality regulations

for implementing the procedural provisions of the National

Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), Department of

Defense Directive 6050.1, and Army Regulation 200-2, the U.S. Army

Space and Strategic Defense Command was tasked to conduct an assessment

of potential environmental consequences of the THAAD Initial

Development Program in support of the Theater Missile Defense (TMD)

Initiative. A no-action alternative was also considered. The Program

Executive Office, Missile Defense, has the responsibility for

conducting the THAAD program, which is intended to demonstrate a high-

altitude interceptor missile system.

The THAAD program activities would include development and flight

testing of the THAAD interceptor missile system against ballistic and

maneuvering targets. Some targets could carry a chemical simulant

payload to quantify THAAD lethality against chemical warheads.

This EA and the decision it supports cover the first two

demonstration flight test scheduled to be conducted at White Sands

Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico, beginning in late 1994. The THAAD EA

also analyzes the construction of a target launch complex for the THAAD

program in the Firing-In-Extension area north of WSMR. The remaining 18

flight tests involving missile intercepts of government-furnished

target missiles will be covered in supplemental environmental

documentation as information becomes available. All of the proposed

locations were selected based on their ongoing work for similar

programs and/or as a result of the competitive procurement process.

Development and test activities for the THAAD program would be

conducted at WSMR; Arnold Engineering and Development Center, Arnold

Air Force Base, Tennessee; Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico; Lyndon

B. Johnson Test Center, WSMR; Lockheed Missiles and Space Company,

Incorporated, Courtland, Alabama, and Santa Cruz and Sunnyvale,

California; Naval Surface Warfare Center, White Oak, Maryland; Phillips

Laboratory, Edwards Air Force Base, California; Rockwell International

Corporation, Rocketdyne Division, Canoga Park, California; United

Technologies Corporation, Chemical Systems Division, San Jose,

California; and Stanford Research Institute, Tracy, California. most

THAAD program activities are considered routine for proposed test

locations and would use mostly existing personnel.

Alternatives to this proposed system to be analyzed are:

Alternative test ranges.

Alternative interceptor launch locations.

Alternative target launch locations.

Alternative materials and manufacturing processes.

Conducting THAAD intercept testing against targets without

chemical simulant payloads.

No-action alternative in which the TMD program would

continue to be developed without the ability of the THAAD program to

intercept and destroy high-altitude enemy tactical missiles.

FINDINGS: To assess the significance of potential environmental

impacts, a list of the site-specific activities necessary to accomplish

the proposed action was first developed. The affected environment at

all THAAD program activity locations was then described. Next, those

activities with the potential for causing environmental impacts were

identified. Each of these identified activities was subsequently

evaluated in greater detail. Eleven broad environmental issue

components were evaluated to provide a context for understanding the

potential effects of the proposed action and to provide a basis for

assessing the significance of potential impacts. The 11 areas of

environmental consideration are air quality, biological resources,

cultural resources, hazardous materials and waste, health and safety,

infrastructure, land use, noise, physical resources, socioeconomics,

and water resources. If a proposed activity was determined to present a

potential for environmental impact, then the activity was evaluated by

considering the intensity, extent, and context in which the impact

would occur. As a result of the evaluation, impacts were assigned to

one of three categories: No impact, not significant impact, or

significant impact.

Evaluation of the areas of environmental consideration for which a

potential for impact was posed has shown that no significant impacts

would occur from implementation of the THAAD Initial Development

program activities at any of the proposed locations. The environmental

consequences of all planned THAAD program activities evaluated were

determined to be not significant for all locations.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies may be forwarded

to: Ms. Sharon Mitchell, U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command,

CSSD-EN-V, P.O. Box 1500, Huntsville, AL 35807-3801.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 27, 1994.

Dated: May 20, 1994.

Lewis D. Walker,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, (Environment, Safety, and

Occupational Health) OASA(IL&E).

[FR Doc. 94-13121 Filed 5-26-94; 8:45 am]

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