Notice of Public Hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Disposal and Redevelopment of Naval Base Charleston, North Charleston, South Carolina

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy

Notice of Public Hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact

Statement for Disposal and Redevelopment of Naval Base Charleston,

North Charleston, South Carolina

Pursuant to Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR

Parts 1500-1508), implementing procedural provisions of the National

Environmental Policy Act, the Department of the Navy has prepared and

filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the disposal and subsequent

redevelopment of the Naval Base Charleston, North Charleston, South

Carolina.

In response to the recommendations of the 1993 Defense Base Closure

and Realignment Commission and to legislative requirements in the 1990

Base Closure and Realignment Act (BCRA) (Pub. L. 101-510), Naval Base

Charleston is to be closed. Activities included in the closure are the

Naval Station, the Naval Shipyard, the Fleet Industrial Support Center,

the Fleet and Mine Warfare Training Center, the Submarine Training

Facility, and the Naval Reserve Center.

Naval Base Charleston is located in the City of North Charleston

approximately five miles north of the City of Charleston. The Base

encompasses approximately 1,575 acres of land along the Cooper River

and includes about 2.3 million square feet of industrial space, l.8

million square feet of warehouse space, 2.2 million square feet of

administrative space, 86 residences, 19 barracks, 152 marina slips, 23

piers, 5 dry-dock facilities, and a wide range of recreational

facilities.

The proposed action addressed in the DEIS is the disposal and

subsequent redevelopment of lands/facilities determined surplus to the

needs of the federal government. A Charleston Naval Complex Reuse Plan

was prepared by the Building Economic Solutions Together (BEST)

Committee, which included representation of over 40 local groups and

organizations from throughout the region. This plan, which identifies a

preferred development plan, was approved by both the BEST Committee and

the recently created Charleston Naval Base Redevelopment Authority. The

DEIS has been prepared to address the environmental consequences of the

implementation of this comprehensive reuse plan.

In the preparation of the Redevelopment Plan, consideration was

given to the possible reuse of the Base by other federal, state, and

local agencies, homeless support organizations, business interests

(i.e., privatization of the Shipyard), and recreational users. Various

reuse scenarios were developed by BEST, and a preferred reuse plan was

identified and approved following public review and evaluation. The

Preferred Alternative evaluated in the DEIS is the Preferred

Development Plan as approved by BEST and the Redevelopment Authority.

The Preferred Redevelopment Plan identifies areas of the Naval Base

for use as a Cargo Terminal, Intermodal Rail Yard, Marine Industrial

Park, recreational areas, cultural park warehouse space and open space/

stormwater management. The Shipyard is to be privatized for continued

use as a shipyard. The preferred plan also provides facilities for

local/regional homeless service agencies including residential,

training, and administrative uses. The plan also provides for use of

lands/facilities for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency

(NOAA), the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS), and interim use

of facilities by the Navy.

In response to environmental concerns and the current

unavailability of information from ongoing Installation Restoration

efforts, a Contingent Redevelopment Plan is being considered as part of

the Preferred Alternative. The Contingent Redevelopment Plan includes

all the same components as the Preferred Development Plan and will

result in similar beneficial economic impacts, but will avoid

restoration sites if necessary. The DEIS also addresses potential

impacts to community services, traffic, air quality, water quality,

vegetation and wildlife, cultural resources, noise and land use.

The DEIS has been distributed to various federal, state, and local

government agencies and elected officials, special interest groups,

libraries and the media. A limited number of single copies are

available at the address listed at the end of this notice.

The Department of the Navy will hold two public hearings to inform

the public of the DEIS findings and to solicit comments. One hearing

will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Monday, November 28, 1994,

at the Chicora Neighborhood Center, North Charleston. The second

hearing will be held from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Tuesday, November 29,

1994, at the North Charleston City Hall. Public hearing times will be

as scheduled or until the conclusion of public comments. The hearings

will be conducted by the Navy. Federal, state, and local agencies and

interested parties are invited and urged to attend or be represented at

the hearings. Oral statements will be heard and transcribed by a

stenographer, however, to assure the accuracy of the record, all

statements should be submitted in writing. All statements, both oral

and written, will become part of the public record. Equal weight will

be given to both oral and written comments.

In the interest of available time, each speaker will be asked to

limit remarks to five minutes. Longer statements should be summarized

at the public hearing and submitted in writing either at the hearing or

mailed to the address listed at the end of this announcement. All

written statements must be postmarked by Monday, December 12, 1994 to

become part of the official record.

Additional information concerning this notice may be obtained by

contacting Mr. William Sloger, PE (Code 203WS), Southern Division,

Naval Facilities Engineering Command, 2155 Eagle Drive, North

Charleston, South Carolina, 29419-9010, telephone (803) 743-0797.

Dated November 8, 1994.

L.R. McNees,

LCDR, JAGC, USN, Federal Register Liason Officer.

[FR Doc. 94-28002 Filed 11-9-94; 8:45 am]

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