Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for a Proposed Golf Course

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Air Force

Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for a Proposed Golf Course

The Department of the Air Force is issuing this notice to advise

the public that an environmental impact statement (EIS) will be

prepared for a golf course adjacent to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

Luke Air Force Base (AFB) will prepare an EIS on a proposal to

construct and operate a golf course and related facilities including a

clubhouse, cart storage building, and maintenance building. The golf

course will occupy 155 acres in Maricopa County, Arizona, on the

northeast corner of Northern

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Avenue and Reems Road west of Phoenix. The proposed site, which will

soon be deeded to Luke AFB, was used for agricultural purposes in the

past. Currently, the site is undergoing construction of the Dysart

Drain Improvement Project, which includes a 160-acre detention basin

designed to alleviate flooding of the military base property and

facilities.

The project is being proposed so that the detention basin provides

multiple purpose benefits. It is common practice in the Southwest to

place recreational facilities, such as golf courses, in detention

basins. Surveys show a high demand for golf by the Luke AFB population,

which includes approximately 30,000 active duty and family members as

well as military retirees and Department of Defense civilian employees

that work at the base. Currently, the eligible members of the Luke AFB

population have no military golf alternatives. The competitive

environment for golf in the Phoenix metropolitan area make golf

unaffordable to many military members as market rates range from $40 to

$100 per round during winter months when weather in the area is most

conducive for golf.

All potential significant environmental effects will be discussed

in the EIS. These include air quality impacts from fugitive dust and

various construction emissions generated during the construction

period, an analysis of the potential effects caused by increased

traffic volume in the area, and the potential for contamination of the

detention basin by pesticides and fertilizers used in golf course

maintenance.

The only alternative to this action is the no-action alternative,

which leaves the site serving as a detention basin without a golf

course.

The proposed action would not commence until after completion of

the Dysart Drain Improvement Project, which is scheduled for 1997. It

is estimated that the time frame for construction of the golf course

and its related facilities would take 13 months.

Prior to any construction efforts, and accompanying preparation of

the EIS, a public involvement plan will be implemented to solicit

public opinion of the proposed action. A public scoping meeting is

scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12, 1995 at the

Litchfield Park Recreation Center Community Room, 100 South Old

Litchfield Road.

To ensure that all significant issues regarding the proposed action

and the EIS are identified, comments and questions are invited from all

interested parties, and should be addressed to Luke AFB at the address

below:

Lisa Q. Carlson, Natural Resources Planner, 56 CES/CEVN, 14002 West

Marauder Street, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona 85309-1125, Telephone

(602) 856-3823

Patsy J. Conner,

Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 95-22257 Filed 9-7-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3910-01-P