Notice of Availability of the Final Environment Impact Statement for Disposal and Reuse of Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Notice of Availability of the Final Environment Impact Statement

for Disposal and Reuse of Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 and the President's Council on Environmental Quality, the Army has

prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for disposal of

lands that will become surplus at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. The

Primary Army action analyzed in the FEIS is the disposal of 2,357 acres

of surplus property at Fort Benjamin Harrison (FBH). In addition, the

FEIS analyzes impacts associated with potential reuse activities as a

secondary action to be accomplished by other (non-Army) entities.

The Army disposal action is evaluated in the context of three

alternatives: (1) the No Action Alternative (NAA) which analyzes the

effects of maintaining the installation in caretaker status after

closure; (2) the Encumbered Disposal (ED) Alternative which analyzes

the effects of the Army disposing property with certain reuse

constraints (encumbrances) on future owners as a condition of disposal

and reuse; and (3) the Unencumbered Disposal (UD) Alternative which

analyzes the effects of removing existing constraints to allow property

disposal with less or no Army-imposed restrictions to future use. The

EIS identifies the Encumbered Disposal Alternative as the preferred

Army action. No significant adverse impacts are anticipated as a result

of this Army action.

The Army does not have a preference regarding the reuse of FBH

excess lands, nor does it have the ability to maintain direct control

of the ultimate use of any property disposed. Therefore, surplus

property reuse is analyzed as a secondary, non-Army action resulting

from property disposal. The EIS evaluates three reuse alternatives that

represent a range of reuse actions that could occur at FBH. The EIS

identifies the type and relative magnitude of impacts that are expected

to occur under each of the intensity-based reuse alternatives. In

addition, the Fort Harrison Transition Task Force (FHTTF) submitted a

Preliminary Community Concept Plan (PCCP) for reuse to the Army as part

of their comments on the Draft EIS. A copy of the PCCP Executive

Summary has been included as Appendix F of the FEIS; and an analysis of

the impacts associated with the PCCP has been included as Appendix G.

The FHTTF final reuse plan is not expected to change significantly from

the PCCP.

DATES: The FEIS on the disposal and reuse of Fort Benjamin Harrison was

distributed to interested agencies and the public prior to or

simultaneously with filing of this Notice of Availability for the FEIS

with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Following a 30 day post-

filing waiting period, the Department of the Army will prepare a Record

of Decision which will become part of the environmental documentation

presented for the final decision.

ADDRESSES: Questions regarding the FEIS, or a request for copies of the

document may be directed to Mr. William Ray Haynes, U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers, Louisville District, P.O. Box 59, Louisville, Kentucky

40201-0059, or call (502) 582-6475.

Dated: January 26, 1995.

Lewis D. Walker,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and

Occupational Health) OASA (IL&E).

[FR Doc. 95-2940 Filed 2-9-95; 8:45 am]

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