Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Fort Greely Maneuver Area and Air Drop Zone, and Fort Wainwright Maneuver Area

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Fort Greely Maneuver

Area and Air Drop Zone, and Fort Wainwright Maneuver Area

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Military Lands Withdrawal Act, Public Law 99-606, enacted

by Congress on November 6,

[[Page 53602]]

1986, identified For Greely Maneuver Area, Fort Greely Air Drop Zone,

and Fort Wainwright Maneuver Area (also known as the Yukon Maneuver

Area) as lands withdrawn from public use until November 6, 2001. The

Act requires the Army to publish a Draft EIS for continued or renewed

withdrawal of these lands by November 6, 1998. The Department of the

Army will be directing the preparation of the EIS for the renewed

withdrawal of the Fort Greely Maneuver Area and Air Drop Zone, and Fort

Wainwright Maneuver Area. Both sites are located near Fairbanks in

interior Alaska. In preparing the Draft EIS, the Army and the Bureau of

Land Management (BLM) have mutually agreed to use the legislative

environmental impact statement (LEIS) process pursuant to 40 C.F.R.

15061.8 to comply with the requirements of Public Law 99-606. This LEIS

will be prepared in cooperation with BLM and will be completed by

November 6, 1998, in accordance with Public Law 99-606. Therefore,

pursuant to the LEIS process, a Final LEIS (FLEIS) will be prepared and

a Notice of Availability of the FLEIS will be published in the Federal

Register; however, there will not be a Record of Decision.

Scoping: Federal, state, local agencies and the public are invited

to participate in the scoping process for the completion of the renewed

withdrawal of Fort Greely Maneuver Area and Air Drop Zone, and Fort

Wainright Maneuver Area. The scoping process will identify the

significant issues of the proposed renewed withdrawals which will need

to be addressed in the LEIS. Scoping meetings will be held in

Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Delta Junction, Alaska, within 60 days of the

publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register.

Notification of the times and locations for the public scoping meetings

will be published in local newspapers.

Comments: Written comments identifying issues and concerns to be

addressed in the LEIS will be accepted within 60 days of the public

scoping meetings. Written comments may be forwarded to: Directorate of

Pubic Works, Attn: APVR-RPW-EV (Mr. Steve Wilson), 730 Quartermaster

Drive, Fort Richardson, AK 99505-6500.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Steve Wilson, Public Works Division, Fort Richardson, at (907) 384-

2710/Fax (907) 384-3047.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fort Greely Maneuver Area and Air Drop

Zone comprise approximately 623,585 acres near Delta Junction, Alaska.

The Fort Wainwright Maneuver Area comprises approximately 247,952

acres near Fairbanks, Alaska. Both sites were withdrawn from public use

from the BLM for military purposes with the enactment of Public Law 99-

606 on November 6, 1986. The Act specifies these lands are reserved for

use by the Secretary of the Army for military maneuvering, training,

artillery firing, aerial gunnery, infantry tactics, equipment

development and testing, as well as other defense related purposes.

Both sites are used to train in an extremely cold environment and to

test the effect of this environment on military equipment. The Fort

Greely Maneuver Area and Air Drop Zone, and the Fort Wainwright

Maneuver Area are used by the Army, Air Force, and other military

units. The Army and BLM jointly manage the natural resources on both

sites recognizing the primary military role of these withdrawal lands.

The Department of the Army has determined there is a continuing

military requirement for the use of these withdrawal lands to train and

maintain military units at the required state of readiness. With the

completion of the LEIS, the Army proposes to renew its withdrawal from

public use the Fort Greely Maneuver Area and Air Drop Zone, and the

Fort Wainwright Maneuver Area. Reasonable and feasible alternatives

will be developed as part of the EIS process.

Preliminary planning criteria which have been identified for the

completion of the LEIS for both sites include: non-military activities

on the withdrawal lands; valid existing rights on the withdrawal lands;

consistency with existing plans of adjacent land owners and local

governments; natural resource management of the withdrawal lands;

public access to portions of the withdrawal lands; and subsistence use

of the withdrawal lands. The LEIS will be completed utilizing existing

data, information, plans, land use analyses and previously completed

EIS's and Environmental Assessments for these withdrawal lands.

Dated: October 9, 1997.

Raymond J. Fatz,

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

Occupational Health) OASA(I,L&E).

[FR Doc. 97-27284 Filed 10-14-97; 8:45 am]

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