Public Hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact; Statement/ Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR) for the Disposal of the Long Beach Naval Station (NAVSTA) and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard (NSY)

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy

Public Hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact; Statement/

Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR) for the Disposal of the Long

Beach Naval Station (NAVSTA) and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard (NSY)

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

ACTION: Announcement of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy and the City of Long Beach have

prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a

Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/

EIR) for the disposal of NAVSTA and NSY and the subsequent reuse of

those properties and other adjacent properties. A public hearing will

be held for the purpose to receive oral and written comments on the

DEIS/EIR. Federal, state and local agencies, and interested individuals

are invited to be present or represented at the hearing.

DATES: Hearing date is as follows:

1. January 14, 1998, 7:00 p.m., Long Beach, CA.

ADDRESSES: Hearing location is:

1. Long Beach--the City of Long Beach Council Chambers, 333 West

Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Melanie Ault, (619) 532-4744.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Council on Environmental

Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) implementing the

procedural provisions of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),

California Public Resources Code 21000 et seq., and 14 California Code

of Regulation 15000 et seq., implementing the procedural provisions of

the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Department of the

Navy and the City of Long Beach have prepared and filed with the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency a DEIS/EIR for the disposal of NAVSTA

and NSY and the subsequent reuse of those properties and other adjacent

properties. The DEIS/EIR has also been prepared in accordance with the

Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (DBCRA) (10 U.S.C.

2687 note) and the recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and

Realignment Commission approved by the President and accepted by

Congress in 1991 and 1995.

The purpose of the proposed federal action is to dispose of NAVSTA

and NSY for reuse in accordance with DBCRA established procedures for

closing and realigning military installations. The portion of NAVSTA

addressed in this action includes the main station, the Navy Mole, and

Site 6A-LB. The Navy Fuel Depot, located on the Navy Mole, was not

declared to be surplus to the needs of the federal government and will

remain the property of the Navy. Of the 250 acres NSY site, 84 acres

are subject to reversion under the terms of the final judgment in

United States of America v. 1039 Acres of Land etc. et. al. The Navy

has no discretion regarding the reversion of this property. There are

also 602 acres of submerged land that will revert to the City under the

terms of that judgment. The remaining land at NSY will be disposed of

by the Navy under

[[Page 66851]]

BRAC and federal property transfer laws. Therefore, the federal action

is the disposal of a total of 454 acres.

The purpose and need for the proposed local action is to reuse Navy

property (NAVSTA and NSY) in order to offset the negative socioeconomic

effects caused by the base closures. A high priority of reuse of the

Navy property is job creation and economic redevelopment in accordance

with President Clinton's Five Point Program and Governor Wilson's

Executive Order W-81-94. The City of Long Beach, as the Local

Redevelopment Authority (LRA), proposes to reuse the NAVSTA and NSY

property to meet the projected demand for marine terminal expansion and

to satisfy the need for new police facilities. In order to meet these

needs, the LRA expanded its plan to include 89 acres of Port of Long

Beach (POLB) lands adjacent to the Navy property. A ten-acre parcel

(included within the 89 acres) north of Ocean Boulevard, which is owned

by POLB, was added to the project in response to comments received on

another EIR which addressed the POLB Pier T. The term Long Beach

Complex (LBC) will be used to define the Navy property and the

surrounding Port of Long Beach properties in the DEIS/EIR. Therefore,

the local action includes 1,229 acres of property and submerged lands.

Under NEPA and DBCRA, the Navy has two disposal options for the 454

acres: no action, or disposal of the non-reversionary Navy properties.

Under the No Action Alternative, the Navy would retain ownership of

the 454 acres of nonreversionary federal property, while current use of

the adjacent POLB would continue. The Navy properties have been closed,

all mission-related activities have ceased, and all buildings are

vacant. This caretaker condition would remain indefinitely under the No

Action Alternative. Site environmental cleanup would continue until

completed. The existing lease of the property on the Navy Mole to POLB

would remain through its term. The 84 acres on NSY and the 602 acres of

submerged land reverting to the City of Long Beach could be

transferred, but it is assumed that existing uses would remain

unchanged.

Federal disposal would precede implementation of the reuse

alternatives. Three reuse alternatives are evaluated in detail in the

DEIS/EIR:

--LRA Reuse Alternative;

--Auto Terminal Alternative; and

--Institutional Campus Alternative.

A brief summary of the three reuse alternatives is presented below.

The LRA Reuse Alternative would include development of marine

container terminal facilities, including container staging areas;

loading and unloading facilities; trucking facilities; on-dock railyard

and tracks, administration and maintenance facilities; access roadway

and entry gates; and other related facilities on NAVSTA and portions of

NSY. A ship repair and/or breaking facility of approximately 18 acres

would be centered around and include Drydock 1. Vessels would be staged

along the west side of Navy Pier E. This component would primarily use

existing facilities and structures within the designated area. The Navy

Pier E area would be used for development of a mixture of marine cargo

facilities, including a deepwater liquid bulk terminal on the southern

end of POLB Pier T, reconfiguration of existing lumber and scrap metal

terminals, relocation of the City of Long Beach police headquarters and

training academy to the former NSY Building 300, relocation and

consolidation of oil operations on Port of Long Beach Pier T, and

reconstruction of roadways and utilities to serve the facilities. The

southern one-half of the Navy Mole (excluding the Fuel Depot) would be

used for the development of a neobulk/breakbulk terminal, facilities

for ancillary and water-dependent uses, and Sea Launch, a satellite

assembly and transfer facility. The police headquarters component may

require a public subsidy. This alternative would require demolition of

the Roosevelt Base Historic District, an historic resource eligible for

listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Auto Terminal Alternative would retain the majority of the

Historic District, which would provide facilities for an auto terminal

operator, port terminal operators, and a naval museum, which may

require public subsidy. The remainder of LBC would support the same

uses as the LRA Reuse Alternative, including marine container terminal

facilities, intermodal rail facilities, neobulk/breakbulk facilities,

ship repair facility, a liquid bulk facility, and port ancillary uses

as described above. The auto terminal would use roll-on/roll-off (Ro/

Ro) transfer of wheeled cargos such as automobiles and light trucks.

Access to the auto terminal, port terminal facilities, and museum would

be provided by a proposed grade-separated crossing from Reeves Avenue.

This would provide uninterrupted access to the site over the proposed

intermodal rail operations.

The Institutional Campus Alternative would include a police academy

and police administrative offices, POLB administration, fire

department, and naval museum within the Historic District. Unlike the

other reuse alternatives, all of the Historic District recreational

facilities would be retained in a campus setting under this

alternative. A public subsidy may be required to support this

component. The remainder of LBC would include marine container terminal

facilities, intermodal rail facilities, neobulk/breakbulk facilities, a

91-acre ship repair facility, a liquid bulk facility, and port

ancillary uses. This alternative would consolidate several of the

existing City of Long Beach Police Department functions, which are

currently being performed at several different locations throughout the

City, into the Historic District buildings. Similar to the Auto

Terminal Alternative, access to the proposed institutional uses would

be provided via a grade-separated crossing from Reeves Avenue.

In accordance with NEPA requirements, a Notice of Intent (NOI) to

prepare a joint EIS/EIR and to reopen scoping for the disposal and

reuse of NAVSTA and NSY was published in the Federal Register on July

21, 1997. On July 18, 1997, the NOI was mailed directly to regulatory

agencies, local jurisdictions, elected officials, public service

providers, organizations, and special interest members of the public.

In accordance with requirements under CEQA, a Notice of Preparation

(NOP) to prepare a joint EIS/EIR and to reopen scoping for the disposal

and reuse of NAVSTA and NSY was distributed on July 18, 1997, to

regulatory agencies, local jurisdictions, elected officials, and public

service providers, among others.

As part of the EIS/EIR scoping process, the Navy and the City held

a public scoping meeting on August 20, 1997, in the City of Long Beach

Council Chambers. The meeting was advertised in the Long Beach Press

Telegram on August 4, 11, and 18, 1997, as well as in the Federal

Register.

This DEIS/EIR analyzes potential environmental impacts relating to

land use; socioeconomics; utilities; historic and archaeological

resources; aesthetics; biological resources; topography, soils, and

geology; hydrology and water quality; hazardous materials and

environmental contamination; public health and safety; traffic and

transportation; air quality; and noise. Potentially significant and

mitigable environmental impacts include impacts to land use; biological

resources; and noise. Potentially significant and not mitigable impacts

are related to disturbance and/or demolition of the Historic District

and public health and

[[Page 66852]]

safety impacts from potential increase for oil spills and risks posed

from the liquid bulk facilities explosion hazard arcs. Remediation of

contaminated areas will continue to be the responsibility of the Navy.

No decision on the proposed action will be made until the NEPA and

CEQA processes have been completed.

The DEIS/EIR has been distributed to various federal, state, and

local agencies, local groups, elected officials, special interest

groups, and individuals. The DEIS/EIR is also available for review at

the following libraries:

--Long Beach Public Library, 101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, CA.

--Alamitos Public Library, 1836 E. Third Street, Long Beach, CA.

--Bach Public Library, 4055 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA.

--Bay Shore Public Library, 195 Bay Shore, Long Beach, CA.

--Brewitt Public Library, 4036 E. Anaheim Street, Long Beach, CA.

--Burnett Public Library, 560 E. Hill Street, Long Beach, CA.

--Dana Public Library, 3680 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA.

--El Dorado Public Library, 2900 Studebaker Road, Long Beach, CA.

--Harte Public Library, 1595 W. Willow Street, Long Beach, CA.

--Los Altos Public Library, 5614 Britton, Long Beach, CA.

--Mark Twain Public Library, 1325 E. Anaheim Street, Long Beach, CA.

--San Pedro Regional Branch Library, 931 S. Gaffey Street, Los Angeles,

CA.

--Wilmington Branch Library, 1300 N. Avalon Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.

--Bell Library, 4411 E. Gage Avenue, Bell, CA.

--Carson Library, 151 E. Carson Street, Carson, CA.

--City of Commerce Central Library, 5655 Jillson Street, City of

Commerce, CA.

--Compton Library, 240 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA.

--Cudahy Library, 5218 Santa Ana Street, Cudahy, CA.

--El Segundo Public Library, 111 W. Mariposa Avenue, El Segundo, CA.

--Hawthorne Library, 12700 S. Grevillea Avenue, Hawthorne, CA.

--Inglewood Public Library, 101 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, CA.

--Lawndale Library, 14615 Burin Avenue, Lawndale, CA.

--Lynwood Library, 11320 Bullis Road, Lynwood, CA.

--Maywood Library, 4323 E. Slauson, Maywood, CA.

--Paramount Library, 16254 Colorado Avenue, Paramount, CA.

--Redondo Beach Main Library, 303 North Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo

Beach, CA.

--Leland R. Weaver Library, 4035 Tweedy Blvd., South Gate, CA.

--Diane Gayton Library, 707 Electric Avenue, Seal Beach, CA.

--Torrance Public Library, 3301 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA.

--Vernon Public Library, 4504 S. Central Avenue, Vernon, CA.

The Navy and the City will conduct a public hearing to receive oral

and written comments concerning the DEIS/EIR on Wednesday, January 14,

1998, at 7:00 p.m. in the City of Long Beach Council Chambers. A brief

presentation will precede a request for public information and

comments. Navy and City representatives will be available at the

hearing to receive information and comments from agencies and the

public regarding issues of concern. Federal, state, and local agencies,

and interested individuals are invited to be present or represented at

the hearing. Oral comments will be heard and transcribed by a

stenographer. To assure accuracy of the record, all comments should be

submitted in writing. All comments, both oral and written, will become

part of the public record in the study. In the interest of available

time, each speaker will be asked to limit oral comments to three

minutes. Longer comments should be summarized at the public hearing and

submitted in writing either at the hearing or mailed to Ms. Melanie

Ault, BRAC Program Office, Southwest Division, Naval Facilities

Engineering Command, 1420 Kettner Boulevard, Suite 501, San Diego,

California 92101-2404, telephone (619) 532-4744, fax (619) 532-4743.

Written comments are requested not later than February 2, 1998.

Dated: December 17, 1997.

Michael I. Quinn,

Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy,

Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 97-33349 Filed 12-19-97; 8:45 am]

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