Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement for the Withdrawal Renewal of Fort Wainwright Yukon Training Area and Fort Greely West Training Area and Fort Greely East Training Area, Alaska

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement for the

Withdrawal Renewal of Fort Wainwright Yukon Training Area and Fort

Greely West Training Area and Fort Greely East Training Area, Alaska

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This announces the availability of the Draft legislative

Environmental Impact Statement (DLEIS) for the renewed withdrawal of

Fort Wainwright Yukon Training Area (formerly known as the Fort

Wainwright Maneuver Area) and Fort Greely West Training Area (formerly

known as the Fort Greely Maneuver Area) and Fort Greely East Training

Area (formerly known as the Fort Greely Air Drop Zone) from public use

for military purposes. The lands are located near Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Military Lands Withdrawal Act (Pub. L. 99-606, enacted by

Congress on November 6, 1986) identified Fort Wainwright Maneuver Area

(now known as Fort Wainwright Yukon Training Area) and Fort Greely

Maneuver Area (now known as the Fort Greely West Training Area) and

Fort

[[Page 59951]]

Greely Air Drop Zone (now known as Fort Greely East Training Area) as

lands withdrawn from public use until November 6, 2001. If the Army

intends to continue use beyond this time, the Act requires the Army to

publish a Draft Environmental Impact Statement by November 6, 1998.

DATES: Comments should be received no later than February 7, 1999.

ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the DLEIS, contact Mr. Doug Johnson,

Directorate of Public Works, ATTN: APVR-RPW-EV, 730 Quartermaster Road,

Fort Richardson, AK 99505-6500.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Doug Johnson at (907) 384-3090,

fax: (907) 384-3047 or Ms. Cindy Herdrich, Center for Ecological

Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Colorado State University,

Vocational Education Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523; telephone: (970)

491-2728, fax: (970) 491-2713.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fort Wainwright Yukon Training Area

comprises approximately 246,277 acres near Fairbanks, Alaska. The Fort

Greely West and East Training Areas comprise approximately 623,585

acres near Delta Junction, Alaska. These areas were withdrawn from

public use from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for military

purposes with the enactment of the Military Lands Withdrawal Act 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. The withdrawal

renewal lands are used to train in an extremely cold environment, and

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

Wainwright Yukon Training Area and Fort Greely West and East Training

Areas are used by the Army and Air Force. The Army and BLM jointly

manage the natural resources on the withdrawal renewal lands

recognizing their primary military role.

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. The

preferred alternative proposes to renew the existing military

withdrawals for 50 years until November 6, 2051. The proposed 50-year

withdrawal period is approximately the same length of time the military

will have used these lands when the existing withdrawals expire in

2001.

Under the no action alternative considered in the DLEIS, Congress

would not grant the requested withdrawal renewals. The lands would no

longer be available for military use after November 5, 2001.

The Army conducted scoping on the DLEIS to inform the public of the

proposed action, identify significant issues, and develop alternatives

related to the proposed withdrawal renewal. Federal, State, local

agencies, and the public were invited to participate in the scoping

process. Public scoping meetings were held in Delta Junction,

Fairbanks, and Anchorage in June and December 1997.

Significant issues identified during the scoping process and

included in the impact analysis of the DLEIS are public access, air

quality, military contamination of soils and surface water, noise,

ownership of submerged lands, and wildlife and their habitat.

Public meetings are tentatively scheduled for January 1999 in Delta

Junction, Fairbanks, and Anchorage to receive comments on the DLEIS.

Notification of specific times and locations for the public meetings

will be published in local newspapers. Written comments on the DLEIS

will be accepted from publication of the Notice of Availability through

30 days following the public meetings. All comments will be addressed

in the Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement. All interested

individuals, organizations, and governmental agencies are encouraged to

comment on the DLEIS.

Written comments may be forwarded to Ms. Cindy Herdrich at the

above address or at http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/alaskaeis.

Dated: November 2, 1998.

Raymond J. Fatz,

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

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

[FR Doc. 98-29747 Filed 11-5-98; 8:45 am]

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