Notice of Public Hearing for the Pacific Missile Range Facility Enhanced Capability Draft Environmental Impact Statement at Pacific Missile Range

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy

Notice of Public Hearing for the Pacific Missile Range Facility

Enhanced Capability Draft Environmental Impact Statement at Pacific

Missile Range

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy announces that it will hold two

public hearings to inform the public of the Pacific Missile Range

Facility Enhanced Capability Draft Environmental Impact Statement

(DEIS) findings and to solicit comments.

Federal, state, and local agencies and interested parties are

invited and urged to be present or represented at the hearings. Oral

statements will be heard and transcribed by a stenographer. However, to

assure the accuracy of the record, all statements should be submitted

in writing. All statements, both oral and written, will become part of

the public record on this action and will be given equal consideration.

In the interest of available time, each speaker will be asked to

limit his or her oral comments to five minutes. If longer statements

are to be presented, they should be summarized at the public hearing(s)

and submitted in writing either at the public hearing(s) or mailed

[[Page 17825]]

to the address below. Written comments on the DEIS should be mailed to

the address below and must be postmarked not later than May 26, 1998 to

be part of the official record.

The DEIS has been distributed to various federal, state and local

agencies, elected officials, special interest groups, the media, and

concerned citizens. Copies of the DEIS have also been placed in local

libraries in Hawaii. A limited number of copies are available at the

address below.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: Public hearing dates and locations are as follows:

1. Saturday, April 25, 1998, 10 a.m., Waimea United Church of Christ

Educational Center, Waimea, Hawaii

2. Tuesday, April 28, 1998, 5 p.m., Weinberg Memorial Hall, Disabled

American Veterans Park, 2685 North Nimitz Hwy., Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, TO PROVIDE COMMENTS OR FOR A COPY OF THE DEIS

CONTACT: Ms. Vida Mossman, P.O. Box 128, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii, 96752-

0128.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Council on Environmental Quality

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

provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Department of

the Navy has prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) Enhanced Capability

Draft Environmental Impact Statement at Pacific Missile Range Facility.

The DEIS assesses the potential impacts associated with enhancing PMRF

capabilities. The Proposed Action would enable PMRF to fully

accommodate the testing and training needs of the Navy's Theater

Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD) program as well as other DOD Theater

Missile Defense (TMD) programs. The proposed enhancement would also

serve to increase PMRF's viability in the future by providing the

capability for potential customers to develop, test and train in the

use of evolving defensive systems.

The DEIS analyzes additional missile launch and support locations,

facility construction, launch preparation activities, missile flight

tests, radar and optical tracking operations, and intercept tests in

the Pacific Ocean.

Environmental issues analyzed in the DEIS for enhancing PMRF

include: Air quality; airspace control; biological resources; cultural

resources; geology and soils; hazardous materials and waste; safety and

health; land use; noise; socioeconomics; transportation; utilities;

visual and aesthetics; and water resources. In addition, the document

addresses ocean areas and environmental justice.

Proposed Action

The Navy proposes to enhance capabilities of PMRF to conduct

missile defense testing by (1) upgrading existing radar, telemetry,

optics, electronic warfare, differential global positioning system, and

other instrumentation facilities; and (2) the construction and

operation of additional missile launch sites, sensor and

instrumentation facilities, and a missile storage building.

Areas being considered for the launch and/or instrumentation sites

include (1) Kauai and Niihau; (2) land-based support locations on Tern

Island and Johnston Atoll; and (3) ocean areas within and outside U.S.

territorial waters. Any testing would comply with current U.S. policy

concerning compliance with treaties and international agreements.

No Action

The No-Action Alternative is the continuation of existing range and

land-based training and operations; existing research development,

testing and evaluation activities; and ongoing base operations and

maintenance of the technical and logistical facilities that support the

training and operations missions conducted at PMRF.

Dated: April 7, 1998.

Lou Rae Langevin,

LT, JAGC, USN, Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 98-9561 Filed 4-9-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3810-FF-P