[Federal Register: November 6, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 215)] [Notices] [Page 59950-59951] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06no98-41] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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West Training Area) and Fort [[Page 59951]] Greely Air Drop Zone (now known as Fort Greely East Training Area) as lands withdrawn from public use until November 6, 2001.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 These areas were withdrawn from public use from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for military purposes with the enactment of the Military Lands Withdrawal Act on November 6, 1986.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] BILLING CODE 3710-08-M