The Department of the Navy will issue the Record of Decision
(ROD) on the transfer and reuse of the Charleston Naval Base in
North Charleston, South Carolina. On behalf of Secretary of the
Navy John H. Dalton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy
William J. Cassidy, Jr. will present the environmental document
to Mr. James C. Bryan, Chairman of the Charleston Naval Complex
Redevelopment Authority in a ceremony at the United States
Capitol, Room S-237 at 12:30 p.m. today.
The Record of Decision is the final step in the
environmental evaluation process established by the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). NEPA requires Federal
agencies such as the Department of the Navy to consider the
impact that major federal actions, such as transfer of the Naval
Base property, may have on the environment.
The ROD is the Navy's decision to dispose and transfer the
Charleston Naval Base property in a manner that is consistent
with the reuse plan proposed by the Charleston Naval Complex
Redevelopment Authority (RDA), and is in keeping with the
Department of Defense's community-based reuse objectives. The
Department of the Navy has concluded that the RDA's proposed
redevelopment of the base property responds to local economic
conditions, promotes rapid economic recovery, and is consistent
with President's Five-Part Plan for revitalizing base closure
communities. The Record of Decision is an environmental
document. It does not convey the Naval Base property.
Conveyance, or transfer of title, of the Naval Base property is a
separate matter that will be undertaken later in discussions
between the Department of the Navy and the local RDA.
The Charleston Naval Base Record of Decision represents the
highly successful coordinated efforts of the Charleston Naval
Complex Redevelopment Authority and the Navy. It is a
significant step in the base closure process in that it allows
the local communities to begin long term redevelopment and
highlights the Department of the Navy's commitment to economic
prosperity at closure sites.
Fact Sheet
07 May 1996
RECORD OF DECISION
FOR REUSE OF CHARLESTON NAVAL BASE,
SOUTH CAROLINA
The Record of Decision (ROD) concerns the transfer and reuse
of the former Charleston Naval Base in South Carolina. In this
Record of Decision, the Department of the Navy sets forth its
decision to dispose of the Charleston Naval Base property in a
manner consistent with the high-density redevelopment plan
proposed by the State selected local redevelopment authority,
known as the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority
(RDA).
The Record of Decision is an environmental document. It
does not convey the Naval Base property. Conveyance, or transfer
of title, of the Naval Base property is a separate matter that
will be undertaken later in discussions between the Department of
the Navy and the local RDA.
The 1993 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission
recommended closure of the Charleston Naval Station and Naval
Shipyard complex. The Naval Station and Naval Shipyard observed
operational closure on April 1, 1996. Currently, the property is
being maintained and protected by the Naval Facilities
Engineering Command Southern Division, headquartered in
Charleston, South Carolina.
Now that the Record of Decision has been issued, the
Department of the Navy may enter into leases in furtherance of
conveyance of the property. These leases are for a longer term
than the five-year interim leases that the Navy entered into with
the RDA before the ROD was issued. Additionally, the RDA may now
use buildings and property on the former base for activities
different from those previously conducted by the Navy, as long
as the activity is consistent with the Record of Decision.
The Record of Decision is the final step in the
environmental evaluation process established by the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). NEPA requires Federal
agencies such as the Department of the Navy to consider the
impact that major federal actions, such as transfer of the Naval
Base property, may have on the environment.
The Charleston Naval Base covers 1,575 acres of land and is
composed of the Naval Station which covers 842 acres, the Naval
Shipyard which covers 505 acres, the Fleet and Industrial Supply
Center which covers 194 acres, the Fleet and Mine Warfare
Training Center which covers 10 acres, and the Chicora Tank Farm
which covers 24 acres. These properties are known collectively
as the Naval Base and are located entirely within the City of
North Charleston.
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In support of the NEPA process, the Department of the Navy
held four public scoping meetings to discuss disposal and reuse
of the land, buildings and infrastructure at the Base. Two
meetings were held in the City of North Charleston on May 11,
1994, and meetings were also held in Goose Creek and Summerville
on May 12, 1994.
On October 21, 1994, the Department of the Navy distributed
a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and held public
hearings on the Draft EIS at the Chicora Community Center on
November 28, 1994, and at City Hall in North Charleston on
November 29, 1994. Federal agencies, South Carolina state
agencies, local governments, and the general public submitted
comments on the Draft EIS. These comments and Navy's responses
were incorporated in the Final Environmental Impact Statement,
which was distributed to the public for a review period that
concluded on July 24, 1995. Public comments on the Final EIS
were considered before preparation of the Record Of Decision.
As the basis for its NEPA analysis of the environmental
impacts arising out of transfer and reuse of the Naval Base
property, the Department of the Navy initially relied upon the
proposed reuse plan developed in 1994 by the Trident's BEST
(Building Economic Solutions Together) Committee, the first local
redevelopment authority established by the Governor of South
Carolina in 1993 and composed of representatives from Berkeley,
Charleston, and Dorchester Counties. In 1994, the BEST
Committee's successor, the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment
Authority, known as the RDA, was created to oversee the reuse and
transfer of the Naval Base property.
In the Final Environmental Impact Statement, Navy analyzed
three Alternative Reuse Scenario's that had been proposed as
possible reuse plans for the Naval Base. Scenario 1 proposed a
mixed use of the property with minimal infrastructure
improvements and reflected a 500 acre scenario developed by the
BEST Committee. Scenario 2 proposed a more intensive mixed use
with an emphasis on attracting tourism and reflected a 1000 acre
scenario developed by the BEST Committee. Scenario 3 proposed
the most intensive redevelopment and reflected the BEST
Committee's 1500 acre scenario and the RDA's adoption of that
plan with two variations. The three proposals within Alternative
Reuse Scenario 3 were known as Development Concepts 3, 3A and 3B.
In mid-1995, the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment
Authority endorsed high density redevelopment of the entire 1500
acre Naval Base property, with the two variations from the BEST
Committee's proposed reuse plan. Designated as Alternative Reuse
Scenario 3 in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, this high
density redevelopment advanced Development Concepts 3, 3A and 3B
as three possible approaches to reuse of the Naval Base.
Development Concept 3, the plan developed by the BEST
Committee, provided areas for civic and community use and
proposed five major employment centers: an office district, a
shipyard district, a marine or maritime industrial district, an
intermodal cargo facility, and an industrial park related to the
intermodal facility.
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Concept 3A proposed the same major employment centers but
changed the locations of the intermodal cargo terminal, the
related railroad yard, and the maritime industrial district to
take account of the environmental remediation planned for two
sites on the Naval Station. Concept 3B proposed the use and
expansion of existing Naval Shipyard and Naval Station facilities
to develop an extensive maritime industrial district as well as
an office district, a cultural park district, a community support
district, and areas for open space and recreation. Under Concept
3B, however, the intermodal cargo facility would not be built.
The Department of the Navy has determined in the Record of
Decision that Alternative Reuse Scenario 3 with its three
Development Concepts presents the highest and best use of the
Charleston Naval Base property. The ROD does not mandate
selection of any one Development Concept. Rather, it leaves
selection of the particular means to achieve high density
redevelopment to the entity that acquires the Naval Base property
and the local zoning authority.
The Department of the Navy has concluded in the Record of
Decision that the RDA's proposed high density redevelopment of
the entire Base responds to local economic conditions, promotes
rapid economic recovery from the impact of base closure, and is
consistent with President Clinton's Five-Part Plan for
revitalizing base closure communities, which emphasizes local
economic redevelopment of the closed military facility and
creation of jobs as the means to revitalize these communities.
The Department of the Navy believes that the environmental
impacts arising out of the proposed redevelopment can be
mitigated by the entity that acquires the Naval Base property,
under the direction of Federal, State and local regulatory
authorities.
The Department of the Navy looks forward to continuing its
long, historic and close relationship with the Low Country
through the outstanding officers, sailors and civilians assigned
to the Naval Weapons Station and the Naval In-Service Engineering-
East (NISE EAST) activities located just north of the Naval Base,
the Naval Facilities Engineering Command's Southern Division in
Charleston, and, soon, the Naval Nuclear Power School.
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