The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in cooperation with the Michigan Army National Guard, will host public open house meetings on June 21 at Lakeview Middle School, 300 South 28th Street, Battle Creek, Michigan, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on June 23 at Richland Community Center, 9400 East Cd Avenue, Richland, Michigan, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a potential Continental United States Interceptor Site at Fort Custer Training Center, Michigan.

The Draft EIS evaluates candidate sites for a potential future deployment of additional ground-based interceptors for homeland defense, as required by the fiscal year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act.

The Department of Defense has not made a decision to deploy or construct an additional interceptor site. Current sites in Alaska and California provide the necessary protection of the homeland against the current and projected intercontinental ballistic missile threat from North Korea as well as a future Iranian threat, should it emerge.

The open house event will allow attendees to talk with experts at a series of information stations. Attendees can learn about findings in the Draft EIS and may provide verbal and written comments to address additional areas of concern. There will not be any formal presentations.

Sites under consideration include: Fort Custer Training Center, Michigan; Fort Drum, New York; and Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center, Ohio. The Center for Security Forces Detachment Kittery - Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Facility in Redington Township, Maine, was considered, but it was not carried forward due to significant environmental impacts, cost and constructability issues.

For each of the sites, the following resource areas were assessed: air quality, airspace, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, hazardous materials and hazardous waste management, health and safety, land use, noise, socioeconomics, transportation, utilities, water quality, wetlands, visual and aesthetic and environmental justice.

The MDA is asking for comments from the public and federal and state agencies on the Draft EIS. Written comments on the Draft EIS should be received by July 18, 2016, and can be sent via e-mail to MDA.CIS.EIS@BV.com, or by U.S. Postal Service to Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp. Attn: MDA CIS EIS, 6800 W. 115th Street, Suite 2200, Overland Park, KS 66211-2420.

All comments received during the comment period will become part of the public record and will be considered during the preparation of the final EIS.

A downloadable copy of the Draft EIS is available at:
https://www.mda.mil/about/enviro_cis.html.

MDA Media Contact:

• Leah Garton, 256-450-4701, leah.garton@mda.mil