The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in cooperation with the Michigan Army National Guard will host public scoping meetings on Aug. 26, 2014, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the McCamly Plaza Hotel, Branson Ballroom, 50 Capital Avenue SW, Battle Creek; and on Aug. 28, 2014 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sherman lake YMCA, The Great Hall, 6225 North 39 Street, Augusta, to review the proposed scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a potential Continental United Interceptor Site (CIS) at the Fort Custer Training Center (FCTC), in Augusta. FCTC is one of four locations in the United States under consideration.

The open house-style event will provide attendees the opportunity to gather information about the potential project and help the MDA identify environmental and other issues of concern that will be addressed in the EIS.

The Department of Defense has not made a decision to deploy or construct the CIS and does not have a preferred alternative.

In the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress required the MDA to prepare an EIS to evaluate possible additional locations in the United States best suited for future deployment of a CIS capable of protecting the homeland against threats from nations, such as North Korea and Iran. The existing Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) provides protection of the United States from a limited ballistic missile attack, and the proposed system would enhance that protection. Alternatives to be analyzed in the EIS include the No Action Alternative (no CIS deployment); Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center – Ohio Army National Guard, Portage and Trumbull Counties, Ohio; Fort Custer Training Center, Michigan; Fort Drum, New York; and the Center for Security Forces Detachment Kittery Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Facility (SERE East), Redington Township, Maine. At each site, impacts will be assessed for the following resource categories - air quality, air space, biological, cultural, geology and soils, hazardous materials and hazardous waste management, health and safety, land use, noise, socioeconomics, transportation, utilities, water quality, wetlands, visual and aesthetic, environmental justice, and subsistence.

“We invite the community to learn more about the CIS project and we welcome and encourage feedback,” said Rick Lehner, an MDA spokesman. “It’s a chance to ask questions, talk with subject matter experts, submit comments and receive additional information about the project.”

Once the Draft EIS is complete, the MDA will host a second round of public meetings to present findings and solicit additional public input.

More information is available on the MDA web site: www.mda.mil/about/enviro_CIS.html. Written comments about the project will be accepted during the public comment period, which extends from July 16 through September 15, 2014. Comments can be submitted via FAX 913-458-1091, e-mail to MDA.CIS.EIS@BV.com or by U.S. Postal Service to: Black &Veatch Special Projects Corp. Attn: MDACIS EIS, 6601 College Boulevard, Overland Park, KS 66211-1504 and must be postmarked or received by September 15, 2014 to ensure they become part of the official record.

Public comments on the scope of the EIS and environmental issues that should be studied are requested pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. All written comments received during the comment period will become part of the public record and will be considered during the preparation of the Draft EIS. Providing private address information with your comment is voluntary and such personal information will be kept confidential unless release is required by law. Your address will be used to compile a mailing list so that you may be notified of any future public meetings, and release of the Draft EIS and Final EIS in the Federal Register. Failure to provide your address will result in your name not being included on the list, and you will not receive notifications about this project.