[Federal Register: January 2, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 1)]
[Notices]
[Page 172-173]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Power
Upgrades Project Within the Fort Meade Complex, MD
AGENCY: Department of Defense; National Security Agency/Central
Security Service.
ACTION: Notice of intent; notice of public meeting; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Security Agency (NSA) announces that it intends
to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as part of the
environmental planning process for power and utility upgrades at Fort
George G. Meade, Maryland (hereafter referred to as Fort Meade). The
project was initiated to address aging infrastructure reliability
issues as well as meet mission growth requirements. The Proposed Action
includes the construction of generator facilities, two electrical
substations, a boiler plant and chiller plant, as well as ancillary
facilities and parking. The proposed utility upgrades would allow for
100 percent self-contained redundancy, should off site power sources
fail.
Publication of this notice begins a scoping process that identifies
and determines the scope of environmental issues to be addressed in the
EIS. This notice requests public participation in the scoping process
and provides information on how to participate.
DATES: There will be an open house at 4 p.m. followed by a scoping
meeting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on February 20, 2007, at the Ramada
Laurel, 3400 Fort Meade Road, Laurel, Maryland 20724, which is near
Fort Meade. Comments or questions regarding this EIS should be
submitted by 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal
Register to ensure sufficient time to consider public input in the
preparation of the Draft EIS.
ADDRESSES: The open house and scoping meeting will be held at the
Ramada Laurel, 3400 Fort Meade Road, Laurel, Maryland 20724. Oral and
written comments will be accepted at the scoping meeting. Written
comments can also be mailed to Mr. Jeffrey Williams, Environmental and
Safety Services, National Security Agency, 9800 Savage Road Suite 6404,
Fort Meade, MD 20755-6248 or submitted by e-mail to Mr. Williams at
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeffrey Williams at (301) 688-
2970, or e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The National Security Agency
(NSA) is a tenant DOD agency on Fort Meade. NSA is a high-technology
organization that is on the frontiers of communications and data
processing. In order to meet mission growth requirements as well as
address aging infrastructure reliability information, power upgrades
are needed at the NSA campus on Fort Meade.
Proposed Action and Alternatives: The Power Upgrades Project, an
NSA investment and major systems acquisition, was initiated to meet the
growth requirements of NSA as well as address aging infrastructure
reliability issues. The Proposed Action would consist of construction
of the following:
--50 mega volt amp (MVA) North Electrical Substation with 15 kilo volt
(kV) switchgears, a 50 mega watt (MW) generator plant with pollution
control system and oil storage facilities.
--South Generator facility consisting of 36 MW generator plant.
--Replacement of four 85-90 million British Thermal Units per hour
(MMBTU/hr) boilers, the boiler building, and two 200,000 aboveground
oil storage tanks.
--Addition of a central chiller plant of 20,000 tons of chilled water
capacity with a dedicated substation and emergency generator capacity.
--Replacement surface parking and parking garages.
--Associated ancillary equipment and utility connections.
Alternatives identified include up to five locations for the
proposed construction of the North and East substation facilities on
the NSA campus, two options for power generation, and various pollution
control systems. These alternatives will be developed during
preparation of the Draft EIS as a result of public and agency input and
environmental analyses of the activities. The No Action Alternative
(not undertaking the Power Upgrade Project) will also be analyzed in
detail.
This notice of intent is required by 40 CFR 1508.22, and briefly
describes the proposed action and possible alternatives and our
proposed scoping process. The EIS will comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental
Quality regulations in 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and NSA Draft NEPA
implementation procedures.
Significant Issues: Environmental issues to be analyzed in the EIS
will include potential impacts on air quality, natural resources, water
use, solid waste, cultural resources, and cumulative impacts from
increased burdens to the installation and neighboring community based
on projected growth.
Scoping Process: Public scoping is an early and open process for
identifying and determining the scope of issues to be addressed in the
EIS. Scoping begins with this notice, continues through the public
comment period (see DATES), and ends when the DOD has completed the
following actions:
[[Page 173]]
--Invites the participation of Federal, State, and local agencies, any
affected Indian tribe and other interested persons.
--Determines the actions, alternatives, and impacts described in 40 CFR
1508.25.
--Identifies and eliminates from detailed study those issues that are
not significant or that have been covered elsewhere.
--Indicates any related environmental assessments or environmental
impact statements that are not part of the EIS.
--Other relevant environmental review and consultation requirements.
--Indicates the relationship between timing of the environmental review
and other aspects of the proposed program.
--At its discretion, exercises the options provided in 40 CFR
1501.7(b).
Once the scoping process is complete, the DoD will prepare a Draft
EIS, and will publish a Federal Register notice announcing its public
availability. If you want that notice to be sent to you, please contact
the DoD Project Office point of contact identified in FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. You will have an opportunity to review and comment
on the Draft EIS. Additionally, the DoD anticipates holding a public
meeting after publication of the DEIS in the vicinity of Fort Meade,
Maryland to present the Draft EIS and receive public comments regarding
the document. The DoD will consider all comments received and then
prepare the Final EIS. As with the Draft EIS, the DoD will announce the
availability of the Final EIS and once again give you an opportunity
for review and comment.
December 21, 2007.
L.M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, DoD.
[FR Doc. E7-25451 Filed 12-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P
