Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement Regarding Requested Public Land Withdrawal in Vicinity of Highway 95 and Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona
| Published date | 01 March 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-04383 |
| Citation | 89 FR 15172 |
| Court | Army Department,Defense Department |
| Section | Notices |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 42 (Friday, March 1, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 42 (Friday, March 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15172-15173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04383]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement Regarding
Requested Public Land Withdrawal in Vicinity of Highway 95 and Yuma
Proving Ground, Arizona
AGENCY: Department of the Army, Department of Defense.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Army (Army) announces the
availability of a Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement
(Draft LEIS) regarding a requested public land withdrawal in the
vicinity of Highway 95 and Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. In accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the LEIS analyzes
the potential environmental effects resulting from the withdrawal and
reservation for military purposes of approximately 22,000 acres of
public land managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of
Land Management (BLM). If enacted into law by Congress, the withdrawal
would add acreage to Yuma Proving Ground (YPG). The Army requires the
additional land as a safety buffer for testing advanced air delivery
technologies and aviation systems. An LEIS is being prepared for this
proposed action because the withdrawal and reservation require
congressional action.
DATES: Comments must be received by April 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: The public can review a copy of the Draft LEIS at the Main
Yuma Library (2951 S 21st Dr., Yuma, AZ 85364) or at the Quartzsite
Public Library (465 N Plymouth Ave., Quartzsite, AZ 85346).
The Draft LEIS is also available as an electronic file on the YPG
project website: https://ypg-environmental.com/highway-95-land-withdrawal-leis/.
Written comments may be sent by regular mail to the YPG
Environmental Sciences Division, 301 C St., Bldg. 307, Yuma, AZ 85365.
Comments may also be sent via email to:
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Daniel Steward, YPG Environmental
Sciences Division, via email at [email protected] or
via phone at (928) 328-2125.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Army prepared this Draft LEIS in
accordance with: NEPA (title 42 of the United States Code, section
4321); Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations (title 40 of
the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 1500-1508); and the Army's
NEPA implementing regulation (32 CFR part 651).
YPG is located in the southwestern corner of Arizona, near the
California-Arizona border. The Colorado River bounds it to the west and
the Gila River bounds it to the south. The installation lies
approximately 23 miles northeast of the city of Yuma, Arizona. YPG is
situated in both La Paz and Yuma Counties, Arizona, and the requested
22,000-acre withdrawal involves land in each county. YPG occupies about
1,300 square miles and extends approximately 60 miles north to south
and 50 miles east to west.
YPG's mission is to plan, conduct, assess, analyze, report, and
support developmental, production, and operational tests on the
following: medium- and long-range artillery; aircraft target
acquisition equipment and armament; armored tracked and wheeled
vehicles; a variety of munitions; and parachute systems for personnel
and supplies. YPG also provides training support to the Army, other
Department of Defense branches, other federal agencies, and
international and commercial customers.
The Draft LEIS analyzes the potential impacts of a legislative
withdrawal and reservation for military purposes of approximately
22,000 acres of public land managed by BLM. The requested action
involves the withdrawal of the land from all forms of appropriation
(such as mining claims) and an additional 800 acres of federal surface
estate (meaning the subsurface is not included). The land lies between
the current boundary of YPG and a section of Highway 95 between mile
marker 76 and mile marker 91. The Army requires the additional land as
a safety buffer to improve public safety and to meet testing and
training requirements for advances in parachute technologies. If
enacted into law, the withdrawal would add to--and be adjacent to--the
829,565 acres withdrawn on July 1, 1952, under Public Land Order No.
848, as amended, for use by the Army in connection with Yuma Test
Station (currently known as YPG). The Army will request that the
22,000-acre withdrawal be for an indefinite period--i.e., until there
is no longer a military need for the land.
The purpose of the requested land withdrawal is to provide
additional area to support testing and training at YPG. The Army
requires the additional land as a safety buffer for testing advanced
air delivery technologies and aviation systems. The additional land
will provide a larger surface safety zone and will allow the Army to
execute more complex air delivery and tactical scenarios than are
currently possible. A surface safety zone is an area in space and on
the ground that provides an additional buffer in case of error or
failure during testing or training. Surface safety zones protect people
from being injured by material dropping from the sky during air
delivery testing and training. Higher altitudes and greater offset
distances are required to test parachute systems' full capabilities,
and this testing requires a correspondingly greater surface safety
zone.
Due to land and airspace limitations, systems are currently not
tested to their full capability for altitude and precision. Without the
requested withdrawal, mission-required drops could land outside the YPG
boundary and could result in injury or death to members of the public.
The requested land withdrawal would restrict the public from accessing
hazardous areas, thus reducing the potential for such injuries and
deaths.
The existing boundary between YPG and BLM land lacks a contiguous
physical landmark demarcating the two areas, which has led to
unintentional public intrusions onto YPG. The requested withdrawal area
extends to Highway 95 and would establish the highway as a distinct
physical landmark for the YPG boundary, thereby improving public
safety.
In addition to the Army's proposed action, the Draft LEIS analyzes
an alternative involving a withdrawal for a shorter period and a No-
Action Alternative. Under a limited-duration withdrawal, Congress would
withdraw and reserve for Army use the same area with the same boundary
and land-management provisions as the proposed action, but the duration
of the Highway 95 withdrawal would be limited to a shorter period
(i.e., 25 years).
[[Page 15173]]
Under the No-Action Alternative, Congress would not enact
legislation to withdraw and reserve the land. BLM would retain
management responsibility for the 22,000 acres of public land. Under
this alternative, YPG would not meet mission requirements, but limited
military testing and training would continue within the present-day YPG
boundary. While the No-Action Alternative would not satisfy the purpose
of or need for the proposed action, this alternative was retained to
provide a comparative baseline against which to analyze the effects of
the action alternatives.
The Draft LEIS evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental and socioeconomic effects of the proposed
action. The resource areas and effects analyzed in the Draft LEIS
include biological resources, cultural resources, existing land use,
recreation, socioeconomics, and environmental justice. The analysis
includes minimization measures, standard operating procedures, and best
management practices routinely employed by YPG to reduce the potential
adverse effects of the proposed action.
Under the proposed action (i.e., the withdrawal of BLM land for an
indefinite duration), there would be less-than-significant effects on
all evaluated resources. The withdrawal alternatives would result in
minor adverse effects on land use and recreation, but none of the
effects would be significant. The proposed action would transfer
management of this land from one federal agency to another. The Army's
environmental compliance requirements would be the same as those of
BLM. If Congress approves the withdrawal, the Army would conduct
consultation on future actions under the National Historic Preservation
Act and the Endangered Species Act, as appropriate. The environmental
effects of the shorter-duration withdrawal alternative would be
comparable to those of the proposed action but would last for a
specific period.
Federal, state, and local agencies, federally recognized Tribes,
other Native American organizations, and the general public are invited
to participate in the public comment process for the Draft LEIS. The
public comment period begins with the publication of this notice of
availability in the Federal Register and will last for 45 days.
Comments must be received or postmarked within 45 days of publication
in the Federal Register to be considered during the decision-making
process. The Army will hold two virtual public meetings during the
review period. For information about the virtual public meetings,
please see the project website: https://ypg-environmental.com/highway-95-land-withdrawal-leis. The Army will consider all comments received
on the Draft LEIS when preparing the Final LEIS.
Congress will receive the Final LEIS as part of the withdrawal case
file. Congress will decide whether to authorize the requested land
withdrawal and reservation.
James W. Satterwhite Jr.,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-04383 Filed 2-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3711-02-P
