EARLY NOTICE OF A PROPOSED ACTIVITY WITH POTENTIAL TO IMPACT FLOODPLAINS AND WETLANDS
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, NORTH CAROLINA
The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is preparing a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed improvements to facilities and infrastructure within the Munitions Support Area (MSA) at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (SJAFB), North Carolina. The MSA is composed of storage buildings, aboveground storage magazines, inspection facilities, and holding and storage pads, all with access roads, driveways, and parking areas to support the facilities. The MSA is located proximate to the flight line, where munitions are delivered from the MSA to aircraft. The current location of the MSA allows munitions deliveries from the MSA to the flight line without the requirement to cross active taxiways or the active runway. The purpose of the Proposed Action is to right-size, consolidate, and sustain the MSA at SJAFB to ensure efficient uninterrupted daily operations. The Proposed Action is needed because munitions support operations occur in degraded and unconsolidated facilities with insufficient parking and outdoor storage, and are sited in inappropriate locations, causing wasted person-hours due to inefficiencies and unnecessary risk to the mission.
The proposed project is subject to Executive Order (EO) 11988, Floodplain Management, and EO 11990, Protection of Wetlands, requirements and objectives because the proposed facilities and infrastructure improvements within the MSA would occur within portions of the 1 percent and 0.2 percent annual chance flood hazard areas on SJAFB and proximate to, but not within wetlands.
The DAF requests advance public comment to determine if there are public concerns regarding the proposed project’s potential impacts on floodplains and wetlands. The DAF would also like to solicit public input or comments on potential project alternatives. The proposed project will be analyzed in the forthcoming EA, and the public will have the opportunity to comment on the Draft EA when it is released.
The advance public comment period is from 16 December 2023 to 15 January 2024.
Please submit comments or requests for more information to Ms. Cathryn Pesenti, Environmental Chief, 4th Civil Engineer Squadron, 1095 Peterson Ave., SJAFB, North Carolina 27531; or electronically to [email protected].
