[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 62 (Tuesday, March 31, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17939-17940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06607]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Availability of the Finding of No Significant Impact/
Record of Decision and Adoption of the United States Marine Corps 
Environmental Assessment for the Establishment of the Walker Military 
Operations Area

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI)/Record of Decision (ROD).

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SUMMARY: The FAA announces its decision to adopt the United States 
Marine Corps (USMC) Environmental Assessment (EA), entitled Marine 
Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center [MCMWTC] Bridgeport Walker 
Military Operations Area [MOA] Airspace Establishment, for the 
establishment of two MOAs in Bridgeport, California. This notice 
announces that, based on its independent review and evaluation of the 
EA and supporting documents, the FAA is adopting the EA and issuing a 
FONSI/ROD for the establishment of the Walker MOAs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paula Miller, Airspace Policy and 
Regulations Group, Office of Airspace Services, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; 
telephone: (202) 267-7378.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Proposed Action is to establish Special Use Airspace (SUA) 
consisting of two MOAs--the Walker Low MOA and Walker High MOA--in 
airspace located above and adjacent to MCMWTC. The proposal for the 
MOAs is to designate airspace, outside of Class A airspace (i.e., below 
18,000 feet above mean sea level [MSL]), to: (1) Separate or segregate 
certain nonhazardous military flight activities (including, but not 
limited to, air combat maneuvers, air intercepts, low altitude tactics) 
from Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) traffic; and (2) for Visual Flight 
Rules (VFR) traffic, to identify (in sectional charts and via Notice to 
Airman [NOTAM])

[[Page 17940]]

where and when these activities are conducted. The Proposed Action is 
needed to address training delays and flight safety issues (e.g., near-
midair collisions) that have occurred when nonparticipating aircraft 
have entered the airspace when MCMWTC training activities were being 
conducted. This would result in enhanced flight safety for all pilots 
(civilian, commercial, and military) while enhancing the capability of 
MCMWTC to support critically required aviation and ground training. The 
proposed MOAs and continued use of the existing airspace are needed to 
enable military forces to train in an environment that is 
representative of realistic combat conditions. Specifically, the MCMWTC 
training areas and programs are imperative to the USMC and Joint 
Service mountain warfare readiness.
    The Proposed Action was developed by the USMC to improve flight 
safety; accommodate joint use for reasonable and timely access to 
underlying public or private land; not impede public safety access for 
firefighting and other emergency services; support FAA Oakland Air 
Route Traffic Control Center's computer system and meet all FAA 
requirements; and not impact existing air traffic control assigned 
airspace.

Implementation

    After evaluating the aeronautical study and the EA, the FAA has 
issued a FONSI/ROD to establish two MOAs. The Walker Low MOA would be 
established from the surface to, but not including, 13,500 feet MSL, 
and would be activated for up to 100 days per year for approximately 15 
hours per day. The Walker High MOA would be established from 13,500 
feet MSL to, but not including, FL180 (18,000 feet MSL), and would be 
activated for up to 40 days per year for approximately 12 hours per 
day. These MOAs would exclude airspace from the surface to 3,000 feet 
above ground level (AGL) over wilderness areas. A NOTAM would be 
published at least four hours in advance of activation.
    In accordance with Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) 
regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and other 
applicable authorities (including FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental 
Impacts: Policies and Procedures, paragraph 8-2, and FAA Order JO 
7400.2M, Procedures for Handling Airspace Matters, paragraph 32-2-3), 
the FAA has conducted an independent review and evaluation of the 
USMC's EA, dated November 4, 2019. As a cooperating agency with 
responsibility for approving SUA under 49 U.S.C. 40103(b)(3)(A), the 
FAA provided subject matter expertise and coordinated with the USMC 
during the environmental review process.
    The USMC provided the Draft EA for public review from December 12, 
2018, to January 26, 2019, and no comments were received.
    The FONSI/ROD and EA are available upon request by contacting Paula 
Miller at: Airspace Policy and Regulations Group, Office of Airspace 
Services, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-7378.

    Issued in Des Moines, WA, on March 25, 2020.
Shawn M. Kozica,
Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2020-06607 Filed 3-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


