The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Ohio Army National Guard are expected to host a public scoping meeting in Ravenna, Ohio, on Tuesday evening to review the proposed scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a potential Continental United States Interceptor Site (CIS) at the Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center.
This installation is one of four locations in the United States where MDA will conduct an EIS.
Photo: Missile Defense Agency
The open house 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 Defense Department has not made a decision to deploy or construct the CIS and does not have a preferred alternative, MDA said in a statement.
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), with interceptors based in Alaska and California, 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, meaning no CIS deployment; the Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center-Ohio Army National Guard, Portage and Trumbull Counties, Ohio; the Fort Custer Training Center, Mich.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; 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 a variety of resource categories such as air quality, air space, biological, cultural, geology and soils, hazardous materials and hazardous waste management. Other categories include, 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, 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:lhttp://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 [email protected] or by mail: Black &Veatch Special Projects Corp. Attn: MDACIS EIS, 6601 College Boulevard, Overland Park, Kan. 66211-1504. It must be postmarked or received by Sept. 15, to ensure they become part of the official record.