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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 31 / Thursday, February 18, 2021 / Notices addressing potential impacts on wetlands and 100-year floodplains is also included in the Final EIS.
DATES: No decision will be made until 30 days after publication of the Notice of Availability NOA in the Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at which time the Army may execute a Record of Decision ROD.
ADDRESSES: Requests for additional information related to the Final EIS
should be sent to Fort Benning Environmental Management Division, Attn: NEPA Program Manager, 6650
Meloy Drive, Building 6, Room 309, Fort Benning, Georgia 319055122, or email comments to john.e.brown12.civ@
mail.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Please contact Mr. John Brown, Fort Benning Environmental Management Division, at john.e.brown12.civ@
mail.mil or 706 5457549 between 9
a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. Fort Benning has also established a web page that contains information updates and background on the HOMMTA EIS, including the materials identified in this NOA, at https www.benning.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort Benning plays a critical role in supporting the Armys overarching mission. As the Armys MCoE, the home of the Armys Armor and Infantry Schools, Fort Benning must support the institutional training of Infantry and Armor soldiers and leaders. The institutional training conducted at Fort Benning provides Army leaders with the opportunity to respond to a wide variety of situations that they can expect to encounter on the modern battlefield.
Fort Benning is also home to several deployable units that conduct off-road mounted maneuver training, including the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, Task Force 128 Infantry, and elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Fort Benning must be able to train and develop highly skilled and cohesive units capable of conducting operations across the full spectrum of potential conflicts. Inherent in and vital to training Infantry and Armor soldiers and leaders properly is the requirement to provide sufficient heavy off-road mounted maneuver training area.
Currently, the only training area at Fort Benning suitable for heavy off-road mounted maneuver training is the Good Hope Maneuver Training Area GHMTA. Since the initial development of the GHMTA, the Armys training strategy has changed to crossdomain movement and maneuver that requires additional contiguous area for heavy off-road maneuver.

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The Final EIS analyzes the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts associated with the Proposed Action, including direct, indirect, and cumulative effects. Mitigation of adverse effects through avoidance and environmentally sensitive design, such as establishment of buffers, would be used to avoid impacts to sensitive resources to the maximum extent practicable. The Final EIS identifies additional mitigation measures that the Army may implement to further reduce identified adverse impacts.
The Army has completed consultation for this action under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and this is incorporated in the EIS.
The Army identified three reasonable Action Alternatives that would meet the purpose of and need for the Proposed Action; these three Action Alternatives i.e., three distinct locations on Fort Benning where a HOMMTA could be constructed are analyzed in detail in the Final EIS.
1. Alternative 1 Preferred Alternative: Northern Mounted Maneuver Training Area Alternative:
This alternative includes approximately 4,724 acres and is located adjacent to and east of the current Northern Maneuver Training Area and west of and near Fort Bennings Digital MultiPurpose Range Complex DMPRC.
Of the Action Alternatives, Alternative 1 would provide the most preferable size and configuration to enable high-quality heavy off-road mounted maneuver training.
Accordingly, the Army has identified Alternative 1 as the Preferred Alternative to implement the Proposed Action.
2. Alternative 2: Red Diamond Alternative: This alternative includes approximately 3,744 acres and is located south of the Southern Maneuver Training Area SMTA near the Installations southern boundary.
3. Alternative 3: Eastern Boundary Alternative: This alternative includes approximately 2,405 acres and is located between the northern dudded impact area and the Installations eastern boundary.
The Army also carried forward the No Action Alternative for detailed analysis in the Final EIS. While the No Action Alternative would not satisfy the purpose and need for the Proposed Action, this Alternative was retained to provide a comparative baseline against which to analyze the effects of the Action Alternatives as required under the Council on Environmental Qualitys NEPA Regulation.
Resource areas analyzed in the Final EIS include: Land use recreation, air
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quality, noise, soils and topography, water resources including wetlands and floodplains, biological resources, cultural resources, socioeconomics, infrastructure, and hazardous and toxic materials and waste.
Based on the analysis presented in the Final EIS, potentially significant adverse impacts could occur to biological resources i.e., from disturbance of unique ecological areas. Impacts to all other resource areas would be less-thansignificant i.e., negligible, minor, or moderate adverse or beneficial.
Practical mitigation measures are presented in the Final EIS to reduce potential adverse effects.
All Action Alternatives for the Proposed Action may adversely impact wetlands and/or 100-year floodplains.
Accordingly, the Army has also prepared a FONPA to comply with Executive Order E.O. 11988, Floodplain Management, and E.O.
11990, Protection of Wetlands. As described in the Final EIS, environmental protection measures e.g., buffers from heavy maneuver training and regulatory compliance measures e.g., permitting under Sections 401 and 404 of the CWA
would be implemented to minimize adverse impacts on these resources.
The Army conducted a public review and comment period for the Draft EIS
between May 29 and July 13, 2020, including a public teleconference on June 30, 2020. The Army considered and addressed in the Final EIS
comments received on the Draft EIS
during this comment period.
Printed copies of the Final EIS and FONPA will be made available to the public for 30 days at the Columbus Public Library, Cusseta-Chattahoochee County Public Library, Milton E. Long Library, and the Phenix City-Russell County Library, if the libraries are open for public visitation when this NOA is published. An electronic copy of the Final EIS and FONPA is posted on the HOMMTA EIS web page at https
www.benning.army.mil.
After publication of this NOA of the Final EIS, the Army will prepare and publish its ROD announcing which Alternative is environmentally preferred, which Alternative it selects for implementation be it an Action Alternative or the No Action Alternative, and which mitigation measures it will implement to reduce potential adverse impacts. Publication of the ROD will occur no sooner than 30

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