Officials announce draft EIS for proposed training airspace expansion

  • Published
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) --  Air Combat Command officials have released a draft environmental impact statement for public comment analyzing the potential environmental consequences of a proposal to improve airspace for B‐1 aircrews stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., and B‐52 aircrews stationed at Minot AFB, N.D.

Under this proposal, the Powder River Training Complex will improve training capability by modifying existing airspace and establishing new low-altitude airspace and high-altitude combinations.

Within that airspace, the PRTC would provide defensive training with chaff-and-flare countermeasures. It will also include an expected 10 days per year of quarterly large-force exercises when supersonic flight, with altitude restrictions, could occur.

All or portions of the following locations have the potential of being affected by the proposal's overhead training airspace due to one or more of the alternatives:

Montana:  Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations and the counties of Big Horn, Carter, Custer, Fallon, Powder River, Rosebud, Treasure and Yellowstone
North Dakota:  Standing Rock Reservation and Adams, Billings, Bowman, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Morton, Sious, Slope and Start counties
South Dakota:  Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Reservations, and Butte, Corson, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Perkins and Ziebeck counties
Wyoming: Campbell, Crook, Sheridan and Weston counties.

A copy of the draft EIS is available for review online at www.accplanning.org or in hard copy format at the following libraries:

Montana:  Fallon County, Rosebud County, Henry A. Malley Memorial, Ekalaka Public, Miles City Public, Parmly Billings and Montana State
North Dakota:  North Dakota State, Dickinson Area Public and Bowman Regional Public
South Dakota:  Belle Fourche Public, Deadwood Public, South Dakota State, Grace Balloch Memorial and Rapid City Public
Wyoming:  Wyoming State, Campbell County Public, Crook County Public, Sheridan County Fulmer Public, Gillette College and Sheridan College Griffith Memorial

The Air Force will host a series of public hearings in communities underlying and/or adjacent to this airspace proposal. An Air Force presentation will occur one-half hour after the beginning of each meeting followed by an opportunity for the public to provide oral comments.

The schedule and locations and times of the public hearings are provided below and arranged by state:

South Dakota
Rapid City - Holiday Inn, 505 N. 5th St.
Sept. 14, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Belle Fourche  - Community Center, 1111 National St.
Sept. 15, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Buffalo - Harding County Memorial Rec Ctr, 204 Hodge St.
Sept. 17, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Bison - Bison School Cafeteria, 200 E. Carr St
Sept. 20, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

North Dakota
Dickinson - Dickinson City Hall, 99 2nd St. East
Sept. 21, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Bowman - City Hall Meeting Room, 101 1st St. SW
Sept. 22, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Elgin  - Elgin Community Center, 305 N. Main St.
Sept. 23, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Bismarck - Wachter Middle School (Library), 1107 S 7th St.
Sept. 28, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Wyoming
Sundance - Sundance Secondary School, 1016 E. Cleveland
Sept. 16, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Gillette - Allen Mickelson Fire Training Ctr, 701 Larch
Oct. 18, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Sheridan - Sheridan Sr Ctr, N. Entrance, 211 Smith St.
Oct. 19, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Montana
Broadus - Powder River High School, 500 N. Trautman
Oct. 12, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Baker - Baker High School, 1015 S. 3rd St. W.
Oct. 13, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Ekalaka - St. Joan of Arc Parish Hall, Church St.
Oct. 14, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Miles City - Miles Community College, 2715 Dickinson
Oct. 15, 1 - 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Colstrip - Isabel Bills Community Lrng Ctr, 520 Poplar Dr.
Oct. 20, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Hardin - Hardin Chamber of Commerce, 10 E. Railroad St.
Oct. 22, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Billings - Hilton Garden Inn, 2465 Grant Rd.
Oct. 26, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

To ensure written comments are included in the final EIS, submit to the address below by Nov. 13, 2010. Certain information, such as personal addresses and phone numbers, is covered by the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 USC Sec. 552a.

Send written comments to:
Linda Devine, HQ ACC/A7PS129
Andrews St., Suite 337
Langley AFB, VA 23665-2769