F-22 Plus-Up Environmental Assessment - Joint Base Elmendorf ...

F-22 Plus-Up Environmental Assessment
4.0 Environmental Consequences
discernable, and a detectible increase in sonic booms could result in annoyance, but would not
be expected to affect land used for subsistence activities.
4.8.3 No Action
Under the No Action Alternative the Air Force would continue to fly F-22 aircraft at JBER-
Elmendorf and train in existing Alaska SUA. As with the proposed action, no consequences
associated with aircraft overflights and aircraft noise to special land use or recreational areas
would be anticipated.
4.9 Socioeconomics
The F-22 plus-up would require personnel to operate and maintain the additional six primary
aircraft and provide necessary support services.
4.9.1 Base Environmental Consequences
Existing population and employment characteristics in Anchorage were analyzed to assess the
potential socioeconomic impacts of the proposed beddown, as presented in Section 3.9.2. The
Proposed Action involves adding 103 Air Force personnel to support the additional six F-22
primary aircraft. This represents less than one percent of JBER employment. The addition of
any personnel is a positive element to the regional economy although the relative change in
JBER employment would not discernibly affect the regional economy.
Socioeconomic impacts would occur if changes associated with the plus-up substantially
affected demand for housing or community services, such as schools, or substantially affected
economic stability in the region. The potential population, employment, income, and output
associated with an addition of less than one percent of base personnel and no new construction
would have no measurable effect upon services, schools, or the regional economy.
The Air Force makes on-base housing available for military personnel. No additional on-base
housing would be available for the increase of 103 personnel and their dependents. The
Anchorage housing market with approximately 6,700 vacant units and a 6.0 percent vacancy
rate would be expected to easily absorb the additional 103 personnel.
4.9.2 Training Airspace Environmental Consequences
A number of Alaska Native villages and traditional subsistence areas underlie Alaskan SUA.
The local economy in many of these villages is stimulated by subsistence activities. The
proposed increase in training operations from six additional F-22 aircraft would increase the
number of F-22 overflights, although the total fighter activity would have somewhat fewer
overflights as occurred prior to the relocation of the F-15C aircraft in 2010. The additional F-22
training would not be expected to discernibly affect annual average noise levels under the
training airspace.
The single exception is in the area of sonic booms. Training F-22 aircraft fly at supersonic speed
an estimated 25 to 30 percent of its training mission. Although the F-22 flies at high altitude and
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