Final FONSI and EA for hot cargo pad on Kirtland AFB - Kirtland Air ...

<strong>Final</strong> <strong>EA</strong> Addressing Construction, Operation, <strong>and</strong> Maintenance of a Hot Cargo Pad
Air Education <strong>and</strong> Training Comm<strong>and</strong>’s 19th Air Force. The 150th Fighter Group of the New Mexico
Air National Guard is also stationed at the installation. The 377 ABW provides fire protection (including
crash <strong>and</strong> rescue) <strong>for</strong> Albuquerque International Sunport.
This <strong>EA</strong> is organized into six sections <strong>and</strong> appendices. Section 1 states the purpose, need, scope, <strong>and</strong>
public involvement ef<strong>for</strong>ts <strong>for</strong> the Proposed Action. Section 2 contains a detailed description of the
Proposed Action <strong>and</strong> the alternatives considered. Section 3 describes the existing conditions of the
potentially affected environment. Section 4 identifies the environmental consequences of implementing
all reasonable alternatives, including direct, indirect, <strong>and</strong> cumulative impacts. Section 5 provides the list
of preparers <strong>for</strong> this <strong>EA</strong>. Section 6 lists the references used to support the analyses. Publication of this
<strong>Final</strong> <strong>EA</strong> will also include a signed Finding of No Significant Impact (<strong>FONSI</strong>) <strong>for</strong> the Proposed Action.
1.2 Purpose <strong>and</strong> Need <strong>for</strong> the Proposed Action
The purpose of the Proposed Action is to construct, operate, <strong>and</strong> maintain a new <strong>hot</strong> <strong>cargo</strong> <strong>pad</strong>, as well as
related components such as a taxiway, security measures, <strong>and</strong> lighting, at Kirtl<strong>and</strong> AFB to ensure reliable
support <strong>and</strong> backup <strong>for</strong> the existing <strong>hot</strong> <strong>cargo</strong> <strong>pad</strong> (Pad 5).
Pad 5 is the only <strong>cargo</strong> <strong>pad</strong> at Kirtl<strong>and</strong> AFB with a sufficient surrounding clear zone to accommodate <strong>hot</strong>
<strong>cargo</strong> (i.e., weapons, ammunition, explosives, <strong>and</strong> other hazardous <strong>cargo</strong>). However, Pad 5 <strong>and</strong> its
taxiway are in poor condition due to cracking, spalling, <strong>and</strong> failing of the <strong>pad</strong>’s Portl<strong>and</strong> cement concrete
caused by alkali-silica reactivity (ASR), <strong>and</strong> disintegration of the taxiway’s asphalt due to age. The
deficient condition of Pad 5 <strong>and</strong> its taxiway have the potential to jeopardize aircraft safety, <strong>and</strong> delay or
abort critical <strong>hot</strong> <strong>cargo</strong> missions due to <strong>for</strong>eign object damage (FOD) <strong>and</strong> aircraft tire-cut potential. In
addition, the existing lighting at Pad 5 is not sufficient <strong>and</strong> further jeopardizes aircraft safety. During the
past 5 years, approximately $1 million has been spent on repairs to the <strong>pad</strong> <strong>and</strong> taxiway, but a stable state
of repair is difficult due to its continual use <strong>and</strong> repairs are ongoing. Hot <strong>cargo</strong> is continuously flown in
<strong>and</strong> out of Kirtl<strong>and</strong> AFB; there<strong>for</strong>e, a <strong>pad</strong> capable of h<strong>and</strong>ling <strong>hot</strong> <strong>cargo</strong> must be mission-ready at all
times. The need <strong>for</strong> the Proposed Action is to increase the reliability, safety, <strong>and</strong> <strong>cargo</strong> capacity of the
available <strong>pad</strong>s able to accommodate <strong>hot</strong> <strong>cargo</strong> to ensure that this critical mission can be fulfilled.
1.3 Scope of the <strong>EA</strong>
Scope consists of the range of actions, alternatives, <strong>and</strong> impacts to be considered. The scope of the
Proposed Action <strong>and</strong> the range of alternatives considered are presented in detail in Section 2. In
accordance with CEQ regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1502.14), the No Action Alternative is
analyzed to provide the baseline against which the environmental impacts of implementing the range of
alternatives addressed can be compared. This <strong>EA</strong> identifies appropriate mitigation measures <strong>and</strong> best
management practices (BMPs) that are not already included in the Proposed Action or alternatives to
avoid, minimize, reduce, or compensate <strong>for</strong> adverse environmental impacts. This <strong>EA</strong> examines the
environmental impacts of the Proposed Action <strong>and</strong> reasonable alternatives on the following resource
areas: l<strong>and</strong> use, noise, visual resources, air quality, geology <strong>and</strong> soils, water resources, biological
resources, cultural resources, infrastructure, hazardous materials <strong>and</strong> waste, safety, aircraft safety, <strong>and</strong>
socioeconomics <strong>and</strong> environmental justice. The resource areas that do not apply are eliminated from
further analysis in Section 3.
1.3.1 Environmental Laws, Regulations, <strong>and</strong> Executive Orders
To comply with NEPA (Public Law 91-190, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the planning <strong>and</strong> decisionmaking
process involves a study of other relevant environmental laws, regulations, <strong>and</strong> Executive Orders (EOs).
Kirtl<strong>and</strong> AFB, NM January 2011
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