Subject: Missile Defense EIS Available (Judges)
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 225755 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Roy L. Beavers"
To: emfguru
--------------------------------------------------
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 22:50:42 -0000
From: judges
To: Roy Beavers
Subject: Fw: Missile Defense EIS Available
Dear Roy,
I am forwarding information on the National Missile Defense Program.
The Draft EIS was released on October 6th. The Draft EIS is only concerned
about environmental effects of the proposed new construction. "Addendums"
to the EIS are being prepared for the 3 PAVE PAWS early warning radars on
Cape Cod, Beale Air Force Base in CA and Clear Air Station in Alaska.
Of particular interest is the fact that the health effects of the
proposed X-Band radar are glossed over. As you know here on Cape Cod we are
calling for the decommissioning of the PAVE PAWS and for it to be moved to
an unpopulated site. We are told that the "addendum" being prepared for the
PAVE PAWS will only be for the proposed upgrades to PAVE PAWS which they are
telling us are just hardware and software upgrades. The Air Force is
saying the peak and average power won't change. We are calling for a full,
site specific EIS for the PAVE PAWS on Cape Cod. The "Unresolved Issues" of
20 years must be addressed.
Sincerely,
Sharon Judge
-----Original Message-----
From: Lenny Siegel
To: cpeo-military@igc.org
Date: Thursday, October 14, 1999 3:43 PM
Subject: Missile Defense EIS Available
>IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 6, 1999 (703)697-5737(public/industry)
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE
>DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT RELEASED
>
>The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's National Missile Defense
>(NMD) Joint Program Office announced today the public availability of
>the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for potential
>ground-based system element sites in North Dakota and Alaska. No
>decision has been made to deploy a NMD system, nor has a decision been
>made regarding the selection of a basing location.
>
>The President is scheduled to make a deployment decision next summer
>after a Deployment Readiness Review conducted by the Department of
>Defense. The President's decision will be based upon the technical
>success of the NMD testing program; analysis of the ballistic missile
>threat to the U.S.; system cost and the status of arms reduction
>negotiations with Russia. The potential environmental impacts of
>deploying and operating the NMD system will also be considered. The NMD
>decision will include the selection of deployment sites from among the
>alternatives considered in the Final EIS, which is scheduled for
>completion next Spring.
>
>The Draft EIS is the result of more than a year of extensive analysis of
>potential environmental impacts which could occur due to the proposed
>action of locating up to 100 ground-based interceptor missiles in
>underground silos in North Dakota and/or Alaska. Also analyzed were the
>potential impacts resulting from construction of a new X-Band Radar,
>which would be used to perform tracking, discrimination and target hit
>assessments of incoming ballistic missile warheads. Under the proposed
>action, only one X-Band Radar would be constructed. The DEIS evaluates
>the potential impacts associated only with new construction activities,
>and does not include analysis of existing space-based early warning
>sensors and ground-based early warning radars. It also does not include
>site-specific analysis of new communications systems which could be
>built at a later date. The early warning elements and site-specific
>analysis of new communications systems will be covered by future
>environmental documentation.
>
>The sites analyzed are:
>
>Ground Based Interceptor and Battle Management, Command and Control
>
>Clear Air Station, Alaska
>
>Fort Greely, Alaska
>
>Yukon Training Area/Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
>
>Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.
>
>Missile Site Radar, N.D.
>
>X-Band Radar Eareckson Air Station, Alaska (Aleutians)
>
>Cavalier Air Station, N.D.
>
>Missile Site Radar, N.D.
>
>Remote Sprint Launch Sites 1, 2, 4, N.D.
>
>Overall, the expected environmental impacts resulting from potential NMD
>deployment are minimal. Areas analyzed in the DEIS include: potential
>electromagnetic radiation effects to airspace, biological resources, and
>humans from operation of the X-Band Radar; construction and operation
>impacts on vegetation, wildlife, threatened and endangered species,
>wetlands and fisheries; health and safety issues to the public
>associated with transportation and operation of the Ground-Based
>Interceptor; potential impacts to geology and soils and water resources;
>noise related impacts from both construction and operation; increases in
>hazardous waste generation and air emissions; and socioeconomic impacts
>and benefits resulting from both construction and operation of the NMD
>system.
>
>Public hearings are scheduled to take place in North Dakota, Alaska and
>Arlington, Va. in late October to mid November. The comment period on
>the Draft EIS will close on November 15, 1999. These hearings will
>permit state and local government agencies, interest groups and citizens
>to comment on the Draft EIS, and their comments will be reviewed,
>considered and included in the Final EIS.
>
>News media inquiries should be directed to Lt. Col. Rick Lehner, BMDO
>External Affairs, at (703) 604-3186. All other inquiries, as well as
>requests for copies of the EIS, should be directed to Julia Hudson, U.S.
>Army Space and Missile Defense Command, at (256) 955-4822. The EIS can
>also be accessed on the Internet at www.acq.osd.mil/bmdo .
>--
>
>
>Lenny Siegel
>Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
>c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
>Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
>Fax: 650/968-1126
>lsiegel@cpeo.org
>http://www.cpeo.org
>
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Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com