LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. - Air Force officials here published the notice of intent in the Federal Register Dec. 30 to prepare an environmental impact statement to assess the potential environmental impacts of a proposal to establish operational F-35 Lightning II aircraft at one or more existing Air Force and Air National Guard installations within the continental United States.
The F-35, the Air Force variant of the joint strike fighter, is the next generation, stealth air-to-ground fighter, designed to complement the F-22 Raptor and replace aging and legacy aircraft.
The proposed basing alternatives include Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; Hill AFB, Utah; Burlington Air Guard Station, Vt.; Shaw AFB/McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C.; and Jacksonville AGS, Fla. The environmental impact analysis will examine the issues relating to land use, airspace and safety, air and water quality, noise, socioeconomics, biological and cultural resources, and cumulative actions.
Air Force officials expect to complete the environmental impact analysis process in about one year and public involvement is an essential part of this process.
Public scoping meetings will be held in an open house format starting Jan. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. Air Force representatives will provide information on the proposal, answer any questions the public might have, and receive comments on any issues or concerns regarding the proposal. Exact dates and locations for these meetings will be published in local newspapers the week prior.
The schedule of public scoping meetings is as follows:
- Jan. 11 to 14 - Grand View, Twin Falls, Boise and Mountain Home, Idaho -Jan. 19 to 22 - Ogden, Layton and Callao, Utah; and Wendover, Nev.
- Jan. 25 to 28 - Winooski, Vt.; Littleton, N.H.; and Watertown, N.Y.
- Feb. 1 to 4 - Sumter, Eastover and Kingstree, S.C.; as well as Augusta and Brunswick, Ga.
- Feb. 8 to 12 - Jacksonville, Avon Park, Lake Wales and Palatka, Fla.
The environmental impact analysis process encourages comments and feedback at any time; however, to ensure sufficient time to consider public and agency comments in the screening process and the preparation of the draft environmental impact statement, comments should be submitted to the address below by March 1, 2010: