Environmental Impact Statement
This page contains information and documents from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, including the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Proposed Modernization and Expansion of Townsend Bombing Range, Georgia, completed in March 2013, and the subsequent Record of Decision (ROD), signed by the Department of the Navy (DON) in January 2014.
Townsend Bombing Range (TBR) is the East Coast’s premier air-to-ground training range. It provides the nation’s aircrews access to world-class training, which is critical to maintain a strong national defense in a world of ever-changing opponents, battlegrounds, and technologies. Located in Long and McIntosh Counties in southeast, coastal Georgia, TBR is 82 miles southwest of MCAS Beaufort. It is the primary air-to-ground training range for aviation units stationed at MCAS Beaufort, home to Marine Aircraft Group 31. In addition to being an essential training asset to Marine Corps aviation units, Navy, Air Force and Air National Guard, and Army units from more than six states also train at Townsend Bombing Range and its complex of Special Use Airspace. For more information on TBR, please click here.
Modernization and Expansion Requirement
As modern combat and warfare technologies evolve, the training ranges that prepare the nation’s aviators must also adapt to meet and anticipate these changes. Marine Corps aviators must train and be highly skilled in multiple mission areas, which include the delivery of precision-guided munitions (PGM) and other air-to-ground weapons against a range of target types. PGM are a modern class of weapons that permits Marine aviators to attack specific threats and isolate targets.
The expansion and modernization of TBR is required to support the Marine Corps aviation training and readiness proficiency in the use of inert (non-explosive) PGM. Until TBR is fully modernized, the Marine Corps’ East Coast ranges cannot accommodate realistic PGM training. As a result, in order to train to the level required by the Marine Corps, the aviators stationed at MCAS Beaufort deploy to the West Coast of the United States to use the training ranges in the desert of California and Arizona. The modernization and expansion of TBR to accommodate training with inert PGM will significantly enhance the efficiency of East Coast aviation unit training, and enable more appropriate utilization of the nation’s other training ranges.
Presently, TBR can accommodate less than half of the required F/A-18 Hornet individual fixed-wing air crew air-to-ground training syllabus. The modernization and expansion of TBR will allow aircrews to meet up to 85% of their air-to-ground proficiency requirements at TBR and prepare them for follow-on large-scale unit exercises with live ordnance at other ranges later in the training program.
In January 2009, the Marine Corps Training and Education Command and the Marine Requirements Oversight Council determined that modernization of TBR was critical to ensure the effective training of East Coast-based Marine Corps aviation units, especially for units based at MCAS Beaufort, and to ensure their readiness to deploy. The Marine Corps and the DON secured Department of Defense approval to study land acquisition and range design alternatives that could achieve the best support for the modernization of TBR.
National Environmental Policy Act Process
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Council on Environmental Quality guidelines, and DON policy require the preparation of an EIS and the solicitation of public input through public meetings and comment periods for a project of this nature and magnitude.
In 2010, the Marine Corps and its partners began the required NEPA process, and completed the Final EIS in March 2013. The EIS assessed potential impacts that the proposed four alternatives and a “No Action” alternative could have on the human and natural environment. The EIS process provided multiple opportunities for public comment, and the Marine Corps reduced its study area for potential land acquisition by approximately 20,000 acres in response to comments during Public Scoping. The Marine Corps identified Alterative 4 as the Preferred Alternative in the Final EIS.
The DON published its ROD on the Final EIS in the Federal Register on January 31, 2014. The ROD documented the DON’s decision to proceed with the modernization and expansion of TBR through Alternative 4. As detailed in the Final EIS, the selected alternative, Alternative 4, involves four main efforts: acquisition of land adjacent to the original range in McIntosh and Long Counties; purchase of the 3,007-acre timber easement previously held by McIntosh County on the original range; modification of existing restricted airspace; and construction of range infrastructure to support PGM training. For the current project status of these efforts, please visit here. The DON reached this decision after careful consideration of the purpose and need, the analysis and conclusions presented in the Final EIS, and comments received from federal, state, and local agencies, non-governmental organizations, tribal nations, and the public. All practical means to avoid or minimize environmental harm that were identified in the Final EIS have been adopted.
NEPA Milestones
-Two public meetings were held during the Public Scoping Period on August 24 and 26, 2010. The first was in Long County, Georgia, and the second was in McIntosh County, Georgia.
-The following materials and documents were released during Public Scoping period: NOI in the Federal Register, NOI and Public Scoping Newspaper Advertisement, Re-opened Public Scoping Newspaper Advertisement, Public Meeting Materials (Public Involvement, History and Mission, Proposed Action, Alternatives, Environmental Analysis, Fact Sheet).
-On July 13, 2012, the Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register. The Marine Corps conducted a Public Comment Period from July 13 to September 27, 2012.
-Two public meetings were held during the Public Comment Period. The first was on August 7, 2012 in McIntosh County, Georgia. The second public meeting occurred on August 9, 2012 in Long County, Georgia.
-The following materials and announcements were released during the Draft EIS period: NOA/NOPM Newspaper Advertisement, Comment Period Extension Newspaper Advertisement, Public Meeting Materials (Public Involvement, History and Mission, Proposed Action and Alternatives, Resource Analysis, Resource Analysis (continued), Real Estate Acquisition, Fact sheet).
-Following the comment period, the Marine Corps reviewed the public comments submitted on the Draft EIS to prepare the Final EIS. The comments and the Marine Corps’ responses to these comments are published in the Final EIS.
-On March 22, 2013, the Notice of Availability for the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register. The Marine Corps accepted comments on the Final EIS from March 22 to April 22, 2013 during a 30-day waiting period before a final decision was made by the DON.
-The DON published its ROD in the Federal Register on January 31, 2014. The ROD documents the DON’s decision to proceed with the Proposed Action through Alternative 4 as described in the Final EIS. The full version of the DON’s ROD can be found here.
Record of Decision
The Record of Decision was published on January 31, 2014 (ROD Federal Register Notice here). The ROD is available here: Signed ROD.
Final EIS
The Final EIS is available below. The links can be used to download individual sections or the entire Final EIS. NOA Federal Register Notice, NOA Newspaper Advertisement.