TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulation for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 1500 through 1508, and the Air Force Environmental Impact Analysis Process (EIAP) regulations 32 CFR Part 989, the United States Air Force (Air Force) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) to identify and assess the potential effects on the natural and human environment associated with development of Military Operations Areas (MOAs) and Warning Area to replace Altitude Reservations (ALTRVs) at Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB), Florida.
Purpose and Need
The purpose of the Proposed Action is to support the training mission of the 325th Fighter Wing and other units that conduct air operations in the Aerial Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) East and West ALTRVs and to improve overall aviation safety in the area. The Proposed Action is needed because the subject ALTRVs are used primarily for military air operations and use of the airspaces by civilian or commercial aircraft poses a safety risk due to low public awareness of military use of the airspaces. Charting and publishing the ALTRVs as Special Use Airspaces (SUAs) would more accurately represent their use and increase public awareness of military air operations in the airspaces, thereby improving overall aviation safety in the area.
Proposed Action
Under the Proposed Action, the airspaces known as the ACMI East and West Stationary ALTRVs would be charted and published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as SUAs. The ACMI East and West ALTRVs encompass approximately 112 and 71.8 square nautical miles, respectively, and are located between 3 and 12 nautical miles off the coast of the eastern panhandle of Florida, approximately 65 nautical miles southeast of Tyndall AFB and 105 miles southeast of Eglin AFB. The ALTRVs have been jointly used by Tyndall and Eglin AFBs for military air operations for more than 40 years. The SUAs adjacent to or near the ALTRVs include Warning Area W-470A to the south, MOAs Tyndall-G and Tyndall-F to the west, and MOA Tyndall-E to the northwest. The ALTRVs are part of the airspace complexes known as the ACMI Extensions, which also include the ACMI East and West Air Traffic Control Assigned Airspaces (ATCAAs) and the portion of MOA Tyndall-G that underlies the ACMI West ATCAA.
Under the operational baseline, F-22 and T-38 aircraft are estimated to account for 70 percent and 30 percent of total annual air operations in the ALTRVs, respectively, in terms of the number of missions, number of single aircraft sorties, and time in all airspaces. Transient aircraft collectively are estimated to account for an additional 10 percent of total annual air operations in each airspace. The composition of the future aircraft inventory of Tyndall AFB is currently not known, and there would be no change in the general manner in which the airspaces are used for military purposes under the Proposed Action. For these reasons, the Proposed Action would have no effect on air operations relative to existing conditions.
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Alternatives
Based on the alternatives screening analysis conducted, only Alternative 1, which is to chart and publish the West ALTRV as MOA Tyndall-I and the East ALTRV as MOA Tyndall-J and Warning Area W-470G has been determined to be a reasonable alternative for the Proposed Action. The other alternatives considered did not meet the purpose of the Proposed Action or one or more of the selection standards.
Under Alternative 1, which is the Preferred Alternative, the ACMI West ALTRV would be charted and published as MOA Tyndall-I; there would be no associated change to the airspace area, floor, or ceiling. The western portion of the ACMI East ALTRV would be charted and published as MOA Tyndall-J, and the eastern portion of the ACMI East ALTRV would be charted and published as Warning Area W-470G. MOA Tyndall-J and Warning Area W-470G combined would have the same spatial area and configuration as the ACMI East ALTRV. There would be no associated change to the airspace floor or ceiling of MOA Tyndall-J or to the floor of W-470G; however, W-470G would have an unlimited ceiling instead of a ceiling of FL 180 like the former East ALTRV. Under Alternative 1, the proposed MOAs Tyndall-I and Tyndall-J and Warning Area W-470G would be activated from 0600 to 0300 local time and by Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) during other times, instead of activation by NOTAM at all times like the former ALTRVs.
Under Alternative 1, the ACMI East ATCAA would be shortened laterally to align with the proposed MOA Tyndall-J below; there would be no change to the airspace floor or ceiling in this western portion of the ATCAA. Creation of Warning Area W-470G under Alternative 1 would eliminate the eastern portion of the ACMI East ATCAA and change the floor of the airspace from Flight Level (FL) 180 to 5,000 feet above mean sea level (MSL) and the ceiling of the airspace from FL 600 to unlimited. Under Alternative 1, the proposed W-470G would become part of the W-470 complex and would be activated under Eglin AFB control whenever W-470A is activated. There would be no change to the ACMI West ATCAA under Alternative 1.
The No Action Alternative is to maintain existing conditions. Under the No Action Alternative, the ACMI East and West Stationary ALTRVs would not be charted or published as SUAs or modified in any other manner.
Environmental Consequences
Based on the findings of the attached EA, Alternative 1 would have no effect on air quality, climate, coastal resources, Department of Transportation Act – Section 4(f) resources, farmlands, hazardous materials, solid waste, pollution prevention, land use, natural resources/energy supply, socioeconomics, visual resources, water resources, noise, biological resources, or cultural resources. Alternative 1 would have no effect on these resources largely because it would have no effect on air operations relative to existing conditions; it would involve airspaces located between 3 and 12 nautical miles offshore and between 5,000 and 18,000 feet above MSL; and it would not involve construction or changes in personnel or ground-based operations. The specific reasons why Alternative 1 would have no effect on each of these resources are explained in detail in the attached EA. Alternative 1 would not have disproportionately high or adverse human health or environmental effects on minority or low-income populations and would not result in environmental health or safety risks to children.
Alternative 1 would have a minor beneficial impact on airspace use and management and a moderate beneficial impact on flight safety; the associated impacts would not be significant. The beneficial impacts of Alternative 1 on airspace use/management and flight safety are closely related and would result directly from the proposed SUAs being more accurately defined, charted, and published with respect to their current and future use for military air operations. This would result in an airspace environment that is easier to understand, use, and manage, as well as greater public awareness of military air operations in
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the airspaces, all of which are factors that would benefit both military and non-military aviation in the area. When added to past, present, and reasonably foreseeable actions, Alternative 1 would not have significantly adverse cumulative impacts on any resource.
Mitigation Measures and Required Permits
Based on the findings of the attached EA, no mitigation is required for any activity within the scope of Alternative 1 or is necessary to achieve the effect determinations for the resources analyzed. No permits are required for implementation of Alternative 1. The Letter of Agreements among Tyndall AFB, Eglin AFB, and the FAA that address airspace use and control in the region would need to be modified to address the changes to the existing ACMI East and West airspaces proposed under Alternative 1.
Public Review and Stakeholder Consultation
A Notice of Availability is being published in the Panama City News Herald to invite the public to review and comment on the draft EA. The Air Force has requested input on the Proposed Action from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, State Historic Preservation Office, and the Native American Tribes that have expressed an interest in Tyndall AFB for their ancestral ties. The Florida State Clearinghouse is coordinating state review of the draft EA and determining consistency of the Proposed Action with the Florida Coastal Management Program.
Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on my review of the facts and analysis in the attached EA, I conclude Alternative 1 would not have a significant impact on the natural or human environment, either by itself or considering cumulative impacts. The requirements of the NEPA, the President’s CEQ, and 32 CFR Parts 651 and 989 have been fulfilled. An Environmental Impact Statement is not required and will not be prepared.
DEE JAY KATZER, Colonel, USAF Date Chief, Civil Engineer Division HQ Air Combat Command (ACC/A4C)