DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF THE FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (FONSI) AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA) FOR THE AVIATOR RECOVERY HALAWA VALLEY, KOOLAU MOUNTAINS, OAHU, HAWAII
Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 1500 1508) implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, Chief of Naval Operations Instruction 5090.1B, and Chapter 343 Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Department of the Navy gives notice that an EA and FONSI have been prepared and an Environmental Impact Statement is not required for the Aviator Recovery, Halawa Valley, Koolau Mountains, Oahu, Hawaii.
The Proposed Action is to recover the remains and personal effects of a naval aviator who crashed into the Koolau Mountains while on a training flight in June 1944. The project site is located in the upper Halawa Valley, below the Koolau Mountain ridgeline, north of the southern entrance to the H-3 Freeway Tunnel on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The Proposed Action consists of two main phases: the recovery of the aviator and post-recovery restoration work. Proposed recovery activities are scheduled to occur from June through July 2006, and proposed post-recovery restoration activities are scheduled to occur from July to December 2006. After restoration activities, short duration trips would continue for up to one year to monitor the progress of the restoration effort.
The Proposed Action would have no adverse effect on historic properties. Commander Navy Region Hawaii has completed a National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 review by consulting with the State Historic Preservation Officer, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Oahu Council of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and the Ko`olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club.
The Proposed Action would not have a significant impact on critical habitat. Formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding unoccupied designated critical habitat for seven endangered plant species overlapping the project site was conducted in compliance with
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
With implementation of Best Management Practices, the Proposed Action would not result in significant impacts on the following resource areas: air quality; noise; infrastructure; health and safety; socio-economics; land use; public facilities, services, and recreation; views; and topography, soils, and water resources. The Proposed Action would not create environmental health and safety risks that may disproportionately affect children and minority or disadvantaged populations, and would not result in cumulative impacts to any environmental resource. CNRH has determined that the Proposed Action would not have reasonably foreseeable direct or indirect effects on any coastal use or resource of the States coastal zone.
The EA and FONSI prepared by the Navy addressing this Proposed Action are on file and interested parties may request a copy from: Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, 258 Makalapa Drive, Suite 100, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 96860-3134 (Attention: Mr. Kyle Fujimoto) telephone (808) 472-1442, E-mail kyle.fujimoto@navy.mil. A limited number of copies are available to fill single copy requests. (SB01532567 7/7, 7/8, 07/09/2006)
