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[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58068-58069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office
[www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27002]
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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
NATIONAL CAPITAL PLANNING COMMISSION
Intent To Prepare a Tier II Environmental Impact Statement for
Proposed Construction of the Smithsonian National Museum of African
American History and Culture
AGENCY: Smithsonian Institution (SI), National Capital Planning
Commission (NCPC).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the Council on
Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1509), and in accordance with
the Environmental Policies and Procedures implemented by the National
Capital Planning Commission, the SI and NCPC announce their intent, as
Joint-Lead Agencies, with NCPC as the Responsible Federal Agency, to
prepare a Tier II environmental impact statement (EIS) to assess the
potential effects of constructing and operating the National Museum of
African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) within the Smithsonian
Institution. The Museum will be located on a 217,800 square foot (SF)
or 5 acre site bounded by Constitution Avenue, Madison Drive, 14th and
15th Streets, NW., on the National Mall in Washington, DC. A public
meeting will be conducted to ensure that all significant issues related
to construction and operation of the proposed museum are identified for
study in the EIS. SI and NCPC are conducting this NEPA process
concurrent with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), section
106 process.
[[Page 58069]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Law 108-184, the National Museum of
African American History and Culture Act enacted by the Congress of the
United States on December 16, 2003, (the Act) established a museum
within the Smithsonian Institution to be known as the National Museum
of African American History and Culture. It recognizes that such a
museum ``would be dedicated to the collection, preservation, research,
and exhibition of African American historical and cultural materials
reflecting the breadth and depth of the experience of individuals of
African descent living in the United States.''
Section 8 of the Act, ``Building for the National Museum of African
American History and Culture,'' directs the Smithsonian Board of
Regents to select one site among four in Washington, DC for the
construction of the museum. After undertaking a site evaluation study
and consultation with parties specified in the legislation, the Board
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution voted to select the area
bounded by Constitution Avenue, Madison Drive, 14th, and 15th Streets,
NW., now commonly known as the Monument site. The decision was
announced on January 30, 2006.
After site selection, SI and NCPC, after consultation with the
Council of Environmental Quality, decided to tier the EIS process (40
CFR parts 1502.20 and 1508.28). The Tier I EIS was completed with a
Final EIS (FEIS) issued on June 27, 2008 and a SI Record of Decision
issued on August 8, 2008.
The identity and description of the action to be addressed in both
EIS tiers derive primarily from the language of Public Law 180-184, its
legislative history, and the studies by the ``National Museum of
African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential
Commission'' that led to its enactment, and the Phase II Site
Evaluation Study of November 15, 2005.
The Tier I FEIS analyzed a ``no build'' alternative along with six
diagrammatic massing alternatives on the site. Alternatives addressed
themes that included context, siting and mass, orientation, form,
exterior spaces, and profiles. The Tier I FEIS concluded that the Build
Alternatives all had comparable effects on the majority of resources
analyzed. This highlighted the need to develop more concrete design
concepts in order to assess fully the impacts of the NMAAHC on cultural
and visual/aesthetic resources. Therefore, the SI chose to express the
Tier I Preferred Alternative as a set of physical parameters related to
heights, setbacks, and configuration. The physical parameters resulted
in a Smithsonian Preferred Alternative of about 350,000 GSF that was
bounded between 60 and 105 feet in height, a minimum 50 foot setback
from the inside face of the sidewalk of the surrounding streets; and a
subsurface volume not lower that 45 feet. The massing parameters ranged
from orthogonal and contextual to free-form and non-contextual. While
NCPC and Smithsonian are working cooperatively on this EIS, Smithsonian
does not submit a design to NCPC for review until later in the process.
In addition to the physical parameters, the SI developed a set of
design principles to help future design architects to minimize adverse
effects on historic resources. The principles speak to the importance
of relating to and respecting the character, views, and spatial
arrangements of the National Mall; the character, scale, and historic
context of the Washington Monument grounds; and the relationship of the
NMAAHC to adjacent architectural and urban contexts.
The potential range of alternatives that will be evaluated in the
Tier II EIS includes the no action or no build alternative and no fewer
than three build alternatives that will address, among other things,
the design principles, the analysis and findings of the Tier I EIS and
SI ROD and the issues surfaced in the concurrent NHPA, section 106
process. The Tier II EIS will include a full range of alternatives
evaluating varying heights and forms, including one with a roof height
that does not exceed the roof heights of adjacent museums, and with
building faces that do not protrude beyond the building faces of
adjacent museum buildings along the Mall.
Public Scoping Meeting and Comments: The Smithsonian Institution
and the National Capital Planning Commission will solicit public
comments for consideration and possible incorporation in the Draft Tier
II EIS through public scoping, including a scoping meeting, on the
proposed museum building at the Monument site. The scoping meeting will
be held on December 10, 2009, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the
``Commons'' of the Smithsonian Castle Building, located at 1000
Jefferson Drive, SW., Washington, DC. Consultants representing the SI
and NCPC will be available to answer questions and receive comments
about the scope of the Tier II EIS. Announcements about the meeting are
provided on the NCPC Web site at http://www.ncpc.gov. Notice of the
public meeting will be publicized in local newspapers and through other
sources. Additional information about the museum is located at
http://www.nmaahc.si.edu and about the
Tier I EIS at
http://www.louisberger-nmaahceis.com. To ensure that all issues related to
this action are
addressed and all significant issues are identified early in the
process, comments are invited in writing and orally from all interested
and/or potentially affected parties. These comments may be provided at
the public meeting or provided in writing to EDAW/AECOM, Attn: NMAAHC
EIS Comments, 601 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 or by e-mail to
NMAAHC.EIS.Comments@aecom.com. All public comments must be postmarked
or received by e-mail by December 24, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane Passman, Senior Facilities
Planner, Smithsonian Institution, Office of Facilities Engineering and
Operations. For U.S. Postal Service delivery the address is P.O. Box
37012, MRC 511, Washington, DC 20013-7012. For all other deliveries the
address is 600 Maryland Ave., SW., Suite 5001, Washington, DC 20024.
Phone 202-633-6549; Fax: 202-633-6233.
Dated: November 4, 2009.
Judith Leonard,
General Counsel, Smithsonian Institution.
Dated: November 4, 2009.
Lois J. Schiffer,
General Counsel, National Capital Planning Commission.
[FR Doc. E9-27002 Filed 11-9-09; 8:45 am]
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