Comments Due February 14th on the Navy EIS

By Rachel Dahl --  Valentine’s Day celebrations could be held up this year by a flurry of last minute efforts to submit comments on the Navy’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement for their plan to modernize the Fallon Range Training Complex.  The comment period was extended in December, and ends this coming Thursday, February 14th. Known officially as the Fallon Range Training Complex Modernization EIS, the document assesses potential environment impacts of the Navy’s actions to 1) renew the Navy's current pubic land withdrawal (a congressional process) 2) land range expansion through the additional withdrawal of public lands and the acquisition of non-federal land, 3) airspace expansion and modifications, and 4) upgrades to range infrastructure. The Draft EIS can be accessed here: https://frtcmodernization.com/. Churchill County has been active throughout the Navy's EIS process, hiring Jeremy Drew, a Project Manager with Resource Concepts, Inc. to assist with formulating the County response to the EIS.  Commissioner Bus Scharmann and County Manager Jim Barbee recently met with Congressman Amodei in Washington D.C. where they had the opportunity to talk about the FRTC Modernization and potential impacts to the community. Last Monday, February 4th, Congressman Amodei met with local ranchers who are potentially affected by the FRTC Modernization.  According to Pete Olsen, a Churchill County Commissioner who attended, "the meeting gave county ranchers and grazing permittees potentially affected by the Navy’s proposed range training modernization project an opportunity to be heard." He said ranchers and grazing permittees gave eloquent accounts of the potentially heavy impacts to their businesses and lifestyle should the proposed range training modernization effort go through. "I am pleased that the Navy gave assurances that it would work toward mitigating ranchers' concerns through a fair process," said Olsen. A total of seven public meetings were held in December across Nevada to allow the Navy to discuss their expansion plans with members of the public and to take public comments. Naval Air Station Fallon is home to the "Fighting Saints" of VFC-13, and the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center which is a consolidation of the Naval Strike Warfare Center, Navy Fighter Weapons School--TOPGUN, and the Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School--TOPDOME. With over 3,000 active duty personnel, civilian employees, and contractors, NAS Fallon generates more than $517 million in total economic benefit for Churchill, Lyon, and Washoe counties. According to information provided during the public meeting in Fallon on December 12th, 2018, the FRTC is the only place where an entire carrier air wing can train with over 60 aircraft and their entire support crews prior to deployment.  The Navy often refers to NAS Fallon as “the Carrier in the Desert." Comments to the FRTC EIS can be submitted by clicking this link to the Public Comment Form.