Notice of Public Meetings of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement for Military Readiness Activities in the Northwest Training and Testing Study Area

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, regulations implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 1500-1508), and Presidential Executive Order 12114, the Department of the Navy (DoN) has prepared and filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (EIS/OEIS). The Draft EIS/OEIS includes the evaluation of the potential environmental effects associated with military readiness training and research, development, test, and evaluation activities (training and testing) conducted within the Northwest Training and Testing (NWTT) Study Area. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Coast Guard are cooperating agencies for this EIS/OEIS. The NWTT Study Area is composed of established maritime operating areas and warning areas in the eastern North Pacific Ocean, including the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, and Western Behm Canal in southeastern Alaska. The NWTT Study Area includes: air and water space within and outside Washington state waters, and outside state waters of Oregon and Northern California; four existing range complexes and facilities (Northwest Training Range Complex [NWTRC], Naval Undersea Warfare Center [NUWC] Division Keyport Range Complex, Carr Inlet Operations Area, and Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility [SEAFAC]); and Navy pierside locations where sonar maintenance and testing occur (Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton, Naval Base Kitsap Bangor and Naval Station Everett). The land-based portions of the range complexes and facilities are not a part of the Study Area and will be or already have been addressed under separate DoN environmental planning documentation. With the filing of the Draft EIS/OEIS, the DoN is initiating a 60- day public comment period and has scheduled eight public meetings to receive comments on the Draft EIS/OEIS. This notice announces the dates and locations of the public meetings and provides supplementary information about the environmental planning effort. Dates and Addresses: The 60-day Draft EIS/OEIS public review period will begin on January 24, 2014, and end on March 25, 2014. The DoN will hold eight public meetings that will include an open house information session, followed by a short presentation by the DoN. DoN representatives will be available during the open house information sessions to clarify information related to the Draft EIS/OEIS. Federal, state, and local agencies and officials, and interested organizations and individuals are encouraged to provide comments in writing during the public review period or in person at one of the scheduled public meetings. The public meetings will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with a DoN presentation at 6:30 p.m., on the following dates and at the following locations: 1. Wednesday, February 26, 2014, at the Oak Harbor High School Student Union Building, 1 Wildcat Way, Oak Harbor, WA, 98277. 2. Thursday, February 27, 2014, at the Cascade High School Student Commons, 801 E. Casino Road, Everett, WA, 98203. 3. Friday, February 28, 2014, at the North Kitsap High School Commons, 1780 NE Hostmark St., Poulsbo, WA, 98370. 4. Monday, March 3, 2014, at the Astoria High School Student Commons, 1001 W. Marine Drive, Astoria, OR, 97103. 5. Tuesday, March 4, 2014, at the Isaac Newton Magnet School Gym, 825 NE 7th St., Newport, OR, 97365. 6. Thursday, March 6, 2014, at the Red Lion Hotel Redwood Ballroom, 1929 4th St., Eureka, CA, 95501. 7. Friday, March 7, 2014, at the Redwood Coast Senior Center West Room, 490 N. Harold St., Fort Bragg, CA, 95437. 8. Tuesday, March 11, 2014, at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center Lobby, 50 Main St., Ketchikan, AK, 99901. Attendees will be able to submit oral and written comments during the public meetings. Oral comments from the public will be recorded by a court reporter. In the interest of available time, and to ensure all who wish to provide an oral statement to the court reporter have the opportunity to do so, each speaker's comments will be limited to three (3) minutes, which may be extended if meeting attendance permits. Equal weight will be given to oral and written statements. Comments may also be submitted via the U.S. Postal Service to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest, Attention: Ms. Kimberly Kler--NWTT EIS/ OEIS Project Manager, 1101 Tautog Circle, Suite 203, Silverdale, WA 98315-1101, or electronically via the project Web site (www.NWTTEIS.com). All comments, oral or written, submitted during the public review period will become part of the public record. All comments will be reviewed and acknowledged or responded to in the Final EIS/OEIS. Comments must be postmarked or received online by March 25, 2014, for consideration in the Final EIS/OEIS.