national historic preservation act, section 106,...

National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Office of

History and Archaeology, State Historic Preservation Office

GULF OF ALASKA NAVY TRAINING ACTIVITIES EIS/OEIS FINAL (MARCH 2011)

APPENDIX C REGULATORY CONSULTATION

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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY COM~

UNITED STATES PA~IFIC FL£ET 250 MAKALAPA DRIVE

PEARL HARBOR. HAWAII Maa0-3131

IN REPLY REFER TO:

5090 N01CE1/037l 14 Apr 10

Ms. Judith E. Bittner Chief, Office of History and Archaeology, and State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) 550 West 7th Ave., Suite 1310 Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3565

SUBJECT: NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT (NHPA) SECTION 106 DETERMINATION FOR GULF OF ALASKA NAVY TRAINING ACTIVITIES

Dear Ms. Bittner:

In accordance with Section 106 of the NHPA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470f), and its implementing regulation, 36 C.F.R. 800, the U.S. Navy would like to inform you of its determination of no adverse effect to historic properties from the proposed actions, which constitute an undertaking by the U.S. Navy per the NHPA, within the Alaska Training Areas (ATA)1, as shown in Enclosure l~ A copy of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas ~nvironmental Impact Statement (EIS/OEIS) was sent to your office for review in December 2009. This letter now provides your office with information about this project specific to a determination of non-existence of traditional religious and culturally important property within the area of potential effect (APE), the eligible and potentially eligible historic properties within the APE, and the documentation supporting our finding of no adverse effect to comply with Section 106 regulations.

The APE for the proposed action is the GOA Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) and over-flight areas between the TMAA and Air Force Special Use Areas (SUA) and Army training lands. The TMAA is a section of U.S. territorial seas located approximately 24 nautical miles (nm) from the Kenai Peninsula shoreline that encompasses more than 42,146 square nm. The closest land to the TMAA is Cape Cleare, on Montague Island, over twelve nm away. The

1 The ATAs are comprised of 1) the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) , 2) U.S Air Force (Air Force) over-land Special-Use Airspace (SUA) and air routes over the State of Alaska, and 3) U.S. Army (Army) training lands.

SUBJECT: NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT (NHPA) SECTION 106 DETERMINATION FOR GULF OF ALASKA (GOA) NAVY TRAINING ACTIVITIES

over-flight areas between the TMAA and Air Force and Army training lands would involve flights at altitudes greater than 15,000 feet above sea level. The inland Air Force SUA and Army training areas where joint training could occur are covered by existing Air Force and Army NEPA documents and regulatory consultations and as such are not covered by this Section 106 determination. For this reason, the focus of this letter will be the TMAA.

As background, the TMAA serves as a venue for annual joint training exercises which may involve U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, u.s. Air Force, U.S. Army, and U.s. Coast Guard forces. The goal of the proposed actions in the TMAA is to provide selectively focused but critical increases in training to address training shortfalls and Navy and joint training and readiness objectives. The TMAA is used to conduct training in primary mission areas, including anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, naval special warfare, strike warfare, and electronic warfare.

In March and April 2008, the Alaskan Command, on behalf of the Navy, requested that 12 Alaska Native tribes in the GOA area comment on the Navy's proposed actions within the TMAA. As a result of these communications, all 12 Alaska Native tribes responded that there are no traditionally religious and/or culturally important properties within the TMAA. None of the tribes chose to initiate Government-to-Government consultation with Alaskan Command and the Navy on proposed actions within the TMAA, and agreed that the proposed actions would not significantly affect any tribal rights and resources of any of the 12 tribes.

For these reasons, the APE for Navy proposed actions in Alaska is solely aquatic lands located some distance from shore, within the TMAA. The potential cultural resources in the area are comprised of sunken shipwrecks. These shipwrecks lie on the bottom of the sea, at a depth of between 656 and 3,280 feet below sea-level. According to the Alaskan Shipwreck database maintained by the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region office of the Minerals Management Service, which is the most comprehensive record of shipwrecks in Alaskan waters, nine shipwrecks may lie within the APE (see Enclosure 2). None of these shipwrecks have been determined to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), therefore, they are not historic property as defined in 36 C.F.R. §800.16(1) (1). The

2


closest known NRHP eligible shipwreck is the 5.5. Aleutian, on the north side of Kodiak Island, approximately 75 miles from the TMAA. The over-flight zones between the TMAA and inland Air Force SUA and Army training areas covered in the EIS/OEIS would not impact cultural resources as a result of the high altitudes at which these flights would be conducted.

Nevertheless, precautions have been established by the Navy regarding the potential to impact cultural resources in the TMAA. Some of these precautions are general, protective measures carried out during all Naval training exercises, while others are specific to activities within certain geographic areas or activities conducted during specific times of year. Protective measures include the avoidance of known shipwreck sites and the use of inert ordnance during the majority of Navy activities. As the exact locations of shipwrecks in the TMAA are not known precisely, the conditions of 36 C.F.R. §800.13(3) would apply. In the event of an inadvertent discovery of a shipwreck, the Navy would notify the Alaska SHPO within 48 hours of the discovery, including proposed actions to resolve adverse effects to the site.

As the potential effects to historic properties from the current and proposed activities within the TMAA for this determination will not alter any characteristics of eligible National Register sites in a manner that would diminish the integrity of the property's location, design, setting, workmanship feeling or association, there are no adverse effects as defined in 36 C.F.R. §800.5(a) (1). Therefore, I would like to inform you of the Navy's determination of no adverse effect to historic properties from the proposed activities within the TMAA and overflight areas. If you have any specific concerns regarding cultural resources for the proposed action, I ask that you share them with the Navy by 31 May 2010 to conclude the Section 106 process of the NHPA.

3


If you have further comments, questions, or concerns, my point of contact for this project is Mr. Alex Stone, who can be reached at (619) 545-8128 or [email protected].

Respectfully,

~~~'f~ Director, Fleet Environmental By direction

Encls: (1) The Alaska Training Areas (ATA) , including the TMAA, the Air Force SUA and air routes and Army training lands

(2) Gulf of Alaska Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) and known shipwrecks in the immediate vicinity

4

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I I

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Hlg o 40

. GeO«1II p . diorr 'AGSS4.

. ES . NGA..

Encl 1. TMAA in relationship to the Air Force SUA and air routes, and Army training lands

EXPLANATION

* Reference Location o ~ 100

I I I• Shipwreck

o 50 100.r-- 12-Nautical Mile Limrt I I I

~ Isobath (Depth in Meters)

• Encl 2. Gulf of Alaska Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) and known shipwrecks in the immediate vicinity

/I /130 -{ I!.-~ REC IVED

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY COMllAHDlR

UNITED STATES PAelFIC FLEET 250 IlAJ<ALAPA DRIVE

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII _10-3131

No Hist ted Alaska " _ I' 'on Officer Date. '5A-v. lo

File No.. ~~"'I (t. NfhY( Ms. Judith E. Bittner

'APR 202010

OHA REPLY REFER TO:

090 01CE1/0371 4 Apr 10

Chief, Office of History and Archaeology, and State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) 550 West 7th Ave., Suite 1310 Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3565

SUBJECT: NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT (NHPA) SECTION 106 DETERMINATION FOR GULF OF ALASKA NAVY TRAINING ACTIVITIES

Dear Ms. Bittner:

In accordance with Section 106 of the NHPA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470f), and its implementing regulation, 36 C.F.R. 800, the U.S. Navy would like to inform you of its determination of no adverse effect to historic properties from the proposed actions, which constitute an undertaking by the U.S. Navy per the NHPA, within the Alaska Training Areas (ATA)1, as shown in Enclosure 1. A copy of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas ~nvironmental Impact Statement (EIS/OEIS) was sent to your office for review in December 2009. This letter now provides your office with information about this project specific to a determination of non-existence of traditional religious and culturally important property within the area of potential effect (APE), the eligible and potentially eligible historic properties within the APE, and the documentation supporting our finding of no adverse effect to comply with Section 106 regulations.

The APE for the proposed action is the GOA Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) and over-flight areas between the TMAA and Air Force Special Use Areas (SUA) and Army training lands. The TMAA is a section of U.S. territorial seas located approximately 24 nautical miles (nm) from the Kenai Peninsula shoreline that encompasses more than 42,146 square nm. The closest land to the TMAA is Cape Cleare, on Montague Island, over twelve nm away. The

1 The ATAs are comprised of 1) the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) , 2) U.S Air Force (Air Force) over-land Special-Use Airspace (SUA) and air routes over the State of Alaska, and 3) U.S. Army (Army) training lands.


over-flight areas between the TMAA and Air Force and Army training lands would involve flights at altitudes greater than 15,000 feet above sea level. The inland Air Force SUA and Army training areas where joint training could occur are covered by existing Air Force and Army NEPA documents and regulatory consultations and as such are not covered by this Section 106 determination. For this reason, the focus of this letter will be the TMAA.

As background, the TMAA serves as a venue for annual joint training exercises which may involve U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, u.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and U.S. Coast Guard forces. The goal of the proposed actions in the TMAA is to provide selectively focused but critical increases in training to address training shortfalls and Navy and joint training and readiness objectives. The TMAA is used to conduct training in primary mission areas, including anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, naval special warfare, strike warfare, and electronic warfare.

In March and April 2008, the Alaskan Command, on behalf of the Navy, requested that 12 Alaska Native tribes in the GOA area comment on the Navy's proposed actions within the TMAA. As a result of these communications, all 12 Alaska Native tribes responded that there are no traditionally religious and/or culturally important properties within the TMAA. None of the tribes chose to initiate Government-to-Government consultation with Alaskan Command and the Navy on proposed actions within the TMAA, and agreed that the proposed actions would not significantly affect any tribal rights and resources of any of the 12 tribes.

For these reasons, the APE for Navy proposed actions in Alaska is solely aquatic lands located some distance from shore, within the TMAA. The potential cultural resources in the area are comprised of sunken shipwrecks. These shipwrecks lie on the bottom of the sea, at a depth of between 656 and 3,280 feet below sea-level. According to the Alaskan Shipwreck database maintained by the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region office of the Minerals Management Service, which is the most comprehensive record of shipwrecks in Alaskan waters, nine shipwrecks may lie within the APE (see Enclosure 2). None of these shipwrecks have been determined to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), therefore, they are not historic property as defined in 36 C.F.R. §800.16(l) (1). The

2


closest known NRHP eligible shipwreck is the 5.5. Aleutian, on the north side of Kodiak Island, approximately 75 miles from the TMAA. The over-flight zones between the TMAA and inland Air Force SUA and Army training areas covered in the EIS/OEIS would not impact cultural resources as a result of the high altitudes at which these flights would be conducted.

Nevertheless, precautions have been established by the Navy regarding the potential to impact cultural resources in the TMAA. Some of these precautions are general, protective measures carried out during all Naval training exercises, while others are specific to activities within certain geographic areas or activities conducted during specific times of year. Protective measures include the avoidance of known shipwreck sites and the use of inert ordnance during the majority of Navy activities. As the exact locations of shipwrecks in the TMAA are not known precisely, the conditions of 36 C.F.R. §800.13(3} would apply. In the event of an inadvertent discovery of a shipwreck, the Navy would notify the Alaska SHPO within 48 hours of the discovery, including proposed actions to resolve adverse effects to the site.

As the potential effects to historic properties from the current and proposed activities within the TMAA for this determination will not alter any characteristics of eligible National Register sites in a manner that would diminish the integrity of the property's location, design, setting, workmanship feeling or association, there are no adverse effects as defined in 36 C.F.R. §800.5(a} (I). Therefore, I would like to inform you of the Navy's determination of no adverse effect to historic properties from the proposed activities within the TMAA and overflight areas. If you have any specific concerns regarding cultural resources for the proposed action, I ask that you share them with the Navy by 31 May 2010 to conclude the Section 106 process of the NHPA.

3


If you have further comments, questions, or concerns, my point of contact for this project is Mr. Alex Stone, who can be reached at (619) 545-8128 or [email protected].

Respectfully,

et~~foot. Director, Fleet Environmental By direction

Encls: (1) The Alaska Training Areas (ATA) , including the TMAA, the Air Force SUA and air routes and Army training lands

(2) Gulf of Alaska Temporary Maritime Activities Area (TMAA) and known shipwrecks in the immediate vicinity

4

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