Notice2025-14484
Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement for Requested Public Land Withdrawal in Vicinity of Highway 95, Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona (ID# EISX-007-21-001-1751379204)
Primary source
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Published
July 31, 2025
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentArmy Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of the Army (Army) announces the availability of the Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) for Requested Public Land Withdrawal in Vicinity of Highway 95, Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the LEIS analyzes the potential environmental effects resulting from the withdrawal and reservation for military purposes of approximately 22,000 acres of public land managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). If enacted into law by Congress, the withdrawal would add acreage to the existing Yuma Proving Ground (YPG). The Army requires the additional land as a safety buffer for testing advanced air delivery technologies and aviation systems. An LEIS has been prepared for this proposed action because the withdrawal and reservation require congressional action for implementation.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 145 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 145 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36030-36031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14484]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement for Requested
Public Land Withdrawal in Vicinity of Highway 95, Yuma Proving Ground,
Arizona (ID# EISX-007-21-001-1751379204)
AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Army (Army) announces the
availability of the Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement
(LEIS) for Requested Public Land Withdrawal in Vicinity of Highway 95,
Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. In accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the LEIS analyzes the potential
environmental effects resulting from the withdrawal and reservation for
military purposes of approximately 22,000 acres of public land managed
by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
(BLM). If enacted into law by Congress, the withdrawal would add
acreage to the existing Yuma Proving Ground (YPG). The Army requires
the additional land as a safety buffer for testing advanced air
delivery technologies and aviation systems. An LEIS has been prepared
for this proposed action because the withdrawal and reservation require
congressional action for implementation.
ADDRESSES: The Final LEIS can be viewed at: (1) Main Yuma Library, 2951
S 21st Dr., Yuma, AZ 85364; (2) Quartzsite Public Library, 465 N
Plymouth Ave., Quartzsite, AZ 85346.
The Final LEIS also is available as an electronic file on the YPG
project website: <a href="https://ypg-environmental.com/highway-95-land-withdrawal-leis/">https://ypg-environmental.com/highway-95-land-withdrawal-leis/</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Steward, YPG Environmental
Sciences Division, via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#76030517041b0f580f0611581f1b15191b581b140e58181306173617041b0f581b1f1a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b7c2c4d6c5dace99cec7d099dedad4d8da99dad5cf99d9d2c7d6f7d6c5dace99dadedb">[email protected]</span></a> or
via phone at (928) 328-2125.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Engle Act, only Congress can
approve a requested withdrawal of more than 5,000 acres of land in the
aggregate for any one defense project or facility. A Record of Decision
will not be prepared because Congress is the decision-maker for this
requested action. The LEIS will be submitted to Congress, which will
express its decision either by passing legislation to approve its
selected alternative or by taking no action.
The Draft LEIS was made available for public review and comment for
45 days between March 1, 2024, and April 15, 2024. Two virtual public
hearings were held on March 26 and March 27, 2024. One member of the
public attended each of the hearings. The Army received eight comments
on the Draft LEIS. The comments were reviewed and responses to the
substantive comments were developed and included in the Final LEIS at
Appendix S.
YPG is located in the southwestern corner of Arizona, near the
California-Arizona border. The Colorado River bounds it to the west and
the Gila River bounds it to the south. The installation lies
approximately 23 miles northeast of the city of Yuma, Arizona. YPG is
situated in both La Paz and Yuma Counties, Arizona, and the requested
22,000-acre withdrawal involves land in each county. YPG occupies about
1,300 square miles and extends approximately 60 miles north to south
and 50 miles east to west. YPG's mission is to plan, conduct, assess,
analyze, report, and support developmental, production, and operational
tests on the following: medium- and long-range artillery; aircraft
target acquisition equipment and armament; armored tracked and wheeled
vehicles; a variety of munitions; and parachute systems for personnel
and supplies. YPG also provides training support to the Army, other
Department of Defense branches, other federal agencies, and
international and commercial customers.
The Final LEIS analyzes potential impacts from a possible
legislative withdrawal and reservation for military purposes of
approximately 22,000 acres of public land managed by the BLM. The
requested action involves the withdrawal of the land from all forms of
appropriation (such as mining claims) and an additional 800 acres of
federal surface estate (meaning the subsurface is not included). The
land lies between the current boundary of the YPG and a section of
Highway 95 between mile marker 76 and mile marker 91. The Army requires
the additional land as a safety buffer to improve public safety and
meet testing and training requirements based on advances in parachute
technologies. If enacted into law, the withdrawal would add to--and be
adjacent to--the 829,565 acres withdrawn on July 1, 1952, under Public
Land Order No. 848, as amended, for use by the Army in connection with
Yuma Test Station (currently known as YPG). The Army is requesting that
the duration of the 22,000-acre withdrawal be for an indefinite
period--i.e., until there is no longer a military need for the land.
The purpose of the requested land withdrawal is to provide
additional area to support testing and training at YPG. The Army
requires the additional land as a safety buffer for testing advanced
air delivery technologies and aviation systems. A surface safety zone
is an area in space and on the ground that provides a buffer in case of
error or failure during testing and training. Surface safety zones
protect people from being injured by material dropping from the sky
during air delivery testing and training. The additional land will
provide for a larger surface safety zone and allow the Army to execute
more complex air delivery and tactical scenarios than are currently
possible. Higher altitudes and greater offset distances are required to
test parachute systems' full capabilities, and this requires a
correspondingly greater surface safety zone.
Currently, due to land and airspace limitations, systems are not
tested to their full capability for altitude and precision. Without the
requested withdrawal, mission-required drops could land outside the
current YPG boundary and result in injury or death to members of the
public. The requested land withdrawal would restrict the
[[Page 36031]]
public from accessing hazardous areas, thus reducing the potential for
such injuries and deaths.
The boundary between YPG and BLM land lacks a contiguous physical
landmark demarcating the two areas, which has led to unintentional
public intrusions onto YPG. The requested withdrawal area extends to
Highway 95 and would establish the highway as a distinct physical
landmark for the YPG boundary, thereby improving public safety.
In addition to the Army's proposed action, the Final LEIS analyzes
an alternative for a withdrawal of a shorter period and a No-Action
Alternative.
Under limited-duration withdrawal, Congress would withdraw and
reserve for Army use the same area, with the same boundary and land
management provisions as the proposed action, but the duration of the
Highway 95 withdrawal would be limited to a shorter period (i.e., 25
years) rather than being of indefinite duration.
No-Action Alternative: Congress would not enact legislation to
withdraw and reserve the land as requested. The BLM would retain
management responsibility for the 22,000 acres of public lands. Under
this alternative, YPG would not meet mission requirements, but limited
military testing and training would continue within the present-day YPG
boundary. While the No-Action Alternative would not satisfy the purpose
of or need for the proposed action, this alternative was retained to
provide a comparative baseline against which to analyze the effects of
the action alternatives.
The Final LEIS evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental and socioeconomic effects of the proposed
action. The resource areas and effects analyzed in the Final LEIS
include biological resources, cultural resources, existing land use,
recreation, socioeconomics, air quality, greenhouse gas, and
environmental justice. The analysis includes minimization measures,
standard operating procedures, and best management practices routinely
employed by YPG to reduce potential adverse effects of the proposed
action.
The air quality, greenhouse gas, and environmental justice analyses
were prepared according to now-rescinded Executive Orders, the Council
on Environmental Quality's NEPA implementing regulations, which have
been rescinded, and the Army's NEPA implementing regulation, which has
also been rescinded. Because analysis regarding air quality, greenhouse
gases, and environmental justice was already provided to the public for
comment, such analysis is included in the Final LEIS for purposes of
consistency and clarity.
Under the proposed action (i.e., the withdrawal of BLM lands for an
indefinite duration), there would be less-than-significant effects on
all evaluated resources. The withdrawal alternatives would result in
minor adverse effects to land use and recreation, but none of the
effects would be significant. The proposed action would transfer
management of these lands from one federal agency to another and the
Army's environmental compliance requirements would be the same as those
for the BLM. If the withdrawal is approved by Congress, the Army would
conduct consultation on future actions under the National Historic
Preservation Act and the Endangered Species Act, as appropriate.
The environmental effects from the shorter-duration withdrawal
alternative would be comparable to those discussed for the proposed
action, but for a specific duration.
Federal, state, and local agencies, federally-recognized Indian
Tribes and other Native American organizations, and the general public
were invited to be involved in the public comment process for the Draft
LEIS. The public comment period began with the publication of a Notice
of Availability of the Draft LEIS in the Federal Register. The Army
held two virtual public meetings during the review period. The Army
considered all comments received on the Draft LEIS when preparing the
Final LEIS.
Congress will receive the Final LEIS as part of the withdrawal case
file, in coordination with the Department of the Interior, to support
this proposed withdrawal. Congress will make the decision on whether to
authorize the requested land withdrawal and reservation.
(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (1969).)
James W. Satterwhite, Jr.,
U.S. Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2025-14484 Filed 7-30-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3711-CC-P
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