Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Exterior Improvements to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and Request for Consulting Parties

Issuing agencies

Abstract

Consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (NHPA), this Notice announces the availability and opportunity for public review and comment of a draft Environmental Assessment (EA), which examines the potential impacts of a proposal by the Office of Administration (OA), Executive Office of the President (EOP), to improve the granite fa[ccedil]ade of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB). Pursuant to this notice, OA is also seeking public comment on the potential of the proposed improvements to cause adverse effects on historic properties. Finally, this notice provides information on how individuals and organizations may request to become consulting parties.

Full Text

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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 199 (Friday, October 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65714-65715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21236]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 199 / Friday, October 16, 2026 / 
Notices

[[Page 65714]]



OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION, EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

[Docket No. OA-2026-0001]


Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment for 
Exterior Improvements to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and 
Request for Consulting Parties

AGENCY: Office of Administration, Executive Office of the President.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 
1966, as amended (NHPA), this Notice announces the availability and 
opportunity for public review and comment of a draft Environmental 
Assessment (EA), which examines the potential impacts of a proposal by 
the Office of Administration (OA), Executive Office of the President 
(EOP), to improve the granite fa[ccedil]ade of the Dwight D. Eisenhower 
Executive Office Building (EEOB). Pursuant to this notice, OA is also 
seeking public comment on the potential of the proposed improvements to 
cause adverse effects on historic properties. Finally, this notice 
provides information on how individuals and organizations may request 
to become consulting parties.

DATES: This notice initiates a public comment period for the Draft EA. 
OA requests that the public submit comments concerning the scope of the 
analysis, potential alternatives, and identification of relevant 
information and studies by November 16, 2026. To afford OA the 
opportunity to consider comments, please ensure any comments are 
received prior to the close of the 30-day comment period.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number OA-
2026-0001, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/OA-2026-0001">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/OA-2026-0001</a>.
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#72341716201715311d1f1f171c0601321d135c171d025c151d04"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7f391a1b2d1a183c1012121a110b0c3f101e511a100f51181009">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Include docket number 
OA-2026-0001 in the subject line of the message.
    Instructions: All submissions received outside of <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> 
must include the name ``Office of Administration'' and the docket 
number for this notice of availability. OA makes all comments, 
including the names, addresses, and other personally identifiable 
information included in the comment, available for public review 
online. Individuals can request that OA withhold their names, 
addresses, or other personally identifiable information included in 
their comment from the public record; however, OA cannot guarantee that 
it will be able to do so.
    All submissions from organizations or businesses and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses will be made available for public 
inspection in their entirety.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/OA-2026-0001">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/OA-2026-0001</a>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Administration, Heather 
Martin, Deputy Director and Chief Financial Officer, (202) 456-4646, 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#632506073106042d0c170a000610230c024d060c134d040c15"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="aceac9c8fec9cbe2c3d8c5cfc9dfecc3cd82c9c3dc82cbc3da">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    The Draft EA evaluates the potential environmental impacts of a 
proposal by OA to make improvements to the granite fa[ccedil]ade of the 
EEOB and bring it into visual alignment with the neighboring White 
House. Section 590 of Public Law 100-461 authorizes the OA Director to 
accept gifts, property, and voluntary services to support renovation 
and rehabilitation of the EEOB, and establishes a United States 
Treasury Fund for those purposes. OA is not a Federal agency and is 
therefore is not required to comply with either NEPA or the NHPA. 
Moreover, given the EEOB's location on White House grounds, it is 
exempt from the requirements of the NHPA under Section 107. 
Nonetheless, OA is voluntarily following the NEPA and NHPA procedures 
for this Project because those procedures provide a generally well-
understood framework for considering potential effects and receiving 
input from agencies, the public, and interested parties.

Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action

    The subject of the Project, the EEOB, is located to the west of the 
White House at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The Project is 
proposed to rehabilitate and improve the granite fa[ccedil]ade of the 
EEOB to restore and beautify its physical appearance, consistent with 
Executive Order 14344, Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again. At 
present, several areas of the EEOB's fa[ccedil]ade are deteriorating, 
including through granular disintegration, delamination, incipient 
spalling, cracking, and chipping, as well as gypsum salt accumulation, 
efflorescence, stains from exposure to contaminants, and biological 
growth. This deterioration has worsened over time and diminished the 
EEOB's appearance and stature. Further, the gray fa[ccedil]ade of the 
EEOB, combined with its size and massing, conveys a dark, drab, and 
uninspiring presence that detracts from the aesthetic presentation of 
the much smaller White House directly adjacent to it. In carrying out 
proposed exterior improvements, OA proposes to address existing areas 
of degradation, engage in various masonry preservation measures, and 
coat the fa[ccedil]ade with white, mineral silicate paint. The proposed 
action would not only address areas of disrepair on the EEOB's 
fa[ccedil]ade, but would also visually align the EEOB with the White 
House, of which it is a functional extension.

Alternatives Under Consideration

    The EA will consider three Action Alternatives (i.e., the Exterior 
Painting Alternative, the Partial Painting Alternative, and the 
Cleaning and Lighting Alternative) and the No Action Alternative. Under 
the Exterior Painting Alternative (the ``Preferred Alternative''), the 
EEOB's whole granite fa[ccedil]ade (excluding interior courtyards) 
would be painted with a white, mineral silicate paint. Prior to 
painting, the granite facade would be prepared for

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painting, which would include a conservation-based cleaning regimen and 
stone repair and preservation measures implemented in accordance with 
the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic 
Properties. Fa[ccedil]ade lighting also would be installed. The Partial 
Painting Alternative involves painting only the exterior granite walls 
of the upper floors of all four elevations, leaving the raised 
foundation (currently a different type, texture, and shade of granite) 
unpainted. As with the Preferred Alternative, the paint would be a 
shade of white, mineral silicate paint, the courtyard elevations would 
remain unpainted, the exterior walls would undergo cleaning and stone 
repair prior to painting, and fa[ccedil]ade lighting would be 
installed. The Cleaning and Lighting Alternative involves only cleaning 
the exterior granite using a gentle, conservation-based cleaning method 
to remove dirt and soiling on all four exterior elevations, to remove 
unattractive stains, and to improve the overall appearance of the 
exterior facade. Under the No Action Alternative, cleaning and painting 
of the EEOB fa[ccedil]ade would not occur. Weathering and deterioration 
of the building fa[ccedil]ade would continue, and the aesthetics of the 
building would remain unaligned with that of the White House.
    OA welcomes comments on all four alternatives, as well as 
suggestions for additional alternatives.

Public Input and Consultation

    This notice of availability provides a period for the public to 
identify issues and potential alternatives for consideration. Federal 
agencies; state, tribal, and local governments; and the general public 
will have the opportunity to assist OA in identifying the following for 
analysis: historic properties that could be affected by the Project, 
potential adverse effects, reasonable alternatives, and potential 
mitigation measures to be analyzed.
    OA will use the NEPA coordination process provided for in the NHPA 
regulations (36 CFR 800.8). OA will consider all written requests from 
individuals or organizations to participate as consulting parties under 
NHPA and, as discussed below, will determine who among those parties 
will be a consulting party in accordance with NHPA regulations.
    NHPA Consulting Parties: Certain individuals and organizations with 
a demonstrated interest in the Project can request to participate as 
NHPA consulting parties under 36 CFR 800.2(c)(5), due to the nature of 
their legal or economic relation to the undertaking or affected 
properties, or their concern with the undertaking's effects on historic 
properties.
    Interested individuals or organizations can request to be 
consulting parties by emailing: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4c0f23223f39203825222b1c2d3e3825293f0c232d6229233c622b233a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7635191805031a021f1811261704021f13053619175813190658111900">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Parties 
requesting consulting status should provide all information that would 
allow OA to fully evaluate the request. OA will determine which 
interested parties should be consulting parties.
    Comments: Federal agencies; tribal, state, and local governments; 
and other interested parties are requested to comment on the scope of 
this EA, significant issues that should be addressed, and alternatives 
that should be considered. For information on how to submit comments, 
see the ADDRESSES section above.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347.

Heather D. Martin,
Deputy Director and Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2026-21236 Filed 10-15-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3115-F4-P


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