DTIC ADA639209: Proposed Deactivation and Closure of Federal Prison Camp, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Environmental Assessment

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by  Defense Technical Information Center

U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Oecem.t.er :9. 2005
RE: Environmental Assessment - Proposed Deactivation and Closure of
Federal Prison Camp, Nellis Air Force Base - Clark County, Nevada
The u.s. Department ot Justice. Federal Bureau of Prisons •.BOPl 1s
;>leased :::> provide you w!th a copy of the Znvironmental Assessment
lEA) for the proposed the deactivation and closure of the Federal
~or
Prison Camp IFPCI located at Nellis Air ~orce Base north ot the City
of !..as Vegas 111 Clark County, Nevada. This document is prov:ded r.o
:'ul fi 11 tho> requirements of the National Elwironmental Policy Act
(NEPAl of 1969, as amended and the requirements of section 106 o~ lhe
H1storic Preservation Act, as amended.
~atlonal
Nitll the ccmtinuous increase in the federal inmllte popu!at:on and
conscra1nts to the availability of fund1ng. the BOP is a
undertak~ng
broad array ot cost reduCtlon measures 1ncl\ld1ng the d.;;actl'..'ation ano
closure of correctional !ac1lities considered outdated,
obsol~t~
a."ld'or cos::ly to operate and maintain. Th'! cos::s assoclsted ..:.th the
continued maintenance and operation of the FPC a; Force
Nell~s A~~
Base pro~1des the rationale !or considering lts deaccivatlon and
c1osurt=.
the past decade, the BOP has concentrat!:d on achie·:ing cost::
Dur~ng
reduct1one through shared services at co-located facilit:les.
~nis l~s
enabled the BOP to operate l ower staffing requirements,
~~th shar~
r.,edical services and equipment, a11d provid;;, inmate la.bor for :-"'g"l.u
ma.lntenance and repairs at these facilities. This approacr. a·:o!ds the
h1gher operational costs of stand-alone and r-ropose1
facil~ties th~
closure of the FPC would achieve ~hese benefi~s and h"'lP the ec? ~o
mai::'ltain ~ow per capi ta operating coste:. l'PC staff and ;.n.T.a:oeE •,·ould
to other BOP =aci:ities.
b~ reloca~ed
Th~ E:A studies potentia! e:1v;. ronmenta 1 impacte associat~?1 ·. ..~ !. ~h :.!"4~
and closure of the FPC 1ncluding iw.pac:s to the natural
deQct.i,~tion
and manmade envlronments associated w1th ch2 proposed p~oject. 7he EA
•1ill be the subJect: of a 30-day review period Whlch be(} ins .Jam~at~· 6,
20:~~. ar.d -:nds !='ebruary ~, 200E . Comments conc~rn:ng the :ic=·r~r.':. :tn:i
: he proposed ac~ion must be rece1ved dur~r.g :h:s tim~ to be ~ss~~d o~
conslderac:lon and should be sene to:
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1. REPORT DATE 3. DATES COVERED
JAN 2006 2. REPORT TYPE 00-00-2006 to 00-00-2006
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER
Environmental Assessment - Proposed Deactivation and Closure of
5b. GRANT NUMBER
Federal Prison Camp, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER
6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER
5e. TASK NUMBER
5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
U.S. Department of Justice,Federal Bureau of Prisons,320 First Street, REPORT NUMBER
N.W.,Washington,DC,20534
9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S)
11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT
NUMBER(S)
12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
14. ABSTRACT
PROPOSED ACTION PROJECT LOCA TI0:-1 FINDINGS U.S. Department of Jusnce-Federal Bureau of
Pnsons Pamela J. Chandler, Chief Site Selectton and Environmental Re,"tew Branch Federal Bureau of
Pnsons 320 First Street, N. W. Washmgton, D.C. 20534 Tel: [phone] The U.S. Department of Justtce,
federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for housing the federal mmate population in secure
institutional factlmes. ln order to more efficiently and effectively manage minimumsecunty bedspace and to
achteve substanual budget reductions, the BOP ts proposing to deactivate (close) four older, stand-alone
minimum-secunty facilities that are referred to as Federal Prison Camps (FPC). FPC Nellis Air Force Base
in Clark County. Nevada, ts one of the four faciliues proposed for deactivation and closure; others are
located in Pennsylvania, Florida. and North Carolina. Deactivating and closing less efficient, stand-alone
institutions would enable the BOP to more efficiently and effectively manage mimmum-secunty beds
throughout the federal prison system. particularly beds available in satellite mintmum-secumy work
canrps that are located adjacent to larger. more secure federal correctional facilities. Because stand-alone
facilities ca.nnot take full advantage of shared servtces pos.sible at multi-facility locations. such as medtcal
services. food services. and administrative functions, FPCs, such as FPC Nellis Air Force Base, are more
costly to operate. ln addition, by taking this action, the cost of undenaking the repa.ir and! or upgrade of
the extsung uafrastrucrure would be avoided. Opporrunities ex 1st for FPC staff to relocate to other BOP
facilities should staff wtsh to take advantage of them. As a result of implemenung the proposed action, the
BOP expects to achie,?e more efficient operations and substantial cost reductions. The FPC. " ’luch is the
subject of this EA. is located Withm Area ll at Nellis Air Force Base. The base is located adjacent to and
east of the C1ty of North Las Vegas in Clark County. Nevada approximately e1ght m1les north of the City
of Las Vegas. Alternatives. including the No Action Alternative, have been consrdered by the BOP.
Implementation of the preferred altemattve (deacttvation and closure of the FPC) rs oot an11c1pated to
result m stgmficant adverse impacts to the area’s narural enVIronment, butlt environment or to the
economy of the region. Benefictal impacts, in the form of substantial cost reductiOns to the BOP, would
result by eliminating the need to mamtain and operate a less efficient facility and by relocating mmates and
staff to other facilities wluch are less costly to operate and mamtam. Followmg deactivation and closure,
the grounds and all standing buildmgs comprismg the FPC would be returned to the U.S. Air Force by the
BOP as mutually agreed upon.
15. SUBJECT TERMS
16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF
ABSTRACT OF PAGES RESPONSIBLE PERSON
a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE Same as 99
unclassified unclassified unclassified Report (SAR)
Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)
Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18
?age 2
Cecembe~ 29, 2005
• Pamela J. Chandler, Chief
Site Seleccion & Environmental Review Branch
Federal Bureau of Prisons
320 First Street, N.W.
washington, D.C. 20534
Tel: [phone] I Pax: 202-616-6024
All written comments rece1ved during this review period would be taken
into considera:ion by the BO?. ~ review o= the ~~ leads to a Finding
of No Significant Impact (PONS!) as defined 1n NE?A. The proposed
action '"'auld result: in no significant adverse impacts t::o the project.
site and surrounding community. Based on the EA, a will be
FCh~SI
s1.gned and becom,; final 30 days following puJJlication of the E:A and a
Notice of Availability of the EA in the local newspaper, provided that
no information l eading to a conr.rary finding is received or comes to
light during the 30-day period afforded public revie\4 and commenc.
f~r
Copio:s of the EA are also available for public vie,.·ing a:: the
following locations: Las Vegas-Clark County Lohrary Districc, 833 Las
Vegas Boulevard, North Las Vegas, Nevada; North Las Vegas Liorary
Distr~cc. 2300 Civic Center Drive, North Las Vegas, Nevada1 and Nellis
Air Forco: Base Library, 4311 Nor~~ Washington Boulevard. auilding 312,
Suice 101, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. 7hank you for your
:m:eresc.
Sincerely yours,
Pamela J. Chandler, Chief
Site Selection and Environmental
Review Branch
Ar.tachmenc
cc: R. Nardi, Berger
I. Gascon, BOP
K. Domako, OS!\F
Proposed Deactivation and Closure
of Federal Prison Camp
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
Environmental Assessment
Lead Agency:
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Washington, D.C.
Prepared in Conjunction with:
The Louis Berger Group, Inc.
Washington. D.C.
January 2006
..
FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
PROPOSED DEACTIVATION AND CLOSURE OF
FEDERAL PRISON CAMP
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE
LAS VEGAS NEVADA
I
DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED ACTION
The U.S. Depa~~m~nt of Justice, through the Federal Bureau cf
Prisons (BOP), ?reposes tc deactivate and close the Federal
Camp (r?C) located at Nellis Air Force Base, Las Veqas,
P~ison
Nevada, in order to more efficiently and effectively uuli.:e
existing minimum security bedspace throughout our system. Ihe
BOP is undertaking a broad array of cost .::educt1on measures
1ncluding the deactivation and closure of several min!mum
security federal prisons. It is more efficient and cost
effective to close this <PC and house the inmates 1n
Sat~ll~te
m1nimum security work camps that are located adjacent to more
secure facilities. Also, the age and condit:on of the FPC
located in Nellis and the costs associated . ts cont!nued
w~th
maintenance and provide additional rationale !or
operatic~
considering its deactivation and closu=e.
?rojet:tlons show the BOP '"'ill be able to ac:Ueve substantial cost
reductions by deactivating and closing t~~s F?C. Cost reductions
will be realized as a result o: the more efficient use of
bedspace available 1n security work camps that are
min~~um
located to highe: security and by avoidlng
adjacen~ fac~i~ies
ccsts with the 1n!rastructure repa1rs and upgrades
assoc~aced
:hat would needed in order : o continue in a
~e ~pera:ing ~ellis
sare and manner_ s:atf will be absorbed tnto the
effic~ent
personnel at facil1t:es wnere vacancies
comple~ent exist~ng
exist.
;>.lternative actions ha·./e been e":Jaluated by the BOP in
<iCt::>r:.l~m.:~
w:th the National Policy Acr of ·969, as amended
Envi~on~ental
:.ncluding:
• ~lo Ac~:.on l,lternative. In:ple:nen~aticn of th1s alternatl.ve
·•ould preclude the cO:? :rom prcceedinq -.rith the deacti·:at:ion
and of FPC Nellis.
clos~~e
• fPC Lleactivation an:i Closure .11.lternative - Impleme:\ta~icn oE
this would the BOP to
al,ernac~ve al:o~ ach~eve s~bstantial
cost reductlons through better Ut l:ization of
t~e exist~ng
minimum security bedspace at ether BOP facilities and by
avo:.d.!.ng costs associated '"'ith contin~ed maintenance,
operation, repair and upgrading of existing facility.
~he
Deactivation and closure of the FPC lS considered by the BOP
co be the Preferred Jl_l ternative.
?he 1mpacts o! the proposed action on the were
env~~onment
cor.sidered in an Environmental Assessment tEA) prepared pursuant
to the National Environmental Policy Act (N~PA) of 1969, as
amended. Review of the EA l eads to a Finding of No Sigru.ficant
rmpact (FONSI) as that phrase is defined pu~suant to NEPA.
implementation of the proposed accion ~auld ~esult in negligibl€
impacts to the local community. There would be no significant
adverse impacts to land uses, utility systems,
sur~ounding
traffic patterns or other community considerations . No
significant adverse impacts as defined pursuant NEPA
on-si~e ~o
a:::e ,O,"Iticipated as a result of the proposed action.
DECLARATION
Pursuant to the of the National Environmental ?Olley
requiremen~s
Act and subsequent guid~lines for preparing environmental
documents, I have det ermined that this proposed action is not a
federal action significantly a!fecting the quality of the
~uman
en vi ronmet'~t.
Director
Da~:.e
Prisons

ABSTRACT