In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Department of the Army (Army) is conducting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to study the impacts of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 recommendations for realignment of Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The EIS will include an analysis of the land use plan update for Fort Belvoir, and proposed actions to implement the BRAC Commission's recommendations. This website will help you understand:
- What is BRAC?
- What is the National Environmental Policy Act?
- What is an EIS?
- What has the BRAC Commission recommended for Fort Belvoir?
- What has happened so far and what's planned for the future?
- How might these activities affect you?
- How can you participate in this process?
Be sure to check out the FAQs page for answers to many of these questions!
Announcements
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the Fort Belvoir BRAC EIS deferred decision for one of the BRAC actions (BRAC Recommendation 133) pending further analysis for other alternative sites. Further information on this ongoing Environmental Assessment can be found here.
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the Fort Belvoir BRAC Action (August 2007) is now available.
In accordance with the Clean Air Act, a Final General Conformity Determination dated August 2007 was completed for the BRAC action at Fort Belvoir.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement (June 2007) is now available here.
Publications
Final Environmental Impact Statement Page, June 2007
Transcript of April 17, 2007 Public Meeting (PDF, 144 KB, 109 pp.)
Draft Environmental Impact Statement Page, March 2007
Public Information Meeting Summary Report (PDF, 24.3 MB, 98 pp.), January 2007
Scope of Statement (PDF, 19 MB, 188 pp.), July 2006
The Realignment of Fort Belvoir
The 2005 BRAC Commission proposed that the Army realign Fort Belvoir according to BRAC law. The Commission recommended the realignment of approximately 22,000 people composed of 59 agencies or activities to relocate to Fort Belvoir. These include, but are not limited to:
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
- Washington Headquarters Services (WHS)
- Army Leased Space
- Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS)
- Missile Defense Agency Headquarters Command Center (MDA)
- DeWitt Army Community Hospital
The Army published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare the EIS in the Federal Register on November 23, 2005, and conducted a public scoping meeting on June 7, 2006, to solicit input on the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the BRAC action for Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Following the scoping meeting, other public meetings included a public information meeting on January 24, 2007, and a Draft EIS public meeting on April 17, 2007.
Popular Topics
The Army received many comments at the June 2006 public scoping meeting and during the Draft EIS public comment period in March and April 2007. The majority of the comments received fell into one of three primary topics: Traffic, Environment, and Schools. This section highlights each of these topics and provides a brief summary of the Army's response. For a more detailed analysis of the comments received, click on the Public Meetings tab and view the Scope of Statement. The comments received during the Draft EIS public comment period and the Army's response to those comments are available in the Final EIS released in July 2007. View the popular topics by clicking on Open Topics:
Open Topics
| Close Topics
Traffic | Environment | Schools
Topic: Traffic
With the expected addition of 22,000 new personnel at Fort Belvoir, many members of the public are concerned about the local and regional traffic impacts.
Response
The Final EIS (FEIS) includes the results of a detailed analysis of the local traffic impacts and general description of the regional impacts for all BRAC scenarios. The FEIS evaluated impacts based on a variety of variables including the following:
- Locations from which new personnel will be coming
- Likely number of new workers who will be relocating versus commuting from existing locations
- Numbers of commuters currently using the major roadways around the Fort Belvoir area.
The DEIS presents recommended mitigation measures to offset impacts from BRAC to traffic. The Army, their contractors, and the planning team are working closely with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to ensure that traffic impacts are adequately addressed. The Army and its master planning contractor, Belvoir New Vision Planners (BNVP) are working closely with VDOT to ensure that traffic impacts are adequately addressed.
Topic: Environment
The 2005 BRAC recommendations will bring a variety of new development to Fort Belvoir raising concern among members of the public about the potential impacts to the environment. Specifically, the preservation of the wildlife refuges, shoreline areas, and the Environmental Quality Corridor on the Engineer Proving Ground (EPG) appeared to be of greatest concern.
Response
- The NEPA process requires that all impacts to the environment be studied for each alternative being analyzed, and the results used to recommend the preferred alternative(s).
- Intensive analysis and planning has taken place in order to site new development so that impacts to natural resources are minimized. The rich natural resources of Fort Belvoir would be preserved wherever practicable.
- Best management practices and mitigation measures would be incorporated into new development design and construction so that adverse impacts are minimized.
Topic: Potential Impacts to the Fairfax County Public Schools
The fact that 22,000 new personnel will be relocating to Fort Belvoir has raised concerns among members of the public regarding possible impacts to the Fairfax County Public Schools.
Response
- The locations where new personnel currently reside and the number of families with school-aged children were analyzed in the FEIS.
- The majority of the new workers already live within a commutable distance from Fort Belvoir.
- Only a small percentage of new workers are likely to relocate as a result of the BRAC action.
- The total projected increase in the number of children coming to the Fairfax County Public School System is 4,340, a 2.6% increase of current enrollment.
Topics: Traffic | Environment | Schools
Close Topics
What's Happening?
Stay up to date on what's happening with the EIS for BRAC 2005 Implementation at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The latest updates are located here:
Open Updates
| Close Updates
Updates
- The Army released the Final EIS in June 2007. (Note that the document has been broken up into multiple PDF files.)
- Meeting on Historic Resources: The Army held a National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 public meeting May 2, 2007, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. to discuss the potential impacts on historic resources by Fort Belvoir's Base Realignment and Closure Action. For more information please download the download the press release (PDF, 65 KB).
- The Army released the Draft EIS in March 2007. (Note that the document has been broken up into multiple PDF files.)
- A Public Meeting to solicit public comments on the DEIS will be held April 17, 2007 at Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. Public notices to announce this meeting will be posted in local newspapers prior to the meeting.
Close Updates
Important Dates
| Event |
Date |
Completed? |
| NOI published in the Federal Register |
November 23, 2005 | √ |
Agency & Public Scoping Meeting
Springfield, VA | June 7, 2006 | √ |
| Deadline for submission of comments to be included in the Scope of Statement | July 2, 2006 | √ |
| Scope of Statement Finalized | August 15, 2006 | √ |
| EIS Public Information Meeting | January 24, 2007 | √ |
| Publication of the Draft EIS | March 2, 2007 | √ |
| 60-day Public Comment Period | March 2, 2007
–
May 1, 2007 | √ |
| Draft EIS Public Meeting | April 17, 2007 | √ |
| Publication of the Final EIS | July 6, 2007 | √ |
| Record of Decision Publication | August 10, 2007 | √ |
|
