1. Managing Voluminous Public Comments April 7, 2004 Presented by: Peggy Farrell, Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E & E) Co-authors: Dan Cecchini, DoN, Atlantic Division Jone Guerin, E & E Andy Mehalick, E & E

2. Environmental Impact Statement for the Introduction of F/A-18 E/F (Super Hornet) Aircraft to the East Coast of the United States Department of the Navy

3. Description of the Project Homebasing of 10 Super Hornet fleet squadrons (130 aircraft) and the Fleet Replacement Squadron (32 aircraft)Homebasing of 10 Super Hornet fleet squadrons (130 aircraft) and the Fleet Replacement Squadron (32 aircraft) Replacement of Tomcat and earlier model Hornet aircraftReplacement of Tomcat and earlier model Hornet aircraft Construction of support facilities:Construction of support facilities: –Aircraft support (hangars, runways, refueling, etc.) –Maintenance –Training –Personnel support (medical, dental, etc.) –Housing

4. AlternativesAlternatives No actionNo action Single siteSingle site Dual siteDual site OLFsOLFs

5. Single-Site Alternatives Existing MCAS Beaufort assets transfer to MCAS Cherry Point – 88 aircraft MCAS Beaufort ALT 3 10 Fleet squadrons and FRS to MCAS Beaufort – 162 aircraft MCAS Cherry Point ALT 2 10 Fleet squadrons and FRS to MCAS Cherry Point – 162 aircraft NAS Oceana 10 Fleet squadrons and FRS to NAS Oceana – 162 aircraft ALT 1

6. Dual-Site Alternatives ALTALTALTALTALT Base 4A4B5A5B6 NAS Oceana6 + FRS6 + FRS408 + FRS MCAS Cherry Point406 + FRS6 + FRS2 MCAS Beaufort04040

7. OLF Site Alternatives

8. No Action Baseline for alternatives comparisonBaseline for alternatives comparison No new or expanded facilities constructionNo new or expanded facilities construction No increase or decrease of functional capacity at any homebase siteNo increase or decrease of functional capacity at any homebase site

9. EIS Timeline ScopingJune to August 2000ScopingJune to August 2000 Draft EISAugust 2, 2002Draft EISAugust 2, 2002 Public HearingsAugust to Sept. 2002Public HearingsAugust to Sept. 2002 Final EISJuly 2003Final EISJuly 2003 RODSeptember 3, 2003RODSeptember 3, 2003

10. Why Controversial? Action Involved Five StatesAction Involved Five States Environmental ImpactsEnvironmental Impacts –Aircraft Noise –Air Quality –Wildlife Environmental BenefitsEnvironmental Benefits

11. Results of Public Hearings Over 5,000 written and verbal comments, including: Handwritten LettersHandwritten Letters Typed LettersTyped Letters E-mailsE-mails Post CardsPost Cards Form LettersForm Letters PetitionsPetitions Comment SheetsComment Sheets TranscriptsTranscripts

12. Who Provided Comments? RepresentativesRepresentatives Regulatory AgenciesRegulatory Agencies MunicipalitiesMunicipalities Business OwnersBusiness Owners Citizen GroupsCitizen Groups CitizensCitizens

13. Benefits of the System Multiple usersMultiple users Searchable dataSearchable data Unique codes eliminated duplicatesUnique codes eliminated duplicates Frequently used responses could be modified in the database and automatically changed throughoutFrequently used responses could be modified in the database and automatically changed throughout Data stored in one place and used directly for reportingData stored in one place and used directly for reporting

23. ConclusionConclusion Required start-up costs associated with the web site and system designRequired start-up costs associated with the web site and system design The system was updated throughout the project to make it more usefulThe system was updated throughout the project to make it more useful The system template has been used on two other projects and start-up is limited to two days eachThe system template has been used on two other projects and start-up is limited to two days each If you are expecting voluminous comments, this system is essentialIf you are expecting voluminous comments, this system is essential