Afsoc's 2007 Cannon AFB Environmental Impact Statement

"The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) report recommended closing Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico unless a new mission was identified by the end of 2009. At the same time, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) was in dire need of a new base to support the call for increased growth in Special Operations Forces (SOF) by the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). In short order, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced in June 2006 that AFSOC would take ownership of Cannon AFB on 1 October 2007. The base would change missions and transfer ownership from Air Combat Command (ACC) to AFSOC. Before this change could occur, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) required the preparation of a detailed environmental impact statement (EIS). EISs are required for major federal actions that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The federal actions in question involved replacing ACC F-16 aircraft with AFSOC AC-130, MC-130, CV-22, MQ-1 and MQ-9 aircraft. Under an extraordinarily tight timeline, a team of members from HQ AFSOC, the Air Staff, and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) thoroughly analyzed future environmental impacts at Cannon. They coordinated, facilitated and documented public hearings and ultimately produced a 623-page EIS document that met all NEPA requirements. They staffed the document and attained a formal SAF/IE record of decision in time to move aircraft and personnel to Cannon AFB as scheduled during the first quarter of fiscal year 2008. During the same timeframe, SAF/IE and HAF/A7 emphasized the need to streamline the Air Force's Environmental Impact Analysis Process (EIAP) to reduce time and costs. The purpose of this paper is to educate airmen on EIS fundamentals and analyze AFSOC's 2007 Cannon AFB EIS effort as a "lean" process and a case study for others to emulate."--Abstract.