Decision nears on site of military program

FORT SMITH — The final decision of the Air Force’s Foreign Military Sales Pilot Training Center at either Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas or Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan is about a month away.

The Air Force released its environmental impact statement in the Federal Register on Friday, which includes comments received from the public and stakeholders from a 45-day draft period last fall.

The Air Force is in a mandatory 30-day waiting period before signing a record of decision.

David Martin, environmental impact statement project manager from Air Force Civil Engineer Center, National Environmental Policy Act division, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland said the decision will be signed March 7 at the earliest. He said the decision will outline where and if the Air Force will put the program.

Ebbing at Fort Smith Regional Airport was selected last year as the Air Force’s preferred location for a pilot training center for Singapore and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales program. The proposal would accommodate up to 24 foreign Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft and move 12 General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Singapore Air Force, currently at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Ariz.

While Ebbing is the preferred location, the Air Force chose Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Mich., if the center couldn’t be at Fort Smith for some reason.

At the first environmental impact statement public meeting, which was held in Fort Smith, Martin explained the policy act requires federal agencies to identify the affected environment, evaluate the potential environmental consequences and identify environmental permits and suggested mitigation measures to minimize environmental impacts, if required.

The Air Force is responsible for the scope and content of the environmental impact statement, and the Federal Aviation Administration is a cooperating agency because the scope of the proposed action involves activities under its jurisdiction by law.

The statement says Ebbing and Selfridge have several commonalities including the number of F-16 and F-35 aircraft they can accommodate; any flight operations could take place within existing air space without adding or altering configurations; the number of personnel would increase overall by about 384 with 800 dependents; and barrier arresting kits, F-35 simulator training facilities and other support facilities would need to be constructed or buildings retrofitted to support the Foreign Military Sales program.

The statement said time-averaged noise levels at Ebbing would remain below 65 decibels, with up to an additional 7,855 acres or 12,654 affected by the average sound level. It said low-level overflights may have a minor to moderate adverse impact on persons engaged in outdoor

recreational activities, and a moderate to high impact on wilderness users and their experience of primitive recreation.

The statement said the estimated number of housing units within the 65 decibel or greater range is between 2,579 and 3,014, with the noise potentially decreasing property value by roughly 2% per decibel increase. It said the program would have a disproportionately high and adverse health or environmental effects on minority populations surrounding the installation, including children and the elderly.

The statement said mitigation measures for sound will be defined in the record of decision.

The statement said there would be no effects to archaeological resources, architectural resources, traditional cultural properties or wildlife on or surrounding the installation.

It said construction activities would result in increased surface water runoff, which has the potential for soil erosion and minor impact to surface water, groundwater and wetlands. These impacts would be minimized through design elements and best managements practices.

“There is the potential for construction projects to occur in wetlands, and a field wetland delineation would be required for airfield construction prior to ground-disturbance activities,” the statement reads. “There would be no impacts to floodplains.”

The statement concludes there’ll be no significant air quality impacts should the program be at Ebbing. It says noise mitigation such as altering flight profiles would decrease carbon monoxide emissions, but there would be a similar increase in annual emissions in the region due to the increase in aircraft.

Other environmental resources weren’t analyzed in the statement because they were determined to have neutral or no effects, which includes airspace, hazardous material and waste, safety, infrastructure, soils and geology, visual effects and natural resources and energy.

Jeanes said at a public meeting in February if Fort Smith is selected, residents can expect F-16s around June this year and the first F-35s in July 2024.

Several elected officials have spoken in favor of having the program at Ebbing, including State Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston, State Director of Military Affairs Rob Ator, State Rep. Justin Boyd, Fort Smith Mayor George McGill, Greenwood Mayor Doug Kinslow and Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken. Representatives of Oklahoma Gas & Electric, Fort Smith Public Schools, the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and the Fort Smith Regional Airport also spoke about preparations to welcome military members and their families.