The United States (U.S.) Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a component within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has the responsibility of protecting the nation s borders against the illegal entry of terrorists and terrorist weapons and to enforce the laws that protect the U.S. homeland. In order to accomplish this mission, CBP Air and Marine (A&M) requires a location for northern border operations. In order to better meet this mission, CBP A&M proposes to establish Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) capability at Grand Forks Air Force Base (GFAFB) in Grand Forks, North Dakota. CBP A&M identified GFAFB as a potential permanent location because the Base infrastructure meets or exceeds the minimum support requirements for flight operations, provides increased physical security, provides synergy with other UAS operators and allows for the reutilization of existing facilities which reduces costs and time required to establish a new facility complex. GFAFB would become the second operating center for CBP UASs, primarily for Northern border and Northern hemisphere missions. This Environmental Assessment (EA) will evaluate the potential environmental consequences associated with each proposed alternative for UAS flight operations and the infrastructure modification requirements necessary for the incoming CBP mission. The purpose of this action is to establish a U.S. CBP A&M Northern Border Operations Center that has the capability to support UAS operations in the vicinity of GFAFB. CBP A&M has identified the need to establish a UAS operating location along the northern border. GFAFB has been identified as the location for the beddown of up to six Predator B UASs that will be vital to securing the Northern Border of the U.S. The implementation of this mission is a crucial component of DHS s layered approach to border security. The use of UASs in support of these mission requirements serves as a force-multiplier for this agency.
Final Environmental Assessment for the Beddown and Flight Operations of Unmanned Aircraft Systems at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota
2008
215 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Aircraft , Logistics, Military Facilities, & Supplies , Environmental Health & Safety , Air force facilities , Environmental assessment , Remotely piloted vehicles , Air quality , Air space , Cultural resources , Endangered species , Geology , Ground water , Habitats , Hazardous materials , Health , Hydrology , Infrastructure , Land use , Noise , Safety , Soils , Surface waters , Traffic , Unmanned , Vegetation , Aesthetic resources , Air traffic control , Alternatives , Archeological resources , Beddown , Environmental justice , Flight operations , Floodplains , Greening , Historical resources , Protection of children , Roadways , Socioeconomics , Sustainability , Threated species , Uas(Unmanned aircraft systems) , Utilities , Vegetative habitats , Visual resources , Wildlife resources