DENVER—The Army wants to put new combat aviation brigades in Colorado and Washington state, but both sites would have some significant environmental or social impacts, according to a draft report released Friday.
The report said the Army’s preferred alternative is to place one combat aviation brigade each at Fort Carson, Colo., and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Each brigade would have up to 2,700 soldiers, up to 120 helicopters and as many as 700 wheeled vehicles.
The expansion would give the Army 13 combat aviation brigades. The Army said it needs to expand because of increasing demand for combat and humanitarian missions.
One brigade would be entirely new. The other would be formed by consolidating existing aviation units that aren’t currently assigned to a combat aviation brigade.
It wasn’t immediately clear how much the expansion would cost. The expansion plan doesn’t include acquiring more land in either state, the report said.
Helicopter training from a new brigade could have significant impact on the soil at Fort Carson and the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado, the report said. It said those effects could be mitigated with dust control measures.
The report said an aviation brigade could have significant impacts on the Interstate 5 corridor near Lewis-McChord and on fish and water quality in Puget Sound.
Helicopter exercises at the Yakima Training Center in central Washington could raise the potential for wildfires and degrade habitat there, the report said.
It said the Yakima facility could also have significant impacts to soil and water, but both could be mitigated.
The report said none of the sites in either state would have significant impacts on land use, air quality, hazardous and toxic substances and noise, although Nisqually Indian Reservation, Wash., residents would feel “disproportionate impacts” from helicopter noise compared with the Lewis-McChord area as a whole.
Fort Carson, outside Colorado Springs, is currently home to the 4th Infantry Division and other units. About 24,000 soldiers are assigned there, with nearly 9,000 of them currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lewis-McChord, between Tacoma and Olympia on the southern end of Puget Sound, is currently home to the Army’s 1st Corps, the Air Force’s 62nd Airlift Wing and other units. About 40,000 servicemen and women are stationed there, including active duty, National Guard and Reserves. About 1,500 are currently deployed, a base spokesman said.
The Army said it will accept public comment for 45 days on the draft report, called a programmatic environmental impact statement, before issuing the final report.
The Army then has 30 days to announce a decision on whether to put the new brigades at Lewis-McChord and Fort Carson.
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Online:
Draft environmental impact statement:
