DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVES Alternative A Under this alternative, the edge of the USWTR would be located 86 km (47 NM) offshore of southeastern North Carolina. Installation of the USWTR at the proposed Site A would entail the placement of approximately 300 transducer nodes in water depths ranging from approximately 40 to 402 m (131 to 1,319 ft) over an approximate 1,713-km 2 (500-square-nautical mile) area. The interconnect cable between each node might be buried; however, a trunk cable connecting the range to the shore facilities would be buried (including within US territory) to a depth of approximately 1 m (3 ft). Onshore, at MCB Camp Lejeune, the cable would be secured on the beach with an anchor and buried in a 10-cm (4-in) conduit. The conduit would be installed under the dunes and the Intracoastal Waterway using directional drilling techniques to a CTF located near Onslow Beach, Camp Lejeune. Data signals from antennae located on the roof of the CTF would be sent via microwave transmitter on the Onslow North Tower to the Starling communication site at MCB Camp Lejeune, and then onward to the range operations center (ROC) at FACSFAC VACAPES over the existing microwave datalink. A phone line to the shelter from MCB Camp Lejeune would be installed underground in an existing utility corridor, along the access road behind the primary dune.
Alternative B Under Alternative B, the edge of the USWTR would be located 63 km (34 NM) east of Virginia’s northeastern shoreline. The interconnect cable between each node may be buried in the shallower depths at Site B due to potential entanglement concerns related to bottom-trawling fishing gear (there is more intensive bottom trawling in the vicinity of Site B as compared with Site A). In deeper waters, the interconnect cable would not be buried. The cable would run from the edge of the range to the CTF located on shore. The trunk cable would be installed either directly buried in an armored cable or encased in a protective pipe at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) . Commercial power and telecommunications connections would be made to the NASA WFF infrastructure. The communications signals would be routed to the ROC at FACSFAC, and electronics would be housed at the terminal end of the communications link.
Alternative C Under Alternative C, the edge of the USWTR would be located 93 km (50 NM) east of Florida’s northeastern shoreline. As with Site B, off Virginia, the interconnect cable between each node may be buried in the shallower depths at Site C due to potential entanglement concerns related to bottom-trawling fishing gear (there is more intensive bottom trawling in the vicinity of the Sites B and C than in the vicinity of Site A). In deeper waters, the interconnect cable would not be buried. The cable would run from the range area to the CTF located on shore. The trunk cable would either be directly buried in an armored cable or encased in a protective pipe on shore at Naval Station Mayport. Commercial power and telecommunications connections would be made to the Naval Station Mayport infrastructure. The communications signals would be routed to the ROC at FACSFAC and electronics would be housed at the terminal end of the communications link.
No Action Alternative CEQ regulations provide that a No Action Alternative should be included in the analysis of alternatives and associated impacts. The No Action Alternative represents the status quo and serves as the baseline against which the magnitude of impact associated with other alternatives are compared. Although a No Action Alternative would not prevent the Navy from maintaining ASW readiness, the No Action Alternative would be detrimental to validated, constructive replay of ASW training, which has a direct effect on meeting an emergent training need. |
