BW1 FOIA CBP 001187 1 COVER SHEET 2 3 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 4 FOR THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION,OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE 5 OF TACTICAL INFRASTRUCTURE 6 U.S. BORDER PATROL SAN DIEGO SECTOR,CALIFORNIA 7 8 Responsible Agencies: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. 9 Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP). 10 Affected Location: U.S./Mexico international border in San Diego County, 11 California. 12 Proposed Action: The Proposed Action includes the construction, operation, 13 and maintenance of tactical infrastructure, to include a primary pedestrian fence, 14 supporting patrol roads, and other infrastructure in two distinct sections along the 15 U.S./Mexico international border within USBP’s San Diego Sector. The fence 16 sections would be approximately 0.8 miles and 3.6 miles in length. Proposed 17 constructed access and patrol roads to support each fence section would be 0.8 18 miles and 5.2 miles, respectively. 19 Report Designation: Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 20 Abstract: CBP proposes to construct, operate, and maintain approximately 4.4 21 miles of tactical infrastructure. Proposed tactical infrastructure would consist of 22 primary pedestrian fence, patrol roads, and access roads in two sections along 23 the U.S./Mexico international border in San Diego County, California. The first 24 section designated as A-1 would consist of 3.6 miles of primary pedestrian fence, 25 supported by an access and patrol road that would be approximately 5.2 miles in 26 length and would start at the Puebla Tree and end at Boundary Monument 250. 27 The proposed section would be south of the Otay Mountain Wilderness (OMW) 28 and would not connect to any existing fence. Approximately half of the 5.2 miles 29 of access and patrol road and 1,300 feet of fence would be on the OMW. The 30 OMW is on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management 31 (BLM). The second section designated as A-2 would be approximately 0.8 miles 32 in length and would connect with existing border fence west of Tecate, California. 33 This fence section is an extension of existing fence near Tecate Peak and would 34 pass through a riparian area. Some portions of the fence sections would be on 35 privately owned land parcels. Lights would not be constructed as part of the 36 Proposed Action. 37 The EIS process will serve as a planning tool to assist agencies with 38 decisionmaking authority associated with the Proposed Action and ensure that 39 the required public involvement under the National Environmental Policy Act 40 (NEPA) is accomplished. This Draft EIS presents potential environmental 41 impacts associated with the Proposed Action and alternatives and provides 42 information to assist in the decisionmaking process about whether and how to 43 implement the Proposed Action. BW1 FOIA CBP 001188 1 Throughout the NEPA process, the public may obtain information concerning the 2 status and progress of the Proposed Action and the EIS via the project Web site at 3 www.BorderFenceNEPA.com; by emailing [email protected]; or 4 by written request to Mr. Charles McGregor, Environmental Manager, U.S. Army 5 Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fort Worth District, Engineering Construction Support 6 Office (ECSO), 814 Taylor Street, Room 3B10, Fort Worth, TX 76102, and 7 Fax: (757) 257-7643. 8 Interested parties may submit comments to CBP. To avoid duplication, please 9 use only one of the following methods: 10 (a) Electronically through the Web site at: www.BorderFenceNEPA.com 11 (b) By email to: [email protected] 12 (c) By mail to: San Diego Sector Tactical Infrastructure EIS, c/o e²M, 2751 13 Prosperity Avenue, Suite 200, Fairfax, Virginia 22031 14 (d) By fax to: (757) 257-7643. 15 PRIVACY NOTICE 16 Public comments on this document are requested. Comments will normally be 17 addressed in the EIS and made available to the public. Any personal information 18 included in comments will therefore be publicly available. BW1 FOIA CBP 001189 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION,OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF TACTICAL INFRASTRUCTURE U.S. BORDER PATROL SAN DIEGO SECTOR, CALIFORNIA U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection U.S. Border Patrol DECEMBER 2007 This document printed on paper that contains at least 30 percent postconsumer fiber. BW1 FOIA CBP 001190 BW1 FOIA CBP 001191 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BW1 FOIA CBP 001192 BW1 FOIA CBP 001193 San Diego Sector Proposed Tactical Infrastructure 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 INTRODUCTION 3 U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border 4 Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) proposes to construct, operate, and 5 maintain approximately 4.4 miles of tactical infrastructure including primary 6 pedestrian fence, patrol roads, and access roads along the U.S./Mexico 7 international border in the USBP San Diego Sector, California. 8 The mission of CBP is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering 9 the United States, while also facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. In 10 supporting CBP’s mission, USBP is charged with establishing and maintaining 11 effective control of the border of the United States. USBP’s mission strategy 12 consists of the following five main objectives: 13 • Establish substantial probability of apprehending terrorists and their 14 weapons as they attempt to enter illegally between the Ports of Entry 15 (POEs) 16 • Deter illegal entries through improved enforcement 17 • Detect, apprehend, and deter smugglers of humans, drugs, and other 18 contraband 19 • Leverage “smart border” technology to multiply the effect of enforcement 20 personnel 21 • Reduce crime in border communities and consequently improve quality of 22 life and economic vitality of targeted areas. 23 This Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared through 24 coordination with Federal and state agencies to identify and assess the potential 25 impacts associated with the proposed construction, operation, and maintenance 26 of tactical infrastructure. This Draft EIS is also being prepared to fulfill the 27 requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the 28 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 29 PURPOSE AND NEED 30 The purpose of the Proposed Action is to increase security capabilities within the 31 USBP San Diego Sector through the construction, operation, and maintenance of 32 tactical infrastructure in the form of fences, roads, and supporting technological 33 and tactical assets. The USBP San Diego Sector has identified several areas 34 along the U.S./Mexico international border that experience high levels of illegal 35 cross-border activity. This activity occurs in areas that are remote and not easily 36 accessed by USBP agents, are near POEs where concentrated populations 37 might live on either side of the border, contain thick vegetation that can provide 38 concealment, or have quick access to U.S. transportation routes. Draft EIS December 2007 ES-1 BW1 FOIA CBP 001194 San Diego Sector Proposed Tactical Infrastructure 1 The Proposed Action is needed because of high levels of illegal cross-border 2 activity in these two sections of the USBP San Diego Sector and the associated 3 environmental damage. The Proposed Action would provide USBP agents with 4 the tools necessary to strengthen their control of the U.S. borders between POEs 5 in the USBP San Diego Sector. The Proposed Action would help to deter illegal 6 cross-border activities within the USBP San Diego Sector by improving 7 enforcement, preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United 8 States, reducing the flow of illegal drugs and other contraband, and enhancing 9 response time, while providing a safer work environment for USBP agents. 10 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT 11 CBP initiated the public scoping process for this Draft EIS on September 24, 12 2007, with the publication in the Federal Register of a Notice of Intent (NOI) to 13 prepare an EIS. The NOI requested public comments on the scope of the EIS 14 and provided information on how the public could submit comments by mail, 15 facsimile, electronic mail, or through the project-specific Web site. Public 16 comments submitted as part of the public scoping process were considered 17 during the EIS development process. 18 DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED ACTION 19 CBP proposes to construct, operate, and maintain tactical infrastructure 20 consisting of primary pedestrian fence, patrol roads, and access roads along the 21 U.S./Mexico international border in the USBP San Diego Sector, California. 22 Proposed tactical infrastructure includes installation of fence sections in areas of 23 the border that are not currently fenced. The proposed locations of tactical 24 infrastructure are based on a USBP San Diego Sector assessment of local 25 operational requirements where tactical infrastructure would assist USBP agents 26 in reducing illegal cross-border activities. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 DHS 27 Appropriations Act (Public Law [P.L.] 109-295) provided $1,187,565,000 under 28 the Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology appropriation for the 29 installation of fencing, infrastructure, and technology along the border. 30 CBP has identified the Proposed Action as its Preferred Alternative. 31 Implementation of the Proposed Action would meet USBP’s purpose and need. 32 ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS 33 No Action Alternative 34 Under the No Action Alternative, proposed tactical infrastructure would not be 35 built and there would be no change in fencing, access roads, or other facilities 36 along the U.S./Mexico international border in the proposed project locations 37 within the USBP San Diego Sector. The USBP San Diego Sector would continue 38 to use agents and technology to identify illegal cross-border activity, and deploy 39 agents to make apprehensions.