Veteran Affairs Hospital Hearing on Mid-City Location

VA MEDICAL CENTER PUBLIC MEETING ON SITE-SPECIFIC DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

6:30-9pm

Grace Episcopal Church at 3700 Canal Street

Notice of Availability

VA Medical Center Draft Site-Specific Environmental Assessment

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announces the publication of a Draft Site-Specific Environmental Assessment (SEA) addressing the proposed replacement New Orleans regional VA Medical Center.  The Draft SEA has been prepared in accordance with the regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), (Public Law 91-190, 42 USC 4321 et seq.) as amended.

The Draft SEA will be published on Wednesday January 13 which will mark the beginning of a 30-day comment period on the Draft SEA.  A public meeting will be held on January 19th to receive public comments that may be incorporated into the final SEA.   The meeting will be held from 6:30-9pm at Grace Episcopal Church at 3700 Canal Street in New Orleans.  Comments may also be submitted in writing.  The public meeting and comment period are being provided to receive public input in accordance with NEPA and Executive Order 11988.  During the public meeting, the public will be provided the opportunity to voice their comments and opinions on the Draft VA Medical Center SEA.

The Draft SEA, as required by law, analyzes areas of community sensitivity in regard to environmental impacts for resources such as aesthetics, floodplains, and transportation. The purpose of the Draft SEA is to provide the public with the information required to understand and evaluate the proposed medical center project and provide their input to the decision-making process.  Any substantive comments that are received will be addressed in the Final SEA.  After the conclusion of the public comment period, a Finding of No Significant Impact or a Notice of Intent to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement will be issued, as appropriate.

Information about the proposed medical center project is available at http://www.valsumedcenters.com. The draft SEA will be available on Wednesday, January 13, 2010.  Copies of the document can be obtained at http://www.valsumedcenters.com or by contacting AECOM at 504-343-8037.

All public comments are due no later than Friday, February 12, 2010.  Written comments can be submitted electronically to public.comments@earthtech.com or by mail to:

AECOM . 1555 Poydras Street . Suite 1860 . New Orleans, LA  70112