The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) has made available to interested governmental and private entities and individuals a Final Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Privatized Correctional Facility for the District of Columbia Department of Corrections Felony Inmate Population (1,000 Beds) near Philipsburg, PA. This document is provided to fulfill the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. The Final EA studies potential environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of a contractor-owned/contractor-operated correctional facility to house approximately 1,000 inmates and responds to all comments received on the Draft EA. The proposed action is mandated by the National Capital Revitalization and Self Government Improvement Act of 1997, which requires that the Federal Bureau of Prisons house, in private contract facilities, at least 2,000 District of Columbia sentenced felony inmates. The proposed action is based on a need to house felons, mostly from the Washington, D.C. area, due to the impending closure of correctional facilities in Lorton, Virginia. The Final EA considers potential impacts to the natural and manmade environments including land use, economics, air quality, noise, transportation, utility services, cultural, aesthetic, and hydrological and biological resources, among other topics at each alternative site. Comments concerning the Final EA and the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) are welcomed up to April 19, 2000 and should be sent to: David J. Dorworth, Chief, Site Selection & Environmental Review Branch, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 320 First Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20534, Tel: 202-514-6470 /Fax: 202-616-6024. The agency will not make a final determination on its proposed action prior April 20, 2000.

Copies of the Final EA will be available for public viewing at the Holt Memorial Library, Moshannon Valley Partnership Corp. Building, 200 Shady Lane, Philipsburg, PA.; the Shaw Public Library, 1 South Front St., Clearfield, PA.; the Terra Alta Public Library, 120 East Washington Ave., Terra Alta, WV; the Anacostia Public Library, Good Hope Road and 18th St., S.E., Washington, DC; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St., NW, Washington, DC.

A text copy of the FONSI is available on the Bureau’s Home Page: www.bop.gov.