U.S. Air Force Powder River Training Complex Expansion
Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Ellsworth Air Force Base Proposed Airspace Expansion (Click to enlarge)

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the Air Force has evolved multiple new roles and responsibilities for the B-1 aircraft, based at Ellsworth Air Force Base.  Originally designed during the Cold War to fly low and fast to penetrate Soviet Union airspace, the B-1 today is providing close air support to our troops on the ground in Afghanistan, remaining over targets for long periods of time and responding rapidly to precisely drop bombs on multiple targets over a large geographic area.  Furthermore, while air defenses generally reached 20 to 30 miles during the Cold War era, today’s enemy air defenses can reach hundreds of miles.  Therefore, B-1 aircrews simply need more space to train for what they can expect to see in combat operations today – as well as prepare for future threats.  It is important to emphasize that no live-fire exercises are proposed in this initiative.

In May 2008, the United States Air Force announced its notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the expansion of the Powder River Training Complex near Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.  As part of the process required under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Air Force held over a dozen public “scoping meetings” during the summer of 2008 in communities throughout the region, including six meetings in Montana, four in South Dakota, three in Wyoming, and two in North Dakota.  The purpose of these meetings was to receive public input on the proposed action, as well as gain a better understanding of the potential issues and concerns related to this proposal.  These scoping meetings concluded in August of 2008, and the Air Force subsequently prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
 
On August 20, 2010, the Air Force published the notice of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the expansion of the Powder River Training Complex in the Federal Register. The Draft EIS was then subject to a 60-day comment period, and all interested members of the public were encouraged to provide comments. The comment period was originally scheduled to end on November 15th, 2010, but was extended until January 20, 2011.

Interested members of the public were also encouraged to attend and participate in meetings the Air Force held in September and October.  Meeting were held at the following locations in South Dakota:

 
Your response and involvement are critical to identifying, evaluating, and mitigating any potential impacts on local communities. 

Related Powder River Training Complex Expansion Documents & Resources:

Powder River Training Complex Draft EIS Executive Summary - August, 2010 (PDF 2.27MB)
Powder River Training Complex Draft EIS - August, 2010 (PDF 16.42MB)
Powder River Training Complex Draft EIS Appendices - August, 2010 (PDF 19.3MB)
Colonel Jeffrey Taliaferro's Powder River Training Complex Expansion page on Facebook
Colonel Jeffrey Taliaferro's Twitter feed
Inside Ellsworth AFB - Proposed Powder River Training Complex Expansion
Air Combat Command - Open for public comment
National Environmental Policy Act