NSA Site M Environmental Impact Survey

The following environmental impact survey documents pertain to the NSA’s planned expansion at Site M in Fort Meade, Maryland.  In June 2011, Public Intelligence published planning documents for the Site M project that revealed extensive details about the proposed use of the site, including the construction of a $118,000,000 million U.S. Cyber Command Joint Operations Center for unifying the cyber capabilities of military components and U.S. intelligence agencies.

Department of Defense Record of Decision for the Campus Development Project at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland November 29, 2010 13 pages Download
Environmental Impact Survey Addressing Campus Development at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland – Part 1 September 27, 2010 150 pages Download
(5.79 MB)
Environmental Impact Survey Addressing Campus Development at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland – Part 2 September 27, 2010 120 pages Download
(4.26 MB)
Environmental Impact Survey Addressing Campus Development at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland – Part 3 September 27, 2010 76 pages Download
(8 MB)
Environmental Impact Survey Addressing Campus Development at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland – Part 4 September 27, 2010 126 pages Download
(10.22 MB)

 

The Department of Defense (DOD) has published the (Final) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed implementation of campus development initiatives and the construction of associated facilities for the National Security Agency (NSA) complex at Fort George G. Meade (Fort Meade), Maryland, dated September, 2010. The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) is a cryptologic intelligence agency administered as part of the DOD. It is responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence. For NSA/CSS to continue to lead the Intelligence Community into the next 50 years with state-of-the-art technologies and productivity, its mission elements will require new facilities and infrastructure.

The DOD proposes to implement a plan to develop and construct an operational complex at Site M at Fort Meade. Site M consists of approximately 227 acres in the southwestern quadrant of Rockenbach Road and Cooper Avenue. The area presently serves as portions of Fort Meade’s Applewood and Park golf courses (The Courses). For development planning purposes, Site M is divided into two portions. The northern portion, fronting on Rockenbach Road and consisting of approximately 137 acres, is referred to as Site M-I. The southern portion, consisting of approximately 90 acres, is referred to as Site M-2.

Development of Site M takes into account several factors, including mission requirements, the condition of current facilities (both on and off NSA’s Exclusive Use Area at Fort Meade), space planning, anti-terrorism/force protection, land availability, utility requirements, base realignment and closure actions, traffic and parking changes, and environmental impacts. NSA’s Real Property Master Plan identifies movement of its facilities to the interior of Fort Meade to meet new DOD physical security requirements. A key factor driving the site development concept planning is the co-location of mission functions to provide a more efficient and effective work environment for mission-critical functions of the Intelligence Community.

DOD has considered development of Site M under three discrete phases identified for implementation over a horizon of approximately 20 years. Implementation of Phase I is being treated as and would meet the immediate need for the Proposed Action. Phases II and III are being analyzed as alternative development options and are discussed in Section 3 below.

Under Phase I, development would occur in the near term (approximately 2012 to 2014) on half of Site M-I, supporting 1.8 million square feet (ft2) of facilities for a data center and associated administrative space. NSA would consolidate mission elements, which would enable services and support services across the campus based on function; serve the need for a more collaborative environment and optimal adjacencies, including associated infrastructure (e.g., electrical substation and generator plants providing 50 megawatts [MW] of electricity); and provide administrative functions for up to 6,500 personnel. This phase would also include a steam and chilled water plant, water storage tower, and electrical substations and generator facilities capable of supporting the entire operational complex on Site M.

Construction of the proposed facilities and the addition of personnel would require additional campus parking. The use of multi-level parking facilities will be considered in lieu of surface parking. The amount of replacement parking needed would depend on the facility alternatives selected.

Since the development of Site M is in the planning stages, no engineering or design work for replacement parking has been accomplished. Therefore, the EIS did not consider various design factors in detail but made general assumptions about the requirements that would be associated with surface parking and parking garages. The exact space requirements will become known as the detailed design process progresses.

Proponent: U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), National Security Agency (NSA).

Affected Location: Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.

Report Designation: Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Proposed Action: DOD proposes to develop a portion of Fort Meade (referred to as “Site M”) as an operational complex and to construct and operate consolidated facilities for Intelligence Community use.

Abstract: DOD has considered development of Site M under three discrete phases identified for implementation over a horizon of approximately 20 years. Implementation of Phase I is being treated in this EIS as the Proposed Action. Phases II and III are being analyzed as alternative development options. Under Phase I, development would occur in the near term (approximately 2012 to 2015) on the eastern half of Site M-1, supporting 1.8 million square feet of facilities for a data center and associated administrative space. NSA would consolidate mission elements, which would enable services and support services across the campus based on function; serve the need for a more collaborative environment and optimal adjacencies, including associated infrastructure (e.g., electrical substation and generator plants providing 50 megawatts of electricity); and provide administrative functions for up to 6,500 personnel. Phase I would also include constructing a steam and chilled water plant, water storage tower, and electrical substations and generator facilities capable of supporting the entire operational complex on Site M.

Development of Site M takes into account several factors, including mission requirements, the condition of current facilities (both on and off NSA’s Exclusive Use Area at Fort Meade), space planning, anti-terrorism/force protection, land availability, utility requirements, Base Realignment and Closure actions, traffic and parking changes, and environmental impacts. Use of multi-level parking facilities will be considered in lieu of surface parking. A key factor driving the site development concept planning is the co-location of mission functions to provide a more efficient and effective work environment for mission-critical functions of the Intelligence Community.

The analysis in this EIS considers various alternatives to the Proposed Action, including the No Action Alternative, electrical generation alternatives, pollution control alternatives, and location alternatives for the various proposed facilities.

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