Milone & MacBroom to conduct environmental review of Coast Guard Museum site
New London — The Coast Guard Museum Association has retained the consulting firm Milone & MacBroom Inc. to conduct an environmental assessment that is required prior to construction starting on the National Coast Guard Museum.
The museum is slated to be built downtown, on federal land, which triggers the National Environmental Policy Act. The law requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects prior to undertaking any major federal action that significantly affects the environment.
The supplemental assessment will build upon an environmental review completed in March 2014 as part of the transfer of land from the city to the Coast Guard for the museum, and "will further confirm that the proposed development complies with all federal regulations," according to a news release announcing Milone & MacBroom's selection.
The assessment, which is expected to be submitted to the Coast Guard by September, will evaluate the environmental and related social and economic effects of building the museum and future operation. There will be "numerous" opportunities for public comment throughout the process, according to the museum association.
The announcement of Milone & MacBroom's selection comes several months after the museum association and its lead architect unveiled preliminary designs of the museum that envision a partially transparent, four-story building perched high on the New London waterfront.
The museum association spent much of last year meeting with and working out regulatory concerns of relevant stakeholders such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which had issues associated with the museum being built in a flood zone.
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