[ Purpose & Need Introduction]
Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR Parts 1500-1509), and in accordance with the Environmental Policies and Procedures implemented by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), NCPC and the Smithsonian Institution (SI), as Joint-Lead Agencies, with NCPC as the Responsible Federal Agency, have prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential effects of constructing and operating the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) within the Smithsonian Institution.
Public Law 108-184, the National Museum of African American History and Culture Act enacted by the Congress of the United States on December 16, 2003 established a museum within the Smithsonian Institution to be known as the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It recognizes that such a museum “would be dedicated to the collection preservation, research, and exhibition of African American historical and cultural materials reflecting the breadth and depth of the experience of individuals of African descent living in the United States.”
Section 8 of the law, “Building for the National Museum of African American History and Culture” directs the Smithsonian Board of Regents to select one among four sites in Washington, D.C. for the construction of the museum. The sites identified are the Arts and Industries Building; the area bounded by Constitution Avenue, Madison Drive, 14 th, and 15 th Streets N.W., now commonly known as the Monument site; the Liberty Loan site located on 14 th Street S.W. at the foot of the 14 th Street Bridge; and the Banneker Overlook site, located on 10 th Street S.W. at the foot of the L’Enfant Plaza Promenade. After undertaking a site selection study as well as a process of consultation with certain parties specified in the legislation, the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution voted to select the Monument site. The decision was announced on January 30, 2006.
This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared at an early planning stage prior to the design and construction of the museum to evaluate significant potential environmental impacts of the NMAAHC’s construction and operation on the selected site. It also facilitates public participation for consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, (NHPA) on the effects of the NMAAHC upon historic resources on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
The identity and description of the project to be addressed in this EIS derive primarily from the language of P.L.180-184, its legislative history, and the studies that led to its enactment. Foremost among these is The Time Has Come: Report to the President and Congress that is dated April 2, 2003 and written by the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission, established in 2001 by P.L. 107-106. The Time Has Come describes the history of the movement to create an institution which would recognize the role and contributions to the nation’s life of African Americans. It also includes the draft legislation which was the basis of the later NMAAHC Act.
As stated earlier, the best available information on the Purpose and Need for the project may be found in the specific language of P.L. 108-184, which was based on the findings of the earlier Presidential Commission. With regard to the scope of the project, much information on the potential size, massing, and siting of a museum facility at the Monument site and the other three sites was presented in the Site Evaluation Study of November 15, 2005 for the use of the Smithsonian Regents in their selection of the site. Graphics included in this study showed placement and configuration of a museum facility on each candidate site. Although they were conceptual and only intended for site selection purposes, they are a point of departure for the purpose and need and range of alternatives evaluated in this EIS at the Monument Site.
The action to be analyzed in this Environmental Impact Statement, prepared in accordance with the implementing regulations of NEPA, is the construction and operation of a permanent facility for the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), as a part of the Smithsonian Institution, on a 217,800 square foot (SF) or 5 acre site bounded by Constitution Avenue, Madison Drive, 14 th and 15 th Streets N.W. on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The baseline scope of the project as developed in preliminary studies by both the proponent commission and the Smithsonian has been a building of approximately 350,000 gross square feet (GSF).
The purpose of the Museum, as set out in Section 4 of the NMAAHC Act, is to provide for
- the collection, study, and establishment of programs relating to African
- American life, art, history, and culture that encompass-
- the period of slavery
- the era of Reconstruction
- the Harlem renaissance
- the civil rights movement
- other periods of the African American Diaspora
- the creation and maintenance of permanent and temporary exhibits documenting the history of slavery in America, and African American life, art, history, and culture; and
- the collection and study of artifacts and documents relating to African American life, art, history, and culture;
- collaboration between the Museum and other museums, historically black colleges and universities, historical societies, educational institutions, and other organizations that promote the study of or appreciation of African American life , art, history, or culture, including collaboration concerning-
- development of cooperative programs and exhibitions
- identification, management, and care of collections; and
- training of museum professionals
In Section 2 of the NMAAHC Act, the Congress found that
- since its founding, the United States has grown into a symbol of democracy and freedom around the world, and the legacy of African Americans is rooted in the very fabric of the democracy and freedom of the United States
- there exists no national museum within the Smithsonian Institution that_
- is devoted to the documentation of African American life, art, history, and culture; and
- encompasses on a national level the period of slavery, the era of Reconstruction, the Harlem renaissance, the civil rights movement, and other periods associated with African American life, art, history, and culture; and
- a National Museum of African American History and Culture would be dedicated to the collection, preservation, research, and exhibition of African American historical and cultural material reflecting the breadth and depth of the experience of individuals of African descent living in the United States.
The findings of the Congress were based in large part on the conclusions of the Presidential Commission in the 2003 study The Time Has Come: Report to the President and Congress. The Commission stated that “the time has come to establish the National Museum of African American History and Culture” because the museum is important not only for African Americans but for all Americans. It is the only institution that can provide a national meeting place for all Americans to learn about the history and culture of African Americans and their contributions to and relationship with every aspect of our national life. Further, the museum is the only national venue that can respond to the interests and needs of diverse racial constituencies who share a common commitment to a full and accurate telling of our country’s past as we prepare for our country’s future. And, even more importantly, it is the only national venue that can serve as an educational healing space to further racial reconciliation.
As indicated above, the passage of P.L. 108-104, the NMAAHC Act set in motion a process of site selection by the SI Board of Regents which resulted in the announcement on January 30, 2006 that the Regents had formally selected the Monument site. Therefore, the need for the Smithsonian is to proceed with the planning, design, construction, and operation of a museum of national scope and significance at the selected site which will fulfill the intent of Congress.
The square footage scope for the NMAAHC facility was not established by law. However, a baseline requirement of 350,000 GSF was utilized in both The Time Has Come and the Smithsonian’s consultants’ 2005 Site Selection Report. This figure was adopted from an earlier document, the September 2003 Final Site Report of the NMAAHC Plan for Action Presidential Commission which developed a detailed although preliminary Outline Facility Program. After analyzing the various sizes of other major comparable national museums as well as an estimated program and collections of an African American history and culture museum of national stature, the Presidential Commission’s consultants developed a space program of about 270,000 net square feet (NSF) or 350,000 GSF at a standard 1.3 gross to net ratio applicable to museums.