VA Black Hills Health Care System Announces Public Meetings on the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Reconfiguration of
VA Black Hills Health Care System
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Box Butte County military veterans travel to Hot Springs, S.D., as one of their primary sources of medical care at the Department of Veterans Affairs facility there.
Closing the facility and other changes have been debated for years. Alliance is one of six locations set to host public meetings on the Hot Springs, more specifically, “Draft Environmental Impact Statement and National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Consultation: Reconfiguration of VA Black Hills Health Care System.” The VA encourages interested parties to participate in any of the meetings on the Draft EIS and Section 106 process.
The Alliance meeting will be Thursday, Dec. 3. Doors open at 12:30 p.m., with a 1– 3 p.m. meeting at Newberry’s, 502 Box Butte Ave.
The meeting schedule generally moves south from the first session at Rapid City Nov. 30. During the week the topic will be heart at Hot Springs (Dec. 1), Pine Ridge, S.D. (Dec. 2) , and Chadron (Dec. 2) prior to Alliance. The sixth and last meeting, is the same day as the Alliance session, at Gering in the evening.
Verbal and written public comments will be accepted at the public meetings. If you plan to provide comments verbally, please write your name on the speaker list when you arrive at the meeting.
You may also submit written comments on the Draft EIS through Jan. 5, 2016, online at www.blackhillseis.com, by email to vablackhillsfuture@va.gov, or by regular mail to Staff Assistant to the Director, VA BHHCS, 113 Comanche Road, Fort Meade, SD 57741.
The Draft EIS is available on the VA BHHCS website www.blackhills.va.gov/vablackhillsfuture/ and at the Hot Springs, Rapid City Downtown, Sturgis, Chadron, Alliance, Lied Scottsbluff, and Pierre (Rawlins Municipal) public libraries; as well as in Pine Ridge at the Oglala Lakota College Pine Ridge Center library at the high school.