82 FR 51878 - Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Meeting for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Green Bank Observatory, Green Bank, West Virginia

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 215 (November 8, 2017)

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has made available for public review and comment the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Green Bank Observatory. This DEIS has been prepared for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts resulting from proposed operational changes due to funding constraints for the Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. The DEIS was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) is being conducted concurrent with the NEPA process.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51878-51879]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24322]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Meeting for the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Green Bank Observatory, 
Green Bank, West Virginia

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of availability and notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has made available for 
public review and comment the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) for Green Bank Observatory. This DEIS has been prepared for the 
National Science Foundation (NSF) to evaluate the potential 
environmental impacts resulting from proposed operational changes due 
to funding constraints for the Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, 
West Virginia. The DEIS was prepared in compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Consultation under Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) is being conducted concurrent 
with the NEPA process.

DATES: NSF will accept comments on the DEIS for 60 days following 
publication of this Notice of Availability; an additional 15 days are 
being provided beyond the standard 45-day review period to allow for 
the holidays). Comments may be submitted verbally during the public 
meeting scheduled for November 30, 2017 (see details in SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION) or in writing until January 8th, 2018. Substantive 
comments will be addressed in a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(FEIS).

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by either of the following 
methods:
     Email to: [email protected], with subject line 
``Green Bank Observatory''.
     Mail to: Elizabeth Pentecost, RE: Green Bank Observatory, 
National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite W9152, 
Alexandria, VA 22314.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the 
EIS process or Section 106 consultation, contact: Elizabeth Pentecost, 
National Science Foundation, Division of Astronomical Sciences, 2415 
Eisenhower Avenue, Suite W9152, Alexandria, VA 22314; telephone: (703) 
292-4907; email: [email protected].
    DEIS Information: The DEIS, as well as information about the public 
meeting, is posted at www.nsf.gov/AST. A copy of the DEIS will be 
available for review at the following libraries: Green Bank Public 
Library, 5683 Potomac Highlands Trail, Green Bank, WV 24944, Durbin 
Community Library, 4361 Staunton Parkersburg Turnpike, Durbin, WV 
26264.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Green Bank Observatory (GBO) is located in 
Pocahontas County, West Virginia, adjacent to the Monongahela National 
Forest. NSF owns the GBO land, which consists of numerous parcels 
acquired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s, when GBO was 
formed as the first (and then, only) site of the National Radio 
Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The GBO facilities include the Robert C. 
Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the largest fully steerable radio telescope 
in the world; the 43-meter Telescope; the Green Bank Solar Radio Burst 
Spectrometer; the 20-meter Geodetic Telescope; the 40-foot Telescope; 
the Interferometer Range; and previously operational telescopes.
    The NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 
Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST), through a series of academic 
community-based reviews, has identified the need to divest several 
facilities from its portfolio. This would allow NSF to retain the 
balance of capabilities needed to deliver the best performance on 
emerging and key science technology of the present decade and beyond. 
In 2012,

[[Page 51879]]

AST's portfolio review committee recommended divestment of the Green 
Bank Telescope (GBT) from the AST portfolio, stating the following: 
``The GBT is the world's most sensitive single-dish radio telescope at 
wavelengths shorter than 10 cm; however, its capabilities are not as 
critical to New World New Horizons [astronomy and astrophysics decadal 
survey] science goals as the higher-ranked facilities.'' In response to 
these recommendations, in 2016, NSF completed a feasibility study to 
inform and define options for the Observatory's future disposition that 
would involve significantly decreasing or eliminating NSF funding of 
Green Bank Observatory. NSF issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS 
on October 19, 2016, held scoping meetings on November 9, 2016, and 
held a 30-day public comment period that closed on November 25, 2016.
    Alternatives to be evaluated in the EIS, which may be refined 
through public input, include the following:
     Collaboration with interested parties for continued 
science- and education-focused operations with reduced NSF funding 
(Agency-preferred Alternative).
     Collaboration with interested parties for operation as a 
technology and education park.
     Mothballing of facilities (suspension of operations in a 
manner such that operations could resume efficiently at some future 
date).
     Demolition and site restoration.
     No-Action Alternative: Continued NSF investment for 
science-focused operations.
    No final decisions will be made regarding the proposed changes to 
operations at Green Bank Observatory prior to issuance of an FEIS, and, 
subsequently, a Record of Decision for the Proposed Action.
    Public Meeting: A public meeting to address the DEIS and to solicit 
public input under Section 106 of the NHPA will take place in Green 
Bank with notification of the time and location published in the local 
newspapers, as follows:
     Public meeting: November 30, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 
p.m.

Green Bank Science Center
155 Observatory Road
Green Bank, WV 24915
Telephone: (304) 456-2011

    The meeting will be transcribed by a court reporter.

    Dated: November 3, 2017.
 Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2017-24322 Filed 11-7-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P