83 FR 19839 - National Environmental Policy Act; Wallops Flight Facility; Site-Wide

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 87 (May 4, 2018)

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA, and NASA's NEPA policy and procedures, NASA has prepared a Draft PEIS for the improvement of infrastructure and services at WFF. The Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Organization (FAA-ATO) and Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA-AST); the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NOAA-NESDIS); the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); the U.S. Coast Guard; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); the U.S. Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA); the U.S. Navy, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR); U.S. Navy, U.S. Fleet Forces Command; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the U.S. Air Force Space Command/Space and Missile Systems Center; and Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (Virginia Space) have served as Cooperating Agencies in preparing the Draft PEIS as they either have permanent facilities or missions at WFF or possess regulatory authority or specialized expertise pertaining to the Proposed Action. The purpose of this notice is to apprise interested agencies, organizations, tribal governments, and individuals of the availability of the Draft PEIS and to invite comments on the document. In partnership with its Cooperating Agencies, NASA will hold a public meeting as part of the Draft PEIS review process. The meeting location and date is provided under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19839-19841]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09469]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice (18-039)]


National Environmental Policy Act; Wallops Flight Facility; Site-
Wide

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft Site-wide Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for improvement of infrastructure 
and services at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), Accomack County, 
Virginia.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as 
amended, the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for 
Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA, and NASA's NEPA policy 
and procedures, NASA has prepared a Draft PEIS for the improvement of 
infrastructure and services at WFF. The Federal Aviation 
Administration's Air Traffic Organization (FAA-ATO) and Office of 
Commercial Space Transportation (FAA-AST); the Federal Highway 
Administration (FHWA); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and 
Information Service (NOAA-NESDIS); the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
(USACE); the U.S. Coast Guard; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS); the U.S. Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA); the U.S. 
Navy, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR); U.S. Navy, U.S. Fleet Forces 
Command; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the U.S. Air 
Force Space Command/Space and Missile Systems Center; and Virginia 
Commercial Space Flight Authority (Virginia Space) have served as 
Cooperating Agencies in preparing the Draft PEIS as they either have 
permanent facilities or missions at WFF or possess regulatory authority 
or specialized expertise pertaining to the Proposed Action.
    The purpose of this notice is to apprise interested agencies, 
organizations, tribal governments, and individuals of the availability 
of the Draft PEIS and to invite comments on the document. In 
partnership with its Cooperating Agencies, NASA will hold a public 
meeting as part of the Draft PEIS review process. The meeting location 
and date is provided under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments on 
environmental issues and concerns, preferably in writing, no later than 
forty-five (45) days following the publication of the EPA's Notice of 
Availability of the Draft PEIS in the Federal Register. Once known, 
this date will be posted on the project website at: https://code200-external.gsfc.nasa.gov/250-wff/site-wide_eis.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted by mail should be addressed to Shari 
Miller, Site-wide PEIS, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops 
Flight Facility, Mailstop: 250.W, Wallops Island, Virginia 23337. 
Comments may

[[Page 19840]]

be submitted via email to [email protected].
    The Draft PEIS may be reviewed at the following locations:

(a) Chincoteague Island Library, Chincoteague, Virginia, 23336 (757) 
336-3460
(b) NASA Wallops Visitor Center, Wallops Island, Virginia, 23337 (757) 
824-1344
(c) Eastern Shore Public Library, Accomac, Virginia, 23301 (757) 787-
3400
(d) Northampton Free Library, Nassawadox, Virginia, 23413 (757) 414-
0010

    A limited number of hard copies of the Draft PEIS are available, on 
a first request basis, by contacting the NASA point of contact listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The Draft PEIS is available on 
the internet in Adobe[supreg] portable document format at https://code200-external.gsfc.nasa.gov/250-wff/site-wide_eis. The Federal 
Register Notice of Intent to prepare the Draft PEIS, issued on July 11, 
2011, is also available on the internet at the same website address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shari Miller, Site-wide PEIS, NASA 
Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, Mailstop: 250.W, 
Wallops Island, Virginia 23337; telephone (757) 824-2327; email: 
[email protected]. A toll-free telephone number, (800) 521-3415, 
is also available for persons outside the local calling area. When 
using the toll-free number, please follow the menu options and enter 
the ``pound sign (#)'' followed by extension number ``2327.'' 
Additional information about NASA's WFF may be found on the internet at 
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/home/index.html. Information 
regarding the NEPA process for this proposal and supporting documents 
(as available) are located at https://code200-external.gsfc.nasa.gov/250-wff/site-wide_eis.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: WFF is a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 
field installation located in northern Accomack County on the Eastern 
Shore of Virginia. The facility consists of three distinct landmasses--
the Main Base, Wallops Mainland, and Wallops Island. WFF operates the 
oldest active launch range in the continental U.S. and the only range 
completely under NASA management. For over 70 years, WFF has flown 
thousands of research vehicles in the quest for information on the 
characteristics of airplanes, rockets, and spacecraft, and to increase 
the knowledge of the Earth's upper atmosphere and the near space 
environment. The flight programs and projects conducted by WFF range 
from small sounding and suborbital rockets, unmanned scientific 
balloons, unmanned aerial systems, manned aircraft, and orbital 
spacecraft to next-generation launch vehicles and small- and medium-
classed launch vehicles. In keeping with the principles, goals, and 
guidelines of the 2010 National Space Policy, as updated by the 2013 
U.S. National Space Transportation Policy and the 2017 Presidential 
Memorandum on Reinvigorating America's Human Space Exploration Program, 
NASA is proposing to improve its service capability at WFF to support a 
growing mission base in the areas of civil, defense, and academic 
aerospace. One guiding principle of the National Space Policy is for 
Federal agencies to facilitate the commercial space industry. The Mid-
Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a commercial launch site on Wallops 
Island, is a real-world example of WFF's commitment to making 
commercial access to space a reality. Accordingly, it is expected that 
a commercial presence at WFF will continue to expand in the coming 
years.
    The National Space Policy also instructs Federal agencies to 
improve their partnerships through cooperation, collaboration, 
information sharing, and/or alignment of common pursuits with each 
other. WFF supports aeronautical research, and science, technology, 
engineering, and math (STEM) education programs by providing other NASA 
centers and other U.S. government agencies access to resources such as 
special use (i.e., controlled/restricted) airspace, runways, and launch 
pads. WFF regularly facilitates a wide array of U.S. Department of 
Defense (DoD) research, development, testing, and evaluation; training 
missions, including target and missile launches; and aircraft pilot 
training. Similar to its forecasted commercial growth at WFF, NASA also 
expects an increase in DoD presence at WFF in the foreseeable future.
    Finally, the National Space Policy directs NASA to fulfill various 
key civil space roles regarding space science, exploration, and 
discovery; a number of which have been priorities at WFF for decades. 
NASA's need to ensure continued growth while preserving the ability to 
safely conduct its historical baseline of services is a key component 
of facilitating future projects and new missions at WFF.

Related Environmental Documents

    In January 2005, NASA issued a Final Site-Wide Environmental 
Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for its 
operations and institutional support at WFF. Since then, substantial 
growth has occurred and NASA, and its Cooperating Agencies, have 
prepared multiple supplemental NEPA documents including the 2008 EA/
FONSI for the Wallops Research Park; the 2009 EA/FONSI for the 
Expansion of the Wallops Flight Facility Launch Range; the 2010 PEIS/
Record of Decision for the Shoreline Restoration and Infrastructure 
Protection Program; the 2011 EA/FONSI for the Alternative Energy 
Project; the 2011 EA/FONSI for the Main Entrance Reconfiguration; the 
2011 NOAA-NESDIS EA/FONSI for Electrical and Operational Upgrade, Space 
Addition, and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 
Installation; the 2012 EA/FONSI for the North Wallops Island Unmanned 
Aerial Systems Airstrip Project; the U.S. Fleet Force Command's 2013 
EA/FONSI for E-2/C-2 Field Carrier Landing Practice at WFF; the Navy's 
2014 EA/FONSI for the Testing of Hypervelocity Projectiles and an 
Electromagnetic Railgun; the 2015 Supplemental EA/FONSI for Antares 200 
Configuration Expendable Launch Vehicle at WFF; the 2016 EA/FONSI for 
Establishment of Restricted Area Airspace R-6604 C/D/E; the Navy's 2017 
EA/FONSI for and the Installation and Operation of Air and Missile 
Defense Radar AN/SPY[hyphen]6; and the 2017 U.S. Air Force's EA/FONSI 
for the Instrumentation Tower on Wallops Island.

Need for Preparing a PEIS

    Since the 2005 WFF Site-wide EA, WFF, NOAA-NESDIS, and the Navy 
have updated their Master Plans; which propose new facilities and 
numerous infrastructure improvements to enable a growing mission base. 
Additionally, during reviews of the post-2005 Site-wide EA NEPA 
documents, resource agencies have expressed concerns regarding 
cumulative environmental effects and a desire for NASA to consider all 
reasonably foreseeable future projects at WFF in a consolidated NEPA 
document. NASA determined that preparing a single Site-wide PEIS not 
only would assist in its decision-making process for future mission 
growth at WFF but also address concerns regarding cumulative 
environmental effects. Therefore, the Site-wide PEIS considers all 
reasonably foreseeable future actions at WFF; those proposed by NASA 
along with those proposed by its tenants and partners.

Cooperating Agency Actions

    The Site-wide PEIS will serve as a decision-making tool not only 
for NASA

[[Page 19841]]

but also for its Cooperating Agencies. Given the potential for their 
undertaking actions related to NASA's actions, each of these agencies 
has been involved closely in NASA's NEPA process.

Alternatives

    The PEIS evaluates the environmental consequences of a range of 
reasonable alternatives that meet NASA's need to ensure continued 
growth at WFF while also preserving the ability to safely conduct its 
historical baseline of services. The planning horizon for actions in 
the PEIS is 20 years.
    Currently under consideration are the Proposed Action and a No 
Action alternative. The Proposed Action would support a number of 
facility projects ranging from new construction, demolition, and 
renovation; the replacement of the Wallops causeway bridge; maintenance 
dredging between the boat docks at the Main Base and Wallops Island; 
development of a deep-water port and operations area on North Wallops 
Island; construction and operation of an additional medium to heavy 
class launch site; the introduction of new NASA and DoD programs at 
WFF; the expansion of the launch vehicle services with liquid-fueled 
intermediate class and solid fueled heavy class launch vehicles; and 
the consideration of commercial human spaceflight missions and the 
return of launch vehicles to the launch site. Under the No Action 
Alternative, WFF and its partners would continue the existing 
operations and programs previously discussed in the 2005 Site-Wide EA 
and the subsequent NEPA documents identified under Related 
Environmental Documents.

Public Meeting

    NASA and its Cooperating Agencies will hold a public meeting to 
discuss WFF's proposed actions and to solicit comments on the Draft 
PEIS. The public meeting will be held at the WFF Visitor Center on May 
23, 2018, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
    NASA anticipates that the public will be most interested in the 
potential environmental impacts of each alternative on protected and 
special-status species, wetlands, noise, and socioeconomics.
    In developing its Final PEIS, NASA will consider all comments 
received; comments received and responses to comments will be included 
in the Final PEIS. In conclusion, written public input on environmental 
issues and concerns associated with the improvement of infrastructure 
and services at WFF is hereby requested.

Cheryl E. Parker,
Federal Register Liaison.
[FR Doc. 2018-09469 Filed 5-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7510-13-P