[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 211 (Wednesday, October 31, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55038-55039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27387]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG-2001-9188]


Proposed Decommissioning and/or Excessing of the Remaining 180-
foot Seagoing Buoy Tender Class, and the Proposed Excessing of the 
Vessel, FIR (WLM 212)

AGENCY: U.S. Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard announces the availability of the final 
Programmatic Environmental Assessment and the Finding of No Significant 
Impact on its proposal to decommission and/or declare excess the 
remaining vessels in the 180-foot seagoing buoy tender fleet and the 
proposed excessing of the former United States Coast Guard Cutter, FIR 
(WLM-212).

DATES: The Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) and the 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will be available on October 
31, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket 
for this notice. The Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) 
and the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) are available for 
inspection or copying in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You may also find 
this docket, including the PEA, on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
the proposed project, or the associated assessment, call Ms. Kebby 
Kelley, U.S. Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-6034. If you have questions 
on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Dorothy Beard, 
Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Action

    The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) proposes to decommission and/or declare 
excess the remaining vessels in its aging fleet of 180-foot seagoing 
buoy tenders and declare the former United States Coast Guard Cutter, 
FIR (WLM-212), excess to its needs. The USCG has determined that the 
entire class of 180-foot vessels is eligible for listing in the 
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Additionally, FIR (WLM-
212) is a National Historic Landmark listed on the NRHP. The USCG 
intends to replace the 180-foot WLBs with 175-foot Coastal Buoy Tenders 
(WLMs) and 225-foot Coastal Buoy Tenders (WLBs). These new vessels will 
support the same mission requirements as the 180-foot WLBs, with state-
of-the-art technology.
    While the 180-foot WLBs have contributed to nearly every USCG 
mission area, their primary contribution has been servicing the Short 
Range Aids to Navigation System. All 180-foot WLBs are over 50 years of 
age and further renovation is impractical. Excessive maintenance 
problems stemming from the age of these vessels are also being 
experienced with resultant reduced reliability and increased operating 
costs. The Federal Property Administrative Services Act (FPASA) (40 
U.S.C. Chapter 10) requires that excess property be identified and 
declared as such. Therefore, the USCG has an operational, economic, and 
legal need to cost-effectively rid itself of obsolete and inefficient 
vessels that can no longer effectively carry out the USCG missions they 
were designed for. Consequently, the USCG is proposing to decommission 
(remove the vessels from active use) and declare the current WLB fleet 
excess to its needs. In order to declare a vessel excess, the USCG must 
complete a report of survey that states that the vessel is excess to 
its needs. The USCG provides the General Services Administration (GSA) 
with a Standard Form 120 for the excess material. Following submittal 
to GSA, the standard mandated GSA process for disposing of Federally 
owned materials ensues. Built in 1939, FIR (WLM 212) is classified as a 
National Historic Landmark and as such is listed on the NRHP. 
Homeported for 50 years in Washington State, FIR served buoys, 
lighthouses, and other navigation aids in the Pacific Northwest. FIR is 
the last surviving unaltered American lighthouse tender, and was the 
last working member of the U.S. Lighthouse Service fleet.
    The FIR has reached the end of its service life. The vessel is over 
50 years of age. Excessive maintenance problems stemming from the age 
of FIR were experienced with resultant reduced reliability and 
increased operating costs. As a result of its age and condition, the 
USCG decommissioned FIR in 1996. At present, the USCG is incurring 
costs to store the vessel in Suisun Bay, California. As previously 
stated, it is a requirement of the FPASA that excess property be 
identified by the USCG and declared as such. Therefore, the USCG has an 
operational, economic, and legal need to cost effectively rid itself of 
the obsolete and inefficient FIR.

Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment

    The Coast Guard completed a draft Programmatic Environmental 
Assessment (PEA) in March of 2001 and published a Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register on April 23, 2001 (66 FR 20513). 
The draft PEA identified and examined the reasonable alternatives to 
our proposed action and assessed potential environmental impacts. The 
alternatives analyzed in the draft PEA were chosen because they 
fulfilled the need for the USCG to cost effectively and legally rid 
itself of obsolete and inefficient vessels that can no longer 
effectively carry out the USCG missions they were designed for. In 
analyzing these alternatives for environmental impact, the draft PEA 
looked at the impacts of decommissioning and excessing which we 
control, and then generally, at the possible environmental impacts 
resulting from each component of the mandated disposal process--the 
connected actions to the decommissioning and/or excessing of our 
remaining 180-foot vessels and FIR.
    The draft PEA concluded that the only area of significant impact 
from the Coast Guard's proposed action was the impact to the historic 
character of the vessels. However, the PEA states the Coast Guard's 
commitment to performing photo-documentation and the completion of 
historic narratives for the remaining vessels in the 180-foot fleet and 
for, FIR. The photographs and the historic narratives will be deposited 
in the Library of Congress and distributed to the affected states and 
interested parties. Future generations will thus have the ability to 
appreciate the contribution of these vessels to this nation's maritime 
history. The Coast Guard's commitment to providing the historical 
documentation, as indicated in the PEA, will mitigate the potential for 
significant impacts to historic resources to an insignificant level.
    No substantive comments or environmental concerns related to the 
draft PEA or the Coast Guard's proposed action were received during the 
comment period for the draft PEA. Therefore, this notice announces our 
decision to make the draft PEA our final PEA without any further 
revisions. Additionally, this notice announces the availability of our 
FONSI for the proposed action described in the PEA. All those who 
received a copy of the draft PEA, will receive a copy of the final PEA 
cover pages and the FONSI along with a letter explaining our

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decision to make the draft our final document.

    Dated: October 24, 2001.
Harvey E. Johnson,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Operations Capability.
[FR Doc. 01-27387 Filed 10-30-01; 8:45 am]
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