[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 197 (Thursday, October 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63189-63191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25792]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG 2002-13482]


Response Boat Replacement Project; Programmatic Environmental 
Assessment

AGENCY: U.S. Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent and request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard announces its intent to prepare a draft 
Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the replacement of 
response boats. The PEA will assess the decision to acquire, homeport, 
and operate approximately 880 new response boats (approximately 180 
Response Boat--Medium (RB-M) and approximately 700 Response Boat--Small 
(RB-S) to add to or replace existing Coast Guard boat capability at 43 
Groups/Activities, 187 multi-mission stations, and 26 Marine Safety 
Offices that operate Coast Guard boats. The Coast Guard seeks public 
and agency input on the scope of the PEA. Specifically, the Coast Guard 
requests input on any environmental concerns that the public may have 
related to existing response boats, the proposal to replace these 
assets, sources of relevant data or information, and any suggested 
analysis methods for inclusion in the PEA.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket on or before 
November 25, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted in several ways. To make sure your 
comments and related material are not entered more than once in the 
docket, please submit them by only one of the following means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility (USCG-2002-13482), 
U.S. Department of Transportation, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (2) By delivery to 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. The telephone 
number is (202) 366-9329.
    (3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at (202) 493-2251.
    (4) Electronically through the Web site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
    In choosing from these means, please give due regard to the 
continuing difficulties and delays associated with delivery of mail 
through the U.S. Postal Service to federal facilities.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
notice. Comments will become part of this docket and will be available 
for inspection or copying in Room PL-401, located on the Plaza Level of 
the Nassif Building at the above address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except for federal holidays. You may also view 
this docket, including this notice and comments, on the Internet at 
http://dms.dog.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about the 
project, you may contact CAPT James Maes, Commandant (G-OCS-2) at (202) 
267-1085 or [email protected]. For questions on viewing, or 
submitting materials to the docket, contact Dorothy Beard, Chief, 
Dockets, DOT, at (202) 366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments and related materials on this 
notice. Persons submitting comments should include their names and 
addresses, this notice reference number (USCG-2002-13482), and the 
reasons for each comment. You may submit your comments and materials by 
mail, hand delivery, fax, or electronic means to the Docket Management 
Facility at the address given under ADDRESSES. If you choose to submit 
them by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no 
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, and suitable for copying and 
electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know if 
they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed 
postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and materials 
received during the comment period. (For additional information about 
this notice or the PEA, contact Ms. Kebby Kelley at (202) 267-6034 or 
[email protected].)

Background Information

    Domestic port safety and security has long been a core Coast Guard 
mission. However, in the wake of the terrorist attacks committed on 
September 11, 2001, emerging threats to the U.S. homeland have prompted 
an increased Coast Guard focus on protecting domestic ports and the 
U.S. Maritime Transportation System from terrorist threats.
    As part of the U.S. response to these threats, the Coast Guard is 
undertaking a PEA for the decision to acquire, homeport and operate 
approximately 880 new response boats (approximately 180 Response Boat--
Medium (RB-M)

[[Page 63190]]

and 700 Response Boat--Small (RB-S) to add to or replace existing USCG 
boat capability at 43 Groups/Activities, 187 multi-mission stations, 
and 26 Marine Safety Offices that operate Coast Guard boats. They will 
be located in multiple locations along the east and west coasts, the 
Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, 
Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. The PEA will discuss in general that 
additional personnel as well as additional boat allowances may be 
needed at currently unknown locations sometime in the future. However, 
because the numbers of personnel and boats and the time frame for these 
site-specific actions is currently unknown, they will not be discussed 
in detail in this PEA. Any unforeseen new boat allowances and 
additional personnel needed at specific locations will be addressed in 
site-specific follow on National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) 
documentation as necessary. Furthermore, changes to infrastructure are 
frequently a response to homeporting decisions. The PEA will discuss, 
in general, the possibility of infrastructure changes resulting from 
this acquisition. However, detailed analysis of any necessary site-
specific infrastructure changes will be discussed in follow on NEPA 
documentation as necessary.
    The Coast Guard's current fleet of 41-foot utility boats is aging 
and technologically obsolete. In addition, the current fleet of small 
utility boats is an assorted mix of various makes and models that have 
been acquired with more attention to the immediate mission requirement 
rather than the long-term supportability of the vessel or training 
considerations. Few of the existing fleet of boats meet emerging 
requirements for homeland security, such as higher intercept speeds and 
endurance. As a result, the current fleet of Coast Guard boat assets 
lacks the technology, full mission capability, and standardized 
training and maintenance necessary for efficient and effective mission 
performance.

Proposed Action

    In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969 (Section 102(2)(c), as implemented by the Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), Department of 
Transportation (DOT) Order 5610.1C (Procedures for Considering 
Environmental Impacts), and USCG Policy (NEPA: Implementing Procedures 
and Policy for Considering Environmental Impacts, (COMDTINST 
(Commandant's Instruction) M16475.1D), the Coast Guard intends to 
prepare a PEA on the Response Boat Replacement Project. The purpose of 
this PEA is to develop a high-level approach and direction for 
implementing this program.
    NEPA requires federal agencies to consider all significant aspects 
of environmental impacts that may result from a proposed action, to 
inform the public of potential impacts and alternatives, and to 
facilitate public involvement in the assessment process. The core of 
our impact assessment process is our Environmental Assessment, or EA. 
The EA must include, among other topics, discussions of the purpose and 
need for the proposed action, a description of alternatives, a 
description of the affected environment, and an evaluation of the 
environmental impacts of the proposed action and alternatives. Once an 
EA is completed, and there are no significant impacts found, the lead 
agency prepares either a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) or a 
mitigated FONSI. A mitigated FONSI is one in which, although the 
preferred alternative will have some significant impacts to the 
environment, the FONSI and EA analysis include mitigation, into the 
preferred alternative, to reduce such impacts to the point where they 
are no longer significant.
    When preparing a PEA, the agency may evaluate the program based on 
common geographic locations, similarities of impacts, or states of 
development. Because no site-specific homeporting decisions--allocated 
assets to Coast Guard facilities--will be made during this stage of the 
project, the PEA is expected to facilitate and expedite the preparation 
of subsequent project-specific NEPA documents.
    The PEA will address the general environmental impacts of the 
Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative, while subsequent 
analyses will address specific implementing actions, such as 
homeporting of specific response boats at specific locations. Hence, as 
the first tier EA, the PEA will cover general issues in a broader-
program analysis. Subsequent NEPA documentation will concentrate on the 
issues specific to the action being considered.
    The environment potentially affected by the Proposed Action may be 
the entire marine and terrestrial coastal region of the continental 
U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, Guam, and the Great Lakes where 
the Coast Guard has facilities, as well as the areas where the response 
boats currently conduct operations.
    Because personnel levels are expected to remain `status quo,' and 
only minor infrastructure changes, if any, are expected, the PEA will 
not evaluate socioeconomic or environmental justice or land use changes 
in detail in this programmatic document. Since any major infrastructure 
changes would be addressed in future site-specific NEPA documents, the 
PEA will not evaluate land use, cultural resources, or geological 
resources in detail. The PEA will focus its discussion on the general 
aspects of the affected environment, such as air quality; water 
quality, terrestrial and marine vegetation and wildlife, endangered 
species and their habitat, wetlands, and public safety. The PEA will 
compare the potential environmental impacts and benefits that would 
result from the proposed action and the no action alternative. For the 
purposes of this programmatic document, the location of these assets 
throughout the country will be designated on a regional level.
    As required by NEPA, the Coast Guard also will analyze the No 
Action Alternative as a baseline for comparing the impacts of the 
proposed project. For the purposes of this document, the No Action 
Alternative is defined as the Coast Guard keeping the current fleet of 
41-foot utility boats and small utility non-standard boats and 
replacing them on a one-for-one basis as they deteriorate or become 
obsolete. The 41-foot utility boats are aging and technologically 
obsolete and as they age, will increasingly not be able to meet 
homeland security requirements (high speed intercept and endurance). 
Also, as these boats continue to age, they will require more `down-
time' for maintenance and repairs. The current fleet of small utility 
non-standard boats is an assorted mix of makes and models that were 
required for immediate mission requirements. Since they are `non-
standard' boats, maintenance, repairs, and personnel training vary from 
one type of model to another. This situation results in higher 
maintenance and repair costs, and additional training for personnel for 
each make and model. As any boat becomes too outdated to fulfill its 
mission, it would be replaced on a one-for-one basis. This would 
further complicate maintenance and repair costs and personnel training 
and result in continuing inefficiencies.The Coast Guard encourages 
public participation in the PEA process. The scoping period will start 
with publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Multiple 
methods for providing comments will be available, including mail, 
Internet and fax.
    Public meetings will only be held if there is sufficient interest 
shown. Because this is a programmatic

[[Page 63191]]

document, meetings, if held, will be at a district or national level. 
If public hearings are held, the time and place of the hearings will be 
announced in the Federal Register. You may request a public hearing by 
writing to the address under ADDRESSES.
    Following the scoping process, the Coast Guard will prepare a draft 
PEA. A Notice of Availability will be published in the Federal Register 
when the draft PEA is available. Public notices will be mailed or 
emailed to those who have requested a copy of the Draft PEA. This 
period will provide the public with an opportunity to review the 
document and to offer appropriate comments.
    Comments received during the draft PEA review period will be 
available in the public docket and made available in the Final PEA. A 
Notice of Availability of the Final PEA and FONSI will be published in 
the Federal Register.

    Dated: October 3, 2002.
C.D. Wurster,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Acquisition.
[FR Doc. 02-25792 Filed 10-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P