[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29968-29969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7864]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2006-24851]


Proposed Decommissioning and Excessing of the USCGC STORIS (WMEC-
38) and USCGC ACUSHNET (WMEC-167); Preparation of Environmental 
Assessment

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of preparation of environmental assessment; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announces its intent to prepare an 
environmental assessment (EA) on the proposed decommissioning and 
excessing of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) STORIS (WMEC-38), 
homeported in Kodiak, AK, and USCGC ACUSHNET (WMEC-167), homeported in 
Ketchikan, AK. This notice provides information on the proposed action, 
requests public comments on environmental impacts that might occur from 
the proposed action, and provides instructions on how to submit 
comments to the USCG.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or 
before June 23, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2006-24851 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one 
of the following methods:
    (1) Web site: http://dms.dot.gov.

[[Page 29969]]

    (2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (3) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (4) Delivery: 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
call Ms. Susan Hathaway, USCG, telephone: 202-267-4073,or send e-mail 
to: [email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-493-0402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We request public comments or other relevant information on 
environmental issues related to the proposed decommissioning and 
excessing of the USCGC STORIS (WMEC-38) and USCGC ACUSHNET (WMEC-167).
    All comments received will be posted, without change, to http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information you have 
provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation 
(DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy 
Act'' paragraph below.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your 
name and address, identify the docket number for this notice (USCG-
2006-24851) and give the reason for each comment. You may submit your 
comments by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket 
Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit 
your comments by only one means. If you submit them by mail or 
delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 
inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them 
by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will 
consider all comments received during the comment period.
    Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time, click on ``Simple Search,'' enter the last 
five digits of the docket number for this notice, and click on 
``Search.'' You may also visit the Docket Management Facility 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.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the 
Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

Background

    Preparation of the EA is being conducted in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(C) and 
its implementing regulations at Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 
Part 1500. USCGC STORIS (WMEC-38) was constructed in 1942 for patrol 
along Greenland's waters during WWII and was the first U.S. registered 
vessel to circumnavigate the North American continent.
    The USCGC ACUSHNET (WMEC-167) was commissioned in Napa, California, 
on February 5, 1943, as the Fleet Rescue and Salvage Vessel USS SHACKLE 
(ARS-9). The USS SHACKLE (ARS-9) served for two years as a U.S. Navy 
vessel in defense of the United States, earning three battle stars. The 
USS SHACKLE's (ARS-9) first station was at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 
serving as a salvage ship in the West Pacific for the remainder of 
World War II. On August 23, 1946, the USS SHACKLE (ARS-9) was 
commissioned into the USCG as USCGC ACUSHNET (WAT-167).
    USCGC ACUSHNET (WMEC-167) is the second oldest medium endurance 
vessel in the fleet (the oldest being the USCGC STORIS (WMEC-38)). 
After more than 60 years of continuous service, USCGC STORIS (WMEC-38) 
and USCGC ACUSHNET (WMEC-167) have become increasingly costly to 
support. Excessive maintenance problems stemming from the age of the 
vessels result in reduced reliability and increased operating costs. 
The vessels have reached the end of their service lives. The USCG 
intends to decommission and then to report both vessels as excess 
personal property to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), an 
independent Federal agency responsible for property management and 
utilization government-wide. Ultimately, the vessels may be disposed 
through either the GSA personal property disposal process or another 
statutorily authorized personal property disposal process.
    Possible disposal outcomes include, but are not limited to, 
transfer of one or both vessels to another Federal agency, conveyance 
to a State or local government or other non-Federal entity, transfer to 
a foreign government, or scrapping.
    The EA will address the potential environmental impacts of the 
vessels' decommissioning and disposal. The EA will consider the various 
alternatives to the proposed action, including but not limited to, 
keeping the vessels in a commissioned status (i.e., the ``no action'' 
alternative) or disposal of the vessels through the GSA or other 
disposal process. The EA will also address potential impacts of 
connected actions, including replacement of the USCGC STORIS (WMEC-38) 
and USCGC ACUSHNET (WMEC-167).
    You can address any questions about the proposed action or the EA 
to the USCG representative identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    After receiving public comments, the USCG will prepare an EA and we 
will publish a Federal Register notice announcing its public 
availability. (If you want that notice to be sent to you, please 
contact the USCG representative identified in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.) You will have an opportunity to review and comment on the EA.

Wayne E. Justice,
RDML, U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Enforcement and Incident 
Management.
[FR Doc. E6-7864 Filed 5-23-06; 8:45 am]
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