[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 17, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39069-39071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-3475]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG 2007-28460]


Long Range Aids to Navigation (LORAN-C) Program; Preparation of 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of intent, notice of public meeting, and request for 
public comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announces that it intends to 
prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on the 
Future of the Long Range Aids to Navigation (LORAN) Program. The 
current system (LORAN-C) is a low frequency hyperbolic radionavigation 
system approved for use in the U.S. Coastal Confluence Zone (CCZ) and 
as a supplemental air navigation aid. LORAN-C provides navigation, 
location, and timing services for both civil and military air, land, 
and marine users in the CONUS and Alaska. The PEIS will evaluate the 
environmental effects of alternative futures for the LORAN-C Program, 
and aid the USCG in its decision on whether to terminate or continue to 
operate and invest in the LORAN-C system.
    Publication of this notice begins a scoping process that will 
identify and determine the scope of environmental issues to be 
addressed in the PEIS. This notice requests public participation in the 
scoping process, establishes a public comment period, and provides 
information on how to participate.

DATES: Public meetings will be held August 15, 21 and 23, 2007, in 
Washington, DC, Juneau, AK, and Seattle, WA, respectively. Each meeting 
will consist of an informational open house from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. 
and a public scoping meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The public meetings 
may end later than the stated time, depending on the number of persons 
wishing to speak. Comments and related material must reach the docket 
on or before August 31, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The Washington, DC meeting will be held at:
    Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center 1300 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20004, 202-312-1426.
    The Seattle meeting will be held at: Seattle Hilton, 1301 Sixth 
Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101, (206) 695-6060.
    The Juneau meeting will be held at: Centennial Hall Convention 
Center, 101 Egan Drive, Juneau, AK 99801, (907) 586-5283.
    All meeting spaces will be wheelchair-accessible. You do not need 
to attend the meetings in order to comment. You may submit comments, 
identified by docket number USCG 2007-28460, to the Docket Management 
Facility at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). To avoid 
duplication, please use only one of the following methods:
    (1) Electronically through the Web site for the Docket Management 
System, at: http://dms.dot.gov. 

[[Page 39070]]

    (2) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    (3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at (202) 493-2251.
    (4) By delivery to Room W12-140, West Building, Ground Floor, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 
366-9329.
    (5) By the Federal eRulemaking Portal at: http://www.regulations.gov/.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
notice. Comments and material received from the public will become part 
of this docket and will be available for inspection or copying at the 
Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of Transportation, 
West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. This docket may also be found on the Internet 
at: http://dms.dot.gov.
    Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility by August 31, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
please call or e-mail LT Michael Herring, LORAN-C Program Manager, at 
(202) 372-1561, or [email protected], respectively. If you 
have questions about viewing or submitting material to the docket, 
please call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, Office 
of Information Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Administration, Office of the Secretary, at (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    The USCG requests public comments and other relevant information on 
environmental issues related to the future of the LORAN-C Program. The 
scheduled public meetings are not the only opportunity you have to 
comment. In addition to or instead of providing comments at the 
meeting, you can submit comments to the Docket Management Facility 
during the public comment period (see DATES). The USCG will consider 
all comments and materials received during the comment period.
    On January 8, 2007, the USCG published a request for comments on 
the need to continue to operate or invest in the North American LORAN-C 
radionavigation system (72 Federal Register 796). To avoid duplication 
and resubmission of comments, all comments previously submitted under 
docket USCG 2006-24685 will be considered during the LORAN-C PEIS 
scoping process.
    All comments received will be posted, without change, to: http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information you have 
provided. The USCG has an agreement with the 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, and identify the docket number for this notice (USCG 
2007-28460). 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 comments 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 comments by mail and would like to confirm that 
they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed 
postcard or envelope.
    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 (28460), and click on ``Search.'' You 
may also visit the Docket Management Facility in the west building, 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140 located at 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. Docket contents are available for public 
inspection and copying, at this address, in room W12-140, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The 
Facility's telephone is 202-366-9329, its fax is 202-493-2251, and its 
Web site for electronic submissions or for electronic access to docket 
contents is: http://dms.dot.gov.
    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 
DOT's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 
11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

Public Meeting and Open House

    The USCG invites you to learn about the PEIS on the Future of the 
LORAN-C Program at an informational open house, and to identify and 
comment on environmental issues related to the proposed action and 
alternatives at a public meeting. Your comments will help the USCG 
identify and refine the scope of the environmental issues to be 
addressed in the PEIS.
    In order to allow everyone a chance to speak at the public meeting, 
the USCG may limit speaker time, or extend the meeting hours, or both. 
When you rise to speak, you must identify yourself, and any 
organization you represent, by name. Your remarks will be recorded or 
transcribed for inclusion in the public docket.
    You may submit written material at the public meeting, either in 
place of or in addition to speaking. Written material must include your 
name and address, and will be included in the public docket. Comments 
given at a public meeting and written comments submitted to the docket 
will receive full and equal consideration.
    The public meeting locations are wheelchair-accessible. If you plan 
to attend an open house or public meeting and need special assistance 
such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodation, 
please notify the USCG (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 3 
business days in advance. Include your contact information as well as 
information about your specific needs.

Background and Purpose

    LORAN is a radionavigation system first developed during World War 
II and operated by the USCG. The current system (LORAN-C) is a low 
frequency hyperbolic radionavigation system approved for use in the CCZ 
and as a supplemental air navigation aid. LORAN-C provides navigation, 
location, and timing services for both civil and military air, land, 
and marine users in the Contiguous United States (CONUS) and Alaska. 
The USCG operates 18 CONUS LORAN Stations, 6 Alaska LORAN Stations, and 
24 monitor sites. The system is controlled remotely from Alexandria, VA 
and Petaluma, CA. Nationwide system operation is based on links between 
``chains'' of stations; therefore, decisions made on any one station 
may potentially impact multiple stations or chains, necessitating an 
overall LORAN system decision rather than a segmented approach.
    The PEIS will evaluate the environmental effects of alternatives 
regarding the LORAN-C Program to aid the USCG in its decision of 
whether further investment in modernizing and improving LORAN-C is in 
the public interest.

[[Page 39071]]

    The PEIS on the Future of the LORAN-C Program will be a program-
level document that will provide USCG with high-level analysis of the 
potential impacts on the human environment from the alternatives for 
the future of the LORAN-C Program. The USCG is the lead agency for 
determining the scope of this review and has determined that a PEIS 
will best meet its needs. The PEIS will comply with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental 
Quality regulations in 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) Management Directive 5100.1 (Environmental Planning 
Program), and Coast Guard Commandant Instruction (COMDTINST) M16475.1D 
(National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures and Policy 
for Considering Environmental Impacts). The geographic scope of the 
LORAN-C PEIS is those areas covered by the radionavigation system. 
Should the USCG decide to end its involvement with LORAN-C, the 
analysis provided in the PEIS will enable the USCG to prepare tiered 
documents on the disposition of each LORAN Station and monitoring 
station.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The PEIS will address the following four alternatives to represent 
the range of possible management options for the future of the USCG 
LORAN-C Program:
    (1) Decommission the USCG LORAN-C Program and Terminate North 
American LORAN-C Signal. Under this alternative, all USCG LORAN-C 
signals would be terminated at one time. All USCG LORAN Stations would 
be decommissioned; LORAN artifacts, documents and equipment (i.e., 
towers and related infrastructure) would be removed; and USCG personnel 
would be reassigned. LORAN Station property would be declared excess to 
the needs of the USCG following Federal guidelines on transfer of 
excess property. The disposition of each LORAN Station would range from 
transferring ownership of the property with such infrastructure as 
buildings, roads, piers, and airstrips intact, to returning the 
property to a natural state prior to its transfer.
    (2) Transfer Management of the LORAN-C Program to another 
government agency. Under this alternative, the USCG would continue to 
operate the LORAN-C Program until the transfer to another Agency.
    (3) Automate, Secure, and Unstaff LORAN Stations. Under this 
alternative, the USCG would continue to operate the LORAN-C Program. 
The LORAN-C signal would remain on the air but the USCG would reduce 
staffing. To the extent practical, the USCG would automate equipment; 
secure buildings and fencing to protect equipment, antenna, and antenna 
guides; and reassign personnel. The LORAN Stations would become LORAN 
Sites operating unstaffed with preventive and corrective maintenance 
performed by contractor personnel.
    (4) No Action Alternative. The LORAN-C signal would remain on air, 
and LORAN-C operations would remain as they currently are with no 
change in staffing. Maintenance and modernization of equipment would 
continue to keep the signal operating.
    The PEIS will serve as a top tier environmental analysis of 
program-level changes. This notice of intent is required by 40 CFR 
1508.22, and briefly describes the proposed action and possible 
alternatives and our proposed scoping process. The PEIS will provide a 
general level of analysis of environmental impacts on the 24 LORAN 
Stations, 24 Monitoring Sites, and the LORAN Support Unit (LSU) since 
the disposition of each facility is not currently known. The PEIS will 
also discuss the No Action Alternative as required under NEPA. You can 
address any questions about the proposed action, the scoping process, 
or the PEIS to the USCG LORAN-C Program Office (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

Scoping Process

    Public scoping is an early and open process for identifying and 
determining the scope of issues to be addressed in the PEIS. Scoping 
begins with this notice, continues through the public comment period 
(see DATES), and ends when the USCG has completed the following 
actions:
     Invites the participation of Federal, State, and local 
agencies, any affected Indian tribe and other interested persons;
     Determines the actions, alternatives, and impacts 
described in 40 CFR 1508.25;
     Identifies and eliminates from detailed study those issues 
that are not significant or that have been covered elsewhere;
     Identifies other relevant environmental review and 
consultation requirements on the future of the LORAN-C Program;
     Indicates the relationship between timing of the 
environmental review and other aspects of the proposed action; and
     At its discretion, exercises the options provided in 40 
CFR 1501.7(b).
    Once the scoping process is complete, the USCG will prepare a draft 
PEIS, and will publish a Federal Register notice announcing its public 
availability. (If you want that notice to be sent to you, please 
contact the USCG Project Office point-of-contact identified in FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.) You will have an opportunity to review 
and comment on the draft PEIS. Additionally, the USCG anticipates 
holding public meetings in approximately December 2007 to present the 
draft PEIS and receive public comments regarding that document. The 
USCG will subsequently consider all comments received and then prepare 
the final PEIS. As with the draft PEIS, the USCG will announce the 
availability of the final PEIS and once again give interested parties 
an opportunity for review and comment.

    Dated: June 26, 2007.
Brian M. Salerno,
Rear Admiral USCG, Assistant Commandant, Policy and Planning (CG-5).
[FR Doc. 07-3475 Filed 7-12-07; 3:13 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P