[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33838-33839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14406]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice (10-064)]


National Environmental Policy Act; Scientific Balloon Program

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments on the Draft 
Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) and Draft Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) for NASA's Scientific Balloon Program.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 
amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental 
Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA 
(40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and NASA NEPA policy and procedures (14 CFR 
Part 1216, Subpart 1216.3), NASA has prepared a Draft PEA that analyzes 
scientific balloon launch and flight operations originating from NASA's 
Columbia Scientific Balloon Facilities (CSBF) in Fort Sumner, New 
Mexico and Palestine, Texas. NASA has launched and monitored the 
flights of balloons from these locations for over 25 years. NASA is not 
proposing to change the launch locations and is only proposing to 
increase the number of scientific balloons launched each year. Balloon 
flights originating from CSBF Fort Sumner would increase from 15 to 25 
annually; balloons launched from CSBF Palestine would continue at 
approximately 6 per year. The No Action Alternative, under which 
balloon launch and flight operations would not increase, is also 
analyzed in detail in the Draft PEA.
    In accordance with its NEPA procedures, NASA has also prepared a 
Draft FONSI that preliminarily concludes that an Environmental Impact 
Statement is not needed for the proposal.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments on the draft 
PEA and the draft FONSI, preferably in writing, no later than 30 days 
from the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted via mail should be addressed to: Joshua 
A. Bundick, NEPA Program Manager, Scientific Balloon Program, NASA 
Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, 
VA 23337. Comments also may be submitted via electronic mail to: [email protected].
    The Draft PEA and Draft FONSI may be viewed at the following 
locations:
    (a) Fort Sumner Public Library, 235 West Sumner Avenue, Fort 
Sumner, New Mexico 88119 (575-355-2832).
    (b) Palestine Public Library, 1101 North Cedar Street, Palestine, 
Texas 75801 (903-729-4121).
    (c) NASA Headquarters Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20546-0001 (202-358-0168).

The Draft PEA and Draft FONSI are also available on the internet in 
Adobe[supreg] portable document format at the following address: http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code250/BPO_PEA.php. Limited hard copies of the 
Draft PEA and Draft FONSI are available, on a first request basis, by 
contacting Joshua Bundick at the address or telephone number indicated 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Bundick, NEPA Program Manager, 
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility; telephone 
757-824-2319; or electronic mail at [email protected]. 
Additional information about the

[[Page 33839]]

Scientific Balloon Program may be found on the internet at http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code820/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NASA has launched and monitored the flights 
of balloons from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facilities (CSBF) 
located in Fort Sumner, New Mexico and Palestine, Texas for over 25 
years. Balloons are used to collect scientific data and conduct 
research on the atmosphere and near-space environments primarily in 
support of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Significant finds, such 
as the discovery of the ozone hole above the Antarctic in the mid-
1980s, have been made by instruments tested or operated on balloon 
missions launched from CSBF. In recent years, NASA's balloon program 
has seen a dramatic increase in sophistication of experiments and 
demands for service. Due to the flexibility and relatively low cost of 
the program, there is an increased need for balloon-based research and 
development missions. As such, NASA seeks to increase the annual number 
of balloons launched from the CSBF Fort Sumner facility.
    The Draft PEA addresses the environmental impacts associated with 
balloon launch, flight, and recovery operations. Although balloons are 
typically launched from one of the two CSBF facilities, their flight 
paths are wind-driven, and they could land in adjacent states. An 
analysis of the past ten years of flights indicates that the majority 
of balloons and payloads are recovered from Texas, New Mexico, and 
Arizona. Only a handful of balloons or payloads have landed in the 
neighboring states of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado.
    In preparing the Draft PEA, NASA requested input from over fifty 
potentially interested parties, including those in Federal, State, and 
Tribal governments. During this process, several commenters expressed 
an interest in potential effects on cultural resources; others either 
offered support of the proposal or did not comment. Accordingly, NASA 
has assessed the potential effects of the proposal and the No Action 
Alternative on physical, biological, and social resources and has 
tentatively concluded those impacts are not significant.

Olga M. Dominguez,
Assistant Administrator for Office of Strategic Infrastructure.
[FR Doc. 2010-14406 Filed 6-14-10; 8:45 am]
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