[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58515-58516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23184]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0063]


Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Bird Hazard 
Reduction Program at John F. Kennedy International Airport

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent and public scoping process.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that a supplemental environmental 
impact statement will be prepared by the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service to analyze a proposed method for managing hazards to 
aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport associated with non-
native mute swans in the Gateway National Recreation Area. This action 
is a supplement to the Gull Hazard Reduction Program at John F. Kennedy 
International Airport Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), May 
1994, and the Supplemental EIS, June 2012.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
October 24, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

[[Page 58516]]

     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0063-0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2013-0063, USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services, 1930 Route 9, 
Castleton, NY 12033-9653.
    Any comments we may receive on this notice may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0063 or at the New York 
USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services State Office at the address listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to 
help you, please call (518) 477-4837 before coming.
    This notice and associated documents are also posted on the APHIS 
Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/ws/ws_environmental_new_york.shtml.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Martin Lowney, Wildlife Services, 
APHIS, 1930 Route 9, Castleton, NY 12033-9653; (518) 477-4837.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in 
cooperation with the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife 
Service and National Park Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, 
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), 
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the New York City 
Departments of Environmental Protection and Parks and Recreation, 
intends to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) 
to consider additional methods to reduce aircraft hazards associated 
with the mute swan population in Gateway National Recreation Area. 
Subsequent to the completion of a 2012 Supplement to the Gull Hazard 
Reduction Program at John F. Kennedy International Airport Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), 1994, APHIS has determined there 
is a need for additional mute swan damage management beyond the impact 
parameter examined in the 2012 SEIS.
    The agencies are proposing to add additional techniques to the list 
of methods which may be used to reduce hazards from mute swans residing 
at Gateway National Recreation Area. Lethal methods could include 
shooting or euthanasia in conjunction with live traps. Non-lethal 
methods could include live-capture and adoption by private entities 
with some mobility restrictions (e.g., pinioned wings, no release on 
public waters, release on private ponds only, marking or banding 
individual birds, and sterilization). Live-capture and relocation is 
not being proposed as an alternative at this time because it is 
currently prohibited by the NYSDEC.
    APHIS will use an interdisciplinary approach in compliance with 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Agency mandates, policies, 
and regulations to address the following questions in the proposed 
SEIS:
     How can the agencies best respond to the need to minimize 
damage threats to aircraft and human safety from mute swan strikes?
     What are the environmental impacts of implementing various 
management strategies, lethal and non-lethal, such as shooting, 
euthanasia, live capture, relocation, etc.?
     Will the management strategies mentioned above have 
significant environmental impacts?
    The scope of the 2012 SEIS will be broadened to include analysis 
for expanded mute swan hazard management at the Gateway National 
Recreation Area. The SEIS will review the efficacy and impacts of 
current mute swan management efforts and analyze impacts of new and/or 
expanded methods for wildlife hazard management at John F. Kennedy 
International Airport. Members of the public are encouraged to visit 
the Web site for the SEIS at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/ws/ws_environmental_new_york.shtml to learn more about mute swan 
hazards to aircraft and methods for addressing hazards associated with 
mute swans at Gateway National Recreation Area.
    We anticipate that the draft SEIS will be available for review by 
the general public by November 30, 2013. The SEIS will be prepared in 
accordance with: (1) NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) 
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing 
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA 
regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA 
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of September 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-23184 Filed 9-23-13; 8:45 am]
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