[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 20, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28967-28969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11565]
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice (14-042)]
National Environmental Policy Act: Kennedy Space Center (KSC);
Center-wide Operations
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS) and Conduct PEIS Scoping.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as
amended, (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA; 40 Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 1500-1508; and NASA policy and
procedures, 14 CFR part 1216, Subpart 1216.3, NASA intends to prepare a
PEIS covering Center-wide operations at KSC. The United States (U.S.)
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Park Service (NPS), and the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will serve as Cooperating
Agencies. They possess both regulatory authority and specialized
expertise regarding the PEIS subject Proposed Action.
The purpose of this notice is to apprise interested agencies,
organizations, tribal governments, and individuals of NASA's intent to
prepare the PEIS and request input regarding environmental issues and
concerns associated with the Proposed Action and alternative(s).
In cooperation with USFWS, NPS, and FAA, NASA will hold two public
scoping meetings as part of the NEPA process associated with the
development of the PEIS. The scoping meetings locations and dates are
provided under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.
DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments on
environmental issues and concerns, preferably in writing, on or before
July 7, 2014, to assure full consideration during the scoping process.
ADDRESSES: Comments submitted by mail should be addressed to Mr. Donald
Dankert, Environmental Management Branch, NASA Kennedy Space Center,
Mail Code: TA-A4C, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899.
Comments may be submitted via email to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Donald Dankert, Environmental
Management Branch, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Mail Code: TA-A4C,
Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899, Email: [email protected],
Telephone: (321) 861-1196.
Additional KSC information may be found on the internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This PEIS is being prepared in conjunction with an updated Center
Master Plan (CMP) to evaluate potential environmental impacts from
proposed Center-wide operations and activities for a 20-year planning
horizon from 2012-2032. The PEIS will consider a range of future
scenarios from repurposing existing facilities and recapitalizing
infrastructure, to reorganizing KSC management of its land resources
with various types of commercial partnerships. The PEIS is intended to
ensure NASA is in compliance with applicable environmental statutes as
it sets program priorities for future operations and activities.
A CMP for Kennedy was developed in 2002 with a 50-year planning
horizon. NASA Policy Directive 8810.2, Master Planning for Real
Property, requires the CMP to be updated every five years. The 2008 CMP
update was based on the now cancelled Constellation Program, while the
current CMP update will guide KSC as it transitions towards a multiuser
spaceport over the next 20 years.
KSC History
In the late 1950s the U.S. embarked on a new era of human space
exploration. The first human space flight initiative was Project
Mercury in 1958. The crewed spacecraft first
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launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in the early
1960s. In 1963 NASA's Launch Operations Center and portions of CCAFS
used by NASA were renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Project
Mercury was followed by Project Gemini, which served to perfect
maneuvers in Earth's orbit. The Apollo Program began in 1961, and
aboard Apollo 11, American astronauts successfully landed on the moon
and returned safely to Earth in July 1969. Eventually, seven Apollo
missions landed 12 astronauts on the moon, the last of which was in
December 1972.
In the mid-1970s, NASA initiated development of the Space
Transportation System (commonly called the Space Shuttle) as the next
crewed vehicle. Designed solely for missions to lower Earth orbit, the
Space Shuttle was the first and, to date, the only winged spacecraft
capable of vertically launching a crew into orbit and horizontally
landing upon return. The Space Shuttle era lasted 30 years, from the
Columbia launch on April 12, 1981, to the Atlantis landing on July 21,
2011. The Space Shuttle fleet supported 135 missions, recovered and
repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge scientific research under
zero gravity conditions, and helped construct and service the
International Space Station, the largest structure built in space.
KSC Location and Facilities
KSC is located on Merritt Island in Brevard and Volusia counties,
Florida, north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean,
midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast,
approximately 50 miles east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and
roughly six miles (10 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km\2\).
The total KSC land and water area jurisdiction is approximately
140,000 acres. Only a very small part of the total acreage of KSC is
developed or designated for NASA's operational and industrial use.
Merritt Island consists of prime habitat for unique and endangered
wildlife. In 1972 NASA entered into an agreement with the USFWS to
establish a wildlife preserve within KSC boundaries known as the
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Public Law 93-626 created the
Canaveral National Seashore (CNS), and thereby, an agreement with the
Department of the Interior was also formed in 1975 due to the location
of CNS within KSC boundaries.
Since December 1968, all launch operations have been conducted from
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) Pads A and B. Both pads are close to the
ocean and three miles (five km) east of the Vehicle Assembly Building.
From 1969-1972, LC-39 was the departure point for all six Apollo manned
moon-landing missions using the Saturn V rocket. LC-39 was used from
1981-2011 for all Space Shuttle launches. The Shuttle Landing Facility,
located just to the north, was used for most Shuttle landings. At
15,000 feet (4,572 meters or 2.8 miles) it is among the longest runways
in the world. The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the Center's
support facilities are located, is five miles (eight kilometers) south
of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and
Checkout Building, Space Station Processing Facility and the Central
Instrumentation Facility.
KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and
approximately a one-hour drive from the Orlando area. The Visitor
Complex offers public tours of the Center and CCAFS. Because much of
the installation is a restricted area and only nine percent of the land
is developed, the site also serves as an important wildlife sanctuary.
Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge,
and CNS are other natural area features.
Proposed Action and No Action Alternatives
Under the Proposed Action in the years ahead, KSC will implement
the aforementioned CMP update and transition from a Government,
program-focused, single-user launch and landing complex to a more
central capability, cost effective, and multiuser spaceport. KSC's new
mission will be to furnish both Government and commercial space
providers with the necessary facilities, experienced workforce, and
knowledge to support existing mission sets and new space programs.
The KSC master planning process is identified in NASA's
institutional requirements to report to Congress, pursuant to the NASA
Authorization Act of 2010, Section 1102. The resulting CMP update will
result in changes to the infrastructure, land use, space transportation
providers and users' customer base, and business model over a 20-year
planning horizon from 2012-2032. The CMP update will include a number
of component plans, including future land use, facility development,
area development, transportation, utilities systems, and safety and
security control. Implementing the future land use plan will promote
the right-sizing of NASA KSC operations and attract non-NASA investment
by providing more operational autonomy. Consolidating NASA operations
into a smaller geographic footprint is a major component of the future
land use plan. Applying the Central Campus concept, for example, allows
NASA to recapitalize functions and capabilities into higher-efficiency
facilities and combine nonhazardous and spread out functions into a
more efficient, smaller, secured geographic footprint. Likewise,
directing future NASA and non-NASA development into functional areas
with defined, allowable operations will streamline safety and security
considerations while promoting maximum utilization of KSC's horizontal
infrastructure capacities. In addition, the future land use plan
supports expansion of the quint-modal capabilities to provide multiuser
spaceport users increased support.
The future land use plan identifies 18 land use categories, their
existing acreages, and their proposed future acreages. Changes in the
size and location between existing and proposed land uses will
constitute the basis for differential potential environmental impacts
between the Proposed Action and the No Action alternatives.
Under the No Action Alternative, KSC would not transition towards a
multiuser spaceport with fully integrated NASA programs and non-NASA
users. Each NASA program would continue to operate to a significant
degree as an independent entity, funded separately and managing
activities and buildings in support of its own program. A limited non-
NASA presence would continue at KSC.
Scoping Meeting(s)
NASA and its Cooperating Agencies plan to hold two public scoping
meetings to provide KSC PEIS information and solicit public comments
regarding environmental concerns and alternatives for PEIS
consideration. The public scoping meetings are scheduled as follows:
1. Eastern Florida State College Titusville Campus, John Henry
Jones Gymnatorium, June 4, 2014, 5-8 p.m.
2. New Smyrna Beach High School Gymnasium, 1015 Tenth Street, New
Smyrna Beach, June 5, 2014, 5-8 p.m.
The meeting format will include an open-house workshop from 5:00 to
6:00 p.m. KSC staff will provide an overview of the environmental
process from 6:00 to 6:15 p.m., followed by a public comment period
from 6:15 to 8:00 p.m. The open-house workshop will consist of poster
stations describing the proposed project and the NEPA process. NASA KSC
and Cooperating Agencies staff will be present during the open-house
workshop portion to answer
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general questions about the proposed project and the NEPA process.
As the PEIS is prepared, the public will be provided several
opportunities for involvement, the first of which is during scoping. If
an interested party does not have input at this time, other avenues,
including reviews of the Draft and Final PEIS, will be offered in the
future. The availability of these documents will be published in the
Federal Register and through local news media to ensure all members of
the public have the opportunity to actively participate in the NEPA
process.
Written public input on alternatives and environmental issues and
concerns associated with this proposed action are hereby requested.
Calvin F. Williams,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Strategic Infrastructure.
[FR Doc. 2014-11565 Filed 5-19-14; 8:45 am]
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