[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11596-11597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04454]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice 16-017]


National Environmental Policy Act; Center Master Plan Update; 
Kennedy Space Center

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (DPEIS) for the Center Master Plan (CMP) Update 
covering Center-wide Operations, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), 
Titusville, Florida.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, 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's NEPA policy and procedures (14 CFR part 
1216, subpart 1216.3), NASA has prepared and issued a DPEIS for its 
continued operation of the Kennedy Space Center, located near 
Titusville, Florida. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), 
National Park Service (NPS), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and 
Space Florida have served as Cooperating Agencies in preparing the 
DPEIS.
    The purpose of this notice is to apprise interested agencies, 
organizations, tribal governments, and individuals of the availability 
of the DPEIS and to invite comments on the document. In cooperation 
with USFWS and NPS, NASA will hold public meetings as part of the DPEIS 
review process. The meeting 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, within forty-
five (45) days from the date of publication in the Federal Register of 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of Availability of 
the DPEIS. Once known, this date will be published on the project Web 
site: http://environmental.ksc.nasa.gov/projects/peis.htm.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted by mail should be addressed to National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, Kennedy Space Center, ATTN: 
Donald Dankert, Environmental Management Branch, SI-E3, Kennedy Space 
Center, FL 32899. Comments may be submitted via email to [email protected].
    The DPEIS may be reviewed at the following locations:

(a) Titusville Public Library, 2121 S. Hopkins Avenue Titusville, 
Florida 32780 (321-264-5026)
(b) Cape Canaveral Public Library, 201 Polk Avenue, Cape Canaveral, 
Florida 32920 (321-868-1101)
(c) Cocoa Beach Public Library, 550 North Brevard Avenue, Cocoa Beach, 
Florida 32931(321-868-1104)
(d) Merritt Island Public Library, 1195 North Courtenay Parkway, 
Merritt Island, Florida 32953 (321-455-1369)
(e) Port St. John Public Library, 6500 Carole Avenue, Port St. John, 
Florida 32927 (321-633-1867)
(f) New Smyrna Beach Public Library, 1001 S. Dixie Freeway, New Smyrna 
Beach, FL 32168 (386-424-2910)
(g) NASA Headquarters Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street SW., Washington, 
DC 20546-0001 (202-358-0168)

    A limited number of hard copies and compact discs of the DPEIS are 
available, on a first request basis, by contacting the NASA point of 
contact listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. The DPEIS is available on 
the internet in Adobe[supreg] portable document format at http://environmental.ksc.nasa.gov/projects/peis.htm. The Federal Register 
Notice of Intent to prepare the Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (PEIS), issued on May 20, 2014, is also available on the 
internet at the same Web site address, as well as at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-05-20/pdf/2014-11565.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Donald Dankert, Environmental 
Management Branch, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Mail Code: SI-E3, Kennedy 
Space Center, FL 32899, Email: [email protected], Telephone: 
(321) 861-1196.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PEIS has been prepared to evaluate the 
potential environmental impacts from proposed Center-wide KSC 
operations,

[[Page 11597]]

activities, and facilities for a two-decade planning horizon. These 
operations, activities, and facilities are described in the 2012 CMP, 
which has a planning horizon of 2012-2032. The CMP considers a range of 
future scenarios for repurposing existing facilities, recapitalizing 
infrastructure, reorganizing the management of KSC and its land 
resources, and various kinds of partnerships (some of which are already 
in place).
    In the coming years, KSC will remain the world's preeminent launch 
facility for Government and commercial space access. KSC will support 
NASA, and ultimately our Nation's competitiveness, by investing in 
next-generation technologies and encouraging innovation. KSC will 
foster partnerships--intergovernmental, commercial, academic, and 
international--to expand its ability to support both public and private 
space initiatives. These institutional efforts and initiatives 
necessitate changes to the infrastructure, facilities, and operations 
at KSC over the coming decades which are identified in a new CMP Update 
that has been developed by the Center Planning and Development Office.

Alternatives

    The DPEIS evaluates the environmental consequences of three 
alternative means of managing KSC for the coming two decades:
    (1) Proposed Action--KSC would continue to transition to a multi-
user spaceport. A number of new facilities would be constructed, 
including two seaports and horizontal and vertical launch and landing 
facilities. There would be changes in the acreage of designated land-
use categories at KSC.
    (2) Alternative 1--This was added as a direct response to concerns 
expressed in comments received during the PEIS public scoping period in 
June 2014, as well as other observations and data acquired from 
stakeholders and other agencies during the scoping process. Alternative 
1 is similar to the Proposed Action in many regards, but is 
differentiated in several key respects: Primarily, differences in the 
siting and size of vertical and horizontal launch and landing 
facilities. Also, the two new seaports would not be constructed. At 
this time, Alternative 1 is NASA's preferred alternative.
    (3) No Action Alternative--KSC management would continue its 
emphasis on dedicated NASA programs and would not maximize its 
transition in the coming years towards a multi-user spaceport with 
fully-integrated NASA programs and non-NASA users. Rather, each NASA 
program would continue to be operated as an independent entity to a 
significant degree, to be funded separately, and to manage activities 
and buildings in support of its own program. Under this scenario there 
would continue to be a non-NASA presence at KSC.

Public Meetings

    NASA and its Cooperating Agencies plan to hold two public meetings 
in Florida to solicit comments on the DPEIS.
    The public meetings are currently scheduled for:

--Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the at the Eastern 
Florida State College Titusville Campus, John Henry Jones Gymnasium;
--Wednesday, March 30, 2016, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the New Smyrna 
Beach High School Gymnasium, 1015 Tenth Street New Smyrna Beach.

    The meeting format will include an open-house workshop from 5:00 
p.m. to 6:00 p.m. KSC staff and the Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) contractor will provide an overview of the DPEIS findings from 
6:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., followed by a public comment period from 6:15 
p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The open-house workshop will consist of poster 
stations describing the proposed project, the NEPA process, and the 
DPEIS findings. NASA KSC and cooperating agencies' staff will be 
present during the open-house workshop portion to accept comments.
    NASA will consider all comments received during the comment period 
in developing its Final EIS and comments received and responses to 
comments will be included in the final document. In conclusion, written 
public input on environmental issues and concerns associated with 
NASA's DPEIS analyzing its CMP Update are hereby requested.

Cheryl E. Parker,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-04454 Filed 3-3-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7510-13-P