[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 213 (Thursday, November 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76563-76564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26497]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)


Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Proposed Relocation of the 
Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division of the Air Resources 
Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of 
Commerce (DOC).

[[Page 76564]]


ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an EA; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NOAA announces its intention to prepare an EA in accordance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), for the proposed relocation of NOAA/OAR facilities in Oak Ridge, 
TN.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 5, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on suggested alternatives and potential 
impacts should be sent to Barbara Shifflett, Management and Program 
Analyst, NOAA/ATDD, PO Box 2456, Oak Ridge, TN 37831. Comments may also 
be submitted via facsimile to 865-220-1733 or by email to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action would involve relocation 
of NOAA/OAR offices and laboratories within the Oak Ridge, TN area to a 
larger, modern facility located in an appropriate research setting. The 
Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (ATDD), located in Oak 
Ridge, TN, is part of NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory (ARL). Research 
conducted at this laboratory includes experimental and theoretical 
research on air quality issues, urban dispersion studies and in-situ 
testbed development, and land-atmosphere interactions and the 
interactions with regional water budgets for representative U.S. 
ecosystems.
    The current physical space for ATDD consists of four buildings that 
together provide office space, laboratory space, staging and assembly 
and a machine shop. In addition, six shipping/storage containers are 
used to securely store field equipment and supplies, meteorological 
instrumentation, and power systems for remote climate stations. The 
current ATDD facilities are approximately 17,573 square feet which 
includes office space, auditorium and kitchen space, warehouse and 
storage space and staging areas. Current space can house up to 36 
staff, including full-time employees, visiting scientists and students, 
and contract employees.
    ATDD needs additional space to accommodate offices for staff 
expansion, visiting scientists and students, as well as space for 
additional lab work, engineering assembly, sensor calibration and 
testing, and sensor prototyping and evaluation. NOAA/OAR needs at least 
12,500 additional or 30,000 total square feet of space to effectively 
house personnel and equipment necessary to meet ATDD's mission.
    Research programs at ATDD will continue over the next decade and 
beyond at approximately their current levels, with moderate growth in 
staffing to accommodate emerging programs associated with water and 
drought planning, climate testbeds and air-surface exchange research. 
Partnerships with several universities will continue and new 
partnerships will be established, with a resulting small influx of 
students and faculty for short and long-term visits. The need for shop, 
lab, and storage space for testing and evaluation of new sensor 
technologies will continue to grow.
    Programs are often delayed by having to displace partially 
completed work from available space to complete a project or repair a 
system with a more urgent timeline. The existing facility severely 
limits ATDD's ability to implement a primary NOAA goal of working with 
private industry, universities, and national and international agencies 
to create and leverage partnerships for more effective research; we 
frequently encounter such opportunities, but are limited when offering 
space to accommodate visitors to work with our existing staff.
    ATDD's property has historically been used by scientists as a 
testbed for many systems prior to their deployment into the field. 
Given the increase in traffic and commercial development in the local 
area, the testbed data are suspect with regards to accuracy of 
measurements and actual reliability.
    The purpose of the public scoping process for this EA is to 
determine relevant issues that will influence the scope of the 
environmental analysis, including potential alternatives, and the 
extent to which those issues and impacts will be analyzed in the EA. 
Federal, state, and local agencies, along with other stakeholders that 
may be interested in or affected by NOAA's decision on this project are 
invited to participate in the scoping process and, if eligible, may 
request or be requested by NOAA to participate as a cooperating agency.

    Dated: October 28, 2016.
Jason Donaldson,
Chief Financial Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-26497 Filed 11-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-KD-P