[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 149 (Friday, August 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36456-36457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16435]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Arecibo 
Observatory, Arecibo, Puerto Rico

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) announces the 
availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for 
Arecibo Observatory. This Final EIS identifies and analyzes the 
potential consequences of the following alternatives: Alternative 1, 
Collaboration with Interested Parties for Continued Science-focused 
Operations (Agency-preferred Alternative); Alternative 2, Collaboration 
with Interested Parties for Transition to Education-focused Operations; 
Alternative 3, Mothballing of Facilities; Alternative 4, Partial 
Demolition and Site Restoration; and Alternative 5, Complete Demolition 
and Site Restoration; and the No Action Alternative, Continued NSF 
Investment for Science[hyphen]focused Operations. It also proposes 
mitigation measures to minimize the adverse impacts from demolition or 
operation of the alternatives where such impacts may occur. 
Consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act (NHPA) is being conducted concurrent to the NEPA process.

DATES: The National Science Foundation will execute a Record of 
Decision no sooner than 30 days after the date of publication of the 
Notice of Availability published in the Federal Register by the 
Environmental Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: The Final EIS is made available for public inspection on-
line at www.nsf.gov/AST. A Spanish translation of the Executive Summary 
of the Final EIS is posted.
    A copy of the DEIS will be available for review at the following 
libraries in Puerto Rico:

Biblioteca Electr[oacute]nica P[uacute]blica Municipal Nicol[aacute]s 
Nadal Barreto, 210 Calle Santiago Iglesias, Arecibo, PR, Phone: (787) 
878-1178
Archivo General y Biblioteca Nacional de PR, 500 Avenida Juan Ponce De 
Le[oacute]n, San Juan, PR, Phone: (787) 725-1060 ext. 2001

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Elizabeth Pentecost, Re: Arecibo 
Observatory, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1045, Arlington, VA 22230; 
[email protected]; 703-292-4907.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Arecibo Observatory is an NSF-owned 
scientific research and education facility located in Puerto Rico. In 
2011, NSF awarded a Cooperative Agreement to SRI International (SRI), 
which together with Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and 
Universidad Metropolitana (UMET) formed the Arecibo Management Team to 
operate and maintain the Arecibo Observatory for the benefit of 
research communities. The initial 5-year period of performance of the 
Cooperative Agreement was extended 18 months, to 31 March 2018. Arecibo 
Observatory enables research in three scientific disciplines: space and 
atmospheric sciences, radio astronomy, and solar system radar studies; 
the last of these is largely funded through a research award to USRA 
from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. An education 
and public outreach program complements the Arecibo Observatory 
scientific program. A key component of the Arecibo Observatory research 
facility is a 305-meter diameter, fixed, spherical reflector. Arecibo 
Observatory infrastructure includes instrumentation for radio and radar 
astronomy and ionospheric physics, office and laboratory buildings, a 
heavily utilized visitor and education facility, and lodging facilities 
for visiting scientists.
    Through a series of academic community-based and portfolio reviews, 
NSF identified the need to divest of several facilities from its 
portfolio in order to retain the balance of capabilities needed to 
deliver the best performance on the key science of the present decade 
and beyond. In 2016, NSF completed a feasibility study to inform and 
define options for the observatory's future disposition that would 
involve significantly decreasing or eliminating NSF funding of Arecibo. 
Concurrently, NSF sought viable concepts of operations from the 
scientific community via a Dear Colleague Letter NSF 16-005 (see 
www.nsf.gov/AST). NSF issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS on 
May 23, 2016, held scoping meetings on June 7, 2016, and held a 30-day 
public comment period that closed on June 23, 2016. On September 30, 
2016, NSF issued a Dear Colleague Letter NSF 16-144 (see www.nsf.gov/AST) to notify the Observatory stakeholder community that NSF intended 
to issue a follow-up solicitation, requesting the submission of formal 
proposals involving the continued operation of Arecibo

[[Page 36457]]

Observatory to provide additional information for the decision process 
for the ultimate disposition of Arecibo Observatory. The solicitation 
(NSF 17-538) was released on January 25, 2017.
    The Draft EIS was made available for public review and comment from 
October 28, 2016, through December 12, 2016. The full Draft EIS was 
also posted on the NSF, Division of Astronomical Sciences Web site 
(www.nsf.gov/AST) and hard copies were delivered to local libraries. 
During the review period, the NSF received over 400 comments--the 
majority of comments were against closing the Arecibo Observatory and 
suggestions for what resources to include in the EIS. After considering 
all comments received, the NSF prepared the Final EIS. There are no 
substantive changes to the range of alternatives considered. 
Alternative 1 is identified as the ``Agency-preferred Alternative.''

    Dated: August 1, 2017.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2017-16435 Filed 8-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P