[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 164 (Thursday, August 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42756-42757]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18252]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Office of Commercial Space Transportation: Notice of 
Availability, Notice of Public Comment Period, and Request for Comment 
on the Draft Environmental Assessment for the Shuttle Landing Facility 
Launch Site Operator License

AGENCY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT) is the lead agency. The National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Air Force, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (USFWS), and National Park Service (NPS) are cooperating 
agencies for this Environmental Assessment (EA) due to their special 
expertise and jurisdictions (40 CFR 1508.15 and 1508.26).

ACTION: Notice of availability, notice of public comment period, and 
request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is announcing the availability of and requesting 
comments on the Draft EA for the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) Launch 
Site Operator License. The FAA has prepared the Draft EA to evaluate 
the potential environmental impacts of the FAA issuing a Launch Site 
Operator License to Space Florida for the operation of a commercial 
space launch site at the SLF. Under the proposed action, Space Florida 
would construct facilities related to the proposed launch site and 
operate a commercial space launch site at the SLF to conduct launches 
of horizontal takeoff and horizontal landing launch vehicles from the 
SLF. The Draft EA considers the potential environmental impacts of the 
Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 17, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments or questions regarding the Draft EA 
to Shuttle Launching Facility Environmental Assessment, Attn. Pete 
Eggert, 505 Odyssey Way, Suite 300, Exploration Park, FL 32953. 
Comments may also be submitted by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stacey M. Zee, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW, Suite 325, Washington, DC 20591; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has prepared the Draft EA in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 
United States Code 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 Code 
of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508), and FAA Order 1050.1F, 
Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, as part of its 
licensing process. Concurrent with the NEPA process and to determine 
the potential effects of the Proposed Action on historic and cultural 
properties, the FAA has initiated Section 106 Consultation with the 
Florida State Historic Preservation Office and the following Native 
America tribes: Catawba Indian Nation, Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, 
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Jena 
Band of Choctaw Indians, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, 
Muscogge (Creek) Nation, Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Seminole Nation 
of Oklahoma, and Seminole Tribe of Florida. The FAA has also consulted 
with the USFWS under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act regarding 
potential impacts on federally-listed threatened and endangered 
species. Pursuant to the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966, 
this EA will comply with the requirements of Section 4(f) of the Act.
    An electronic version of the Draft EA is available on the FAA 
Office of Commercial Space Transportation website at: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/environmental/nepa_docs/review/documents_progress/space_florida/.
    The FAA encourages all interested agencies, organizations, Native 
American tribes, and members of the public to submit comments 
concerning the analysis presented in the Draft EA by September 17, 
2018. Comments should be as specific as possible and address the 
analysis of potential environmental impacts. Reviewers should organize 
their participation so that it is meaningful and makes the agency aware 
of the viewer's interests and concerns using quotations and other 
specific references to the text of the Draft EA and related documents. 
Matters that could have been raised with specificity during the comment

[[Page 42757]]

period on the Draft EA may not be considered if they are raised for the 
first time later in the decision process. This comment procedure is 
intended to ensure that substantive comments and concerns are made 
available to the FAA in a timely manner so that the FAA has an 
opportunity to address them.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that 
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in 
your comment to withhold from the public review your personal 
identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do 
so.
    The FAA has prepared the Draft EA to evaluate the potential 
environmental impacts of the construction and operation of the SLF as a 
launch location for horizontally launched and landed launch vehicles 
and issuing a Launch Site Operator License to Space Florida at the SLF. 
The EA considers the potential environmental impacts of the Proposed 
Action and the No Action Alternative. The successful completion of the 
environmental review process does not guarantee that the FAA Office of 
Commercial Space Transportation would issue a Launch Site Operator 
License to Space Florida. The project must also meet all FAA 
requirements of a Launch Site Operator License. Individual launch 
operators proposing to launch from the site would be required to obtain 
a separate launch operator license.
    The Proposed Action is for Space Florida to construct facilities 
related to the proposed launch site and for the FAA to issue a Launch 
Site Operator License to Space Florida for the operation of a 
commercial space launch site at the SLF. The Proposed Action would also 
allow Space Florida to offer the commercial space launch site at the 
SLF to commercial space operators to support their application to 
acquire a launch license or experimental permit (when their operations 
match those described and assessed within this EA) to allow them to 
conduct horizontal launches and horizontal landings of launch vehicles 
at the SLF. The alternatives under consideration include the Proposed 
Action and the No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, 
the FAA would not issue a Launch Site Operator License to Space 
Florida.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 17, 2018.
Daniel Murray,
Manager, Space Transportation Development Division.
[FR Doc. 2018-18252 Filed 8-22-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P