[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 197 (Friday, October 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64222-64223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22416]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. MARAD-2020-0133]


Notice of Consultation Pursuant to Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act; Decommissioning of the Nuclear Ship SAVANNAH

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires the 
Maritime Administration (MARAD) to develop a Programmatic Agreement 
(PA) to decommission the N.S. SAVANNAH's (NSS) nuclear power plant and 
subsequent license termination with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC). MARAD is considering the effect of this undertaking on the NSS 
as an historic property, and by this notice is seeking public comment.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 23, 2020. MARAD 
will consider comments filed after this date to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket Number 
MARAD-2020-0133 by any one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Search MARAD-2020-0133 and follow the instructions 
for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include MARAD-2020-0133 
in the subject line of the message and provide your comments in the 
body of the email or as an attachment.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility is in 
the West Building, Ground Floor of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation. The Docket Management Facility location address is: 
U.S. Department of Transportation, MARAD-2020-0133, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.
    Note: If you mail or hand-deliver your comments, we recommend that 
you include your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a 
telephone number in the body of your document so that we can contact 
you if we have questions regarding your submission.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and specific docket number. All comments received will be posted 
without change to the docket at www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on submitting 
comments, see the section entitled Public Participation.
    Docket: For access to the online docket to read background 
documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
search ``MARAD-2020-0133.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erhard W. Koehler, (202) 680-2066 or 
via email at [email protected]. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above 
individual during business hours. The FIRS is available twenty-four 
hours a day, seven days a week, to leave a message or question. You 
will receive a reply during normal business hours. You may send mail to 
Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, Office of Chief 
Counsel, Division of Legislation and Regulations, W24-220, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Built in 1959, NSS was the world's first 
nuclear-powered merchant ship and served as a signature element of 
President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program. While in service, NSS 
demonstrated the peaceful use of atomic power as well as the 
feasibility of nuclear-powered merchant vessels. The vessel was retired 
from active service in 1970 and registered as a National Historic 
Landmark in 1991. NSS is currently part of MARAD's National Defense 
Reserve Fleet (NDRF) in retention status. Additional information 
regarding the vessel is available at https://www.maritime.dot.gov/nssavannah.
    MARAD is decommissioning the NSS's nuclear power plant, a process 
that will remove the plant systems, equipment, and components for 
disposal, which will result in termination of MARAD's Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) license and disposition of the vessel. 
MARAD has determined that this Undertaking will cause an adverse effect 
to the NSS, and is developing a PA with the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation (ACHP), the Maryland State Historic Preservation 
Officer

[[Page 64223]]

(SHPO), and other consulting parties in compliance with the NHPA and 
its implementing regulations. MARAD has determined that a PA is a more 
effective and efficient means to implement consultation under Section 
106 of the NHPA due to the Undertaking's complexity and unknown 
outcome. As part of the Section 106 and PA process, MARAD, ACHP, SHPO, 
and other consulting parties, are exploring and considering all NSS 
disposition options and alternatives that could avoid, minimize, or 
mitigate these impacts once the vessel's nuclear power plant is 
decommissioned and the NRC license is terminated.
    Pursuant to 36 CFR part 800.2(d)(2), this serves as MARAD's 
notification concerning this Undertaking and its effects on the NSS and 
welcomes public input and comments.

Public Participation

How long do I have to submit comments?

    We are providing a 45-day comment period.

How do I prepare and submit comments?

    Your comments must be written in English.
    To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, 
please include the Docket Number shown at the beginning of this 
document in your comments.
    If you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) 
File, MARAD asks that the documents be submitted using the Optical 
Character Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing MARAD to search and 
copy certain portions of your submissions. Comments may be submitted to 
the docket electronically by logging onto the Docket Management System 
website at http://www.regulations.gov. Search using the MARAD docket 
number and follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    You may also submit two copies of your comments, including the 
attachments, to Docket Management at the address given above under 
ADDRESSES.
    Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, for substantive 
data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet the 
information quality standards set forth in the OMB and DOT Data Quality 
Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines 
in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/reproducible.html. DOT's guidelines may 
be accessed at http://www.bts.gov/programs/statistical_policy_and_research/data_quality_guidelines.

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

How do I submit confidential business information?

    Confidential business information (CBI) is commercial or financial 
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by 
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), 
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments contain 
commercial or financial information that is customarily treated as 
private, that you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or 
responsive to this notice, it is important that you clearly designate 
the submitted comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission 
that constitutes CBI as ``PROPIN'' to indicate it contains proprietary 
information. MARAD will treat such marked submissions as confidential 
under the FOIA, and they will not be placed in the public docket of 
this interim final rule. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to 
the email address provided in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section. In addition, you should submit two copies, from which you have 
deleted the claimed confidential business information, to Docket 
Management at the address given above under ADDRESSES. Any comments 
MARAD receives which are not specifically designated as CBI will be 
placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.

Will the agency consider late comments?

    We will consider all comments that Docket Management receives 
before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated 
above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider 
comments that Docket Management receives after that date.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

    You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the 
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the Docket are 
indicated above in the same location. You may also see the comments on 
the internet. To read the comments on the internet, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets. Please note that, even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into 
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment 
(or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19477-78), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

(Authority: 49 CFR Sections 1.92 and 1.93)
* * * * *

    Dated: October 6, 2020.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-22416 Filed 10-8-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P