[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 220 (Friday, November 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72749-72750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25062]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Availability, Notice of Public Comment Period, Notice 
of Public Meeting, and Request for Comment on the Draft Programmatic 
Environmental Assessment for the Shuttle Landing Facility Reentry Site 
Operator License

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

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

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SUMMARY: The FAA is announcing the availability of and requesting 
comments on the Draft PEA for the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) 
Reentry Site Operator License. The FAA has prepared the Draft PEA to 
evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the FAA issuing a 
Reentry Site Operator License to Space Florida for the operation of a 
commercial space reentry site at the SLF located at the Cape Canaveral 
Spaceport, which includes the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape 
Canaveral Air Force Station. A programmatic document is a type of 
general, broad National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review from 
which subsequent NEPA documents can be tiered, focusing on the issues 
specific to the subsequent action. If a commercial space operator 
applies to the FAA for a reentry license to conduct reentry operations 
at the SLF, a separate

[[Page 72750]]

environmental document, tiering off the PEA, would be developed to 
support the issuance of a reentry license to the prospective reentry 
operator. The tiered environmental document would be a more detailed 
analysis based on vehicle specific operations.

DATES: Comments on the Draft PEA must be received on or before December 
7, 2020.
    The FAA will hold a virtual public meeting on December 2, 2020 from 
5:00 to 7:00 p.m. EST. During this meeting, Space Florida will provide 
information on their proposed project, FAA will provide a licensing and 
PEA overview and members of the public can provide oral comments at the 
meeting. The FAA invites all interested parties to attend the meeting. 
Information for the meeting is posted on the FAA Office of Commercial 
Space Transportation website at: https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/shuttle_landing_facility/.

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments or questions regarding the Draft PEA 
to Ms. Stacey Zee, SLF PEA, c/o ICF, 9300 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 
22031 or by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stacey Zee, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW, Suite 325, Washington, DC 20591; email 
[email protected]; phone 202-981-1437.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA is the lead agency. The National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service are cooperating 
agencies for the Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) due to 
their special expertise and jurisdictions.
    The FAA has prepared the Draft PEA in accordance with 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 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 American tribes: The Catawba Indian Nation, the 
Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the 
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, the 
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, 
the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
    The FAA has prepared the Draft PEA to evaluate the potential 
environmental impacts of Space Florida's proposal to operate a reentry 
location for horizontally landed reentry vehicles at the SLF located at 
the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, which includes the Kennedy Space Center 
and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Draft PEA considers the 
potential environmental impacts of the Proposed Action and the No 
Action Alternative. A programmatic document is a type of general, broad 
NEPA review from which subsequent NEPA documents can be tiered, 
focusing on the issues specific to the subsequent action (40 CFR 
1502.20). If a commercial space operator applies to the FAA for a 
reentry license to conduct reentry operations at the SLF, a separate 
environmental document, tiering off the PEA, would be developed to 
support the issuance of a reentry license to the prospective reentry 
operator. The tiered environmental document would be a more detailed 
analysis based on vehicle specific operations.
    An electronic version of the Draft PEA is available on the FAA 
Office of Commercial Space Transportation website at: https://www.faa.gov/space/environmental/nepa_docs/slf_ea/.
    The FAA encourages all interested agencies, organizations, Native 
American tribes, and members of the public to submit comments on the 
analysis presented in the Draft PEA by December 7, 2020. Comments 
should be as specific as possible and address the analysis of potential 
environmental impacts. Reviewers should organize their participation, 
so 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 PEA and related documents. Matters that could 
have been raised with specificity during the comment period on the 
Draft PEA 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.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Daniel Murray,
Manager, Safety Authorization Division.
[FR Doc. 2020-25062 Filed 11-12-20; 8:45 am]
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