[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 119 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33468-33469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13464]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Availability for Spaceport Camden Final Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS), Camden County, GA

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), Council on Environmental Quality NEPA 
implementing regulations, and FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: 
Policies and Procedures, the FAA is announcing the availability of the 
Spaceport Camden Final EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stacey Zee, Environmental Protection 
Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue 
SW, Suite 325, Washington, DC 20591; phone (202) 267-9305; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA is the lead agency. The National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Park Service are 
cooperating agencies for the Spaceport Camden Final EIS due to their 
special expertise and jurisdictions.
    The FAA is evaluating the Camden County Board of Commissioners' 
proposal to operate a commercial space launch site called Spaceport 
Camden, on the Atlantic seaboard in Camden County, Georgia. Issuing a 
Launch Site Operator License is considered a major Federal action 
subject to environmental review under NEPA. Under the Proposed Action, 
the FAA would issue a Launch Site Operator License to the Camden County 
Board of Commissioners. The license would authorize the Camden County 
Board of Commissioners to offer Spaceport Camden as a launch site to 
vehicle operators to conduct launches of liquid-fueled, small, orbital 
vertical launch vehicles at Spaceport Camden.

[[Page 33469]]

    The Final EIS evaluated the potential environmental impacts of the 
Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative. Under the No Action 
Alternative, the FAA would not issue a Launch Site Operator License to 
the Camden County Board of Commissioners.
    The FAA published a Draft EIS for public review and comment on 
March 16, 2018. The FAA held a public hearing on Wednesday, April 11, 
and another on Thursday, April 12, 2018 at Camden County Public Service 
Authority Recreation Center Community Room, 1050 Wildcat Drive, 
Kingsland, GA 31548. The FAA received over 15,500 public comments on 
the Draft EIS (see Appendix A of the Final EIS). All comments received 
during the comment period were considered in the preparation of the 
Final EIS.
    The Final EIS addresses modifications to the Proposed Action since 
the release of the 2018 Draft EIS and includes corresponding updates 
across all environmental resource areas. In December 2019, Camden 
County notified the FAA that it intended to submit an amended 
application for a Launch Site Operator License that would limit 
proposed launch operations to small launch vehicles, as opposed to the 
medium-large launch vehicles included in its original application and 
analyzed by the FAA in the Draft EIS. The County submitted an amended 
application on January 15, 2020. The amended application included data 
and analyses specific to launches of small launch vehicles. The amended 
application omitted booster flybacks, which are not a capability of 
small launch vehicles, and reduced the range of potential trajectories 
identified in the original application to a single 100 degree 
trajectory. The FAA has updated the EIS analyses to focus only on the 
small launch capability and parameters described in Camden County's 
amended application.
    The FAA has posted the Final EIS on the FAA Office of Commercial 
Space Transportation website: https://www.faa.gov/space/environmental/nepa_docs/camden_eis/. In addition, links to the Final EIS were sent to 
persons and agencies on the distribution list (see Chapter 9 of the 
Final EIS). Printed copies of the Final EIS are available for review at 
the following locations:

 Camden County Public Library, 1410 Georgia Highway 40, 
Kingsland, GA 31548
 St. Marys Public Library, 100 Herb Bauer Drive, St. Marys, GA 
31558
 Brunswick-Glynn County Library, 208 Gloucester Street, 
Brunswick, GA 31520
 St. Simons Island Public Library, 530A Beachview Drive, St. 
Simons Island, GA 31522

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Daniel P. Murray,
Executive Director, Office of Operational Safety.
[FR Doc. 2021-13464 Filed 6-23-21; 8:45 am]
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