[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 53 (Friday, March 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15443-15445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05703]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket Number USCG-2021-0191]


Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Waterways 
Commerce Cutter Acquisition Program

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Coast Guard announces the availability of the Final 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Waterways 
Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program's acquisition and operation of a planned 
30 WCCs. In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA implementing 
regulations, the Final PEIS analyzes the potential environmental and 
socioeconomic impacts, and identifies related mitigation measures, 
associated with acquisition and operation of a planned 30 WCCs to 
replace the capabilities of the existing inland tender fleet (Proposed 
Action).

DATES: Comments and related material must be post-marked or received by 
the Coast Guard on or before April 18, 2022. No decision will be made 
until at least 30 days after publication of the Notice of Availability 
(NOA) in the Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, at which time the Coast Guard may execute a Record of Decision 
(ROD).

ADDRESSES: The Final PEIS is available in the docket which can be found 
by searching the docket number USCG-2021-0191 using the Federal 
Decision Making Portal at https://www.regulations.gov and for download 
on the project website at https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Engineering-Logistics-CG-4-/Program-Offices/Environmental-Management/Environmental-Planning-and-Historic-Preservation/. Requests for additional information should be sent to 
U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, ATTN: LCDR S. Krolman (CG-9327), 2703 
Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, Stop 7800, Washington, DC 20593.
    We encourage you to submit comments and related material on the 
Final PEIS. We will consider all submissions and may adjust our final 
action based on your comments. If you submit a comment, please include 
the docket number for this notice, indicate the specific section of 
this document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for 
each suggestion or recommendation.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Final PEIS by 
one of the following methods:
     Via the Web: You may submit comments identified by docket 
number USCG-2021-0191 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov.
     Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, ATTN: LCDR 
S. Krolman (CG-9327), 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, Stop 7800, 
Washington, DC 20593. Please note that mailed comments must be 
postmarked on or before the comment deadline of 30 days following 
publication of this notice to be considered.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware 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 your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Lieutenant Commander S. 
Krolman, Waterways Commerce Cutter Program, U.S. Coast Guard; phone 
202-475-3104; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coast Guard has a statutory mission to 
establish, maintain, and operate aids to navigation (ATON) in the 
Inland Waterways and Western Rivers (IW&WR). The IW&WR includes the 
Gulf and Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway; the Mississippi, Missouri, 
Alabama, Tennessee, Columbia, and Ohio Rivers, their associated 
tributaries and other connecting waterways; portions of the Alaska 
Inside Passage; portions of the Great Lakes; and several other 
navigable waterways around the United States. The 35 cutters and 
associated 27 barges that comprise the existing inland tender fleet 
servicing the IW&WR are, on average, more than 54 years old and all 
have significantly exceeded their design service life of 30 years. 
There is no redundant vessel capability within the Coast Guard, 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or other government agencies. 
Without replacement of the existing inland tender fleet, the Coast 
Guard could face an increasing risk of failure to maintain the 
capability to execute its ATON mission and provide timely ATON services 
in the IW&WR and other navigable waters around the United States. The 
Proposed Action would enable the continued safe navigation of waters 
that support the nation's economy through maritime commerce throughout 
the Marine Transportation System.
    Similar to the existing inland tender fleet's operations, the 
Proposed Action would include vessel operations to establish, operate, 
and maintain the lighted and unlighted buoys and beacons to maintain 
the United States Visual ATON System. This mission contributes to 
protecting national interests by ensuring safe and efficient flow of 
commercial vessel traffic through our nation's waters.
    Full operational capability would be achieved when all planned WCCs 
have been produced and are operational. Coast Guard WCC operations and 
training would occur after delivery of each WCC from the shipbuilder to 
the Coast Guard. For example, the first WCC delivery to the Coast Guard 
is expected in 2024 and the cutter would then be operational in 2025. 
The last WCC is expected to be delivered and operational approximately 
by 2030.
    The Proposed Action would include WCC operation, maintenance, and 
commissioning of a planned 11 WCC construction class (WLIC) tenders to 
replace the existing capabilities of 13 inland construction tenders; a 
planned 16 River Buoy class (WLR) tenders to replace the capabilities 
of the river buoy tenders; and a planned three Inland Buoy class (WLI) 
tenders to replace the capabilities of the inland buoy tenders. 
Although there are three classes proposed and design specifications are 
not final, the design would maximize commonality between the three 
classes to reduce sustainment costs, training needs, and other 
associated requirements.
    The Final PEIS analyzes the potential environmental and 
socioeconomic impacts associated with the Proposed Action, including 
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects, and mitigation measure to 
minimize impacts.
    The Coast Guard completed an Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 
and Essential Fish Habitat consultation with the National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) on U.S. Coast Guard Federal Aids to Navigation 
Program on

[[Page 15444]]

April 19, 2018. The Coast Guard obtained U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS) concurrence on the determination that there would be no effect 
to ESA listed species from vessel design and construction. An ESA 
Section 7 consultation with the USFWS on U.S. Coast Guard Federal Aids 
to Navigation Program remains on-going and is inclusive of all WCC 
operations, which is expected to be completed before the first planned 
WCC is operational in 2025. The USFWS expects to complete formal 
consultation and issue their opinion on the USCG ATON Biological 
Evaluation in December 2022 and before the first new WCC is 
constructed. The WCC Proposed Action is included in the ESA 
consultations with NMFS and the USFWS.
    The Coast Guard identified three reasonable alternatives that would 
meet the purpose and need of the Proposed Action; these three Action 
Alternatives are analyzed in detail in the Final PEIS.
    1. Alternative 1 (Preferred Alternative): The Coast Guard would 
acquire a planned 30 WCCs to replace the capabilities of the existing 
inland tender fleet (consisting of 35 cutters and 27 barges) to fulfill 
mission requirements in federal waterways, including the vast network 
of the IW&WR. The proposed WCCs would consist of a planned 16 WLRs, a 
planned 11 WLICs, and a planned three WLIs. The first WCCs would 
potentially be operational as soon as 2025, with a planned 30 WCCs 
delivered and operational approximately by 2030. A planned four WLR and 
WLIC vessels could be constructed per year, dependent upon industry 
capability, beginning in 2025 and continuing until 27 total WLRs and 
WLICs have been received. The first WLI would not be expected until 
2027 with a planned two WLIs being delivered in a year, dependent upon 
industry capability. WCCs are expected to be operational within 3 
months of the time of acceptance from the contractor. During 
construction of the WCCs, Coast Guard would have up to two dozen 
personnel imbedded in the contractor's workspaces for design and 
construction review and inspection. This construction schedule would 
allow for the existing inland tender fleet to remain present with no 
service interruptions to Coast Guard missions.
    2. Alternative 2: The Coast Guard would explore hybrid government 
and contracted options for mission performance. Ship platforms would 
meet similar technical specifications discussed in Alternative 1. 
Scenarios include: Contractor-owned vessels that are government-
operated (Coast Guard employees or a partner agency provides the crew 
for third-party, contractor-owned vessels); government-owned vessels 
that are contractor-operated (a commercial operating company provides 
the crew for Coast Guard or partner agency owned vessels); or 
contractor-owned and contractor-operated systems (Coast Guard provides 
neither the vessels nor personnel).
    The logistical costs of contracting a combination of unique hulls 
to satisfy the requirements to service ATON in the proposed action 
areas would exceed the corresponding costs of maintaining a class of 30 
cutters that would be built specifically to conduct missions in the 
Coast Guard's proposed action areas. Similarly, one-for-one replacement 
would cost far more per replacement hull because it eliminates any 
workforce savings associated with a ship with capabilities designed 
specifically to conduct Coast Guard missions in the IW&WR. Major 
challenges to any combined fleet are that the assets would not be able 
to communicate in real time, they would operate at differing levels of 
efficiency (resulting in decreased efficiency throughout the ATON 
system), and they would incur increased maintenance costs.
    3. Alternative 3: The mixed fleet alternative would involve a 
combination of cutters and shore-based assets (including Aids to 
Navigation team units), implementation of electronic ATON, and use of 
contracted ATON services to achieve Coast Guard ATON missions 
throughout the IW&WR. To accomplish a mixed fleet solution, additional 
Coast Guard ATON personnel and teams would be required. To accommodate 
the additional ATON teams, existing facilities would require expansion 
and construction of new shore based facilities could be necessary. Use 
of electronic ATON instead of physical ATON could also prove necessary. 
Similar to Alternative 2, the logistical costs to satisfy the 
requirements to service ATON in the proposed action areas would exceed 
the corresponding costs of maintaining a class of 30 cutters that would 
be built specifically to conduct missions in the IW&WR. Additionally, 
similar to Alternative 2, major challenges with this approach are that 
assets would not be able to communicate in real time, they would 
operate at differing levels of efficiency (resulting in decreased 
efficiency throughout the system), and they would incur increased 
maintenance costs.
    The Coast Guard also carried forward the No Action Alternative for 
detailed analysis in the Final PEIS. While the No Action Alternative 
would not satisfy the purpose and need for the Proposed Action, this 
alternative was retained to provide a comparative against which to 
analyze the effects of the Action Alternatives as required under CEQ's 
NEPA regulation.
    Resource areas analyzed in the Final PEIS include: Air quality, 
ambient sound, bottom habitat and sediments, water quality, biological 
resources and critical habitat, and socioeconomic resources.
    Stressors analyzed in the Final PEIS include: Acoustic stressors 
(fathometer and Doppler speed log noise, vessel noise, ATON signal 
testing noise, tool noise, and pile driving noise) and physical 
stressors (vessel movement, bottom devices, construction, brushing, 
pile driving, unrecovered jet cone moorings, ATON retrieval devices, 
and tow lines).
    Based on the analysis presented in the Final PEIS, potentially 
adverse impacts could occur to biological resources (that is, from 
disturbance); however, practical mitigation measures presented in the 
Final PEIS reduce any of these potential adverse effects. As a result, 
impacts to all resource areas would be less-than-significant (that is, 
negligible, minor, or moderate) adverse or beneficial, which may result 
in the Coast Guard making a finding of no significant impact in the 
ROD. However, these findings are not final until the Coast Guard 
executes a ROD.
    The Coast Guard held two virtual public scoping meetings and on 
September 24, 2021, the Coast Guard published a Notice of Availability 
(NOA) and a request for comments on the Draft PEIS (86 FR 53086). The 
Coast Guard received three letters commenting on the Draft PEIS. The 
Coast Guard considered and addressed in the Final PEIS comments 
received on the Draft PEIS during the comment period. Public comments 
did not result in the addition of substantive revisions to the Draft 
PEIS. Responses to comments are in Appendix G of the Final PEIS. An 
electronic copy of the Final PEIS is posted on the following web page: 
https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Engineering-Logistics-CG-4-/Program-Offices/Environmental-Management/Environmental-Planning-and-Historic-Preservation/.
    After publication of this NOA of the Final PEIS, the Coast Guard 
will prepare and publish its ROD announcing which Alternative is 
environmentally preferred and which Alternative it selects for 
implementation. Publication of the Final ROD will occur no sooner than 
30 days after the publication of the Final

[[Page 15445]]

PEIS. This notice is issued under authority of NEPA, specifically in 
compliance with 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) and CEQ implementing regulations 
in 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508.

    Dated: March 14, 2022.
Aaron Pagnotti,
Waterways Commerce Cutter Program Manager.
[FR Doc. 2022-05703 Filed 3-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P