Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

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Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement Experimental Permits
COMSTAC Stacey M. Zee October 25, 2006
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Outline

• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• Programmatic Analyses
• Development of PEIS
• Input into scope of PEIS
• How to submit comments

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How Does NEPA apply to AST?

• Issuing licenses and permits are considered major
  Federal actions with the potential to
  significantly impact the quality of the human
  environment
• All such major Federal actions are subject to
  NEPA
• 40 CFR Parts 1500 to 1508
• FAA Order 1050.1E

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Levels of NEPA Review

• Categorical Exclusion (CATEX) action that does
  not, individually or cumulatively, have a
  significant impact on the quality of the human
  environment
• Environmental Assessment (EA) - analysis of
  proposed action and reasonable alternatives that
  could result in preparation of an Environmental
  Impact Statement or Finding of No Significant
  Impact
• Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - detailed
  analysis of environmental consequences of
  proposed action and alternatives, cumulative
  impacts, and mitigation actions

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FAA Order 1050.1E Issues Requiring Analysis

• Air Quality
• Coastal Resources
• Compatible Land Use
• Construction Impacts
• Department of Transportation Section 4(f)
  Resources
• Farmlands
• Fish, Wildlife, and Plants
• Floodplains
• Hazardous Materials, Pollution Prevention, and
  Solid Waste
• Historical, Architectural, Archeological, and
  Cultural Resources

• Natural Resources, Energy Supply, and Sustainable
  Design
• Noise
• Secondary (Induced) Impacts
• Socioeconomics, Environmental Justice, and
  Childrens Health and Safety
• Visual Impacts
• Water Quality
• Wetlands
• Wild and Scenic Rivers

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Sample Laws and Regulations

• Endangered Species Act
• Executive Order (EO) 11988 Floodplain
  Management
• Federal Coastal Zone Management Act
• Marine Mammal Protection Act
• EO 12114 Environmental Effects Abroad of Major
  Federal Actions
• EO 13089 Coral Reef Protection
• Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation
  Act
• EO 11988 Floodplain Management
• Clean Air Act
• Clean Water Act

• Safe Drinking Water Act
• Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
• Oil Pollution Act
• National Historic Preservation Act
• American Indian Religious Freedom Act
• Native American Graves Protection Act
• EO 13007 Indian Sacred Sites
• Farmland Protection Policy Act
• EO 12898 Federal Actions to Address
  Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and
  Low-Income Populations

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Programmatic Analyses

• Provide analyses and documentation from which
  subsequent NEPA documents can be tiered
• Evaluate cumulative impacts
• Address mitigation parameters at broad level

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Existing AST PEISs

• 2001 PEIS for Licensing Launches
• Analyzed environmental impacts of licensed
  launches of vertical expendable and reusable
  launch vehicles
• 2005 PEIS for Horizontal Launch and Reentries
• Analyzed environmental impacts of licensed
  suborbital and orbital launches of horizontal
  vehicles and reentry of reentry vehicles

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PEIS for Experimental Permits

• Facilitate tiering of subsequent environmental
  assessments and environmental impact statements
• Allow the environmental analysis of an individual
  permit applicant to focus on the environmental
  effects specific to their permit application
• Develop future guidance to aid the permitting
  process
• Improve efficiency of acting on individual permit
  applications

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Data Needs Rocket Activities

• Types of propellants and propulsion systems
• Estimate of operations
• Number of launch and reentry events, or
• Duration of tests
• Types of launch and reentry events tethered,
  static firings, hover
• Pre-flight and post-flight activities
• Locations for launch and reentry operations

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Analysis of Sites

• Licensed Launch Sites
• California Spaceport, CA
• Florida Spaceport, FL
• Kodiak Launch Complex, AK
• Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, VA
• Mojave Airport, CA
• Oklahoma Spaceport, OK
• Proposed Launch Site
• Spaceport America, NM
• Cecil Field, FL

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Schedule

• Notice of Intent March 2006
• Scoping March - October 2006
• Release draft PEIS to public Spring/Summer 2007
• Public review and comment period Spring/Summer
  2007
• Release final PEIS to public Summer 2007
• Sign Record of Decision Fall 2007

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How to Submit Comments

• Provide written comments today
• Submit comments via e-mail or fax
• E-mail PEIS-Experimental-Permits_at_icfi.com
• Fax [phone]
• MailStacey M. ZeeFAA Environmental
  SpecialistPEIS Experimental Permitsc/o ICF
  International9300 Lee HighwayFairfax, VA 22031

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To ensure that all comments are addressed inthe
Final PEIS, the FAA requests that commentsare
received no later thanOctober 31, 2006

• Questions - contact Stacey M. Zee 202-267-9305
• Stacey.Zee_at_FAA.gov