<searchTitle>Office of Commercial Space Transportation; Notice of Availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Streamlining the Processing of Experimental Permit Applications; Federal Register Vol. 74, Issue </searchTitle>
<granuleClass>NOTICE</granuleClass>
<accessId>E9-21765</accessId>
<agency order="1">DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION</agency>
<agency order="2">Federal Aviation Administration</agency>
<billingCode>4910-13-P</billingCode>
<frDocNumber>E9-21765</frDocNumber>
<action>Notice of availability.</action>
<summary>In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Council on Environmental Quality NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500- 1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the FAA is announcing the availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Streamlining the Processing of Experimental Permit Applications (PEIS). The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation is the lead Federal agency for the development of the PEIS. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Air Force are cooperating agencies. Under the Proposed Action evaluated in the PEIS, the FAA would issue experimental permits for the launch and reentry of reusable suborbital rockets from both FAA-licensed and non-licensed launch sites using the PEIS as the basis for determining the potential environmental consequences of issuing experimental permits. Under the No Action Alternative, the FAA would continue issuing experimental permits for the launch and reentry of reusable suborbital rockets using its present method of analyzing environmental consequences case by case, without tiering from a programmatic document. The PEIS examines the potential environmental impacts of issuing an experimental permit for the operation of reusable suborbital rockets anywhere in the U.S. and abroad, and the potential site-specific impacts of permitted launches from seven FAA-licensed commercial launch sites: California Spaceport, California; Mojave Air and Space Port, California; Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska; Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Virginia; Space Florida Launch Complex-46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida; Oklahoma Spaceport, Oklahoma; Spaceport America, New Mexico; and one Federal range, the Shuttle Landing Facility at John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Subsequent environmental analyses that fall under the scope of the PEIS could tier from this document and incorporate the findings of the PEIS by reference, allowing an applicant and the FAA to focus on the relevant and unique impacts of an experimental permit application. Tiering and incorporation by reference would streamline the development of subsequent environmental analyses in accordance with NEPA and FAA Order 1050.1E. The PEIS will not authorize the launch or reentry of reusable suborbital rockets from launch sites. Individual launch operators would be required to coordinate with site operators to gain access to a site. In addition, the launch operators would be required to apply to the FAA for an experimental permit, which would require an individual safety and environmental review. The FAA submitted the Final PEIS to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the EPA will post a separate notification in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Final PEIS. The FAA will issue a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days following the EPA notice in the Federal Register. The Record of Decision will also be published in the Federal Register. The FAA has posted the Final PEIS on the FAA Web site at http:// ast.faa.gov. A paper copy and a CD version of the Final PEIS may be viewed at the following locations:</summary>
<contact>Mr. Daniel Czelusniak, FAA Environmental Specialist, FAA Experimental Permits PEIS, c/o ICF International, 9300 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22031; e-mail PEIS- Experimental-Permits@icfi.com; or fax (703) 934-3951.</contact>
<tocDoc>Availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Streamlining the Processing of Experimental Permit Applications
, </tocDoc>
<emailRef>PEIS-Experimental-Permits@icfi.com</emailRef>
<urlRef>http://ast.faa.gov</urlRef>