National Environmental Policy Act; Wallops Flight Facility Shoreline Restoration and Infrastructure Protection Program, 8997-8999 [2010-3896]

Agencies

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 38 (Friday, February 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8997-8999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3896]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice (10-022)]


National Environmental Policy Act; Wallops Flight Facility 
Shoreline Restoration and Infrastructure Protection Program

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) Shoreline 
Restoration and Infrastructure Protection Program (SRIPP).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended, 
(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 NASA's NEPA policy and procedures (14 CFR part 
1216, subpart 1216.3), NASA has prepared and issued the Draft PEIS for 
the proposed SRIPP at WFF. The U.S. Department of the Interior, 
Minerals Management Service (MMS), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
have served as Cooperating Agencies in preparing the Draft PEIS.
    NASA is proposing to implement a fifty-year design life storm 
damage reduction project at its WFF on Wallops Island, Virginia. The 
project would be implemented to reduce the potential for storm-induced 
physical damage to the over $1 billion in Federal and State assets on 
Wallops Island. The Draft PEIS examines in detail three project 
alternatives, each expected to provide substantial damage reduction 
from storms with intensities ranging up to approximately the 100-year 
return interval storm. Although some reduction in flooding can be 
expected under each alternative, the primary purpose of the proposal is 
not flood protection, rather it is moving destructive wave energy 
further away from the Wallops Island shoreline and the infrastructure 
behind it.
    Alternative One, NASA's preferred alternative, would include 
extending the existing Wallops Island seawall up to a maximum of 1,400 
meters (m) (4,600 feet [ft]) south and placing an estimated 2.5 million 
cubic meters (MCM) (3.2 million cubic yards [MCY]) of sand along the 
shoreline. Alternative Two would include the same seawall extension as 
Alternative One; however the sand placed along the shoreline would be 
less, at approximately 2.2 MCM (2.9 MCY). Under this alternative, NASA 
would also construct a groin perpendicular to the shoreline at the 
south end of the project site to limit the volume of nearshore sand 
being transported from the restored Wallops Island beach to the south. 
Alternative Three would entail the same seawall extension as in 
Alternatives One and Two; however, sand placement would be the least of 
the Alternatives at approximately 2.1 MCM (2.8 MCY). NASA would 
construct a single detached breakwater parallel to the shoreline at the 
south end of the project site to retain sand under Alternative Three. 
Under all three project alternatives, NASA would obtain the sand 
required for its initial beach nourishment from an unnamed shoal 
(referred to as Shoal A) located in Federal waters approximately 23 
kilometers (km) (14 miles [mi]) east of

[[Page 8998]]

Wallops Island. Sand for an expected nine future renourishment cycles 
could come from either Shoal A or a second offshore shoal in Federal 
waters referred to as Shoal B, approximately 31 km (19 mi) east of the 
project site. Additionally, NASA is considering transporting sand that 
accumulates on north Wallops Island to supplement its future 
renourishment needs (commonly known as ``backpassing''). It is 
estimated that up to half of the required renourishment volumes could 
be obtained from ``backpassing.'' The No Action Alternative is to not 
implement the WFF SRIPP, but to continue making emergency repairs to 
the Wallops Island shoreline, as necessary.
    NASA will hold a public comment meeting as part of the review of 
the Draft PEIS. The public meeting location and date as currently 
scheduled are provided under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments on 
environmental issues and concerns, preferably in writing, on or before 
April 15, 2010, or 45 days from the date of publication in the Federal 
Register of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of 
Availability of the Draft SRIPP PEIS, whichever is later.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted by mail should be addressed to 250/NEPA 
Manager, WFF Shoreline Restoration and Infrastructure Protection 
Program, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, 
Wallops Island, Virginia 23337. Comments may be submitted via e-mail to 
wff_shoreline_eis@majordomo.gsfc.nasa.gov.
    The Draft PEIS may be reviewed at the following locations:
    (a) Chincoteague Island Library, 4077 Main Street, Chincoteague, 
Virginia 23336 (757-336-3460).
    (b) Eastern Shore Public Library, 23610 Front Street, Accomac, 
Virginia 23301 (757-787-3400).
    (c) Northampton Free Library, 7401 Railroad Avenue, Nassawadox, 
Virginia 23413 (757-442-2839).
    (d) NASA Wallops Flight Facility Technical Library, Building E-105, 
Wallops Island, Virginia 23337 (757-824-1065).
    (e) NASA Headquarters Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20546-0001 (202-358-0168).
    A limited number of hard copies of the Draft PEIS are available, on 
a first request basis, by contacting 250/NEPA Manager, NASA WFF, 
Environmental Office, Code 250.W, Wallops Island, Virginia 23337; or 
electronic mail at wff_shoreline_eis@majordomo.gsfc.nasa.gov. The 
Draft SRIPP PEIS is available on the Internet in Adobe[supreg] portable 
document format at https://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code250/shoreline_eis.html. The Notice of Intent to prepare the Draft SRIPP PEIS, issued 
on March 24, 2009, is also available on the Internet at the same Web 
site address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information on the WFF 
SRIPP can be obtained by addressing an e-mail to wff_shoreline_eis@majordomo.gsfc.nasa.gov or by mailing to 250/NEPA Manager, WFF 
Shoreline Restoration and Infrastructure Protection Program, NASA 
Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, 
Virginia 23337. Additional information about the WFF SRIPP and NASA's 
NEPA process may be found on the Internet at https://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code250/shoreline_eis.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft PEIS addresses the environmental 
impacts associated with NASA's proposed implementation of a 50-year 
design life storm damage reduction program along the shoreline of 
Wallops Island. The environmental impacts of principal concern are 
those that could result from dredging sand from offshore shoals and 
from the construction of a sand retention structure at the south end of 
the project site.
    The three action alternatives considered in the Draft PEIS would 
all provide the facilities on Wallops Island equal levels of storm 
damage reduction for the duration of the program. Each alternative 
would involve the establishment of an approximately 34 m (110 ft) wide 
dry beach along approximately 6,000 m (19,700 ft) of the Wallops Island 
shoreline to serve as a primary line of defense from destructive storm 
waves. In addition to the beach, a sand dune would be created to cover 
the ocean side of the existing and proposed seawall. The remaining 
portion of the fill would be placed underwater and would gradually 
slope to the east. It is expected that the fill alone would provide 
considerable damage reduction from a 30-year return interval storm. 
With the fill combined with the rock seawall, the project would provide 
substantial infrastructure damage reduction from up to an approximately 
100-year return interval storm. A rock sand retention structure (a 
groin or breakwater) is included under Alternatives Two and Three, 
respectively, to slow the transport of sand from the project site and 
potentially reduce the amount of beach fill needed both initially and 
throughout the lifecycle of the project.
    All three alternatives would involve an initial construction phase 
and future follow-on maintenance cycles. The initial construction phase 
would likely include three distinct elements spanning approximately 
three fiscal years:
    Year 1 Activities--The existing rock seawall would be extended a 
minimum of 460 m (1,500 ft) up to a maximum of 1,400 m (4,600 ft) 
south. The actual length of seawall extension constructed in Year 1 
would be based upon available funding; however, additional lengthening 
(up to the 1,400 m [4,600 ft] total length) would be accomplished in 
future years as funding becomes available.
    Year 2 Activities--Approximately one-third of the sand necessary 
for beach nourishment would be placed along the central areas of the 
Wallops Island shoreline that are currently reinforced by the rock 
seawall. The objective for this first fill cycle would be to restore 
the deficit of sand caused by the continual erosion at the base of the 
seawall. Sand placement would likely involve removing sand from the 
shoal by hopper dredges and pumping the material onto the beach.
    Year 3 Activities--The remaining sand needed to complete the beach 
nourishment would be placed along the Wallops Island shoreline. 
Additionally, under Alternatives Two and Three, the sand retention 
structure would be constructed.
    Subsequent beach renourishment cycles would vary throughout the 
lifecycle of the proposed project. Factors dictating the frequency and 
magnitude of such actions would include project performance as revealed 
through ongoing monitoring, storm severity and frequency, and 
availability of funding. Given the dynamic nature of the ocean 
environment, and that exact locations and magnitude of renourishment 
cycles may fluctuate, additional NEPA documentation for renourishment 
actions may be prepared in the future, as appropriate. For each of the 
action alternatives considered in the PEIS, the renourishment cycle is 
anticipated to be every five years, totaling nine cycles over the 
fifty-year design life of the project.
    In addition to the construction activities outlined for each of the 
three action alternatives, NASA would implement a rigorous monitoring 
program that would begin with construction in Year 1 and continue 
throughout the project. The intent of the monitoring program is to 
measure the performance of the project, and through adaptive 
management, make informed decisions regarding the need for

[[Page 8999]]

renourishment, sand retention structures, and future storm damage 
reduction measures.
    NASA plans to hold a public meeting to discuss the project and to 
solicit comments on the Draft SRIPP PEIS. The public meeting is 
currently scheduled for:
    Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at the WFF Visitor Information Center, 
Route 175, Wallops Island, Virginia, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Written public input on environmental issues and concerns 
associated with the WFF SRIPP are hereby requested.

Olga M. Dominguez,
Assistant Administrator for Infrastructure.
[FR Doc. 2010-3896 Filed 2-25-10; 8:45 am]
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