National Environmental Policy Act: Kennedy Space Center (KSC); Center-wide Operations, 28967-28969 [2014-11565]

Agencies

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 20, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28967-28969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11565]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice (14-042)]


National Environmental Policy Act: Kennedy Space Center (KSC); 
Center-wide Operations

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (PEIS) and Conduct PEIS Scoping.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as 
amended, (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA; 40 Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 1500-1508; and NASA policy and 
procedures, 14 CFR part 1216, Subpart 1216.3, NASA intends to prepare a 
PEIS covering Center-wide operations at KSC. The United States (U.S.) 
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Park Service (NPS), and the 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will serve as Cooperating 
Agencies. They possess both regulatory authority and specialized 
expertise regarding the PEIS subject Proposed Action.
    The purpose of this notice is to apprise interested agencies, 
organizations, tribal governments, and individuals of NASA's intent to 
prepare the PEIS and request input regarding environmental issues and 
concerns associated with the Proposed Action and alternative(s).
    In cooperation with USFWS, NPS, and FAA, NASA will hold two public 
scoping meetings as part of the NEPA process associated with the 
development of the PEIS. The scoping meetings locations and dates 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 
July 7, 2014, to assure full consideration during the scoping process.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted by mail should be addressed to Mr. Donald 
Dankert, Environmental Management Branch, NASA Kennedy Space Center, 
Mail Code: TA-A4C, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899.
    Comments may be submitted via email to ksc-dl-centerwide-eis@mail.nasa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Donald Dankert, Environmental 
Management Branch, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Mail Code: TA-A4C, 
Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899, Email: Donald.J.Dankert@nasa.gov, 
Telephone: (321) 861-1196.
    Additional KSC information may be found on the internet at: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This PEIS is being prepared in conjunction with an updated Center 
Master Plan (CMP) to evaluate potential environmental impacts from 
proposed Center-wide operations and activities for a 20-year planning 
horizon from 2012-2032. The PEIS will consider a range of future 
scenarios from repurposing existing facilities and recapitalizing 
infrastructure, to reorganizing KSC management of its land resources 
with various types of commercial partnerships. The PEIS is intended to 
ensure NASA is in compliance with applicable environmental statutes as 
it sets program priorities for future operations and activities.
    A CMP for Kennedy was developed in 2002 with a 50-year planning 
horizon. NASA Policy Directive 8810.2, Master Planning for Real 
Property, requires the CMP to be updated every five years. The 2008 CMP 
update was based on the now cancelled Constellation Program, while the 
current CMP update will guide KSC as it transitions towards a multiuser 
spaceport over the next 20 years.

KSC History

    In the late 1950s the U.S. embarked on a new era of human space 
exploration. The first human space flight initiative was Project 
Mercury in 1958. The crewed spacecraft first

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launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in the early 
1960s. In 1963 NASA's Launch Operations Center and portions of CCAFS 
used by NASA were renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Project 
Mercury was followed by Project Gemini, which served to perfect 
maneuvers in Earth's orbit. The Apollo Program began in 1961, and 
aboard Apollo 11, American astronauts successfully landed on the moon 
and returned safely to Earth in July 1969. Eventually, seven Apollo 
missions landed 12 astronauts on the moon, the last of which was in 
December 1972.
    In the mid-1970s, NASA initiated development of the Space 
Transportation System (commonly called the Space Shuttle) as the next 
crewed vehicle. Designed solely for missions to lower Earth orbit, the 
Space Shuttle was the first and, to date, the only winged spacecraft 
capable of vertically launching a crew into orbit and horizontally 
landing upon return. The Space Shuttle era lasted 30 years, from the 
Columbia launch on April 12, 1981, to the Atlantis landing on July 21, 
2011. The Space Shuttle fleet supported 135 missions, recovered and 
repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge scientific research under 
zero gravity conditions, and helped construct and service the 
International Space Station, the largest structure built in space.

KSC Location and Facilities

    KSC is located on Merritt Island in Brevard and Volusia counties, 
Florida, north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, 
midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, 
approximately 50 miles east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and 
roughly six miles (10 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km\2\).
    The total KSC land and water area jurisdiction is approximately 
140,000 acres. Only a very small part of the total acreage of KSC is 
developed or designated for NASA's operational and industrial use. 
Merritt Island consists of prime habitat for unique and endangered 
wildlife. In 1972 NASA entered into an agreement with the USFWS to 
establish a wildlife preserve within KSC boundaries known as the 
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Public Law 93-626 created the 
Canaveral National Seashore (CNS), and thereby, an agreement with the 
Department of the Interior was also formed in 1975 due to the location 
of CNS within KSC boundaries.
    Since December 1968, all launch operations have been conducted from 
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) Pads A and B. Both pads are close to the 
ocean and three miles (five km) east of the Vehicle Assembly Building. 
From 1969-1972, LC-39 was the departure point for all six Apollo manned 
moon-landing missions using the Saturn V rocket. LC-39 was used from 
1981-2011 for all Space Shuttle launches. The Shuttle Landing Facility, 
located just to the north, was used for most Shuttle landings. At 
15,000 feet (4,572 meters or 2.8 miles) it is among the longest runways 
in the world. The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the Center's 
support facilities are located, is five miles (eight kilometers) south 
of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and 
Checkout Building, Space Station Processing Facility and the Central 
Instrumentation Facility.
    KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and 
approximately a one-hour drive from the Orlando area. The Visitor 
Complex offers public tours of the Center and CCAFS. Because much of 
the installation is a restricted area and only nine percent of the land 
is developed, the site also serves as an important wildlife sanctuary. 
Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, 
and CNS are other natural area features.

Proposed Action and No Action Alternatives

    Under the Proposed Action in the years ahead, KSC will implement 
the aforementioned CMP update and transition from a Government, 
program-focused, single-user launch and landing complex to a more 
central capability, cost effective, and multiuser spaceport. KSC's new 
mission will be to furnish both Government and commercial space 
providers with the necessary facilities, experienced workforce, and 
knowledge to support existing mission sets and new space programs.
    The KSC master planning process is identified in NASA's 
institutional requirements to report to Congress, pursuant to the NASA 
Authorization Act of 2010, Section 1102. The resulting CMP update will 
result in changes to the infrastructure, land use, space transportation 
providers and users' customer base, and business model over a 20-year 
planning horizon from 2012-2032. The CMP update will include a number 
of component plans, including future land use, facility development, 
area development, transportation, utilities systems, and safety and 
security control. Implementing the future land use plan will promote 
the right-sizing of NASA KSC operations and attract non-NASA investment 
by providing more operational autonomy. Consolidating NASA operations 
into a smaller geographic footprint is a major component of the future 
land use plan. Applying the Central Campus concept, for example, allows 
NASA to recapitalize functions and capabilities into higher-efficiency 
facilities and combine nonhazardous and spread out functions into a 
more efficient, smaller, secured geographic footprint. Likewise, 
directing future NASA and non-NASA development into functional areas 
with defined, allowable operations will streamline safety and security 
considerations while promoting maximum utilization of KSC's horizontal 
infrastructure capacities. In addition, the future land use plan 
supports expansion of the quint-modal capabilities to provide multiuser 
spaceport users increased support.
    The future land use plan identifies 18 land use categories, their 
existing acreages, and their proposed future acreages. Changes in the 
size and location between existing and proposed land uses will 
constitute the basis for differential potential environmental impacts 
between the Proposed Action and the No Action alternatives.
    Under the No Action Alternative, KSC would not transition towards a 
multiuser spaceport with fully integrated NASA programs and non-NASA 
users. Each NASA program would continue to operate to a significant 
degree as an independent entity, funded separately and managing 
activities and buildings in support of its own program. A limited non-
NASA presence would continue at KSC.

Scoping Meeting(s)

    NASA and its Cooperating Agencies plan to hold two public scoping 
meetings to provide KSC PEIS information and solicit public comments 
regarding environmental concerns and alternatives for PEIS 
consideration. The public scoping meetings are scheduled as follows:
    1. Eastern Florida State College Titusville Campus, John Henry 
Jones Gymnatorium, June 4, 2014, 5-8 p.m.
    2. New Smyrna Beach High School Gymnasium, 1015 Tenth Street, New 
Smyrna Beach, June 5, 2014, 5-8 p.m.
    The meeting format will include an open-house workshop from 5:00 to 
6:00 p.m. KSC staff will provide an overview of the environmental 
process from 6:00 to 6:15 p.m., followed by a public comment period 
from 6:15 to 8:00 p.m. The open-house workshop will consist of poster 
stations describing the proposed project and the NEPA process. NASA KSC 
and Cooperating Agencies staff will be present during the open-house 
workshop portion to answer

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general questions about the proposed project and the NEPA process.
    As the PEIS is prepared, the public will be provided several 
opportunities for involvement, the first of which is during scoping. If 
an interested party does not have input at this time, other avenues, 
including reviews of the Draft and Final PEIS, will be offered in the 
future. The availability of these documents will be published in the 
Federal Register and through local news media to ensure all members of 
the public have the opportunity to actively participate in the NEPA 
process.
    Written public input on alternatives and environmental issues and 
concerns associated with this proposed action are hereby requested.

Calvin F. Williams,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Strategic Infrastructure.
[FR Doc. 2014-11565 Filed 5-19-14; 8:45 am]
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