Office of Commercial Space Transportation; Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment (Final EA), Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), and Record of Decision (ROD) for the Houston Spaceport, City of Houston, Harris County, Texas, 38504-38505 [2015-16464]

Download as PDF 38504 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 128 / Monday, July 6, 2015 / Notices document using the ‘‘Upload file(s)’’ field. The GSP Subcommittee prefers that submissions be provided in an attached document. At the beginning of the submission, or on the first page (if an attachment), please note that the submission is in response to this Federal Register notice and indicate the specific product(s) that is the subject of the comment and on which of the relevant lists described above, (e.g., List I) it appears. Submissions should not exceed 30 single-spaced, standard lettersize pages in 12-point type, including attachments. Any data attachments to the submission should be included in the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate files. Each submitter will receive a submission tracking number upon completion of the submissions procedure at https:// www.regulations.gov. The tracking number will be the submitter’s confirmation that the submission was received into https:// www.regulations.gov. The confirmation should be kept for the submitter’s records. USTR is not able to provide technical assistance for the Web site. Documents not submitted in accordance with these instructions may not be considered in this review. If an interested party is unable to provide submissions as requested, please contact the GSP program at USTR to arrange for an alternative method of transmission. Lhorne on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Business Confidential Submissions Public Viewing of Review Submissions Submissions in response to this notice, except for information granted ‘‘business confidential’’ status under 15 CFR 2003.6, will be available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.6 at https://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing. Such submissions may be viewed by entering the country-specific docket number in the search field at https:// www.regulations.gov. William D. Jackson, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System of Preferences, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. [FR Doc. 2015–16498 Filed 7–2–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3290–F5–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation; Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment (Final EA), Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), and Record of Decision (ROD) for the Houston Spaceport, City of Houston, Harris County, Texas Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation. ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final EA and FONSI/ROD. AGENCY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of An interested party requesting that 1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 United information contained in a submission States Code 4321 et seq.), Council on be treated as business confidential Environmental Quality NEPA information must certify that such implementing regulations (40 Code of information is business confidential and Federal Regulations parts 1500 to 1508), would not customarily be released to and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the public by the submitter. Environmental Impacts: Policies and Confidential business information must Procedures, the FAA is announcing the be clearly designated as such. The availability of the Final EA and FONSI/ submission must be marked ‘‘BUSINESS ROD for the Houston Spaceport. CONFIDENTIAL’’ at the top and bottom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. of the cover page and each succeeding Daniel Czelusniak, Office of Commercial page, and the submission should Space Transportation, Federal Aviation indicate, via brackets, the specific Administration, 800 Independence Ave. information that is confidential. SW., Suite 325, Washington DC 20591; Additionally, ‘‘Business Confidential’’ phone (202) 267–5924; or email must be included in the ‘‘Type Daniel.Czelusniak@faa.gov. Comment’’ field. For any submission SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final containing business confidential EA was prepared to analyze the information, a non-confidential version potential environmental impacts of must be submitted separately (i.e., not as Houston Airport System’s (HAS’s) part of the same submission with the proposal to establish and operate a confidential version), indicating where commercial space launch site at the confidential information has been Ellington Airport (EFD), in Houston, redacted. The non-confidential version Texas and offer the site to prospective will be placed in the docket and open commercial space launch operators for to public inspection. the operation of horizontal take-off and VerDate Sep<11>2014 14:37 Jul 02, 2015 Jkt 235001 SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 horizontal landing Concept X and Concept Z reusable launch vehicles (RLVs). To operate a commercial space launch site, HAS must obtain a commercial space launch site operator license from the FAA. Under the Proposed Action addressed in the Final EA, the FAA would: (1) Issue a launch site operator license to HAS for the operation of a commercial space launch site at EFD; (2) issue launch licenses to prospective commercial space launch operators that would allow them to conduct launches of horizontal take-off and horizontal landing Concept X and Concept Z RLVs from EFD, and (3) provide unconditional approval to the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) modifications that reflect the designation of a spaceport boundary and construction of planned spaceport facilities and infrastructure. Proposed launch operations would begin in 2015 and continue through 2019 in accordance with the terms of the launch site operator license. HAS proposes to provide RLV operators the ability to conduct up to 50 launches and landings (or 100 operations) per year, with approximately five percent of the operations expected to occur during night-time hours. The Final EA addresses the potential environmental impacts of implementing the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, the FAA would not issue a launch site operator license to HAS, and thus no launch licenses would be issued to individual commercial space launch vehicle operators to operate at EFD. Also, there would be no need to update the EFD ALP, and thus there would be no FAA approval of a revised ALP. Existing operations would continue at EFD, which is currently classified as a general aviation reliever airport. The environmental impact categories considered in the Final EA include air quality; climate; coastal resources; compatible land use; Department of Transportation Act: Section 4(f); fish, wildlife, and plants; floodplains; hazardous materials, pollution prevention, and solid waste; historical, architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources; light emissions and visual impacts; natural resources and energy supply; noise; socioeconomics, environmental justice, and children’s environmental health and safety risks; water quality; and wetlands. The Final EA also considers the potential secondary (induced) impacts and cumulative impacts. The FAA has posted the Final EA and FONSI/ROD on the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation Web site: https://www.faa.gov/about/ E:\FR\FM\06JYN1.SGM 06JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 128 / Monday, July 6, 2015 / Notices office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/ environmental/nepa_docs/review/ operator/. The FAA published a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EA in the Federal Register on December 31, 2014. The NOA was also published in the Houston Chronicle on January 7, 2015, and in the Bay Area Citizen, Pasadena Citizen, Friendswood Journal, and Pearl Journal on January 8, 2015. An electronic version of the Draft EA was also made available on the FAA Web site. In addition, the FAA printed and mailed a copy of the Draft EA to the following libraries: Clear Lake CityCounty Freeman Branch Library, Friendswood Public Library, Alvin Library, Hitchcock Public Library, and Reagan County Library. The FAA held an open house public meeting on January 22, 2015 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Space Center Houston, Silvermoon Conference Room. The public comment period ended on January 31, 2015. Public comments on the Draft EA resulted in minor changes to the EA. Issued in Washington, DC on June 24, 2015. Daniel Murray, Manager, Space Transportation Development Division. [FR Doc. 2015–16464 Filed 7–2–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–13–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration [Summary Notice No. PE–2015–39] Petition for Exemption; Summary of Petition Received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of petition for exemption received. AGENCY: This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The purpose of this notice is to improve the public’s awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of the FAA’s regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition. DATES: Comments on this petition must identify the petition docket number involved and must be received on or before July 27, 2015. ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by docket number FAA– Lhorne on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 14:37 Jul 02, 2015 Jkt 235001 2014–0661 using any of the following methods: • Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your comments digitally. • Mail: Send comments to the Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. • Fax: Fax comments to the Docket Management Facility at 202–493–2251. • Hand Delivery: Bring comments to the Docket Management Facility in Room W12–140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Privacy: We will post all comments we receive, without change, to https:// www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. Using the search function of our docket Web site, anyone can find and read the comments received into any of our dockets, including the name of the individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–78). Docket: To read background documents or comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov at any time or to the Docket Management Facility in Room W12–140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deana Stedman, ANM–113, Federal Aviation Administration, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057–3356, email deana.stedman@faa.gov, phone (425) 227–2148; or Sandra Long, ARM– 200, Office of Rulemaking, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, email sandra.long@faa.gov, phone (202) 267– 4714. This notice is published pursuant to 14 CFR 11.85. Issued in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2015. Brenda D. Cortney, Acting Director, Office of Rulemaking. Petition For Exemption PO 00000 Docket No.: FAA–2014–0661 Petitioner: The Boeing Company Section of 14 CFR Affected: Frm 00079 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 38505 14 CFR 25.979(d) and (e) Description of Relief Sought: The petitioner requests relief from the use of industry standard pressures for onloads and offloads installations of the 767–2C modified supplemental type certificate (STC) to ensure consistency within the current military fleet. The baseline 767–2C aircraft will be modified to be an in-flight tanker and receiver. The onload and offload installations could experience surge pressures that approach 240 pounds per square inch gage (PSIG). The baseline 767–2C aircraft designed to the maximum burst pressure of 360 PSIG will not meet the regulatory requirement of 2.0 times the ultimate load at maximum pressures, including surge. [FR Doc. 2015–16495 Filed 7–2–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–13–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration [Summary Notice No. PE–2015–38 ] Petition for Exemption; Summary of Petition Received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of petition for exemption received. AGENCY: This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The purpose of this notice is to improve the public’s awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of the FAA’s regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition. DATE: Comments on this petition must identify the petition docket number involved and must be received on or before July 16, 2015. ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by docket number FAA– 2014–1042 using any of the following methods: • Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your comments digitally. • Mail: Send comments to the Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. • Fax: Fax comments to the Docket Management Facility at 202–493–2251. SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\06JYN1.SGM 06JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 128 (Monday, July 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38504-38505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16464]


=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Office of Commercial Space Transportation; Notice of Availability 
of the Final Environmental Assessment (Final EA), Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI), and Record of Decision (ROD) for the 
Houston Spaceport, City of Houston, Harris County, Texas

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Final EA and FONSI/ROD.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 United States Code 4321 et seq.), Council on 
Environmental Quality NEPA implementing regulations (40 Code of Federal 
Regulations parts 1500 to 1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, 
Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, the FAA is announcing 
the availability of the Final EA and FONSI/ROD for the Houston 
Spaceport.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Daniel Czelusniak, Office of 
Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Ave. SW., Suite 325, Washington DC 20591; phone (202) 267-
5924; or email Daniel.Czelusniak@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final EA was prepared to analyze the 
potential environmental impacts of Houston Airport System's (HAS's) 
proposal to establish and operate a commercial space launch site at the 
Ellington Airport (EFD), in Houston, Texas and offer the site to 
prospective commercial space launch operators for the operation of 
horizontal take-off and horizontal landing Concept X and Concept Z 
reusable launch vehicles (RLVs). To operate a commercial space launch 
site, HAS must obtain a commercial space launch site operator license 
from the FAA. Under the Proposed Action addressed in the Final EA, the 
FAA would: (1) Issue a launch site operator license to HAS for the 
operation of a commercial space launch site at EFD; (2) issue launch 
licenses to prospective commercial space launch operators that would 
allow them to conduct launches of horizontal take-off and horizontal 
landing Concept X and Concept Z RLVs from EFD, and (3) provide 
unconditional approval to the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) modifications 
that reflect the designation of a spaceport boundary and construction 
of planned spaceport facilities and infrastructure. Proposed launch 
operations would begin in 2015 and continue through 2019 in accordance 
with the terms of the launch site operator license. HAS proposes to 
provide RLV operators the ability to conduct up to 50 launches and 
landings (or 100 operations) per year, with approximately five percent 
of the operations expected to occur during night-time hours.
    The Final EA addresses the potential environmental impacts of 
implementing the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative. Under 
the No Action Alternative, the FAA would not issue a launch site 
operator license to HAS, and thus no launch licenses would be issued to 
individual commercial space launch vehicle operators to operate at EFD. 
Also, there would be no need to update the EFD ALP, and thus there 
would be no FAA approval of a revised ALP. Existing operations would 
continue at EFD, which is currently classified as a general aviation 
reliever airport.
    The environmental impact categories considered in the Final EA 
include air quality; climate; coastal resources; compatible land use; 
Department of Transportation Act: Section 4(f); fish, wildlife, and 
plants; floodplains; hazardous materials, pollution prevention, and 
solid waste; historical, architectural, archaeological, and cultural 
resources; light emissions and visual impacts; natural resources and 
energy supply; noise; socioeconomics, environmental justice, and 
children's environmental health and safety risks; water quality; and 
wetlands. The Final EA also considers the potential secondary (induced) 
impacts and cumulative impacts.
    The FAA has posted the Final EA and FONSI/ROD on the FAA Office of 
Commercial Space Transportation Web site: https://www.faa.gov/about/

[[Page 38505]]

office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/environmental/nepa_docs/review/
operator/.
    The FAA published a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EA in 
the Federal Register on December 31, 2014. The NOA was also published 
in the Houston Chronicle on January 7, 2015, and in the Bay Area 
Citizen, Pasadena Citizen, Friendswood Journal, and Pearl Journal on 
January 8, 2015. An electronic version of the Draft EA was also made 
available on the FAA Web site. In addition, the FAA printed and mailed 
a copy of the Draft EA to the following libraries: Clear Lake City-
County Freeman Branch Library, Friendswood Public Library, Alvin 
Library, Hitchcock Public Library, and Reagan County Library. The FAA 
held an open house public meeting on January 22, 2015 from 5:30 p.m. to 
8:30 p.m. at the Space Center Houston, Silvermoon Conference Room. The 
public comment period ended on January 31, 2015. Public comments on the 
Draft EA resulted in minor changes to the EA.

    Issued in Washington, DC on June 24, 2015.
Daniel Murray,
Manager, Space Transportation Development Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-16464 Filed 7-2-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

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