Department of Transportation September 15, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 42 United States Code 4321-4347 (as amended), Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA implementing regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 1500-1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the FAA is announcing the availability of a SEA and FONSI for the FAA/AST to renew Launch Site Operator License (LSO-01-005) to SSI for the continued operation of the California Spaceport at VAFB, California. The SEA supplements the U.S. Air Force February 1995 EA for the California Spaceport (1995 EA) and was prepared to address the potential environmental impacts of the FAA/AST's Proposed Action to renew SSI's Launch Site Operator License for the continued operation of the California Spaceport. The Launch Site Operator License would be valid for 5 years. The 1995 EA analyzed the potential environmental impacts of construction and operation of a commercial launch facility (which is now the California Spaceport) at VAFB, California. Activities addressed in the SEA include launches of a variety of vertically-launched launch vehicles (Minuteman and Castor 120 derivative boosters) at the California Spaceport over the 5-year term of the license. Since 1996 when FAA issued SSI its first Launch Site Operator License, SSI has supported eight commercial launches. Although the terms of the license do not specify the number of launches allowed, FAA selected a conservative value of up to 15 launches per year has been considered for the purposes of the SEA's environmental analysis. The largest launch vehicle proposed to launch from the California Spaceport is the Athena III, consisting of a two-stage Castor 120 solid-propellant rocket motor with the addition of up to six Castor IVA or Castor IVXL rocket motors strapped to the first stage. The 1995 EA analyzed the potential environmental impacts of construction and operation of a commercial launch facility (which is now the California Spaceport) at VAFB, California. The analysis considered operation of variety of vertical launch vehicles, including the Athena III. The proposed activities at the California Spaceport remain consistent with those analyzed in the 1995 EA and are incorporated by reference in the SEA. The SEA summarizes the data and environmental analysis presented in the 1995 EA where the data and analysis remains substantially valid. In addition, the SEA provides new data and analysis where information presented in the 1995 EA is outdated. The resource areas considered in the SEA include air quality; biological resources (fish, wildlife, and plants); noise; land use (including coastal resources); historical, architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources; Department of Transportation Section 4(f) Properties; geology and soils; hazardous materials, pollution prevention, and solid waste; health and safety; socioeconomics, environmental justice, and children's environmental health and safety; and water quality (including floodplains and wetlands). Potential cumulative impacts of the Proposed Action were also addressed in the SEA. Alternatives analyzed in the SEA included the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, the FAA would not renew the Launch Site Operator License to SSI for continued operation of the California Spaceport at VAFB. Existing USAF activities would continue at VAFB. After careful and thorough consideration of available data and information on existing conditions and potential impacts, the FAA has determined that there will be no significant short-term, long-term, or cumulative impacts to the environment or surrounding populations from the renewal of the Launch Site Operator License for continued operations of the California Spaceport at VAFB. The Proposed Action is consistent with existing national environmental policies and objectives as set forth in Section 101 of NEPA and other applicable environmental requirements and will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment within the meaning of NEPA. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Action is not required and the FAA issued a FONSI. The FAA has posted the SEA and FONSI on the Internet at https:// www.faa.gov/about/officeorg/headquartersoffices/ast/.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on June 16, 2011 (76 FR 35270). The agency received no comments.

This action modifies Class E airspace at Grand Junction, CO. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to facilitate vectoring of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) traffic from Grand Junction Regional Airport to en route and enhances the safety and management of aircraft operations at the airport. This action also amends Class D and Class E airspace to update the airport name from Grand Junction, Walker Field.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

EPA and NHTSA, on behalf of the Department of Transportation, are each finalizing rules to establish a comprehensive Heavy-Duty National Program that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption for on-road heavy-duty vehicles, responding to the President's directive on May 21, 2010, to take coordinated steps to produce a new generation of clean vehicles. NHTSA's final fuel consumption standards and EPA's final carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards are tailored to each of three regulatory categories of heavy-duty vehicles: Combination Tractors; Heavy-duty Pickup Trucks and Vans; and Vocational Vehicles. The rules include separate standards for the engines that power combination tractors and vocational vehicles. Certain rules are exclusive to the EPA program. These include EPA's final hydrofluorocarbon standards to control leakage from air conditioning systems in combination tractors, and pickup trucks and vans. These also include EPA's final nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions standards that apply to all heavy- duty engines, pickup trucks and vans. EPA's final greenhouse gas emission standards under the Clean Air Act will begin with model year 2014. NHTSA's final fuel consumption standards under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will be voluntary in model years 2014 and 2015, becoming mandatory with model year 2016 for most regulatory categories. Commercial trailers are not regulated in this phase of the Heavy-Duty National Program. The agencies estimate that the combined standards will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 270 million metric tons and save 530 million barrels of oil over the life of vehicles sold during the 2014 through 2018 model years, providing over $7 billion in net societal benefits, and $49 billion in net societal benefits when private fuel savings are considered. EPA is also finalizing provisions allowing light-duty vehicle manufacturers to use CO2 credits to meet the light-duty vehicle N2O and CH4 standards, technical amendments to the fuel economy provisions for light-duty vehicles, and a technical amendment to the criteria pollutant emissions requirements for certain switch locomotives.