Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / Notices 19123 

wave impacts and coastal erosion. 

Under the SRIPP, NASA will extend an 

existing seawall and implement an 

initial beach fill in late 2011 with renourishment projects about every 5 

years. The goal of SRIPP is to provide 

long-term protection of essential assets, 

including facilities and infrastructure on 

the WFF (such as rocket launch pads, 

runways, and launch control centers) 

valued at over $1 billion. The purpose 

of BOEMRE’s connected action is to 

respond to a request for use of OCS sand 

in the initial beach fill, under the 

authority granted to the Department of 

the Interior by the Outer Continental 

Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) (43 U.S.C. 

1337(k)(2)). Under OCSLA, BOEMRE 

can convey, on a noncompetitive basis, 

the rights to use OCS sand, gravel, or 

shell resources for use in a program for 

shoreline protection or beach restoration 

undertaken by a Federal, State, or local 

government agency (43 U.S.C. 

1337(k)(2)). The Proposed Action is 

necessary because BOEMRE has a 

directive to authorize the use of OCS 

sand resources for the purpose of shore 

protection and beach restoration. The 

Secretary of the Interior delegated the 

authority granted in the OCSLA to 

BOEMRE. 

Record of Decision 

BOEMRE’s decision is supported by 

the comprehensive analysis presented 

in NASA’s Final PEIS, which was 

published in October 2010. NASA 

published their ROD in December 2010. 

BOEMRE and the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE) served as 

cooperating agencies in preparing the 

PEIS. Due to the specialized expertise of 

the USACE, USACE is acting as a 

technical partner for NASA. 

The PEIS assessed the physical, 

biological, and social/human impacts of 

the proposed project and considered a 

wide range of structural and nonstructural alternatives, including a noaction alternative, as well as impacts 

from proposed mitigation. The PEIS was 

developed cooperatively to fulfill all 

three Federal agencies’ obligations 

under NEPA and the environmental 

impacts of their connected actions were 

encompassed in the analysis. As NASA 

is the lead agency and BOEMRE is a 

cooperating agency for the proposed 

action, BOEMRE independently 

reviewed and adopted the PEIS 

prepared by NASA (43 CFR 46.120). 

The ROD summarizes the alternatives 

considered by BOEMRE, the decision 

BOEMRE made, the basis for the 

decision, the environmentally preferred 

alternative, required mitigation 

measures, and the process NASA, as the 

lead Federal agency, and the USACE 

and BOEMRE as cooperating agencies, 

undertook to involve the public and 

other Federal and State agencies. The 

decision identifies and adopts 

mitigation measures and monitoring 

requirements enforceable by BOEMRE 

and deemed practicable to avoid or 

minimize the environmental harm that 

could result from the project. In NASA’s 

ROD, NASA and USACE committed to 

implement the mitigation measures and 

monitoring requirements also identified 

in BOEMRE’s ROD. This action is taken 

with the understanding that any 

proposed use of OCS sand in future 

beach re-nourishment activities by 

NASA will require a new negotiated 

agreement and an updated 

environmental analysis. 

Availability of the ROD 

To obtain a printed copy of the ROD, 

you may contact BOEMRE, 

Environmental Division (MS 4042), 381 

Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170. 

An electronic copy of the ROD is 

available at BOEMRE’s Web site at: 

[http://www.boemre.gov/sandandgravel/

MarineMineralProjects.htm]. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James F. Bennett, Bureau of Ocean 

Energy Management, Regulation and 

Enforcement, Environmental Division, 

381 Elden Street, MS 4042, Herndon, 

Virginia 20170, (703) 787–1660, 

jfbennett@boemre.gov. 

Dated: March 10, 2011. 

Robert P. LaBelle, 

Acting Associate Director for Offshore, Energy 

and Minerals Management. 

[FR Doc. 2011–8151 Filed 4–5–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

U.S. Geological Survey 

[Billing Code: 2011–GX11GG009950000] 

National Earthquake Prediction 

Evaluation Council (NEPEC) 

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Public Law 96– 

472, the National Earthquake Prediction 

Evaluation Council (NEPEC) will hold a 

1-day meeting on April 16, 2011. The 

meeting will be held at the Crowne 

Plaza Memphis Downtown, 300 North 

Second Street, Memphis, Tennessee 

38105. The Council is comprised of 

members from academia and the Federal 

Government. The Council shall advise 

the Director of the U.S. Geological 

Survey on proposed earthquake 

predictions, on the completeness and 

scientific validity of the available data 

related to earthquake predictions, and 

on related matters as assigned by the 

Director. Additional information about 

the Council may be found at: http:// 

earthquake.usgs.gov/aboutus/nepec/. 

At the meeting, the Council will 

receive a report from the Independent 

Expert Panel on New Madrid Seismic 

Zone Earthquake Hazards, a 

subcommittee charged with 

commenting on the level of hazard 

posed by future large earthquakes in the 

region and on priorities for future 

research to better constrain that hazard. 

The Council may also receive briefings 

on other topics relating to earthquakes 

in the Central U.S., on earthquake 

swarms recently active in Arkansas, on 

communication of seismic hazard in the 

Pacific Northwest, on the project 

intended to deliver an updated Uniform 

California Earthquake Rupture Forecast 

(UCERF3) in summer 2012, on the 

recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, 

and on other topics. 

Workshops and meetings of the 

NEPEC are open to the public. A draft 

workshop agenda is available on request 

(contact information below). In order to 

ensure sufficient seating and hand-outs, 

it is requested that visitors pre-register 

by April 13. Members of the public 

wishing to make a statement to the 

Council should provide notice of that 

intention by April 13 so that time may 

be allotted in the agenda. 

DATES: April 16, 2011, commencing at 

8:30 a.m. and adjourning at 5:30 p.m. 

Times are approximate; guests are 

encouraged to contact the Executive 

Secretary for a copy of the agenda. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Michael Blanpied, Executive Secretary, 

National Earthquake Prediction 

Evaluation Council U.S. Geological 

Survey, MS 905, 12201 Sunrise Valley 

Drive, Reston, Virginia 20192, (703) 

648–6696, E-mail: mblanpied@usgs.gov. 

Dated: March 30, 2011. 

David J. Newman, 

USGS Federal Register Liaison. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7995 Filed 4–5–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4311–AM–P 

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