Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 10, 2012 / Notices 21619 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 7814] 

Shipping Coordinating Committee; 

Notice of Committee Meeting 

The Shipping Coordinating 

Committee (SHC) will conduct an open 

meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 

April 25, 2012, in Room 2501 of the 

United States Coast Guard Headquarters 

Building, 2100 Second Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20593–7126. The 

primary purpose of the meeting is to 

prepare for the 90th Session of the 

International Maritime Organization’s 

(IMO) Marine Safety Committee to be 

held at the IMO Headquarters, London, 

England, United Kingdom, May 16–25, 

2012. 

The primary matters to be considered 

include: 

Consideration and adoption of 

amendments to mandatory instruments; 

Measures to enhance maritime security; 

Goal-based new ship construction 

standards; 

LRIT-related matters; 

Flag State implementation; 

Radiocommunications and search and 

rescue; 

Ship design and equipment; 

Safety of navigation; 

Fire protection; 

Dangerous goods, solid cargoes and 

containers; 

Stability, load lines and fishing vessel 

safety; 

Bulk liquids and gases; 

Implementation of the STCW Convention; 

Technical assistance sub-programme in 

maritime safety and security; 

Capacity-building for the implementation 

of new measures; 

Role of the human element; 

Formal safety assessment; 

Piracy and armed robbery against ships; 

General cargo ship safety; 

Implementation of instruments and related 

matters; 

Relations with other organizations; 

Application of the Committee’s Guidelines; 

Passenger ship safety. 

Members of the public may attend 

this meeting up to the seating capacity 

of the room. To facilitate the building 

security process, and to request 

reasonable accommodation, those who 

plan to attend should contact the 

meeting coordinator, LCDR Matthew 

Frazee, by email at imo@uscg.mil, by 

phone at (202) 372–1376, or in writing 

at Commandant (CG–52), U.S. Coast 

Guard, 2100 2nd Street SW., Stop 7126, 

Washington, DC 20593–7126 not later 

than April 18, 2012, 7 days prior to the 

meeting. Requests made after April 18, 

2012 might not be able to be 

accommodated. Please note that due to 

security considerations, two valid, 

government issued photo identifications 

must be presented to gain entrance to 

the Headquarters building. The 

Headquarters building is accessible by 

taxi and privately owned conveyance 

(public transportation is not generally 

available). However, parking in the 

vicinity of the building is extremely 

limited. Additional information 

regarding this and other IMO SHC 

public meetings may be found at: 

www.uscg.mil/imo. 

Dated: March 29, 2012. 

Brian Robinson, 

Executive Secretary, Shipping Coordinating 

Committee, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8636 Filed 4–9–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

Aviation Proceedings, Agreements 

Filed the Week Ending March 10, 2011 

The following Agreements were filed 

with the Department of Transportation 

under the Sections 412 and 414 of the 

Federal Aviation Act, as amended (49 

U.S.C. 1382 and 1384) and procedures 

governing proceedings to enforce these 

provisions. Answers may be filed within 

21 days after the filing of the 

application. 

Docket Number: DOT–OST–2012– 

0035. 

Date Filed: March 7, 2012. 

Parties: Members of the International 

Air Transport Association. 

Subject: Mail Vote 702—Resolution 

100 Standard Condition Resolution for 

Special Fares (Memo 1665) Intended 

effective date: 1 April 2012. 

Renee V. Wright, 

Program Manager, Docket Operations, 

Federal Register Liaison. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8446 Filed 4–9–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Office of Commercial Space 

Transportation; Notice of Intent To 

Prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS), Open a Public 

Scoping Period, and Conduct a Public 

Scoping Meeting 

AGENCY: The Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) is the lead 

Federal agency. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an 

EIS, Open a Public Scoping Period, and 

Conduct a Public Scoping Meeting. 

SUMMARY: This Notice provides 

information to Federal, State, and local 

agencies, Native American tribes, and 

other interested persons regarding the 

FAA’s intent to prepare an EIS for Space 

Exploration Technologies’ (SpaceX’s) 

proposal to launch the Falcon 9 and 

Falcon Heavy orbital vertical launch 

vehicles from a private site located in 

Cameron County, Texas. Under the 

Proposed Action, SpaceX proposes to 

construct a vertical launch area and a 

control center area to support up to 12 

commercial launches per year. The 

vehicles to be launched include the 

Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy (up to two per 

year), and a variety of smaller reusable 

suborbital launch vehicles. SpaceX 

would be required to apply for the 

appropriate launch licenses and/or 

experimental permits to be issued by the 

FAA. The FAA will prepare the EIS in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA; 42 United States Code [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 FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, 

Environmental Impacts: Policies and 

Procedures, as part of its licensing and 

permitting process. 

DATES: The FAA invites interested 

agencies, organizations, Native 

American tribes, and members of the 

public to submit comments or 

suggestions to assist in identifying 

significant environmental issues and in 

determining the appropriate scope of 

the EIS. The public scoping period starts 

with the publication of this notice in the 

Federal Register. To ensure sufficient 

time to consider issues identified during 

the public scoping period, comments 

should be submitted to Ms. Stacey M. 

Zee, FAA Environmental Protection 

Specialist, by one of the methods listed 

below no later than May 30, 2012. All 

comments will receive the same 

attention and consideration in the 

preparation of the EIS. 

ADDRESSES: Comments, statements, or 

questions concerning scoping issues or 

the EIS process should be mailed to: Ms. 

Stacey M. Zee, FAA Environmental 

Protection Specialist, SpaceX EIS c/o 

Cardno TEC Inc., 275 West Street, Suite 

110, Annapolis, MD 21409. Comments 

can also be sent by email to 

faaspacexeis@cardnotec.com or by fax 

to (410) 990–0455. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The FAA is preparing an EIS to 

analyze the potential environmental 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
21620 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 10, 2012 / Notices 

impacts of SpaceX’s proposal to launch 

orbital and suborbital launch vehicles 

from a private site in Cameron County 

in southern Texas. The EIS will 

consider the potential environmental 

impacts of the Proposed Action and 

reasonable alternatives, including the 

No Action Alternative. The successful 

completion of the environmental review 

process does not guarantee that the FAA 

would issue launch licenses and/or 

experimental permits to SpaceX. The 

project must also meet all FAA safety, 

risk, and indemnification requirements. 

Proposed Action 

The Proposed Action is for the FAA 

to issue launch licenses and/or 

experimental permits to SpaceX that 

would allow SpaceX to launch the 

Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital 

vertical launch vehicles and a variety of 

reusable suborbital launch vehicles from 

a launch site on privately-owned 

property in Cameron County, Texas. 

The Falcon 9 orbital vertical launch 

vehicle is a medium-lift class launch 

vehicle with a gross lift-off weight of 

approximately 1,000,000 pounds (lbs) 

with a maximum length of 230 feet (ft). 

The Falcon 9 uses liquid oxygen (LOX) 

and highly refined kerosene, also known 

as rocket propellant-1 or refined 

petroleum-1 (RP–1), as propellants to 

carry payloads into orbit. The Falcon 

Heavy is similar to the Falcon 9, except 

it has an additional two boosters 

‘‘strapped on,’’ each booster being 

almost identical to the Falcon 9 first 

stage core. The Falcon Heavy is a heavy 

lift class launch vehicle with a gross liftoff weight of approximately 3,400,000 

lbs. It has an overall maximum length of 

approximately 230 ft. 

A reusable suborbital launch vehicle 

could consist of a Falcon 9 Stage 1 tank 

with a maximum propellant (RP–1 and 

LOX) load of approximately 6,900 

gallons. 

As part of the Proposed Action, 

SpaceX proposes to construct a vertical 

launch area and a control center area. 

The proposed vertical launch area site is 

currently undeveloped and is located 

directly adjacent to the eastern terminus 

of Texas State Highway 4 (Boca Chica 

Boulevard) and approximately 3 miles 

north of the Mexican border on the Gulf 

Coast. It is located approximately 5 

miles south of Port Isabel and South 

Padre Island. At the vertical launch 

area, the new facilities required would 

include: an integration- and processinghangar, a launch pad and stand with its 

associated flame duct, propellant 

storage and handling areas, a workshop 

and office area, and a warehouse for 

parts storage. 

The control center area would be 

located inland to the west of the vertical 

launch area and would include: A 

control center building and a payload 

processing facility; it might also include 

a launch vehicle preparation hangar and 

satellite fuels storage. All facilities 

would be constructed on private land 

owned or leased by SpaceX. The 

development of access and supporting 

utility infrastructure for the vertical 

launch area and the control center area 

may occur on lands outside that which 

is owned or leased by SpaceX. 

Operations would consist of up to 12 

launches per year with a maximum of 

two Falcon Heavy launches. All Falcon 

9 and Falcon Heavy launches would be 

expected to have commercial payloads, 

including satellites or experimental 

payloads. In addition to standard 

payloads, the Falcon 9 and Falcon 

Heavy may also carry a capsule, such as 

the SpaceX Dragon capsule. All launch 

trajectories would be to the east over the 

Gulf of Mexico. 

The potential environmental impacts 

of all proposed construction activities 

will be analyzed in the EIS, in addition 

to the impacts from operating the 

facilities and launching orbital and 

suborbital launch vehicles. The EIS will 

evaluate the potential environmental 

effects associated with: air quality; noise 

and compatible land use; land use, 

including Section 4(f) properties and 

Farmlands; coastal resources; biological 

resources, including threatened and 

endangered species; water resources, 

including surface waters and wetlands, 

groundwater, floodplains, and water 

quality; historical, architectural, 

archaeological, and cultural resources; 

light emissions and visual resources; 

hazardous materials, pollution 

prevention, and solid waste; 

infrastructure and utilities; and 

socioeconomics, environmental justice, 

and children’s environmental health 

and safety. The analysis will include an 

evaluation of the potential direct and 

indirect impacts, and will account for 

cumulative impacts from other relevant 

activities in the area of Cameron 

County, Texas. 

Alternatives 

Alternatives under consideration 

include the Proposed Action and the No 

Action Alternative. Under the No 

Action Alternative, the FAA would not 

issue a license or experimental permit to 

SpaceX. Based on comments received 

during the scoping period, the FAA may 

propose additional alternatives. 

Scoping Meetings 

A public scoping meeting will be held 

to solicit input from the public on 

potential issues that may need to be 

evaluated in the EIS. The scoping 

meeting will be held on May 15, 2012 

from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the 

International Technology, Education 

and Commerce Center (ITEC Center), 

located at 301 Mexico Blvd. G–1, 

Brownsville, Texas 78520. The meeting 

format will include an open-house 

workshop from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The 

FAA will provide an overview of the 

environmental process from 6 p.m. to 

6:15 p.m. followed by a public comment 

period from 6:15 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

Issued in Washington, DC on April 3, 2012. 

Glenn Rizner, 

Deputy Manager, Space Transportation 

Development Division. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8556 Filed 4–9–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2012–0033] 

Notice of the Buy America Waiver 

Request for Vossloh 101–LV Concrete 

Ties 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), United States 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Buy America waiver 

request and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to 

advise the public that the Burlington 

Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. 

(‘‘BNSF’’) has submitted to FRA through 

or with the support of the Washington 

Department of Transportation 

(‘‘WSDOT’’), the Illinois Department of 

Transportation (‘‘IDOT’’), the Texas 

Department of Transportation 

(‘‘TxDOT’’), and the California 

Department of Transportation 

(‘‘Caltrans’’) a waiver request from 

FRA’s Buy America Act requirements 

for the purchase of Vossloh 101–LV 

concrete ties, which contain certain 

components not manufactured in the 

United States. In furtherance of four 

FRA High-Speed Intercity Passenger 

Rail (‘‘HSIPR’’) grants, BNSF, as the 

railroad infrastructure owner, will 

construct certain rail project elements 

that consist of the installation of 

Vossloh 101–LV concrete ties. FRA has 

received this request from the four 

States for the following projects: (a) The 

Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor Program 

(b) the Amtrak Quad Cities to Chicago 

Service Initiation Project, (c) the Tower 

55 At-Grade Improvement Project, and 

(d) the LA to Fullerton Triple Track— 

Segment 7 Project. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES