Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 179 / Thursday, September 15, 2011 / Notices 57103 

Confidential’’ at the top and bottom of 

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extent possible, please include any 

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to a submission in the same file as the 

submission itself and not as separate 

files. 

Mary Sullivan Smith, 

Director for Canadian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2011–23676 Filed 9–14–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W1–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Office of Commercial Space 

Transportation (AST); Notice of 

Availability of the Supplemental 

Environmental Assessment (SEA) and 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) for the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA)/AST To Renew 

Launch Site Operator License (LSO 

01–005) to Spaceport Systems 

International (SSI) for the Continued 

Operation of the California Spaceport 

at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), 

CA 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, Department of 

Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of SEA 

and FONSI. 

SUMMARY: 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 http:// 

www.faa.gov/about/office_org/ 

headquarters_offices/ast/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Daniel Czelusniak, Environmental 

Program Lead, Office of Commercial 

Space Transportation, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Room 325, Washington, 

DC 20591, telephone (202) 267–5924; Email: daniel.czelusniak@faa.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC on: September 7, 

2011. 

Michael McElligott, 

Manager, Space Transportation Development 

Division. 

[FR Doc. 2011–23694 Filed 9–14–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping 

Requirements Agency Information 

Collection Activity Under OMB Review 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: 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 


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