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
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 10, 2012 / Notices 21621 

DATES: Written comments should be 

provided on or before April 25, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Comments: Comments 

related to Docket No. FRA–2012–0033 

may be submitted by any of the 

following methods: 

(1) Web Site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the U.S. Government electronic 

docket site; 

(2) Fax: (202) 493–2251; 

(3) Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M–30, 

Room W12–140, Washington, DC 

20590–0001; or 

(4) Hand Delivery: Room W12–140 on 

the first floor of the West Building, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

make reference to the ‘‘Federal Railroad 

Administration’’ and include docket 

number FRA–2012–0033. Note that all 

submissions received, including any 

personal information therein, will be 

posted without change or alteration to 

http://www.regulations.gov. For more 

information, you may review DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement in the 

Federal Register published on April 11, 

2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit 

http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at anytime, or to 

the Docket Management Facility, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. Follow the online 

instructions for accessing the dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions about this notice, please 

contact Ms. Linda Martin, AttorneyAdvisor, FRA Office of Chief Counsel, 

Mail Stop 10, West Building 3rd Floor, 

Room W31–304, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590 

(telephone 202–493–6062) or via email 

at Linda.Martin@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA 

projects funded through the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

and the Transportation, Housing and 

Urban Development and Related 

Agencies Appropriations Act for 2010 

(Div. A of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111– 

117) (‘‘FY 2010 DOT Appropriations 

Act’’), must comply with the Passenger 

Rail Investment and Improvement Act 

of 2008 (‘‘PRIIA’’) Buy America 

provisions (49 U.S.C. 24405(a)). Section 

24405(a)(1) authorizes the Secretary of 

Transportation (‘‘Secretary’’) to obligate 

grant funds only if the steel, iron, and 

manufactured goods used in the project 

are produced in the United States. 

However, sec. 24405(a)(2) also permits 

the Secretary to waive the Buy America 

requirements if he finds that: (A) 

Applying paragraph (1) would be 

inconsistent with the public interest; (B) 

the steel, iron, and goods manufactured 

in the United States are not produced in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

amount or are not of a satisfactory 

quality; (C) rolling stock or power train 

equipment cannot be bought or 

delivered to the United States within a 

reasonable time; or (D) including 

domestic material will increase the cost 

of the overall project by more than 25 

percent. 

Before determining whether it is 

appropriate to waive the Buy America 

provision, sec. 24405(a)(4) requires that 

the Secretary first provide the public 

with an opportunity to comment. If after 

receiving public comment, the Secretary 

decides to grant the waiver, a detailed 

written justification for the decision 

must be published in the Federal 

Register. The purpose of this notice is 

to inform the public that FRA has 

received a waiver request for the 

Vossloh 101–LV concrete tie system, 

which contains certain components not 

manufactured in the United States, and 

to solicit public comments on the 

request. BNSF as the owner of the 

infrastructure that will be improved by 

the HSIPR grants proposes to install 

approximately 171,000 Vossloh 101–LV 

concrete ties 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. 

Transmittals in furtherance of this 

request have been submitted to FRA by 

WSDOT, IDOT, TxDOT, and Caltrans. 

The foreign components of the 

concrete tie are limited to the dowel 

inserts and SKL–30 tension clamps. The 

function of the dowel insert is to 

provide housing for the lag screw that 

fastens the SKL–30 tension clamps to 

the tie. The SKL–30 tension clamps 

hold the rail to the tie and prevent 

lateral and longitudinal movement of 

the rail. BNSF and the identified States 

seek the waiver pursuant to sec. 

24405(a)(2)(B) because they believe that 

for the reasons set forth in the request, 

that suitable materials are not 

reasonably available in the United 

States and therefore a waiver from 

FRA’s Buy America requirement is 

appropriate. 

The request in its entirety is available 

on FRA’s Web site at http:// 

www.fra.dot.gov/Pages/251.shtml. In 

order to completely understand the facts 

surrounding the request, FRA seeks 

comment from all interested parties 

regarding the availability of suitable 

domestically manufactured products, 

any public interest concerns, or the 

potential Buy America waiver. 

Issued in Washington, DC on April 4, 2012. 

Corey Hill, 

Director, Rail Project Development and 

Delivery, Federal Railroad Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8633 Filed 4–9–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

United States Mint 

Meeting of Notification of Citizens 

Coinage Advisory Committee 

ACTION: Notification of April 26, 2012 

Public Meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to United States 

Code, Title 31, section 5135(b)(8)(C), the 

United States Mint announces the 

Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee 

(CCAC) public meeting scheduled for 

April 26, 2012. 

Date: April 26, 2012. 

Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Location: Conference Room A, United 

States Mint, 801 9th Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20220. 

Subject: Review and consideration of 

reverse candidate designs for the 2013 

Girl Scouts of America Commemorative 

Coin Program, background research for 

the reverse designs of the 2013 First 

Spouse Gold Coins and Medals, and 

designs for the Code Talkers 

Recognition Congressional Gold Medals. 

In addition, the CCAC plans a 

discussion relating to the 2011 CCAC 

Annual Report and a presentation by 

member Michael Bugeja on historical 

coin legends, mottos, dates, symbols 

and devices. 

Interested Persons Should Call the 

CCAC HOTLINE at (202) 354–7502 for 

the Latest Update on Meeting Time and 

Room Location 

In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 5135, 

the CCAC: 

∑ Advises the Secretary of the 

Treasury on any theme or design 

proposals relating to circulating coinage, 

bullion coinage, Congressional Gold 

Medals, and national and other medals. 

∑ Advises the Secretary of the 

Treasury with regard to the events, 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES