Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 21, 2009 / Notices 18275 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended ((NEPA) 42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.), Council on Environmental 

Quality NEPA implementing regulations 

(40 CFR Parts 1500–1508), and FAA 

Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the FAA is 

announcing the availability of and 

requesting comments on the EA for the 

Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) 

Launch Site Operator License at Cecil 

Field, FL. 

The EA was prepared in response to 

an application for a Launch Site 

Operator License from the JAA. Under 

the Proposed Action, the FAA would 

issue a Launch Site Operator License to 

JAA to operate a facility for horizontal 

launches and landings of suborbital 

manned reusable launch vehicles 

(RLVs). These vehicles, when operated 

out of Cecil Field, could carry space 

flight participants, scientific 

experiments, or payloads. The proposed 

launch site is located within the city 

limits of the City of Jacksonville, FL in 

Duval County, approximately 15 miles 

southwest of downtown Jacksonville. 

The EA addresses the potential 

environmental impacts of issuing a 

Launch Site Operator License for the 

Proposed Action and the No Action 

Alternative. 

The FAA has posted the EA on the 

FAA/AST Web site at http://ast.faa.gov. 

In addition, CDs of the EA were sent to 

persons and agencies on the distribution 

list (found in Chapter 7 of the EA). A 

paper copy and a CD version of the EA 

may be reviewed for comment during 

regular business hours at the following 

locations: 

Jacksonville Public Library—Argyle 

Branch, 7973 Old Middleburg Road 

South, Jacksonville, FL 32222. 

Jacksonville Public Library—Webb 

Wesconnett Regional, 6887 103rd 

Street, Jacksonville, FL 32210. 

Jacksonville Public Library—West 

Regional, 1425 Chaffee Road South, 

Jacksonville, FL 32221. 

Jacksonville Public Library—Main 

Branch, 303 N Laura St., Jacksonville, 

FL 32202. 

Green Cove Springs Library, 403 Ferris 

St., Green Cove Springs, FL 32043. 

DATES: The public comment period for 

the Draft EA begins with the publication 

of this NOA. To ensure that all 

comments can be addressed in the Final 

EA, comments on the draft must be 

received by the FAA no later than May 

20, 2009. 

The FAA is holding a public hearing 

on the Draft EA. The public hearing will 

be held on May 14, 2009 from 6 to 9 

p.m. at the Cecil Commerce Center, 

13561 Lake Newman St., Jacksonville, 

FL. Meeting registration and a general 

poster session will occur from 6 to 6:30 

p.m. The FAA will present information 

about the Draft EA and licensing process 

at 6:30 p.m. followed by a public 

comment period in which members of 

the public will be provided the 

opportunity to provide both written and 

oral comments on the Draft EA. A court 

reporter will transcribe the oral 

comments. 

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the EA 

should be mailed to FAA Cecil Field 

EA, c/o ICF International, 9300 Lee 

Highway, Fairfax, VA, 22031. 

Comments can also be sent by e-mail to 

CecilField@icfi.com or fax to (703) 934– 

3951. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Under the 

Proposed Action, the FAA would issue 

a Launch Site Operator License to JAA 

that would allow them to operate Cecil 

Field for horizontal suborbital RLV 

launches. JAA has identified two types 

of horizontally launched RLVs, Concept 

X and Concept Z, which are considered 

typical vehicles that would be launched 

from Cecil Field. The RLVs would 

launch and land on Runway 18L–36R, 

the primary north-south runway at Cecil 

Field. Both proposed RLVs would takeoff from Cecil Field under jet power. 

Rocket operations would occur in a 

designated offshore area, approximately 

60 miles east of the Florida coast. The 

RLVs would return to Cecil Field as 

maneuverable gliders. 

JAA proposes to use Cecil Field’s 

existing infrastructure, such as hangars, 

control tower, and runways for 

commercial space launch operations. 

Therefore, JAA does not anticipate new 

construction activities at Cecil Field 

related to the proposed spaceport. 

The activities analyzed under the 

Proposed Action that would support, 

either directly or indirectly, licensed 

launches include: 

• Transporting the vehicle, vehicle 

components, and propellants to Cecil 

Field via road, rail, air, or a combination 

of these methods. 

• Assembling the various vehicle 

components. 

• Conducting checkout activities. 

• Loading the propellants into the 

launch vehicle. 

• Loading the pilot, passengers, and 

other payload. 

• Towing or moving the launch 

vehicle to the proper launch or takeoff 

location. 

• Departing Cecil Field as an aircraft. 

• Igniting the rocket engines once the 

vehicle has reached a designated area 

over the Atlantic Ocean. 

• Collecting any debris from the 

runway prior to vehicle landing. 

• Recovering and transporting the 

launch vehicle from the runway after 

landing. 

The only alternative to the Proposed 

Action analyzed in the EA is the No 

Action Alternative. Under this 

alternative, the FAA would not issue a 

Launch Site Operator License to JAA, 

and there would be no commercial 

space launches from Cecil Field. The 

site would continue to be available for 

existing general aviation and trainingrelated activities. 

Resource areas were considered to 

provide a context for understanding and 

assessing the potential environmental 

effects of the Proposed Action, with 

attention focused on key issues. The 

resource areas considered included 

climate and air quality; coastal 

resources; compatible land use; 

Department of Transportation Act: 

Section 4(f) resources; farmlands; fish, 

wildlife, and plants; floodplains; 

hazardous materials, pollution 

prevention, and solid waste; historical, 

architectural, archaeological, and 

cultural resources; light emissions and 

visual resources; natural resources, 

energy supply, and sustainable design; 

noise; socioeconomics; water quality; 

wetlands; wild and scenic rivers; 

children’s environmental health and 

safety risks; environmental justice; 

construction impacts; secondary 

(induced) impacts; airports/airport 

users; airspace; transportation; and 

cumulative impacts. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stacey M. Zee (AST–100), Office of 

Commercial Space Transportation, 800 

Independence Avenue, SW., Room 331, 

Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 

267–9305; E-mail stacey.zee@faa.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC on: April 15, 

2009. 

Michael McElligott, 

Manager, Space Systems Development 

Division. 

[FR Doc. E9–9142 Filed 4–20–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Petition for Waiver of Compliance 

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 

49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 

notice is hereby given that the Federal 

Railroad Administration (FRA) received 

a request for a waiver of compliance 

from certain requirements of its safety 

standards. The individual petition is 

described below, including the party 

seeking relief, the regulatory provisions 

involved, the nature of the relief being 

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18276 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 21, 2009 / Notices 

requested, and the petitioner’s 

arguments in favor of relief. 

Georgetown Loop Railroad 

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA–2008– 

0107] 

The Georgetown Loop Railroad (GLR), 

a narrow-gage tourist railroad, 

petitioned FRA for a waiver of 

compliance from certain provisions of 

the steam locomotive safety standards, 

as prescribed by 49 CFR Section 230.112 

(Wheels and tires) and Section 230.113 

(Wheels and tire defects) for one steam 

locomotive used in tourist/excursion 

service. Specifically, this waiver request 

applies to Locomotive Number GLR 12. 

Locomotive Number GLR 12 was built 

in 1927 by Baldwin Locomotive Works 

(BLW), Philadelphia, PA, for the 

Kahului Railroad in Hawaii, and is a 36- 

inch narrow gage. The locomotive was 

used on a shortline in freight and 

passenger service until its retirement in 

the 1950s. It was subsequently sold to 

private individuals and moved to 

California to be used on various tourist/ 

excursion trains. In the 1980s, a new 

boiler was installed and extensive 

repairs were made to the running gear. 

It was used frequently throughout the 

1990s at the Silver Wood Amusement 

Park until its sale to the Colorado 

Historical Society in 2005, and was in 

service on GLR from 2005–2007. 

By letter notification on April 7, 2008, 

FRA brought GLR under the agency’s 

jurisdiction and the boiler is now 

compliant with the applicable 

requirements of 49 CFR Part 230. During 

an inspection of the entire locomotive, 

it was determined that the inside gage 

(back-to-back spacing) exceeds the 

safety limits set by FRA under 49 CFR 

Section 230.112(b). The actual 

measurements for the locomotive are 

331⁄2 inches wide. The allowable range 

under the regulation is 321⁄2 to 327⁄8

inches wide. The locomotive was built 

to BLW’s narrow-gage standards, which 

allow wider back-to-back dimensions 

and narrower flange widths for narrowgage engines. These alternate standard 

dimensions were primarily used in 

areas with prevalent sharp curves and 

poor track conditions. In addition to the 

wider back-to-back dimension used by 

Baldwin, a narrow flange width (new) 

that measures 11⁄8 inches is used versus 

the 11⁄4-inch flange, which is the 

standard AAR narrow flange. 

A second issue with GLR Number 12 

pertains to the requirements of 49 CFR 

Section 230.113(g) regarding the 

minimum thickness of the tire’s flange. 

The regulatory requirement for 

condemning a flange for insufficient 

width is 15/16 of an inch based upon a 

new thickness of 11⁄4 inches. Since the 

new flange thickness on GLR Number 

12’s flanges was 11⁄8 inches, GLR 

requests that the condemning limit for 

this locomotive be 13/16 of an inch 

based upon the reduced initial width. 

GLR stated that they have safely 

operated this locomotive for several 

years without any wheel problems prior 

to coming under FRA’s jurisdiction. 

GLR believes that there is no practical 

way to modify the chassis components 

to comply with the regulatory 

requirements as the basic design of the 

locomotive’s brake and spring rigging 

and driving boxes will not allow the 

driving tires and wheels to be 

significantly modified. 

In summary, GLR requests relief from 

the regulatory requirements of 49 CFR 

Sections 230.112 and 230.113 to allow 

GLR Number 12 to be maintained to 

BLW standards for narrow-gage 

locomotives, as stated above. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. FRA does not anticipate 

scheduling a public hearing in 

connection with these proceedings since 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested party desires 

an opportunity for oral comment, they 

should notify FRA, in writing, before 

the end of the comment period and 

specify the basis for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver 

Petition Docket Number FRA–2008– 

0107) and may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

• Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Communications received within 45 

days of the date of this notice will be 

considered by FRA before final action is 

taken. Comments received after that 

date will be considered as far as 

practicable. All written communications 

concerning these proceedings are 

available for examination during regular 

business hours (9 a.m.—5 p.m.) at the 

above facility. All documents in the 

public docket are also available for 

inspection and copying on the Internet 

at the docket facility’s Web site at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of any written 

communications and comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78). 

Issued in Washington, DC on April 15, 

2009. 

Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Standards and Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–9140 Filed 4–20–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Petition for Waiver of Compliance 

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 

49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 

notice is hereby given that the Federal 

Railroad Administration (FRA) has 

received a request for a waiver of 

compliance from certain requirements 

of its safety standards. The individual 

petition is described below, including 

the party seeking relief, the regulatory 

provisions involved, the nature of the 

relief being requested, and the 

petitioner’s arguments in favor of relief. 

Association of American Railroads 

(Docket Number FRA–2009–0004) 

The Association of American 

Railroads (AAR), on behalf of itself and 

its member railroads, seeks a waiver of 

compliance from certain provisions of 

the Railroad Locomotive Safety 

Standards, 49 CFR Part 229. 

Specifically, AAR requests to change the 

time interval requirements of 49 CFR 

229.27 Annual Tests and 49 CFR 229.29 

Biennial Tests for all locomotives 

equipped with 26–L type brake systems, 

without air dryers, by extending the 

testing interval to 4 years. 

On May 12, 2005, AAR petitioned for 

an industry-wide waiver of annual and 

biennial testing requirements for 

locomotives equipped with both the 26– 

L brake systems and air dryers. This 

request was based on the test data 

gathered by the Canadian railroads and 

waivers which were previously granted 

to both the Canadian National and the 

Canadian Pacific Railroads. On 

December 2, 2005, FRA granted a 

conditional waiver to extend the time 

limits of the required tests to 4 years. 

AAR believes it is now time to grant a 

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