[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 69813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27419]



[[Page 69813]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Availability, Notice of Public Comment Period, Notice 
of Public Meeting, and Request for Comment on the Draft Environmental 
Assessment for the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority Launch Site 
Operator License

AGENCY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT) is the lead agency. The National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Air Force are cooperating 
agencies for this Environmental Assessment (EA).

ACTION: Notice of availability, notice of public comment period, notice 
of public meeting, and request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FAA is announcing the availability of and requesting 
comments on the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Titusville-
Cocoa Airport Authority (TCAA) Launch Site Operator License. The FAA 
has prepared the Draft EA to evaluate the potential environmental 
impacts of the FAA issuing a Launch Site Operator License to TCAA for 
the operation of a commercial space launch site at the Space Coast 
Regional Airport (TIX). Under the proposed action, TCAA would operate a 
commercial space launch site at TIX to offer the site for launches of 
horizontal takeoff and horizontal landing launch vehicles from TIX. 
TCAA would also construct facilities related to the proposed launch 
site. The Draft EA considers the potential environmental impacts of the 
Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative.

DATES: Comments on the Draft EA must be received on or before January 
17, 2020.
    The FAA will hold a public meeting on January 8th, 2020, from 5:00 
to 8:00 p.m. During this meeting, FAA representatives will have the 
chance to answer questions about the Draft EA. Members of the public 
will have the chance to provide written and/or oral comments at the 
meeting. We invite all interested parties to attend the meeting.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Ralph Poppell Airport 
Administration Building at Space Coast Regional Airport, 355 Golden 
Knights Boulevard, Titusville, Florida 32780.
    Please submit comments or questions regarding the Draft EA to ICF, 
Attention: FAA TIX EA, 9300 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22031. Comments 
may also be submitted by email to TIX_Spaceport_EA@icf.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stacey M. Zee, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW, Suite 325, Washington, DC 20591; email 
Stacey.Zee@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has prepared the Draft EA in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 
United States Code 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 Code 
of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508), and FAA Order 1050.1F, 
Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, as part of its 
licensing process. Concurrent with the NEPA process and to determine 
the potential effects of the Proposed Action on historic and cultural 
properties, the FAA has initiated Section 106 Consultation with the 
Florida State Historic Preservation Office and the following Native 
America tribes: The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the 
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the 
Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the 
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. Through consultation, the Mississippi Band 
of Choctaw Indians requested to be removed from the list of tribes 
consulted for this project. Pursuant to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation Act of 1966, this EA will comply with the requirements 
of Section 4(f) of the Act.
    An electronic version of the Draft EA is available on the FAA 
Office of Commercial Space Transportation website at: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/environmental/nepa_docs/review/documents_progress/space_coast/.
    The FAA encourages all interested agencies, organizations, Native 
American tribes, and members of the public to submit comments 
concerning the analysis presented in the Draft EA by January 17, 2020. 
Comments should be as specific as possible and address the analysis of 
potential environmental impacts. Reviewers should organize their 
participation so that it is meaningful and makes the agency aware of 
the viewer's interests and concerns using quotations and other specific 
references to the text of the Draft EA and related documents. Matters 
that could have been raised with specificity during the comment period 
on the Draft EA may not be considered if they are raised for the first 
time later in the decision process. This comment procedure is intended 
to ensure that substantive comments and concerns are made available to 
the FAA in a timely manner so that the FAA has an opportunity to 
address them.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that 
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in 
your comment to withhold from the public review your personal 
identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do 
so.
    The FAA has prepared the Draft EA to evaluate the potential 
environmental impacts of the construction and operation of TIX as a 
launch location for horizontally launched and landed launch vehicles 
and issuing a Launch Site Operator License to TCAA at TIX. The EA 
considers the potential environmental impacts of the Proposed Action 
and the No Action Alternative. The successful completion of the 
environmental review process does not guarantee that the FAA Office of 
Commercial Space Transportation would issue a Launch Site Operator 
License to TCAA. The project must also meet all FAA requirements of a 
Launch Site Operator License. Individual launch operators proposing to 
launch from the site would be required to obtain a separate launch 
operator license.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2019.
Daniel Murray,
Manager, Space Transportation Development Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-27419 Filed 12-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


