Res Communis

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty
The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation has posted the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Spaceport America, New Mexico. The comment period on the draft will run until August 18, 2008.

The introduction in the executive summary states:

The State of New Mexico, New Mexico Economic Development Department (NMEDD) through the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) proposes to develop and operate a commercial space launch site, called Spaceport America. The proposed site is in Sierra County near Upham, New Mexico (NM) at a location approximately 45 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico (NM) and 30 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences, NM (see Exhibit ES-1). NMSA proposes to operate this site for horizontal and vertical launches of suborbital launch vehicles (LVs). The vehicles may carry space flight participants, scientific experiments, or other payloads. Horizontal LVs would launch and land at the proposed Spaceport America airfield. Vertical LVs would launch from the proposed Spaceport America and would either land at Spaceport America or in the United States (U.S.) Army’s White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), which is located approximately 9 miles east of the site.

To operate a commercial launch site, the State must obtain a license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The proposed Federal action that is the subject of this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is for the FAA to issue a launch site operator license to the NMSA. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 USC 4321, et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, direct FAA lead agency officials to consider the environmental consequences when planning for, authorizing, or approving Federal actions. When the FAA issues a launch site operator license, it is considered a Federal action and is subject to review as required by NEPA.

The decision to license the operation of a commercial launch site by the FAA is considered a Federal action. The FAA is responsible for analyzing the environmental impacts associated with licensing proposed commercial launch sites. The FAA is the lead Federal agency responsible for the preparation of the EIS for the proposed Spaceport America. Cooperating agencies include the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Army’s WSMR, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The Cumulative Impacts from the Executive Summary:

Cumulative impacts are “the incremental impact of the actions when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency (Federal or non-Federal) or person undertakes such other actions (40 CFR 1508.7). The cumulative impacts analysis for this EIS focuses on those past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions that have the potential to contribute to cumulative impacts. These past, current, and future projects and activities include the cumulative effect of the Proposed Action as it would occur over the 5-year term of the Launch Site Operator License; ranching operations; railroad and county road construction, maintenance, and use; transmission line construction and maintenance; construction and operation of the existing amateur launch site; BLM habitat restoration activities; designation of El Camino Real as a National Historic Trail (NHT); temporary and permanent improvements to County Road (CR) A013; potential expansion of Spaceport America facilities; increasing the frequency of launches; launching new types of vehicles; BLM leasing and development of oil and gas resources; and development of visitor facilities along El Camino Real NHT The Proposed Action has been evaluated for cumulative impacts on compatible land use; Section 4(f) properties and farmlands; noise; visual resources and light emissions; historical, architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources; air quality; water quality, wetlands, wild and scenic rivers, coastal resources, and floodplains; fish, wildlife, and plants; hazardous materials, pollution prevention, and solid waste; socioeconomics, environmental justice, and children’s environmental health and safety risks; energy supply and natural resources; and construction impacts. The results of this evaluation are summarized below.

UPDATE: The schedule for the EIS hearings have now been posted:

The FAA is holding six public hearings on the Draft EIS. Members of the public will be provided the opportunity to submit both written and oral comments. The public hearing will be held at the following locations:

* August 5, 2008
Alamogordo City Hall (Commission Chambers),
1376 E. Ninth St., Alamogordo, New Mexico
Time: 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
* August 6, 2008
Truth and Consequences Civic Center
400 West Fourth St., TorC, New Mexico
Time: 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
* August 7, 2008
Doña Ana County Government Center
845 North Motel Blvd, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Time: 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Comments regarding the Draft EIS should be submitted using regular mail, email, or fax. to:

* Ms. Stacey M. Zee
FAA Environmental Specialist
Spaceport America EIS
c/o ICF International
9300 Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22031
E-mail: SRSEIS@icfconsulting.com
Fax: (703) 934-3951

To ensure that all comments can be addressed in the Final EIS, comments on the draft must be received by FAA no later than August 18, 2008.