Res Communis

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The FAA published a notice of Notice of Availability and Request for Comment on a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Spaceport America Commercial Launch Site, Sierra County, NM in today’s Federal Register (73 F.R. 68492-68493):

SUMMARY: In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, the FAA is announcing the availability of Final EIS for the Spaceport America Commercial Launch Site, Sierra County, New Mexico. The FAA, Office of Commercial Space Transportation is the lead Federal agency for the development of this EIS. Cooperating agencies include the Bureau of Land Management; the National Park Service; United States Army, White Sands Missile Range (WSMR); and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The Final EIS was prepared in response to an application for a Launch Site Operator License from the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA). Under the Proposed Action, the FAA would issue a Launch Site Operator License to NMSA to operate a launch facility capable of accommodating both horizontal and vertical launches of suborbital launch vehicles (LVs). The vehicles may carry space flight participants, scientific experiments, or other payloads. The proposed site is located in Sierra County, approximately 30 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and 45 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Final EIS also addresses the potential environmental impacts of issuing a Launch Site Operator License for horizontal launches only (Alternative 1), vertical launches only (Alternative 2), and the No Action Alternative.

The FAA submitted the Final EIS to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA will post a separate notification in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Final EIS. The FAA will issue a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days following EPA’s notice in the Federal Register. The Record of Decision will be published in the Federal Register.

The FAA has posted the Final EIS on the FAA Web site at http://ast.faa.gov. In addition, CDs of the Final EIS were sent to persons and agencies on the distribution list (found in Chapter 8 of the Final EIS). A paper copy and a CD version of the Final EIS may be reviewed for comment during regular business hours at the following locations:

Hatch Public Library, P.O. Box 289, Hatch, NM 87937; Sunland Park Community Library, 984 McNutt Road, Bldg. F-10, Sunland Park, NM 88063; Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, 200 E Picacho Ave, Las Cruces, NM 88001; Valley Public Library, 136 N Main, Anthony, NM 88021; Alamogordo Public Library, 920 Oregon Ave, Alamogordo, NM 88310; Mescalero Community Library, 101 Central Ave, Mescalero, NM 88310; Michael Nivision Library, 90 Swallow Place, Cloudcroft, NM 88317; Truth or Consequences Public Library, 325 Library Lane, Truth or Consequences, NM 87901; Truth or Consequences Public Library–Downtown, 401 Foch St, Truth or Consequences, NM 87901.

The EIS is available in two parts through the FAA AST website:

Spaceport America Commercial Launch Site, Sierra County, New Mexico Final Environmental Impact Statement, Vol. I, Executive Summary and Chapters 1-11, November 2008 (PDF)

Spaceport America Commercial Launch Site, Sierra County, New Mexico Final Environmental Impact Statement, Vol. II, Appendices, November 2008 (PDF)