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Deepwater Capability Replacement Project: Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: November 9, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 218)]
[Notices]
[Page 67441-67444]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09no00-136]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
[USCG 2000-8229]
Deepwater Capability Replacement Project: Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent and request for public comments; public
meeting notice.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces its intent to prepare a draft
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the development
of
[[Page 67442]]
a proposed action to modernize and replace the aging and
technologically obsolete Coast Guard assets required for Deepwater
missions. The Deepwater Capability Replacement Project (Deepwater
Project) has been initiated to ensure the timely acquisition over the
next few decades of appropriate assets for Deepwater missions. The
Coast Guard seeks public and agency input on the scope of the PEIS.
Specifically, the Coast Guard requests input on any environmental
concerns that the public may have related to existing Deepwater assets,
the proposal to replace and/or modernize these assets, sources of
relevant data or information, and any suggested analysis methods for
inclusion in the PEIS.
DATES: Comments must reach the Coast Guard on or before January 19,
2001. Open houses will be held on the following dates:
Oakland, CA, November 27, 2000 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Seattle, WA, November 28, 2000 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Juneau, AK, November 30, 2000 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Cleveland, OH, December 4, 2000 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Cambridge, MA, December 5, 2000 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Portsmouth, VA, December 7, 2000 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
New Orleans, LA, December 11, 2000 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Miami, FL, December 12, 2000 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Honolulu, HI, December 14, 2000 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The open houses will be held at the following locations:
Oakland, CA--Marriott at City Center, Room 210, 1001 Broadway
Seattle, WA--Seattle Center, Shaw Room, Northwest Rooms Building, 305
Harrison Street
Juneau, AK--Centennial Hall Convention Center, Egan Room, 101 Egan
Drive
Cleveland, OH--Cleveland State University, University Center, Room 364,
2121 Euclid Avenue
Cambridge, MA--Radisson Hotel, Ballroom, 777 Memorial Drive
Portsmouth, VA--Tidewater Community College, Waterfront Room, 7000
College Drive
New Orleans, LA--New Orleans Public Library, Smith Branch, 6301 Canal
Blvd
Miami, FL--West Dade Regional Library, Auditorium, 9445 SW 24th Street
Honolulu, HI--Honolulu Maritime Center, Pacific Room, Pier 7 Honolulu
Harbor
Comments may be submitted in several ways. To make sure your
comments and related material are not entered more than once in the
docket, please submit them by only one of the following means:
(1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility (USCG-2000-8229), US
Department of Transportation, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(2) By delivery to Room PL-401 on the Plaza Level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
(3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
(4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this
notice. Comments will become part of this docket and will be available
for inspection or copying at Room PL-401, located on the Plaza Level of
the Nassif Building at the above address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You may also view this
docket, including this notice and comments, on the Internet at http://
dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about the
project, you may contact LCDR Eric Johnson, Deepwater Environmental &
Facilities Planner, by phone at (202) 267-1665 or by e-mail at
ejohnson@comdt.uscg.mil or at the Coast Guard's Deepwater EIS Web Page
at http://www.deepwaterEIS.com. For questions on viewing, or submitting
material to the docket, contact Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, DOT,
202-366-9329.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Comments
We encourage you to submit comments and related materials on this
notice. Persons submitting comments should include their names and
addresses, identify this notice (USCG-2000-8229), and the reasons for
each comment. You may submit your comments and materials by mail, hand
delivery, fax, or electronic means to the Docket Management Facility at
the address given under ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and
materials by only one means. If you submit them by mail or hand
delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11
inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them
by mail and would like to know if they reached the Facility, please
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will
consider all comments and materials received during the comment period.
For additional information about this notice or the Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement, contact Joan Lang, Deepwater Project
NEPA Coordinator (under contract to the Coast Guard), 202-267-0284, or
via email at jlang@comdt.uscg.mil.
Open Houses
The Coast Guard intends to hold open houses at the times and
locations listed in DATES and ADDRESSES. Comments on issues that the
public feels should be included in the Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement will be accepted at these meetings.
Background Information
Deepwater missions are defined as Coast Guard operations that occur
at least 50 nautical miles offshore, or require an extended on-scene
presence, long transit times to reach the operations area, and/or the
forward deployment of forces. The Coast Guard's current Deepwater
assets--medium- and high-endurance cutters, fixed and rotary wing
aircraft and their supporting command, control and communications
systems--are aging and technologically obsolete. The average age of the
Coast Guard's Deepwater cutters is 27 years, making this force older
than 40 of the world's 42 major naval fleets. While some cutters have
received mid-life upgrades, during the next ten to fifteen years all of
our assets will reach the end of their projected service life. As a
result of this age, Coast Guard assets lack the ability and technology
necessary for efficient and effective mission performance.
The Deepwater Project is the Coast Guard's answer, ensuring the
timely acquisition of appropriate resources to remedy the aging fleet
dilemma and meeting deepwater mission requirements. These Deepwater
missions include search and rescue, maritime law enforcement (MLE,
including drug LE, living marine resources LE and alien migrant
interdiction), national defense and marine environmental protection.
Detailed information about the Project is included in the Appendix to
this notice. It may also be found at the Project's web site at http://
www.uscg.mil/deepwater.
Proposed Action
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969 (Section 102[2][c]), as implemented by the Council on
[[Page 67443]]
Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), Department
of Transportation (DOT) Order 5610.1C (Procedures for Considering
Environmental Impacts), and Coast Guard Policy (NEPA: Implementing
Procedures and Policy for Considering Environmental Impacts, COMDTINST
M16475.1C), the Coast Guard intends to prepare a Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on the Deepwater Project. The
purpose of a PEIS is to develop a high-level approach and direction for
implementing a broad policy or program. The Deepwater Project meets
those criteria.
NEPA requires federal agencies to consider all significant aspects
of environmental impacts that may result from a proposed action, to
inform the public of potential impacts and alternatives, and to
facilitate public involvement in the assessment process. The core of
the impact assessment process is the environmental impact statement, or
EIS. The EIS must include, among other topics, discussions of the
purpose and need for the proposed action, a description of
alternatives, and an evaluation of the environmental impacts of the
proposed action and alternatives. Once an EIS is completed, the lead
agency prepares a record of decision (ROD), a legally binding document
that identifies the agency's decision including any mitigation measures
required to offset impacts.
A programmatic EIS is prepared on a ``broad federal action such as
the adoption of new agency programs''. When preparing a PEIS, the
agency may evaluate the program based on common geographic locations,
similarities of impacts, or stages of development. Because no site-
specific homeporting and bedding down decisions--allocating assets and
staff to Coast Guard facilities--will be made during this stage of the
project, the PEIS is expected to facilitate and expedite the
preparation of subsequent project-specific NEPA documents.
The PEIS will address the general environmental impacts of each of
the three alternative systems being considered for replacement of the
current Deepwater system, and the no action alternative, while
subsequent analyses will address specific implementing actions, such as
homeporting new ships and aircraft. Hence, as the first-tier EIS, the
PEIS would cover general issues in a broader program-oriented analysis.
Subsequent NEPA documentation will concentrate on the issues specific
to the action being considered.
The environment to be affected by the proposed action may be the
entire marine and terrestrial coastal region of the continental US,
Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, Guam, and the Great Lakes where the
Coast Guard has Deepwater facilities, as well as the areas where
Deepwater missions are conducted. Deepwater missions are defined as
Coast Guard operations that occur at least 50 nautical miles offshore,
or require an extended on-scene presence, long transit times to reach
the operations area, and/or the forward deployment of forces. The PEIS
will discuss the general aspects of the affected environment, such as
air quality, water quality, terrestrial and marine vegetation and
wildlife, endangered species and their habitat, wetlands, historic and
cultural resources, public safety, and land use. The PEIS will compare
the potential environmental impacts and benefits that would result from
each of the three alternatives and the no action alternative. For the
purposes of the PEIS, the location of these assets throughout the
country will be designated on a regional level. As required by NEPA,
the Coast Guard also will analyze the ``no action'' alternative as a
baseline for comparing the impacts of the proposed project.
The Coast Guard encourages public participation in the PEIS
process. Presently, the Coast Guard is conducting a nationwide public
scoping process to help identify environmental issues to be addressed
in the PEIS. The scoping period will be 45 days starting with
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The public and
agencies will be able to select from a variety of outreach tools to
learn about the Deepwater Project. Multiple methods for providing
comments will be available, including mail, Internet, and fax. These
opportunities will be widely publicized through multiple news media and
the Deepwater Project EIS web site at http://www.DeepwaterEIS.com.
Information on the Coast Guard's Deepwater mission can be found at
http://www.uscg.mil/deepwater. In addition, the Coast Guard will
conduct open houses according to the schedule provided in this Federal
Register notice (see DATES). This process is designed to ensure the
public participation process is accessible to all interested parties
and that it meets the goal established by Executive Order 12898
(Environmental Justice) by including all affected low-income and
minority populations in the public participation process.
In order to obtain maximum public input and participation, the USCG
will release all relevant information allowed by law. Some procurement
sensitive and other information may be withheld from public documents.
To the fullest extent possible, the USCG will segregate any procurement
sensitive information that is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) into an appendix to facilitate public review
of the remainder of the NEPA document. If segregation of information
exempt from FOIA would leave essentially meaningless material, the USCG
will withhold portions of the NEPA document or the entire NEPA document
from the public. However, the USCG shall circulate the complete NEPA
document including procurement sensitive information withheld from
public review, to the USCG decision makers, in accordance with the CEQ,
DOT and USCG Regulations.
Following the scoping process, the Coast Guard will prepare a Draft
PEIS. Unless the USCG finds that the entire NEPA document must be
withheld from public review, a notice of availability will be published
in the Federal Register and national newspapers when the Draft PEIS is
available. Public notices will be mailed or e-mailed to those on the
PEIS distribution list. This period will provide the public with an
opportunity to review the document and to offer appropriate comments.
Public hearings may be held during the review period to capture verbal
comments on the Draft PEIS. If public hearings will be held, the time
and place of the hearings will be announced in the Federal Register and
other media.
Unless the USCG finds that the entire NEPA document must be
withheld from public review, the comments received during the Draft
PEIS review period will be published and made available in the Final
PEIS. A notice of availability of the Final PEIS will be published in
the Federal Register and in other public notices. NEPA provides for a
30-day comment period after publication of the Final PEIS, during which
the public may comment on the adequacy of responses to comments and the
Final PEIS. After that time, a ROD detailing the Coast Guard's decision
identifying the selected alternative will be prepared and published in
the Federal Register. The entire ROD will be available for public
review regardless of whether parts or all of the DEIS and FEIS must be
withheld from the public.
Dated: November 3, 2000.
R.J. Casto,
RADM, USCG, Assistant Commandant for Acquisition.
Appendix
The Coast Guard Deepwater Capabilities Replacement Project
The Coast Guard operates in inland, coastal, and Deepwater
maritime regions.
[[Page 67444]]
Deepwater missions are defined as operations that occur at least 50
nautical miles offshore, or require an extended on-scene presence,
long transit times to reach the operations area, and/or the forward
deployment of forces. Deepwater missions typically require Coast
Guard personnel to be involved in long-term, continuous missions,
often with deployments away from home stations for several months on
end. These missions may also take place in severe environments from
arctic to tropical, 24 hours a day, wherever the Coast Guard's
presence is required.
Overall, the Coast Guard performs fourteen statutorily mandated
missions in the Deepwater regions around the globe. These fall into
four main categories: Maritime Law Enforcement; Maritime Safety;
National Defense; and Marine Environmental Protection.
Maritime Law Enforcement includes: Living marine resources
enforcement, drug interdiction, alien migrant interdiction and
general law enforcement.
Maritime Safety includes: Search and rescue (SAR) and the
International Ice Patrol.
National Defense includes: General defense operations, maritime
intercept operations, deployed port security and defense operations,
environmental defense operations, and peacetime military engagement.
Marine Environmental Protection includes: Maritime pollution
enforcement and response, lightering zone enforcement and foreign
vessel inspection.
In 1999, an Interagency Task Force on United States Coast Guard
Roles and Missions was appointed to ``provide advice and
recommendations regarding the appropriate roles and missions for the
Coast Guard through the year 2020,'' with special attention to the
Deepwater missions. The Task Force's findings affirmed that the
Coast Guard must remain a military, multi-mission, maritime service
in the 21st century to meet national policies and statutory
mandates. The Task Force further recommended that the Coast Guard
forces possess inherent operational flexibility and adaptability,
including the ability to operate alongside the forces and personnel
of other US armed services, US civilian agencies, and nations. In
addition, the Coast Guard must strive to be cost effective across
all missions.
The Coast Guard's Deepwater ships and aircraft (assets) are
aging and technologically obsolete. This equipment was originally
acquired from the early 1960s to the mid 1980s. The average age of
the Deepwater cutters is 27 years old, making this force older than
36 of the world's 41 major naval fleets. Although some cutters
received upgrades, during the next 10 years these cutters will reach
the ends of their projected service lives.
Consequently, Deepwater assets lack fundamental capabilities and
technologies necessary for efficient and effective mission
performance. Examples include poor sensors and night operations
capability, inadequate communication systems among Coast Guard units
and forces of other services, agencies and navies of other
countries. In addition, antiquated technology increases operating
and maintenance hours and costs, placing greater demands on the
logistics infrastructure.
[FR Doc. 00-28779 Filed 11-8-00; 8:45 am]
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