[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 11, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26269-26270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11033]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
[Docket ID FEMA-2010-0017]
Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the Integrated
Public Alert and Warning Program's Construction Projects
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has prepared a
draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) to address the
potential impacts to the human environment resulting from construction-
related actions taken under the Integrated Public Alert and Warning
Program (IPAWS). The construction actions will be taken to ensure that
FEMA meets its responsibilities under Executive Order 13407, Public
Alert and Warning System, by providing robust and survivable power
generation, fuel storage, and other measures to ensure an effective,
reliable, integrated, flexible, and comprehensive system to alert and
warn the American people in situations of war, terrorist attack,
natural disaster, or other hazards to public safety and well being. The
purpose of the PEA is to evaluate these actions and facilitate FEMA's
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by
providing a framework to address the potential environmental impacts of
these projects.
DATES: Comments on the draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment may
be submitted on or before June 10, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket ID FEMA-2010-
0017, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for
Docket ID FEMA-2010-0017 and follow the instructions for submitting
comments.
E-mail: [email protected]. Include Docket ID FEMA-2010-0017 in
the subject line of the message.
Fax: 703-483-2999
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Office of Chief Counsel, Federal
Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street, SW., Room 835, Washington,
DC 20472-3100.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and Docket ID. Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or
material, all submissions will be posted, without change, to the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, and will
include any personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting
this information makes it public. You may wish to read the Privacy Act
notice that is available via a link in the footer of http://www.regulations.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to read the draft Programmatic
Environmental Assessment or comments submitted by the public on these
documents, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov and search for docket ID FEMA-2010-0017. These
documents may also be inspected at FEMA, Office of Chief Counsel, Room
835, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472-3100.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jomar Maldonado, Environmental
Officer, Office of Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation,
FEMA, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472-3100; phone (202) 646-
2741.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the draft Programmatic
Environmental Assessment (PEA) is to evaluate construction-related
actions of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning Program (IPAWS) and
facilitate FEMA's compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) by providing a framework to address the potential environmental
impacts of those actions. Pursuant to Executive
[[Page 26270]]
Order 13407, the IPAWS Program goal is to identify, develop, and/or
adopt appropriate standards to enable implementation of interoperable
public alert and warning systems, to identify technologies and
standards that improve security, reliability, addressability,
accessibility, interoperability, coverage, and resilience of the public
alert and warning systems, and to integrate these capabilities via a
common IPAWS Aggregator. Certain construction-related actions may be
taken, such as modification of existing transmitter structures to
current code and standards, trenching for utility lines, removal of
existing underground or above ground fuel storage tanks and the
placement of above-ground fuel storage tanks of increased capacity,
placement of generators, placement of pre-cast concrete shelter
modules, and fencing, to meet the IPAWS Program goal.
The PEA provides the public and decision-makers with the
information required to understand and evaluate the potential
environmental consequences of actions funded by FEMA. In addition to
meeting the goals of impact identification and disclosure, the PEA
addresses the need to streamline the NEPA review process in the
interest of national preparedness and homeland security.
The analysis presented in the PEA relies on FEMA's experience
regarding environmental impacts that can be expected with actions that
would be undertaken through IPAWS. FEMA will consider the analysis in
the PEA to determine whether a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
or a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement is
appropriate for the proposed actions described and assessed in the PEA.
The PEA will also assist in determining when more site-specific
information is needed and what level of environmental analysis and
documentation is required in order for more complex projects to comply
with NEPA.
Authority: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as
amended, 42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.; 40 CFR part 1500; 44 CFR part 10.
Dated: May 4, 2010.
W. Craig Fugate,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2010-11033 Filed 5-10-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-AB-P