[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 38 (Friday, February 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8997-8999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3896]
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice (10-022)]
National Environmental Policy Act; Wallops Flight Facility
Shoreline Restoration and Infrastructure Protection Program
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) Shoreline
Restoration and Infrastructure Protection Program (SRIPP).
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended,
(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR
parts 1500-1508), and NASA's NEPA policy and procedures (14 CFR part
1216, subpart 1216.3), NASA has prepared and issued the Draft PEIS for
the proposed SRIPP at WFF. The U.S. Department of the Interior,
Minerals Management Service (MMS), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
have served as Cooperating Agencies in preparing the Draft PEIS.
NASA is proposing to implement a fifty-year design life storm
damage reduction project at its WFF on Wallops Island, Virginia. The
project would be implemented to reduce the potential for storm-induced
physical damage to the over $1 billion in Federal and State assets on
Wallops Island. The Draft PEIS examines in detail three project
alternatives, each expected to provide substantial damage reduction
from storms with intensities ranging up to approximately the 100-year
return interval storm. Although some reduction in flooding can be
expected under each alternative, the primary purpose of the proposal is
not flood protection, rather it is moving destructive wave energy
further away from the Wallops Island shoreline and the infrastructure
behind it.
Alternative One, NASA's preferred alternative, would include
extending the existing Wallops Island seawall up to a maximum of 1,400
meters (m) (4,600 feet [ft]) south and placing an estimated 2.5 million
cubic meters (MCM) (3.2 million cubic yards [MCY]) of sand along the
shoreline. Alternative Two would include the same seawall extension as
Alternative One; however the sand placed along the shoreline would be
less, at approximately 2.2 MCM (2.9 MCY). Under this alternative, NASA
would also construct a groin perpendicular to the shoreline at the
south end of the project site to limit the volume of nearshore sand
being transported from the restored Wallops Island beach to the south.
Alternative Three would entail the same seawall extension as in
Alternatives One and Two; however, sand placement would be the least of
the Alternatives at approximately 2.1 MCM (2.8 MCY). NASA would
construct a single detached breakwater parallel to the shoreline at the
south end of the project site to retain sand under Alternative Three.
Under all three project alternatives, NASA would obtain the sand
required for its initial beach nourishment from an unnamed shoal
(referred to as Shoal A) located in Federal waters approximately 23
kilometers (km) (14 miles [mi]) east of
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Wallops Island. Sand for an expected nine future renourishment cycles
could come from either Shoal A or a second offshore shoal in Federal
waters referred to as Shoal B, approximately 31 km (19 mi) east of the
project site. Additionally, NASA is considering transporting sand that
accumulates on north Wallops Island to supplement its future
renourishment needs (commonly known as ``backpassing''). It is
estimated that up to half of the required renourishment volumes could
be obtained from ``backpassing.'' The No Action Alternative is to not
implement the WFF SRIPP, but to continue making emergency repairs to
the Wallops Island shoreline, as necessary.
NASA will hold a public comment meeting as part of the review of
the Draft PEIS. The public meeting location and date as currently
scheduled are provided under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.
DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments on
environmental issues and concerns, preferably in writing, on or before
April 15, 2010, or 45 days from the date of publication in the Federal
Register of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of
Availability of the Draft SRIPP PEIS, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: Comments submitted by mail should be addressed to 250/NEPA
Manager, WFF Shoreline Restoration and Infrastructure Protection
Program, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility,
Wallops Island, Virginia 23337. Comments may be submitted via e-mail to
[email protected].
The Draft PEIS may be reviewed at the following locations:
(a) Chincoteague Island Library, 4077 Main Street, Chincoteague,
Virginia 23336 (757-336-3460).
(b) Eastern Shore Public Library, 23610 Front Street, Accomac,
Virginia 23301 (757-787-3400).
(c) Northampton Free Library, 7401 Railroad Avenue, Nassawadox,
Virginia 23413 (757-442-2839).
(d) NASA Wallops Flight Facility Technical Library, Building E-105,
Wallops Island, Virginia 23337 (757-824-1065).
(e) NASA Headquarters Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20546-0001 (202-358-0168).
A limited number of hard copies of the Draft PEIS are available, on
a first request basis, by contacting 250/NEPA Manager, NASA WFF,
Environmental Office, Code 250.W, Wallops Island, Virginia 23337; or
electronic mail at [email protected]. The
Draft SRIPP PEIS is available on the Internet in Adobe[supreg] portable
document format at http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code250/shoreline_eis.html. The Notice of Intent to prepare the Draft SRIPP PEIS, issued
on March 24, 2009, is also available on the Internet at the same Web
site address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information on the WFF
SRIPP can be obtained by addressing an e-mail to [email protected] or by mailing to 250/NEPA Manager, WFF
Shoreline Restoration and Infrastructure Protection Program, NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island,
Virginia 23337. Additional information about the WFF SRIPP and NASA's
NEPA process may be found on the Internet at http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code250/shoreline_eis.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft PEIS addresses the environmental
impacts associated with NASA's proposed implementation of a 50-year
design life storm damage reduction program along the shoreline of
Wallops Island. The environmental impacts of principal concern are
those that could result from dredging sand from offshore shoals and
from the construction of a sand retention structure at the south end of
the project site.
The three action alternatives considered in the Draft PEIS would
all provide the facilities on Wallops Island equal levels of storm
damage reduction for the duration of the program. Each alternative
would involve the establishment of an approximately 34 m (110 ft) wide
dry beach along approximately 6,000 m (19,700 ft) of the Wallops Island
shoreline to serve as a primary line of defense from destructive storm
waves. In addition to the beach, a sand dune would be created to cover
the ocean side of the existing and proposed seawall. The remaining
portion of the fill would be placed underwater and would gradually
slope to the east. It is expected that the fill alone would provide
considerable damage reduction from a 30-year return interval storm.
With the fill combined with the rock seawall, the project would provide
substantial infrastructure damage reduction from up to an approximately
100-year return interval storm. A rock sand retention structure (a
groin or breakwater) is included under Alternatives Two and Three,
respectively, to slow the transport of sand from the project site and
potentially reduce the amount of beach fill needed both initially and
throughout the lifecycle of the project.
All three alternatives would involve an initial construction phase
and future follow-on maintenance cycles. The initial construction phase
would likely include three distinct elements spanning approximately
three fiscal years:
Year 1 Activities--The existing rock seawall would be extended a
minimum of 460 m (1,500 ft) up to a maximum of 1,400 m (4,600 ft)
south. The actual length of seawall extension constructed in Year 1
would be based upon available funding; however, additional lengthening
(up to the 1,400 m [4,600 ft] total length) would be accomplished in
future years as funding becomes available.
Year 2 Activities--Approximately one-third of the sand necessary
for beach nourishment would be placed along the central areas of the
Wallops Island shoreline that are currently reinforced by the rock
seawall. The objective for this first fill cycle would be to restore
the deficit of sand caused by the continual erosion at the base of the
seawall. Sand placement would likely involve removing sand from the
shoal by hopper dredges and pumping the material onto the beach.
Year 3 Activities--The remaining sand needed to complete the beach
nourishment would be placed along the Wallops Island shoreline.
Additionally, under Alternatives Two and Three, the sand retention
structure would be constructed.
Subsequent beach renourishment cycles would vary throughout the
lifecycle of the proposed project. Factors dictating the frequency and
magnitude of such actions would include project performance as revealed
through ongoing monitoring, storm severity and frequency, and
availability of funding. Given the dynamic nature of the ocean
environment, and that exact locations and magnitude of renourishment
cycles may fluctuate, additional NEPA documentation for renourishment
actions may be prepared in the future, as appropriate. For each of the
action alternatives considered in the PEIS, the renourishment cycle is
anticipated to be every five years, totaling nine cycles over the
fifty-year design life of the project.
In addition to the construction activities outlined for each of the
three action alternatives, NASA would implement a rigorous monitoring
program that would begin with construction in Year 1 and continue
throughout the project. The intent of the monitoring program is to
measure the performance of the project, and through adaptive
management, make informed decisions regarding the need for
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renourishment, sand retention structures, and future storm damage
reduction measures.
NASA plans to hold a public meeting to discuss the project and to
solicit comments on the Draft SRIPP PEIS. The public meeting is
currently scheduled for:
Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at the WFF Visitor Information Center,
Route 175, Wallops Island, Virginia, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
Written public input on environmental issues and concerns
associated with the WFF SRIPP are hereby requested.
Olga M. Dominguez,
Assistant Administrator for Infrastructure.
[FR Doc. 2010-3896 Filed 2-25-10; 8:45 am]
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