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Streamlining NEPA for Reusable Launch Vehicles

Streamlining NEPA for Reusable Launch Vehicles. Federal Aviation Administration Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation. October 2004. What Is NEPA?. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the basic national charter for protection of the environment

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Streamlining NEPA for Reusable Launch Vehicles

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  1. Streamlining NEPA for Reusable Launch Vehicles Federal Aviation AdministrationAssociate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation October 2004

  2. What Is NEPA? • The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the basic national charter for protection of the environment • Two basic objectives • Ensure that decision-makers consider the environment in planning projects • Prevent/minimize damage to the environment

  3. How Does NEPA Apply to AST? • Licensing launches and reentries and the operation of launch and reentry sites is a major Federal action • All major Federal actions are subject to NEPA • Environmental determination MUST be complete before license is issued • In addition to NEPA, other Federal, state, and local environmental requirements may apply

  4. What is AST Doing to Ease the Burden? • AST is developing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to • Address horizontal launches and reentries of all reentry vehicles • Serve as a tiering document for subsequent site- and vehicle-specific analyses • AST is studying the feasibility of developing a CATEX for launches

  5. Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

  6. AST’s PEIS • Proposed Action • License launch of horizontally launched vehicles • License reentry of reentry vehicles • Alternatives to the Proposed Action • Licensing subsets of launches or reentries • No Action

  7. PEIS Vehicle Concepts • Concept 1 - jet powered take off with rocket engine ignition and powered landing • Concept 2 - rocket powered take off/flight and non-powered landing • Concept 3 – take off via assist aircraft, rocket engine ignition, and non-powered landing

  8. PEIS Milestones • Developed Description of Proposed Action and Alternatives (DOPAA) and Affected Environment • Estimates (10 years) of numbers of vehicle concept launches • Analyzing impacts based on Concepts 1, 2, and 3

  9. Next Steps

  10. How Can You Get Involved? • Provide data or descriptions of proposed launch and reentry vehicles • Provide comments on the Draft PEIS, when available • Visit AST’s PEIS web site http://ast.faa.gov/lrra/PEIS__Site.htm

  11. Categorical Exclusion Study

  12. CATEX • Developed for • Activities where previous analyses and subsequent monitoring has shown no potential for impact • Categories of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the environment • Extraordinary circumstances (defined in Agency regulations) can preclude use of a CATEX for a normally excluded action

  13. CATEX Development Process • Identify supporting documentation • Initiate review with relevant Federal agencies • Present to CEQ for review and approval • Publish in Federal Register for public review • Incorporate into FAA’s environmental order (FAA Order 1050.1 E)

  14. CATEX Study Milestones • Performed legal review of proposed revisions to Commercial Space Launch Act (CSLA) to identify NEPA streamlining opportunities • Reviewed previous impact analyses and monitoring data to find activities with no potential for impact

  15. Next Steps

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