Streamlining NEPA for Reusable Launch Vehicles

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