Gull Hazard Reduction Program, John F. Kennedy Intentional Airport: Record of Decision Based on the Final Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[Docket No. 92-181-4]

Gull Hazard Reduction Program, John F. Kennedy Intentional

Airport: Record of Decision Based on the Final Environmental Impact

Statement

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public of the Animal and Plant Heath

Inspection Service's record of decision for the Gull Hazard Reduction

Program at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The decision is based

on the final environmental impact statement for the programs.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final environmental impact statement on which

the record of decision is based are available for review between 8 a.m.

and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays, at the following

locations:

APHIS Reading Room, room 1141, South Building, 14th Street and

Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC; and,

USDA--APHIS--ADC, State Director, 140-C Locust Grove Road, Pittstown,

NJ.

Interested persons may obtain a copy of the final environmental

impact statement by writing to Ms. Janet Bucknall at the address listed

below under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Janet Bucknall, State Director,

Animal Damage Control, APHIS, USDA, RD#1, 140-C Locust Grove Road,

Pittstown, NJ 08867-9529, (908) 735-5654.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 11, 1994, the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service (APHIS), published in the Federal Register

(59 FR 6612, Docket No. 92-181-3) a notice advising the public that

APHIS, in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Fish and

Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Department of Interior, and the New York

State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), has prepared a

draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Gull Hazard

Reduction Program at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFKIA). All

comments received on the draft EIS were considered in the final EIS.

On May 6, 1994, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published

in the Federal Register (59 FR 13714-23715, Docket No. ER-FRL-4710-9) a

notice advising the public of the availability of a final EIS for the

Gull Hazard Reduction Program at JFKIA. The final EIS describes and

analyzes all reasonable alternatives, including the preferred

alternative for an integrated management program (IMP), for gull hazard

control at JFIA.

Under section 1506.10(d) of the Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a 16-day waiver has been

granted by EPA of the 30-day waiting period for recording the decision

on the program.

This notice contains the agency's record of decision, based on the

final EIS, for the Gull Hazard Reduction Program and JFKIA. This record

of decision has been prepared in accordance with: (1) NEPA (42 U.S.C.

4321 et seq.), (2) Regulations of the CEQ for Implementing the

Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA

Regulations Implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS Guidelines

Implementing NEPA (44 FR 50381-50384, August 28, 1979, and 44 51272-

51274, August 31, 1979).

Done in Washington, DC, this 22nd day of June 1994.

Alex B. Thiermann,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service .

The agency record of decision is set forth below.

Record of Decision for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Animal Damage

Control (ADC), Gull Hazard Reduction Program, John F. Kennedy

International Airport; Final Environmental Impact Statement,

Introduction

This decision concludes a complex evaluation process that explores

alternatives which reduce or eliminate the hazard to aviation and human

safety at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFKIA) posed by the

presence and activities of gulls, especially laughing gulls. The EIS

identifies the severity and nature of the hazards created by gull-

aircraft collisions at JFKIA. Until approximately the mid-1980s the

hazards posed by gulls could, for the most part, be effectively

controlled by conventional bird management activities on JFKIA: insect,

water, vegetation, and sanitation management programs, and conduct of

the Port Authority's bird Control Unit (BCU). Throughout the late

1980s, the hazard to aviation grew as the presence of laughing gulls

increased substantially concurrent with the growth of the laughing gull

nesting colony in Jamaica Bay. In 1991, an experimental on-airport

shooting program was initiated to augment the conventional control

methods already in place at JFKIA. The shooting program was also

conducted in 1992 and 1993.

Although an annual shooting program is quite effective in reducing

gull-aircraft strikes, especially when it is conducted in combination

with on-airport non-lethal approaches, its desirability as a long-term

solution may be limited due to the large number of gulls killed.

Accordingly, the EIS process was commenced in 1992 for the purpose of

exploring alternatives to dealing effectively with the gull hazard

situation at JFKIA in a way that takes into account all interests.

The Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations

implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) tell the

decision maker what information must be included in records of

decision. Section 1505.2 of the CEQ Regulations provides that records

of decision contain:

--A statement of the decision;

--The identification of all alternatives considered by the agency,

including the environmentally preferable alternative(s);

--A discussion of all factors--economic, technical, and mission-related

as well as considerations of national policy balanced in the decision

making process and how each factor weighs in the decision; and

--An explanation of whether the decision is designed to avoid or

minimize environmental harm and, if not, why not.

Alternatives Considered

The EIS explores a wide variety of alternative approaches, that

would occur both on JFK and off JFK property, including: the No Action

alternative, On-Airport Shooting, the Port Authority of New York and

New Jersey's (Port Authority) On-Airport Program, and other

alternatives that are either lethal or nonlethal. The Integrated

Management Program (IMP) includes the following components:

1. Continued Development of JFK's On-Airport Program

2. Reduction of Off-Airport Attractants

3. On-Airport Shooting of Gulls

4. Laughing Gull Nest/Egg Destruction in Jamaica Bay

5. On-Colony Shooting of Adult Laughing Gulls

6. Display of Gull Models to Harass Gulls

A total of 29 separate alternative methods are described and

analyzed. Alternatives include those that would occur on JFK, on the

Gateway National Recreation Area (GNRA), and at other off-airport

sites. Both lethal and nonlethal methods of gull hazard control are

contained in those alternatives. Major categories of alternatives are

as follows: nesting habitat modifications, discouraging use of the

nesting colony site through harassment, reduction of off-airport

attractants, expansion of JFKIA's on-airport bird control program,

airport operational strategies, aircraft engineering, laughing gull

population reduction, and on-airport gull shooting and harassment.

Roles and Responsibilities

Decisions regarding the selection and conduct of alternatives are

complicated by the fact that the cooperating Federal and New York State

agencies have very different roles and responsibilities. In the past,

APHIS, the Federal lead agency, has provided services (gull hazard

control) to the Port Authority upon their request. APHIS' jurisdiction

(and its choice among alternatives) is limited to deciding what

wildlife control activities, if any, it should conduct when requested

to assist public and private entities. On-airport gull control

activities would be done at the request of the Port Authority of New

York and New Jersey. The on-airport gull shooting program, a component

of the IMP, would require the acquisition of permits from the USFWS and

the DEC. The reduction of off-airport attractants would require the

approval of the entities controlling those sites. On-colony activities

would require the approval of NPS. The EIS considers all feasible

alternatives, and among those alternatives, indicates which are the

environmentally preferable alternatives. However, ADC does not alone

have the jurisdiction to select or implement any of those alternatives.

The USFWS has permitting authorities regarding the taking of

Federally-protected migratory birds, and identifies conditions under

which permits may be issued. The USFWS would evaluate permit

applications for the following components of the IMP: on-airport

shooting of gulls, on-colony shooting of adult laughing gulls, and

laughing gull egg/nest destruction. The USFWS may identify conditions

under which permits are issued.

The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for managing GNRA

pursuant to applicable laws, policies, and regulations. The NPS has

decision-making authority regarding conduct of IMP components that

would occur on NPS lands in Jamaica Bay. Those components of the IMP

that would require authorizations from the NPS are: laughing gull nest/

egg destruction, on-colony shooting of adult laughing gulls, and

display of gull models to harass gulls.

The DEC has permitting authority for the taking of migratory birds

pursuant to New York State law. The DEC has decision-making authority

regarding permitting of IMP components that would include taking of

gulls: on-airport shooting of gulls, laughing gulls nest/egg

destruction, and on-colony shooting of adult laughing gulls.

The United States Department of the Interior's (USDI) recent

statement of policy (Section 6.4.2 of the EIS) declares that IMP

components 1-3 must first be conducted and proven ineffective before

the USDI would initiate any components that would be conducted on NPS

property and directed at relocating the Jamaica Bay laughing gull

nesting colony away from its present location. Past experience with

component 1-3 activities between 1991-93 indicates that these three

components are effective in reducing bird-strikes at JFKIA.

Decision

The circumstances identified above require that the APHIS decision

be bifurcated.\1\ I will treat actions that must be taken in the near

term separately from those that would be taken in the longer term.

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\1\Based on past experience, ADC determined that gulls are

likely to create an extreme hazard to aviation before the close of

the required 30-day period between issuance of the Notice of

Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and

the decision. Thus, ADC requested a 16-day waiver of that time

period (Appendix 1) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA). EPA granted the waiver in a letter dated April 29, 1994

(Appendix 2).

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Based upon the analysis contained in the environmental impact

statement, I have determined that an integrated gull hazard control

program at JFKIA is clearly superior. I have decided, in the context of

the relationship between ADC and the Port Authority, that when ADC

personnel determine, with the concurrence of the FAA and the Port

Authority, that the number of gulls entering JFKIA airspace has reached

an unacceptable level, ADC will begin an on-airport gull shooting

program as described in Chapter 3 of the EIS, once the requisite

Federal and New York State permits are issued to ADC. ADC will work

with the Port Authority among others to enhance JFKIA's on-airport bird

control program, improve the functioning of the Bird Hazard Task Force

(BHTF), and reduce off-airport attractants. These non-lethal components

will contribute to the reduction of gull mortality over the long term,

but will not be as effective in achieving that objective as would be

the relocation of the Jamaica Bay laughing gull nesting colony through

conduct of IMP components 4-6. ADC believes such relocation is feasible

and would be in the best interest of air travelers and the laughing

gull population.

Short-Term: I have determined that the IMP represents the best

available means of addressing the expected immediate need to reduce the

potential for large numbers of gull-aircraft collisions at JFKIA in

1994. When ADC personnel determine, with the concurrence of the FAA and

the Port Authority, that the number of gulls entering JFKIA airspace

has reached an unacceptable level, ADC will begin an on-airport gull

shooting program as described in Chapter 3 of the EIS, once the

requisite Federal and New York State permits are issued to ADC.

Whenever possible, ADC will continue to assist the Port Authority in

implementing and improving the nonlethal components of the IMP,

including the conduct and enhancement of: On-airport vegetation, water,

insect, and sanitation management programs, improved operational

functioning of the Port Authority BCU and the BHTF, and, wherever

possible, the identification and reduction of off-airport bird

attractants. Conduct of these activities will minimize the number of

gulls taken in the on-airport shooting program.

The overriding factor that weighed in making this decision is human

safety. Other considerations, including the minimization of adverse

environmental impacts have been factored into this short-term decision

to the fullest extent possible. Although I would have preferred a

decision that included immediate efforts to relocate the laughing gull

colony, the current circumstances do not favor those alternatives.

Based upon past experience, the timing and nature of the gull-aircraft

strike hazard will likely dictate that management action will be

immediately necessary to protect human safety; other alternatives could

not be fully implemented and still address this immediate need.

Long-Term: APHIS ADC supports the implementation of the six

components of the IMP, with the long-term objective of relocating the

laughing gull colony away from its present location. For the long term,

reducing the potential for gull-aircraft collisions at JFKIA should be

achieved through the IMP, with emphasis on non-lethal alternatives and

on those alternatives that would accomplish relocation of the Jamaica

Bay laughing gull colony away from its present location. Conduct of the

6-component IMP provides a more complete opportunity to strike a

balance between human safety and other public policies. The EIS

adequately analyzes all alternatives, including those which APHIS and

the State and Federal cooperating agencies would authorize. Although

APHIS cannot authorize or pursue the alternatives that would occur on

NPS property, it should be emphasized that the important factors of

human safety and protection of wildlife can be achieved only through

implementation of all components of the IMP.

The nature and extent of APHIS' role in JFKIA's Gull Hazard

Reduction Program will be examined annually by APHIS ADC, which will

report its findings to me and make them available to the public. The

Port Authority's efforts to conduct non-lethal gull control methods and

USDI's progress towards the conduct of the components that would occur

on NPS property will be among the most important factors APHIS will

consider. To reiterate, the environmentally preferred long term

approach is the relocation of the laughing gull colony away from its

present location at the end of the runway, in order to reduce the long

term mortality of gulls, and so substantially reduce the potential for

gull-aircraft collisions at JFKIA.

Minimizing Environmental Harm

The primary adverse environmental impact of the gull hazard

reduction program is the mortality of gulls. The continued development

and conduct of the Port Authority's on-airport program that emphasizes

non-lethal bird hazard control approaches, will contribute to the

reduction of gull mortality. Conduct of the three IMP components that

would occur on NPS property would reduce the need to conduct on-airport

shooting programs, and would reduce over the long-term the mortality

rate of gulls. The Port Authority and the USDI are encouraged to

conduct these activities in order to reduce gull mortality in the short

and long terms.

Chapter 7 of the FEIS identifies mitigation and monitoring

strategies to be conducted to minimize the adverse impacts of

alternatives. All APHIS-conducted gull hazard control activities will

be conducted in such a manner that minimizes adverse environmental

impacts and seeks to maximize human and aircraft safety at JFK. During

the course of the shooting program, APHIS ADC will monitor the

situation at the airport, including mitigation strategies, and report

periodically (at least bi-weekly) to me. All such reports will be

available to the public.

Dated May 25, 1994.

Lonnie King,

Acting Administrator, USDA, APHIS.

April 19, 1994.

Richard E. Sanderson,

Director, Office of Federal Activities, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW. (A-104), Washington, DC 20460.

Re: JFKIA Gull Hazard Reduction Program EIS Process

Dear Mr. Sanderson: This is to advise that anticipated public

safety considerations require that we seek a reduction in the 30-day

period (between notification of availability of the final

environmental impact statement and issuance of records of decision)

required by 40 CFR 1506.10(b) in the above-referenced matter. The

45-day comment period on the draft environmental impact statement

closed on March 28, 1994. We now anticipate that the notice of

availability of the final environmental impact statement will be

published in the May 6th issue of the Federal Register. It appears,

however, that decisions may have to be made before June 5, 1994, the

earliest a decision could be issued consistent with the provisions

of 40 CFR 1506.10(b)(2).

The environmental impact statement--the process for which has to

date fully involved the public and included an on-site ``public

information meeting''--explores alternatives to reduce the gull

hazard to aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport. During

each of the past three years beginning in mid-May the potential for

gull-aircraft interactions has tended to increase dramatically. We

reasonably expect that the potential for gull-aircraft interactions

will reach an unacceptable level before June 5, 1994. Thus, a

reduction of the required 30-day period between notification of

availability of the final environmental impact statement and

issuance of the records of decision by the Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, lead agency in the EIS process, and the United

States Fish and Wildlife Service, a cooperating agency in the EIS

process, is hereby requested.

If additional information is needed or you have questions

concerning this matter, please call me at (301) 436-8565. Thank you

for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Carl Bausch,

Deputy Director, Environmental Analysis and Documentation.

April 25, 1994.

Richard E. Sanderson,

Director, Office of Federal Activities, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW (A-104), Washington, DC 20460.

Re: JFKIA Gull Hazard Reduction Program EIS Process

Dear Mr. Sanderson: This amends my letter of April 19, 1994 in

the above-referenced matter for the purpose of seeking a specific

waiver period. The facts and circumstances as described in my

previous letter have not changed. In fairness to the public,

however, a fixed date by which a decision is to be made should be

provided. Accordingly, a 16-day waiver of the 30-day period

prescribed in 40 CFR Sec. 1506.10(b)--allowing a decision to be made

on May 20, 1994--is hereby requested. We still anticipate that the

notice of availability of the final environmental impact statement

will be published in the May 6th issue of the Federal Register.

If you have questions concerning this amendment or if additional

information is needed, please contact me directly. Thank you for

your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

Carl Bausch,

Deputy Director, Environmental Analysis and Documentation.

April 29, 1994.

Carl Bausch,

Deputy Director, Environmental Analysis and Documentation, Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Federal Building, Room 842, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville,

Maryland 20782.

Dear Mr. Bausch: I have received and reviewed your request dated

April 19, 1994 and the amendment dated April 25, 1994, asking for a

16-day waiver of the review period for the Final Environmental

Impact Statement (FEIS) Gull Hazard Reduction Program, John F.

Kennedy International Airport, Queens County, New York. The request

has been carefully reviewed pursuant to Section 1506.10(d) of the

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing the

National Environmental Policy Act.

Based on my review of the request, I find reasons of compelling

national policy have been substantiated. Therefore a 16-day waiver

has been approved for the above mentioned FEIS.

As required by Sec. 1506.10(d), CEQ will be notified of your

request and my subsequent approval. You will be provided with a copy

of the notice once it appears in the Federal Register. Should you

have any questions, please contact me or have a member of your staff

contact Marilyn Henderson of my office at (202) 260-5075.

Sincerely,

Richard E. Sanderson,

Director, Office of Federal Activities.

[FR Doc. 94-15634 Filed 6-27-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-34-M