Notice of Availability of a Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System Service

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-99-5012]

Notice of Availability of a Draft Programmatic Environmental

Assessment for the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System

Service

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) has been

authorized by Congress, pursuant to section 346 of the U. S. Department

of Transportation (DOT) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998,

Pub. L. 105-66 (October 27, 1997), to establish, operate, and manage a

nationwide system to be known as the Nationwide Differential Global

Positioning System (NDGPS) as soon as practicable, to integrate the

NDGPS stations into the Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS)

system of the National Geodetic Survey of the Department of Commerce,

and to investigate the use of the NDGPS reference stations for the

Global Positioning System Integrated Precipitable Water Vapor System of

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the

Department of Commerce. A draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment

(PEA) for the NDGPS program is available for public review and comment.

The FHWA seeks public comment on this draft from all interested

parties.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 2, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Your signed, written comments must refer to the docket

number appearing at the top of this document and you must submit the

comments to the Docket Clerk, U.S. DOT Dockets, Room PL-401, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. All comments received

will be available for examination at the above address between 9 a.m.

and 5 p.m., e.t., Monday and Friday, except Federal holidays. Those

desiring notification of receipt of comments must include a self-

addressed stamped envelope or postcard.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For the FHWA program office: Written

requests for a copy of the draft PEA should be submitted to: Mr. James

A. Arnold, (703) 285-2974, Federal Highway Administration, Turner-

Fairbank Highway Research Center,

[[Page 10337]]

HSR-12, 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101-2296. For legal issues:

Mr. Brett Gainer, Office of the Chief Counsel, HCC-31, (202) 366-6197,

Federal Highway Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

Internet users can access all comments received by the U.S. DOT

Dockets, Room PL-401, by using the universal resource locator (URL):

http://dms.dot.gov. It is available 24 hours a day, 365 days each year.

Please follow the instructions online for more information and help.

An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded using a modem

and suitable communications software from the Government Printing

Office's Electronic Bulletin Board Service at (202) 512-1661. Internet

users may reach the Federal Register's home page at: http://

www.nara.gov/fedreg and the Government Printing Office's database at:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.

An electronic copy of the draft Programmatic Environmental

Assessment (PEA) for the NDGPS program is available at http://

www.navcen.uscg.mil/.

Background

The Secretary has delegated his authority under section 346 of the

DOT Appropriations Act for FY 1998, to the Commandant of the United

States Coast Guard (USCG), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA),

and the FHWA. The FHWA is the lead agency and the USCG and FRA are

cooperating agencies for the implementation of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) and 23

CFR 771. In accordance with NEPA, the FHWA is preparing a PEA for the

NDGPS program. A draft PEA for NDGPS is available for public review and

comment. After receipt of public comments, a final PEA will be prepared

which will provide a basis for the FHWA and the cooperating agencies to

determine whether a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)

is required, or if a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is

appropriate. Copies of the draft PEA will be provided to Federal,

State, local agencies, and the public. All interested parties may

comment on the NDGPS draft PEA.

The NDGPS service would augment existing satellite-based Global

Positioning System range information with a differential correction

broadcast from ground-based reference stations transmitting from known

positions, thereby providing users with more precise radio navigation

and positioning information for public safety, transportation,

scientific, and environmental applications. Federal agencies

implementing the proposed NDGPS service are the DOT's Office of the

Secretary of Transportation (OST), the FHWA, the FRA, the NOAA, the

U.S. Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and

the USCG.

The NDGPS involves the expansion of an existing network of USCG

local area Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) reference

stations currently covering United States coastal areas and major

inland waterways. To expand this existing DGPS service nationwide, the

installation of additional reference stations with low-frequency

transmit antennas is required on suitable 11-acre land parcels located

principally in the interior portions of the continental Unites States

and Alaska. Sites will typically be on level ground and away from tall

structures. Three deployment alternatives for the additional NDGPS

reference stations were considered in the draft PEA.

Alternative A consists of conversion of 32 decommissioned USAF

Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) sites for use as NDGPS reference

stations and the transfer of GWEN equipment from remaining GWEN sites

to 28 new NDGPS site locations. Seven additional sites would receive

similar new equipment, for a total of 67 NDGPS reference stations. The

GWEN transmit antennas to be used are typically 299 feet tall guyed

towers and will be operated at an effective radiated power (ERP) of no

more than 500 Watts.

Alternative B consists of the installation of new equipment at 32

existing GWEN relay node sites, as well as at 35 new sites. The

resulting NDGPS reference stations would be physically similar to the

reference stations of Alternative A.

Alternative C is to identify 80 to 100 new sites and install

equipment similar to USCG local area DGPS stations. These reference

stations would utilize either 90 feet or 120 feet tall towers and

operate at an ERP of no more than 170 Watts. The NDGPS is expected to

be fully operational in the United States by the year 2002.

During the selection of sites for the NDGPS reference stations, the

FHWA and cooperating agencies will consult with key regulatory agencies

and apply environmental site-selection criteria to avoid potentially

significant impacts. If a potentially significant environmental impact

is unavoidable during the selection of sites for the NDGPS reference

stations, specific mitigation measures will be implemented to decrease

the impact to a less than significant level. Provided that

environmental site-selection criteria and specific mitigation measures

identified in the draft PEA are implemented for the NDGPS, no

significant environmental impacts are anticipated to occur under any of

the proposed action alternatives. If planned mitigation measures for

potentially significant impacts cannot be implemented at a specific

site, or a site-specific impact is encountered that was not anticipated

and addressed in the PEA, then additional appropriate NEPA analysis and

documentation will be prepared by the FHWA for that specific reference

station.

(Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; sec 346, Pub. L. 105-66, 111 Stat. 1425,

1449 (1997); 49 CFR 1.48.)

Issued on: February 23, 1999.

Kenneth R. Wykle,

Federal Highway Administrator.

[FR Doc. 99-5272 Filed 3-2-99; 8:45 am]

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