Notice2024-10232
Notice of Availability, Notice of Public Comment Period, Notice of Public Meeting, and Request for Comment on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Drone Package Delivery in North Carolina
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 10, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces the availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for Drone Package Delivery in North Carolina for public review and comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 92 (Friday, May 10, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 92 (Friday, May 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40525-40526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10232]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Notice of Availability, Notice of Public Comment Period, Notice
of Public Meeting, and Request for Comment on the Draft Programmatic
Environmental Assessment for Drone Package Delivery in North Carolina
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of availability; notice of public meeting; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces the
availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA)
for Drone Package Delivery in North Carolina for public review and
comment.
DATES: Send comments on or before May 30, 2024. The FAA will hold a
virtual public meeting on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Eastern Time.
ADDRESSES: Email comments to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ffc6d2b9bebed2bb8d90919ad2ba9189968d9091929a918b9e93bf999e9ed1989089"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d9e0f49f9898f49dabb6b7bcf49cb7afb0abb6b7b4bcb7adb8b599bfb8b8f7beb6af">[email protected]</span></a> or by
mail to Federal Aviation Administration, Suite 802W, C/O AVS
Environmental, 800 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20591. Members
of the public may view the virtual meeting via Zoom at <a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84319168260">https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84319168260</a>.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in
your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying
information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions concerning this action,
contact Nicholas Baker, Environmental Protection Specialist, Unmanned
Aircraft Systems Integration Office, Safety & Integration Division,
Strategic Programs Branch, AUS-430; telephone 1-202-267-4714; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1c25315a5d5d31586e7372793159726a756e7372717972687d705c7a7d7d327b736a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="063f2b4047472b42746968632b4368706f7469686b636872676a4660676728616970">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft PEA evaluates the potential
environmental impacts of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) package
delivery operations in the state of North Carolina. The proposed action
analyzed in the PEA is UAS operators conducting commercial drone
package deliveries under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 135
in North Carolina. The North Carolina Department of Transportation is
the project proponent.
The Draft PEA is submitted for review pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 4321 et
seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA Implementing
Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental
Impacts: Policies and Procedures, section 4(f) of the Department of
Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 303), and section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470). The draft PEA is available
to view and download electronically at <a href="https://www.faa.gov/uas/advanced_operations/nepa_and_drones/">https://www.faa.gov/uas/advanced_operations/nepa_and_drones/</a>. The Draft PEA is available from
any internet access, including from computers freely available at
public libraries.
Based on the analysis in the Draft PEA, including any mitigation
measures that may be used to prevent significant noise impacts, the FAA
has preliminarily determined there will not be significant impacts to
the human environment. As a result, an Environmental Impact Statement
has not been initiated. The FAA intends for this PEA to create
efficiencies by establishing a framework that can be used for
``tiering,'' when appropriate, to
[[Page 40526]]
project-specific actions that require additional analysis. As decisions
on specific applications are made, to the extent additional NEPA
analysis is required, environmental review will be conducted to
supplement the analysis set forth in this PEA.
Public Meeting
The FAA will provide an overview of the project and potential
environmental impacts at a virtual public meeting on May 21, 2024.
There will be a question-and-answer session where the public will have
the opportunity to ask questions about the project after the
presentation. Following the question-and-answer session, the public
will have the opportunity to provide oral comments on the Draft PEA.
The opportunity to provide oral comment will be given in the order that
the requests are received. Comments should be limited to three minutes
and must be reserved to the topic of the Draft PEA. Commenters who may
need longer than three minutes are strongly encouraged to submit a
written comment. The FAA will accept written comments until May 30,
2024. The FAA will not respond to oral comments during the virtual
public meeting, but will review and respond to oral comments in the
same fashion as written comments in preparing the Final PEA.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is committed to providing
equal access to this meeting for all participants. If you need
alternative formats or services because of a disability, such as sign
language, interpretation, or other ancillary aids, please contact the
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Comments Invited
The FAA invites interested stakeholders to submit comments on the
Draft PEA, as specified in the ADDRESSES section of this Notice. The
most helpful comments reference a specific recommendation, explain the
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting information.
The FAA will consider all comments received or post-marked on or before
the closing date. The FAA will also consider late filed comments if it
is possible to do so without incurring expense or delay.
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2024.
Derek W. Hufty,
Manager, General Aviation and Commercial Branch, Emerging Technologies
Division, Office of Safety Standards, Flight Standards Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-10232 Filed 5-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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