[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-15634]
[Federal Register: June 28, 1994]
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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
