[Federal Register: June 25, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 121)]
[Notices]
[Page 34710-34711]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25jn07-115]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
[USCBP-2007-0060]
Notice of Availability of a Draft Programmatic Environmental
Assessment on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative at Land and Sea
Ports of Entry
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
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SUMMARY: This Notice of Availability announces that a draft
Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the Western Hemisphere
Travel Initiative (WHTI) at land and sea ports of entry is available
for public review and comment. The draft PEA documents a review of the
potential environmental impacts from changes to technology and
operations to meet the requirements for standardized, secure travel
documents under WHTI.
DATES: The draft PEA will be available for public review and comment
for a period of 30 days beginning on the date this document is
published in the Federal Register. Copies of the draft PEA may be
obtained by telephone request (202-344-1589) or by accessing the
following Internet addresses: http://www.cbp.gov/travel and http://www.regulations.gov.
Comments regarding the draft PEA may be submitted
as set forth in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft PEA may be obtained from U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) through the Internet at http://www.cbp.gov/travel and http://www.regulations.gov or by writing to: CBP, 1300
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 5.4C, Attn: WHTI Environmental
Assessment, Washington, DC 20229.
You may submit comments on the draft PEA, by one of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Comments by mail are to be addressed to U.S. Customs
and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 5.4C, Attn:
WHTI Environmental Assessment, Washington, DC 20229.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
draft PEA docket number ``USCBP-2007-0060.'' All comments will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information sent with each comment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Howard, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 5.4C,
Washington, DC 20229, 202-344-1589, e-mail address:
Patrick.Howard@associates.dhs.gov, or Pat Sobol, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 5.4C,
Washington, DC 20229, 202-344-1381, e-mail address: Pat.Sobol@dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
(IRTPA), as amended, provides that upon full implementation, U.S.
citizens and Bermudian, Canadian and Mexican citizens and nationals
would be required to present a passport or such alternative documents
as the Secretary of Homeland Security designates as satisfactorily
establishing identity and citizenship upon entering the United States.
In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to be published in the
Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and
Department of State (DOS) describe the second phase of a joint plan,
known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), to implement
these new requirements. The NPRM proposes the specific documents that
U.S. citizens and nonimmigrant aliens from Canada, Bermuda, and Mexico
would be required to present when entering the United States at sea and
land ports-of-entry from Western Hemisphere countries.
DHS and CBP have analyzed the potential impacts on the human
environment of several alternate ways of implementing WHTI based on
technological and operational considerations as part of the decision-
making process regarding the implementation of WHTI at sea and land
ports of entry. The impact analysis in the draft Programmatic
Environmental Assessment (PEA), as explained in the report, focuses
primarily on the effects of implementing WHTI at land ports of entry
because the land environment is the most sensitive to the proposed
document and technological changes associated with implementation of
WHTI.\1\
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\1\ Changes to processing travelers at sea ports of entry would
happen entirely within existing buildings and other infrastructure,
so no environmental impacts are anticipated.
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[[Page 34711]]
Four technological and operational alternatives are analyzed in the
PEA that meet the requirements to define and process secure,
standardized travel documents under WHTI. The four alternatives are:
(1) Maintaining the status quo by continuing current processes for
assessing individuals with multiple documents; (2) implementing
standardized features and limiting the number of documents accepted for
entry into the United States; (3) defining and enhancing a limited
number of standardized acceptable documents with machine readable zone
(MRZ) technology; and/or (4) defining and enhancing a limited number of
standardized acceptable documents with MRZ and radio-frequency
identification (RFID) technologies at the top volume land ports of
entry. The potential impacts evaluated include air quality, noise, and
environmental justice, among others.
Next Steps
This process is being conducted pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental
Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), and Department of Homeland Security Management Directive 5100.1,
Environmental Planning Program of April 19, 2006.
Substantive comments concerning environmental impacts received from
the public and agencies during the comment period will be evaluated to
determine whether further environmental impact review is needed in
order to publish the final PEA. Should CBP determine that the
implementation of the proposed action or alternatives would not have a
significant impact on the environment, it will prepare a Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI). The FONSI would be published in the Federal
Register and in newspapers of general circulation in border areas along
the border with both Canada and Mexico.
Should CBP determine that significant environmental impacts exist
due to the plan, CBP would proceed with preparation of an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS).
Dated: June 19, 2007.
Thomas S. Winkowski,
Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations.
[FR Doc. E7-12274 Filed 6-22-07; 8:45 am]
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