In today's Federal Register, DHS Border Protection issues a final determination on northern border activities, which includes Michigan's border with Ontario, and which will include a program of gratuitous mass human X-RAY exposure for occupied vehicles transiting DHS Border Protection crossing points. You can pretty much expect this all to be in place for the new Detroit River crossing.
The decision to increase human X-Radiation exposure as part of so-called
'homeland security' constitutes a complete corruption and evisceration of
what was the previous federal public health radiation protection policy -- that human
X-Ray exposure is not justified unless there is a medical benefit to the
individual......that policy has been completely abolished at the federal level
first by President Bush and now again even more intensively under President Obama.
The Obama DHS is further abandoning the old federal radiation protection
policy by also authorizing gamma ray exposures to humans in occupied
vehicles in addition to X Ray scanning.
All of these cumulative population doses of exposure to X Radiation and Gamma
Radiation will result in some statistical mortalities as there has been no demonstrated
No Observable Effects Level for population exposures giving a threshold
below which no health/mortality effects will occur from non-zero physical radiation
exposures.
Companies making these radiation scanning devices will make a lot of
money off of these health-damaging radiation exposures now being
encouraged and allowed by the national security and homeland security
establishment.
Today's FR notice is reprinted below the fold.
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 91 (Friday, May 10, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27416-27417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11115]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Notice of Availability of the Final Record of Decision for the
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Northern Border
Activities and Technical Corrections to the Final Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement for Northern Border Activities
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border, Protection, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announces the
availability of the Final Record of Decision (ROD) for the Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement for Northern Border Activities (PEIS).
The release of this Final ROD concludes a process of assessment of the
potential for CBP activities to affect the environment along the
northern border and recommends what measures CBP anticipates it will
routinely consider to reduce the potential for environmental harm from
its actions. CBP is also making certain technical corrections to the
PEIS to ensure that it accurately describes CBP activities and the
preparation of the PEIS itself. This notice describes those technical
corrections.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of the Final ROD and the PEIS
revisions by accessing the following Internet addresses: http://www.cbp.gov/... and
http://www.dhs.gov/.... Alternatively you may email
cbpenvironmentalprogram@cbp.dhs.gov before August 8, 2013 or telephone
(202-325-4191) to request a copy of the Final ROD.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer DeHart Hass, CBP, Office of
Administration, telephone 202-325-4191. You may also visit the
project's Web page through: http://www.cbp.gov/....
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Northern Border PEIS was prepared to
inform CBP decision-makers about potential environmental impacts
resulting from CBP Northern Border activities. The action alternatives
considered in the PEIS represent reasonably foreseeable changes to
CBP's Northern Border security program that could potentially occur
over the next five to seven years.
On July 27, 2012, CBP published a Notice of Availability (NOA) in
the Federal Register (77 FR 44259) announcing the availability of the
Final PEIS and availability of the Draft ROD for the Northern Border
PEIS for a 30-day public review prior to making a decision on what
alternative CBP would select from among those analyzed. Previous
Federal Register notices published for the PEIS are as follows:
Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare four PEISs, July 6,
2010, 75 FR 38822.
NOI to Prepare One PEIS, November 9, 2010, 75 FR 68810.
NOA of a Draft PEIS, September 16, 2011, 76 FR 57751.
The Executive Director for Facilities Management signed the Final
ROD on April 11, 2013. It is available on the CBP Web site at http://www.cbp.gov/.... The
Final ROD confirms CBP's determination that the Detection, Inspection,
Surveillance, and Communications Technology Expansion Alternative is
most representative of the approach CBP will employ in order to enhance
response to emergent border security threats while advancing trade and
travel facilitation over the next five to seven years. The Detection,
Inspection, Surveillance, and Communications Technology Expansion
Alternative would focus on increased patrol activity and deploying more
and better technologies to support CBP's detection, inspection, and
surveillance capabilities and operational communications. This
alternative is consistent with current statements of national policy
with regard to Northern Border security and trade and travel
facilitation goals.
The release of this Final ROD concludes a process of assessment of
the potential for CBP activities to impact the environment along the
northern border and recommends what measures CBP anticipates it will
routinely consider to reduce the potential for environmental harm from
its actions. Other alternatives studied in the PEIS included the
Facilities Development and Improvement Alternative, the Tactical
Security Infrastructure Deployment Alternative, and the Flexible
Direction Alternative. The Flexible Direction Alternative would allow
CBP to employ any of the tools and activities in the other
alternatives. CBP determined that although the Flexible Direction
Alternative fully meets the purpose and need presented in the PEIS, its
approach is more resource intensive than the risk-based approach
envisioned for enhancing border security. If within five years of
signing this ROD, CBP is required to adopt additional measures beyond
the scope of the alternative selected at this time, CBP will evaluate
whether it should issue a ROD adopting the Flexible Direction
Alternative.
Comment Response and Clarifications Incorporated Into the Final ROD
In response to a comment received on the Draft ROD and further
consideration of its decision, CBP included certain clarifications in
the Final ROD.
Easement Clarification
During the 30-day period following the public release of the Final
PEIS and Draft ROD, CBP received seven inquiries and only one comment
on the Final PEIS. This comment was from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Along with providing information on all NRCS easements along the
Northern Border, NRCS requested that CBP attempt to avoid constructing
facilities and infrastructure within NRCS conservation easements. CBP
addressed this comment in the Final ROD by including easements in the
list of Federal lands for which CBP should use the Borderlands
Management Task Force structure to enhance coordination among land-
managers regarding usage for CBP construction, modification, and
maintenance projects.
Best Management Practices (BMPs) Clarifications
BMP A.1, described in the Final ROD, is focused on improving CBP
coordination with the Department of Interior (DOI) and USDA during
project planning. The Final ROD clarifies this BMP's applicability to
DOI managed lands and lands held in trust for American Indians and
Federally-recognized Indian tribes. The Final ROD further emphasizes
that CBP will also coordinate and consult with governments of tribes or
nations when activities impact such lands held in trust. In response to
NRCS comments, CBP also included applicable easements to the list of
USDA managed land.
BMP A.5 is concerned with minimizing impacts to migratory birds and
threatened and endangered flying species from CBP towers. The Final ROD
clarifies that the BMP applies to construction of new antennae
structures. Furthermore, when CBP is
[[Page 27417]]
collocating equipment on antennae structures owned by non-Federal
entities, it can only implement BMPs for the structure in accordance
with the owner's willingness, structural capability, and zoning
restrictions.
Additional Clarifications
In section V, ``Implementation,'' CBP made minor wording changes to
further clarify that the selected alternative describes the lines of
activity that CBP believes it would take in response to future changes
in the threat environment and security priorities.
Also, in section II, ``Factors Considered in the Decision,'' the
ROD now reiterates the theme that partnerships and intelligence are a
vital part of resolving emerging cross-border threats prior to them
reaching the border.
Technical Corrections to the PEIS
During its deliberations, CBP found that certain technical
corrections to the Final PEIS were needed. These technical corrections
to the PEIS ensure that the PEIS accurately describes CBP activities
and the preparation of the PEIS itself. The technical corrections are
confined to: (1) The description of certain technologies used for
inspecting vehicles and cargo, and (2) the list of government personnel
involved in the preparation of the Final PEIS and Final ROD.
The technical corrections CBP is making to the Final PEIS do not
change any impact determinations in the PEIS. Accordingly, CBP will not
reissue the PEIS for public input. CBP has incorporated the technical
corrections, as they are described below, into the online version of
the PEIS.
Gamma imaging and X-ray Inspection Technologies
On page 2-11 and in the table on page 2-12 of the Final PEIS, the
discussion of inspection technologies included in the Detection,
Inspection, Surveillance, and Communications Technology Expansion
Alternative was amended to better describe CBP's use of gamma imaging
inspection systems and X-ray technologies.
The bullet at the bottom of page 2-11 explains why CBP evaluates
the usefulness of commercial off the shelf technologies. In order to
reflect the proper application of X-ray scanners by CBP, the bullet at
the bottom of page 2-11 was amended so it now reads as follows:
``Performing inspections using more personal radiation detectors (PRD),
RIIDs and NII tools such as gamma imaging inspection systems, and low
and high energy x-ray inspection systems (see box on page 2-12). (CBP
completed Programmatic Environmental Assessments (EA) on the deployment
of various types of NII technology in 2010 and recently published a
programmatic EA for the use of low energy x-ray inspection systems to
scan personally owned vehicles (POVs) with the driver/passenger in the
vehicle.).'' 1\
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1\ This passage previously stated: ``Processing visitors and
cargo more rapidly while maintaining strict security by using more
and improved personal radiation detectors (PRD), RIDs, and NII
tools, such as high-energy container scanners and full-body scanners
(see box). (CBP completed a programmatic Environmental Assessment
(EA) on the deployment of various types of NII technology in 2009
and recently published EAs for the use of high-energy scanners for
both cargo and people.)''
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Page 2-12 of the PEIS discusses gamma imaging inspection systems
and uses Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System[supreg] (VACIS) as the
operative example. ``Gamma imaging inspection system'' is the general
description of the impacting technology. VACIS[supreg] is merely the
proprietary name for a particular brand of gamma imaging inspection
system. Therefore, the PEIS should have used the more general term
``gamma imaging inspection system'' throughout the discussion.
Accordingly, the relevant passage on page 2-12 was amended so it now
reads: ``Gamma Imaging Inspection Systems--The gamma imaging inspection
system is used to scan cargo. It can be delivered as a portal or on
tracks for POEs, or mounted on a truck to be used at multiple,
temporary, and/or remote locations as well as POEs. The truck-mounted
system can be especially useful for those situations where the
container itself is fixed.'' 2\
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2\ This passage previously stated: ``Vehicle and Cargo
Inspection System--This is a gamma-ray backscatter imaging system
used for inspecting cargoes. It can be delivered as a portal for
POEs or mounted on a truck to be used at multiple, temporary, and/or
remote locations. The truck-mounted system can be especially useful
for those situations where the container itself is fixed, such as a
railroad car.''
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The discussion of X-Ray inspection technologies on page 2-12 of the
PEIS incorrectly asserted that high energy X-Ray inspections systems
(HEXRIS) were used by CBP to perform body scans. Neither high energy
nor low-energy X-ray systems are used for body scan imaging. LEXRIS are
used to scan personally owned vehicles at ports of entry while the
drivers or passengers remain in their vehicles. Therefore, the
discussion of HEXRIS was revised to state: ``X-Ray Imaging Systems--
High Energy X-Ray Inspection Systems (HEXRIS) is a non-intrusive
inspection technology for use to aid in inspecting high-density cargo
containers. Low Energy X-Ray Systems are utilized to scan personally
owned vehicles (POVs).''3\
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3\ This passage previously stated: ``High-Energy X-Ray Imaging
Scanners--High-energy imaging scanners scan a passenger by rastering
or moving a single high-energy X-ray beam rapidly over the body. The
signal strength of detected backscattered X-rays from a known
position then allows a highly realistic image to be reconstructed
(EPIC, 2010).''
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Also, on page 8-197, in the paragraph beginning. ``Use NII
Technology,'' the phrase ``high-energy X-ray imaging systems'' should
be ``high-energy inspection systems.''
List of Preparers
A number of government personnel who contributed to the preparation
of the Final PEIS were inadvertently omitted from the Chapter 11 List
of Preparers in the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.
This notice amends the Final PEIS Preparers table to add the following
personnel according to their name and description of their associated
professional experience:
Paula Bienenfeld (Parsons), Ph.D., Anthropology--32 years:
archeology; NHPA Section 106 consultation, NEPA document preparation,
analysis, and review;
Jennifer Hass (CBP), M.S. Environmental Law; J.D.--6
years: environmental planning, environmental program management,
environmental issue advocacy, NEPA document preparation, analysis, and
review;
John Petrilla (CBP), B.S. Environmental Economics and
Policy, M.P.P. Policy Studies--5 years: environmental planning and
compliance; NEPA document preparation, analysis, and review; and
Joseph Zidron (CBP), Masters of Public Administration--5
years: environmental planning and compliance; NEPA document
preparation, analysis, and review.
Dated: May 6, 2013.
Karl H. Calvo,
Executive Director, Facilities Management and Engineering, Office of
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-11115 Filed 5-9-13; 8:45 am]
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