N.S. Savannah Decommissioning and Disposition

Notice of Peer Review Group Meetings and Opportunities for Public Participation and Comment

The purpose of this web page is to provide the public with an open informal notice and comment opportunity regarding the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) ongoing consultation about the future disposition of the National Historic Landmark vessel N.S. Savannah (NSS). MARAD’s consultation is governed by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (the NHPA).

On March 17, 2023, a Programmatic Agreement (PA) among MARAD, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and Maryland State Historic Preservation Officer was executed. The PA establishes a Peer Review Group (PRG) composed of the four signatories and several concurring parties to the agreement, to continue consultation about the effects of the NSS decommissioning and license termination project, and the subsequent disposition of the ship. The PRG members will provide individual input to MARAD, rather than building toward consensus group advice. The PA is available online here, and also on MARAD’s federal docket here (https://www.regulations.gov/docket/MARAD-2020-0133).

The PRG will meet on a bimonthly basis. The schedule of PRG meetings for 2023 and 2024 is available online here, and also on MARAD’s docket here (https://www.regulations.gov/docket/MARAD-2020-0133). Meetings will typically be held in a hybrid format, with in-person attendance onboard the NSS in Baltimore, and online by Microsoft TEAMS (TEAMS). The TEAMS meeting will feature a telephone dial-in option. Members of the public who wish to participate in PRG meetings should contact MARAD’s point of contact, Mr. Erhard Koehler, by email at erhard.koehler@dot.gov, or by telephone / text at (202) 680-2066. He will respond to you with the TEAMS link. If you wish to attend a meeting in-person you must contact MARAD at least one (1) week in advance. The NSS is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ship has some capability to accommodate persons with impaired mobility, for which advance notice is required. If you require accommodations to attend PRG meetings in-person, please include this information in your RSVP.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is committed to providing all participants equal access to this meeting. If you need alternative formats or services such as sign language, interpretation, or other ancillary aids, please also include that in your RSVP.

The PA stipulates a deliberative process by which MARAD will consider the disposition of NSS. This process requires MARAD to make an affirmative, good-faith effort to seek the preservation of NSS. MARAD will focus its efforts throughout the balance of 2023 and 2024 towards the preservation outcome.

MARAD Federal Docket

MARAD maintains an open docket on regulations.gov at docket number MARAD-2020-0133 to provide a formal repository for all consultation records, including public comments, and documents concerning the disposition of the NSS. All notice and comment opportunities posted on this website will also be posted on the docket.

Comments submitted to this website will also be uploaded to the docket.

Comments uploaded to the docket will be accessible to the public.

Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). For information on DOT’s compliance with the Privacy Act, please visit https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.

MARAD Notice, Comment, and Review Process

MARAD will post a meeting notice on the Federal Register, this website and on the docket for all scheduled PRG meetings. The minimum notice period will be two (2) calendar weeks in advance of the meeting date (except for the first meeting, which will be posted one week in advance). Meeting notices on the website will include a draft agenda, and minutes of the previous meeting. For some meetings, draft MARAD documents will be included. Draft documents may also be posted separately. When posted separately, it will usually be about fifteen (15) calendar days before the meeting date, to allow discussion about the document to take place during a PRG meeting.

Comments on the agenda and minutes may be submitted as described below, up to the date of the meeting. MARAD will consider substantive comments received on agendas and minutes up to the time of the meeting.

The comment period for draft documents is thirty (30) calendar days from the date of posting on the web site and docket. If those dates differ, the comment period will extend from the later posting date. We will consider all substantive comments received during the comment period.

Comments received after this period, but before our final document is published, will be considered to the extent practicable.

Comments can be submitted via email at marad.history@dot.gov or by mail: Erhard W. Koehler, MARAD Savannah Technical Staff c/o N.S. Savannah, Pier 13 Canton Marine Terminal, 4601 Newgate Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224. MARAD Contacts: For questions about the notice: Erhard W. Koehler, 202-680-2066, or via email at erhard.koehler@dot.gov.

Each PRG meeting or document that is currently open for public comment is identified below. Past meeting information and documents will remain below, but will be marked as closed. To view the information pertaining to any particular meeting or document, click on the appropriate link.

• Meeting notices and attachments

o Next Meeting

PRG Meeting Agenda 5-21-2024

o Previous Meetings

• Documents for comment

o Open Documents

o Closed Documents

• Comment consideration and resolution

• Final work products / documents

Last updated: Friday, May 10, 2024

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N.S. Savannah Decommissioning and Disposition

Notice of Peer Review Group Meetings and Opportunities for Public Participation and Comment

MARAD Federal Docket

MARAD Notice, Comment, and Review Process