Marsh Fiber Optic Cable at Wallops Flight Facility

Wallops Island, Accomack County, Virginia
Owner:  NASA

WSSI conducted environmental studies and assisted NASA with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for the installation of new fiber optic cable via a marine route at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF).  The “Marsh Fiber” provides a reliable, secure, and fast means of transmitting data to support current and future information technology demands to support NASA and other WFF tenants.

WSSI prepared the Environmental Assessment (EA), a supplement to the May 2019 site-wide Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).  NASA was the lead agency, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service participated as a cooperating agency because the proposed cable route passed through the Wallops Island National Wildlife Refuge.  WSSI staff worked closely with NASA to develop the project purpose and need statements, build the screening criteria for evaluating potential alternatives, and draft the detailed description of the proposed action.

WSSI’s work included

• Tidal wetland delineation of the saltmarsh in the project area

• Joint Permit Application preparation and coordination with regulatory agencies for permit authorization

• Identification of and coordination with local, state, federal, and private entities for EA scoping and distribution

• Regulatory compliance and coordination:

  • National Historic Preservation Act: Virginia Department of Historic Resources

  • Endangered Species Act: National Marine Fisheries Service Protected Species Division and USFWS, Virginia Field Office

  • Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Management Act Essential Fish Habitat:  National Marine Fisheries Service, Greater Atlantic Fisheries, Office Essential Fish Habitat

• Public notices and public meeting materials and support

• EA document development and processing, including:

  • Responses to public comments

  • Preparation of the draft EA, the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), and the final EA

  • Administrative record

(WSSI acquired EEE Consulting, Inc. (3e) in 2020; 3e was contracted by LJT & Associates, Inc. on behalf of NASA)