Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2011 / Notices 17843 

1Since DCPS filed its application for review, the 

Office of the State Superintendent of Education 

(OSSE) was established as the District of Columbia’s 

State educational agency (SEA). Although OSSE has 

been involved in settlement discussions and would 

necessarily have a role in any compromise, for ease 

of reference and consistent with the pleadings 

before the OALJ, this notice refers to DCPS as the 

relevant party. 

Electronic Access to This Document 

You may view this document, as well 

as all other Department of Education 

documents published in the Federal 

Register, in text or Adobe Portable 

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet 

at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/ 

news/fedregister/index.html. To use 

PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat 

Reader, which is available free at this 

site. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available via the 

Federal Digital System at: http:// 

www.gpo.gov/fdsys. 

Dated: March 28, 2011. 

James H. Shelton, III, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and 

Improvement. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7636 Filed 3–30–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Intent To Compromise Claim Against 

the District of Columbia Public 

Schools 

AGENCY: Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to compromise 

claim with request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The United States Department 

of Education (Department) intends to 

compromise a claim against the District 

of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) now 

pending before the Office of 

Administrative Law Judges (OALJ), 

Docket No. 07–42–R. Before 

compromising a claim, the Department 

must publish its intent to do so in the 

Federal Register and provide the public 

an opportunity to comment on that 

action. 

DATES: We must receive your comments 

on the proposed action on or before May 

16, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments 

concerning the proposed action to 

Ronald B. Petracca, Office of the General 

Counsel, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 

6C111, Washington, DC 20202–2110. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ronald B. Petracca. Telephone: (202) 

401–6008. If you use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD), call the Federal Relay Service 

(FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

Individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document in an accessible format 

(e.g., braille, large print, audio tape, or 

computer diskette) on request to the 

contact person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Invitation To Comment 

We invite you to submit comments 

regarding this proposed action. During 

and after the comment period, you may 

inspect all public comments about this 

notice in room 6E312, FB–6, 400 

Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, 

DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 

4:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, 

Monday through Friday of each week 

except Federal holidays. 

Assistance to Individuals With 

Disabilities in Reviewing Comments 

On request, we will supply an 

appropriate aid, such as a reader or 

print magnifier, to an individual with a 

disability who needs assistance to 

review the comments. If you want to 

schedule an appointment for this type of 

aid, please contact the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

Background 

On July 12, 2007, the Assistant 

Secretary for Elementary and Secondary 

Education and the Assistant Secretary 

for Special Education and Rehabilitative 

Services (collectively, the Assistant 

Secretaries) jointly issued a program 

determination letter (PDL) seeking to 

recover from DCPS $1,354,679 in funds 

under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965 (ESEA), Title I, Part B, 

Subpart 1 of the ESEA (Reading First), 

Title II, Part A of the ESEA (Improving 

Teacher Quality or ITQ), and Part B of 

the Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act (IDEA–B). These funds, 

based on findings in a single audit of 

DCPS (Audit Control Number 03–04– 

68025), were determined by the 

Assistant Secretaries to have been 

expended, during fiscal year 2003, in 

violation of Title I, Reading First, ITQ, 

and IDEA–B. Specifically, the Assistant 

Secretaries found that DCPS had: Failed 

to maintain appropriate documentation 

supporting payroll costs for Title I, ITQ, 

and IDEA–B; failed to provide proof of 

payment for various accrued expenses 

billed to Title I, ITQ, and IDEA–B; failed 

to maintain appropriate documentation 

for expenditures under ITQ and IDEA– 

B; failed to maintain source 

documentation to support journal 

entries for costs attributed to Title I, 

ITQ, and IDEA–B; failed to maintain 

adequate documentation to support the 

acquisition and disposition of property 

obtained with Reading First and Title I 

funds; and lacked adequate supporting 

documentation for items charged to 

IDEA–B. 

DCPS filed an Application for Review 

of this PDL with the Office of 

Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) on 

September 10, 2007. On October 24, 

2007, the OALJ granted the parties’ Joint 

Motion to Conduct Voluntary Discovery, 

Engage in Settlement Negotiations, and 

Suspend the Procedural Schedule (Joint 

Motion). Since this Joint Motion was 

granted, DCPS 1 has presented the 

Department with extensive 

documentation, not available to the 

Department at the time the PDL was 

issued, to support the withdrawal from 

this claim of $571,978 in questioned 

costs. In particular, DCPS provided 

copies of purchase orders, printouts 

from DCPS’ accounting system with 

transaction detail, and copies of 

corresponding checks to support 

$556,033 in accrued expenses billed to 

Title I, ITQ, and IDEA–B. In addition, 

DCPS provided printouts from its 

accounting system with transaction 

detail and copies of corresponding 

checks demonstrating that expenditures 

under ITQ and IDEA–B totaling $15,945 

were, in fact, made. After conducting a 

thorough review of this documentation, 

the Assistant Secretaries have decided 

to accept DCPS’ documentation, thereby 

reducing the claim to $782,701. 

The Department proposes to 

compromise this remaining claim to 

$675,000. Based on litigation risks, the 

high percentage of funds being 

recovered (86 percent of the remaining 

claim), and the costs of proceeding 

through the administrative and, 

possibly, court process for this appeal, 

the Department has determined that it 

would not be practical or in the public 

interest to continue this proceeding. In 

making this determination, the 

Department recognizes that DCPS has 

entered into a High Risk Corrective 

Action Plan (HRCAP) with the 

Department, which includes a plan to 

address weaknesses in financial 

management, procurement, and 

property management, among other 

issues. Since entering into the HRCAP, 

the Department has worked closely with 

DCPS to support DCPS in resolving the 

issues addressed in the HRCAP, 

including the practices or procedures 

that gave rise to the disallowances in the 

PDL. Therefore, the Department does 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with NOTICES
17844 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2011 / Notices 

not anticipate recurrence of violations 

that gave rise to this PDL. As a result, 

under the authority in 20 U.S.C. 

1234a(j), the Department has 

determined that compromise of this 

claim to $675,000 is appropriate. The 

public is invited to comment on the 

Department’s intent to compromise this 

claim. Additional information may be 

obtained by contacting the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1234a(j). 

Delegation of Authority: The Secretary 

of Education has delegated authority to 

Thomas Skelly, Director, Budget 

Service, to perform the functions and 

duties of the Chief Financial Officer of 

the Department of Education. 

Dated: March 28, 2011. 

Thomas Skelly, 

Director, Budget Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7638 Filed 3–30–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Public Hearing for a Proposed Federal 

Loan Guarantee To Support 

Construction and Start-Up of the Topaz 

Solar Farm, San Luis Obispo County, 

CA 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

and Public Hearing. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces the availability 

of the Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement for the DOE Loan Guarantee 

to Royal Bank of Scotland for 

Construction and Startup of the Topaz 

Solar Farm, San Luis Obispo County, 

California (DOE/EIS–0458D) (Draft EIS) 

for public review and comment, as well 

as the date, location and time for a 

public hearing. The Draft EIS analyzes 

the potential environmental impacts of 

the DOE’s proposed action of issuing a 

Federal loan guarantee to support 

construction and startup of the Topaz 

Solar Farm Project located in San Luis 

Obispo County, California (Proposed 

Project). The Royal Bank of Scotland 

plc, as Lender-Applicant, with Topaz 

Solar Farms, LLC (Topaz) as the 

borrower, submitted an application to 

DOE under the Federal loan guarantee 

program pursuant to the Energy Policy 

Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005). Topaz is a 

limited liability company that is owned 

by First Solar, Inc. The loan guarantee 

would support the financing arranged 

by the Royal Bank of Scotland for the 

construction and start up of the 

Proposed Project. 

Topaz proposes to develop the Project 

on up to 4,100 acres of land. As 

proposed, the nominal 550-megawatt 

electric generation project would 

include the installation of about nine 

million photovoltaic (PV) solar modules 

within approximately 437 arrays and 

associated electric equipment. 

Generated electricity would be sold to 

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) under a 

long-term power purchase agreement. 

The Project would be interconnected 

into PG&E’s existing Morro Bay-Midway 

230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line, 

which runs in an east-to-west direction 

through the site and portions of Kern 

County. 

DATES: DOE invites the public to submit 

comments on the Draft EIS during the 

public comment period, which began on 

March 25, 2011 and ends on May 9, 

2011. DOE will consider all comments 

postmarked or received during the 

comment period in preparing the Final 

EIS. Comments received or postmarked 

after May 9, 2011, will be considered to 

the extent practicable. In addition to 

receiving comments in writing and by email [See ADDRESSES], DOE will 

convene a public hearing at which 

government agencies, private-sector 

organizations, Native American Tribes 

and individuals are invited to present 

oral and written comments on the Draft 

EIS. The public hearing will be held on 

April 13, 2011 at the Carrisa Plains 

Heritage Association Community 

Center, 10750 Carrisa Highway 

(Highway 58), Santa Margarita, 

California, 93458; located 

approximately one mile east of Soda 

Lake Road. Oral comments will be heard 

during the formal portion of the public 

hearing beginning at 6:30 pm. The 

public is also invited to an informal 

Question & Answer Open House 

beginning at 5:30 pm at the location 

above, during which DOE and Topaz 

personnel will be available for 

individual discussions with attendees to 

answer questions about the project and 

DOE’s Proposed Action. Displays and 

other forms of information about the 

proposed agency action, the EIS process, 

and Topaz’s Proposed Project will also 

be available for review. 

DOE requests that anyone who wishes 

to present oral comments at the public 

hearing contact Ms. Colamaria by phone 

or e-mail [see ADDRESSES]. Individuals 

who do not make advance arrangements 

to speak may register at the meeting. 

Speakers who need more than five 

minutes should indicate the length of 

time desired in their request. DOE may 

need to limit speakers to five minutes 

initially, but will provide additional 

opportunities as time permits. Written 

comments on the Draft EIS can also be 

submitted to DOE officials at the public 

hearing. 

The public hearing and Question & 

Answer Open House will be accessible 

to people with disabilities. In addition, 

any individual needing specific 

assistance, such as a sign language 

interpreter or translator, should contact 

Ms. Colamaria [see ADDRESSES] at least 

48 hours in advance of the hearing so 

that arrangements can be made. 

ADDRESSES: Public comments can be 

submitted electronically or by U.S. Mail. 

Written comments on the proposed EIS 

scope should be signed and addressed 

to the NEPA Document Manager for this 

project: Ms. Angela Colamaria, Loan 

Guarantee Program (LP–10), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. Electronic 

submission of comments is encouraged 

due to processing time required for 

regular mail. Comments can be 

submitted electronically by sending an 

e-mail to: Topaz-EIS@hq.doe.gov. All 

electronic and written comments should 

reference the following document 

number: DOE/EIS–0458. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

obtain additional information about this 

EIS, the public hearing, or to receive a 

copy of the Draft EIS, contact Angela 

Colamaria by telephone: 202–287–5387; 

toll-free number: 800–832–0885 ext. 

75387; or electronic mail: 

Angela.Colamaria@hq.doe.gov. For 

general information on the DOE NEPA 

process, please contact: Ms. Carol M. 

Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA 

Policy and Compliance (GC–54), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585; telephone: 202– 

586–4600; facsimile: 202–586–7031; 

electronic mail: askNEPA@hq.doe.gov; 


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