Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 189 / Thursday, September 30, 2004 / Notices 58389

other areas upon their request. Concerns 

regarding any of the proposed actions or 

decisions to be made may be mailed to 

SAIC (address above) or provided 

during the meetings. These comments 

will be reviewed and considered in the 

development and evaluation of 

alternatives in the EIS. 

Preliminary Issues To Be Addressed in 

the EIS 

Resource Protection: The EIS will 

address how proposed new leasing 

stipulations (and each alternative) 

would affect the protection of resources, 

such as archaeological resources, special 

status wildlife species, roadless areas, 

air quality, and water resources. 

Oil-Gas Operations Constraints: The 

EIS will address how proposed new 

leasing stipulations (and each 

alternative) would affect oil and gas 

company operations on any new lease 

issued after the Forest Plan amendment 

is approved. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process, which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review 

A draft environmental impact 

statement will be prepared for comment. 

The comment period on the draft 

environmental impact statement will be 

90 days from the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes the notice of availability of 

the DEIS in the Federal Register. The 

Forest Service believes, at this early 

stage, it is important to give reviewers 

notice of several court rulings related to 

public participation in the 

environmental review process. First, 

reviewers of draft environmental impact 

statements must structure their 

participation in the environmental 

review of the proposal so that it is 

meaningful and alerts an agency to the 

reviewer’s position and contentions. 

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. 

NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, 

environmental objections that could be 

raised at the draft environmental impact 

statement stage but that are not raised 

until after completion of the final 

environmental impact statement may be 

waived or dismissed by the courts. City 

of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 

1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin 

Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 

1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of 

these court rulings, it is very important 

that those interested in this proposed 

action participate by the close of the 15-

day comment period so that substantive 

comments and objections are made 

available to the Forest Service at a time 

when it can meaningfully consider them 

and respond to them in the final 

environmental impact statement. To 

assist the Forest Service in identifying 

and considering issues and concerns on 

the proposed action, comments on the 

draft environmental impact statement 

should be as specific as possible. It is 

also helpful if comments refer to 

specific pages or chapters of the draft 

statement. Comments may also address 

the adequacy of the draft environmental 

impact statement or the merits of the 

alternatives formulated and discussed in 

the statement. Reviewers may wish to 

refer to the Council on Environmental 

Quality Regulations for implementing 

the procedural provisions of the 

National Environmental Policy Act at 40 

CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points. 

Comments received, including the 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record on this proposal and will 

be available for public inspection.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21)

Dated: September 24, 2004. 

Judy Dinwiddie, 

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 04–21915 Filed 9–29–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service 

Household Water Well System 

Program Programmatic Environmental 

Assessment

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a 

programmatic environmental 

assessment. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS), an agency delivering the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s Rural 

Development Utilities Program, has 

prepared a Programmatic Environmental 

Assessment (PEA) for a new grant 

program that will implement the 

Household Water Well System Program 

(HWWSP) lending program. The PEA is 

available for a 30-day public review and 

comment period. Subsequent to the 

comment period RUS plans to issue a 

finding of no significant impact.

DATES: RUS will accept public 

comments until November 1, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark S. Plank, Senior Environmental 

Scientist, RUS, Water and 

Environmental Programs, Engineering 

and Environmental Staff, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., Stop 1571, 

Washington, DC 20250–1571, telephone: 

(202) 720–11649 or e-mail: 

mark.plank@usda.gov. Copies of the 

PEA may be obtained by contacting Mr. 

Plank.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 

13, 2002, the Farm Security and Rural 

Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) was 

signed into law as Public Law 107–171. 

Section 6012 of the Farm Bill amended 

section 306E of the Consolidated Farm 

and Rural Development Act (CONACT) 

by adding a grant program to establish 

a lending program. The program will 

provide grants to private nonprofit 

organizations for the purpose of 

providing loans to eligible individuals 

for the construction, refurbishing, and 

servicing of individual household water 

well systems in rural areas that are or 

will be owned by the eligible 

individuals. The program is called the 

Household Water Well System Program 

(HWWSP). This program was authorized 

to appropriate up to $10,000,000 for 

Fiscal Years (FY) 2003 through 2007. 

There was no funding appropriated in 

FY 2003. However, the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2004 (Pub. L. 108–

199), includes $1,000,000 for the 

program. 

The USDA, RUS, is issuing 

regulations to implement the HWWSP. 

The final rule outlines the procedures 

for providing grants to eligible 

applicants to establish a revolving loan 

fund and to pay reasonable 

administrative expenses. The revolving 

loan fund will be used to make loans to 

eligible applicants for the construction, 

refurbishing, and servicing of individual 

household water well systems in rural 

areas that are or will be owned by the 

eligible individuals. The CONACT 

defines an ‘‘eligible individual’’ as a 

person who is a member of a household 

in which all members have a combined 

income that is 100 percent or less of the 

median non-metropolitan household 

income for the State or territory in 

which the person resides. The combined 

household income must be for the most 

recent 12-month period for which the 

information is available, according to 

the most recent decennial census of the 

United States. The maximum statutory 

limit per loan per household water well 

system is $8,000. 

Certain financing actions taken by 

RUS are classified as Federal actions 

subject to compliance with NEPA, the 

Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ), Regulations for implementing the 

Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 

parts 1500–1508), and RUS 

58390 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 189 / Thursday, September 30, 2004 / Notices 

Environmental Policies and Procedures 

(7 CFR part 1794). There are two Federal 

actions under the new HWWSP program 

being considered in this PEA: (1) Grants 

awarded by RUS to eligible grant 

recipients and (2) loans made by the 

grant recipient to eligible loan recipients 

using the direct or indirect proceeds of 

a HWWSP grant awarded under this 

program. 

The level of RUS environmental 

reviews for agency actions are 

categorized in 7 CFR part 1794, subpart 

C, Classification of Proposals. Both 

agency actions for the HWWSP program 

are classified in 7 CFR 1794 as 

categorical exclusions. The first action 

(grant award) is classified under 7 CFR 

1794.21(c)(3) categorically excluded 

proposals without an Environmental 

Report. The second (loan approvals) 

action is classified under 7 CFR 

1794.22(b)(1) categorically excluded 

proposals requiring an Environmental 

Report. 

Due to similar project activities and a 

limited area of potential effect of most 

HWWSP loan approval actions, RUS 

finds that a programmatic 

environmental analysis of the new 

HWWSP will reduce paperwork, 

duplication of effort, and promote a 

more efficient decision-making process 

for program implementation. RUS 

reserves the right to update this 

programmatic analysis to take 

additional information into account or 

develop particular elements of the 

analysis more fully as may be warranted 

in individual circumstances. 

In summary, RUS has determined that 

the implementation of the HWWSP will 

not significantly affect the human or 

natural environment. However, to 

minimize any potential for adverse 

effects to specific environmental 

resources grant recipients will be 

required to comply with the following 

mitigation measures. These mitigation 

measures will be incorporated in 

executed grant agreements. 

1. Floodplains 

The grant recipient will complete 

FEMA Form 81–93, Standard Flood 

Hazard Determination Form for all 

loans. If a household is located in a 

special flood hazard area (Code A and 

V), the revolving loan fund recipient 

must have flood insurance and the 

grantee shall obtain flood insurance 

certifications as part of the revolving 

loan fund closing process. 

2. Water Quality Issues 

HWSPHWWSP funded projects will 

be built by contractors that are 

appropriately licensed to do the work in 

the State where the project is located. 

Water withdrawal permits will be 

obtained as required by the appropriate 

State or local regulatory agency. 

3. Coastal Resources 

The grant recipient will obtain written 

approval from the U. S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service before approving any 

proposed loans located in Coastal 

Barrier Resources System units.

Dated: September 24, 2004. 

Gary J. Morgan, 

Assistant Administrator, Water and 

Environmental Programs, Rural Utilities 

Service.

[FR Doc. 04–21886 Filed 9–29–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[I.D. 092404C]

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request

The Department of Commerce has 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35).

Agency: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Title: Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship 

Program.

Form Number(s): CD–436, CD–511.

OMB Approval Number: 0648–0432.

Type of Request: Regular submission.

Burden Hours: 1,827.

Number of Respondents: 1,000.

Average Hours Per Response: Five 

hours for application package; 45 

minutes for letter of recommendation; 

1.5 hours for annual report; five minutes 

for No Concurrent Work Statement; 15 

minutes for CD–346; five minutes for 

CD–511; and one hour for biographical 

sketch and photo.

Needs and Uses: The Dr. Nancy Foster 

Scholarship Program recognizes 

outstanding scholarship by providing 

financial support to graduate students 

pursuing masters and doctoral degrees 

in the areas of marine biology, 

oceanography, and maritime archeology. 

The applicants must submit information 

that allows NOAA to make scholarship 

selections. Those applicants selected to 

receive scholarships must submit 

additional information that enables 

NOAA to arrange funding and track 

their academic progress.

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households.

Frequency: Annually.

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits.

OMB Desk Officer: David Rostker, 

(202) 395–3897.

Copies of the above information 

collection proposal can be obtained by 

calling or writing Diana Hynek, 

Departmental Paperwork Clearance 

Officer, (202) 482–0266, Department of 

Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, 

DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 

dHynek@doc.gov).

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to David Rostker, OMB Desk 

Officer, FAX number (202) 395–7285, or 

DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov.

Dated: September 22, 2004.

Gwellnar Banks,

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 04–21972 Filed 9–29–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–KA–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration 

[A–583–008] 

Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes 

and Tubes From Taiwan: Final Results 

of Antidumping Duty Administrative 

Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: On July 1, 2003, the 

Department of Commerce (the 

Department) published in the Federal 

Register (68 FR 39055) a notice 

announcing the initiation of the 

administrative review of the 

antidumping duty order on circular 

welded carbon steel pipes and tubes 

from Taiwan. The period of review 

(POR) is May 1, 2002 to April 30, 2003. 

On June 8, 2004, the Department 

published the preliminary results of its 

administrative review of the 

antidumping duty order on circular 

welded carbon steel pipes and tubes 

from Taiwan (see Circular Welded 

Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes from 

Taiwan: Preliminary Results of 

Antidumping Duty Administrative 

Review, 69 FR 31958 (June 8, 2004) 

(Preliminary Results). In the preliminary 

results, we found that U.S. sales were 

made below normal value (NV) by the 

respondent, Yieh Hsing Enterprise Co., 

Ltd. (Yieh Hsing). We gave interested 

parties an opportunity to comment on 

our preliminary results; comments from 

petitioners and respondents are 

addressed in the ‘‘Issues and Decision