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Notices Federal Register

39915 

Vol. 74, No. 152 

Monday, August 10, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Biomass Crop 

Assistance Program 

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation 

and Farm Service Agency, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) 

and request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces that 

the Farm Service Agency (FSA), on 

behalf of the Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC), has completed a 

Draft Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement (PEIS) for the 

administration and implementation of 

the Biomass Crop Assistance Program 

(BCAP) enacted by the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

(2008 Farm Bill). FSA is requesting 

comments on the draft PEIS. 

DATES: We will consider comments that 

we receive by September 24, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments on this Draft PEIS. In your 

comments, include the volume, date, 

and page number of this issue of the 

Federal Register. You may submit 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• E–Mail: BCAPEIS@geo-marine.com. 

• Online: Go to http://public.geomarine.com. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Fax: (757) 873–3703. 

• Mail: BCAP PEIS, c/o Geo-marine 

Incorporated, 2713 Magruder Boulevard, 

Suite D, Hampton, VA 23666. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver 

comments to the above mail address. 

Comments may be inspected in the 

Office of the Director, CEPD, FSA, 

USDA, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., 

Room 4709 South Building, 

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except holidays. A copy of the Draft 

PEIS is available through the FSA home 

page at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/ 

webapp?area=home&subject=

ecrc&topic=nep-cd or at http:// 

public.geo-marine.com. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew Ponish, National 

Environmental Compliance Manager, 

USDA, FSA, CEPD, Stop 0513, 1400 

Independence Ave, SW., Washington, 

DC 20250–0513, (202) 720–6853, or email: Matthew.Ponish@wdc.usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

(Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) 

should contact the USDA Target Center 

at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

BCAP is authorized by Title IX of the 

2008 Farm Bill (Pub. L. 110–246). The 

2008 Farm Bill amends Title IX of the 

Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 

of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–171); specifically, 

for BCAP, the 2008 Farm Bill adds 

section 9011 (7 U.S.C. 8111). BCAP is 

intended to support the establishment 

and production of certain crops for 

conversion to bio-energy in project areas 

(locations) and to assist with collection, 

harvest, storage, and transportation of 

eligible material for use in a biomass 

conversion facility. 

As a new energy program, BCAP 

presents an opportunity to encourage 

landowners and operators to produce 

biomass for commercial energy 

production in ways that both are 

economically and environmentally 

sound. CCC plans to implement BCAP 

by approving the best-qualifying project 

proposals from project sponsors 

(producers or facilities) and then 

entering into contracts with individual 

producers in the approved project 

locations. BCAP is a CCC program 

administered by the FSA with the 

support of other Federal and local 

agencies. 

Under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA), the EIS process 

provides a means for the public to 

provide input on program 

implementation alternatives and on 

environmental concerns. CCC provided 

first notice of its intent (NOI) to prepare 

the proposed BCAP PEIS in the Federal 

Register on October 1, 2008 (73 FR 

57047–57048). CCC provided an 

amended NOI to prepare the proposed 

BCAP PEIS in the Federal Register on 

May 13, 2009 (74 FR 22510–22511) and 

solicited public comment on the 

proposed EIS for BCAP. Six public 

scoping meetings were held in May and 

June 2009 to solicit comments for the 

development of alternatives and to 

identify environmental concerns. 

FSA has considered comments 

gathered in the scoping process initiated 

with the October 1, 2008 NOI to develop 

the alternatives proposed for the 

administration and implementation of 

BCAP and to include in a Draft PEIS. 

The Draft PEIS assesses the potential 

environmental impacts associated with 

the following three alternatives: 

• No Action Alternative—addresses 

the potential effects from not 

implementing BCAP. 

• Action Alternative 1—addresses a 

targeted implementation of BCAP to 

specific areas or regions of the United 

States. 

• Action Alternative 2—addresses a 

broad national implementation of 

BCAP. 

The Draft PEIS also provides a means 

for the public to voice any suggestions 

on the program and any ideas for 

rulemaking. The Draft PEIS can be 

reviewed online at: http:// 

www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=

home&subject=ecrc&topic=nep-cd or at 

http://public.geo-marine.com. 

The Draft PEIS was completed as 

required by NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321– 

4347), the Council on Environmental 

Quality (CEQ) Regulations for 

Implementing the Procedural Provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), and 

FSA’s policy and procedures (7 CFR 

part 799). 

Signed in Washington, DC on August 4, 

2009. 

Jonathan Coppess, 

Administrator, Farm Service Agency, and 

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. E9–19064 Filed 8–7–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 


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