Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Notices 34139

direction of and supervision of the Farm

Service Agency (FSA) through its State

and County Committees. The LMAAP is

authorized by the Act of August 24,

1935, clause (3) of section 32, and are

implemented by regulations at 7 CFR

Part 748, which provide for the

reestablishment of farmers’ purchasing

power by making payments in

connection with the normal production

of any agricultural commodity for

domestic consumption. Recently the

surge of low-priced, imported lambmeat causes the threat of injury to U.S.

producers in the sheep and lamb

industry. The objective of the program

is to make direct payments to producers

of sheep and lamb operations to help

them weather the current economic

crisis, as well as, help improve their

production efficiencies and the

marketability of lamb meat during the 3

year period from July 21, 1999, through

July 31, 2002. FSA will collect

information using forms FSA–382 and

383.

Need and Use of the Information: FSA

will collect the following information:

(1) Sheep and lamb operation name; (2)

each related producer’s name; (3) ID

number and shares; (4) the number of

rams purchased for the intended

purpose of breeding; (5) the number of

eligible sheep enrolled in and eligible

sheep improvement program; and/or (6)

the type and cost of the facility

improvement. The information is

needed to verify commodity and

producer eligibility and calculate

payment amounts. Without the

information from the producers, FSA

would be unable to administer the

program to provide direct payments to

the sheep and lamb operations.

Description of Respondents: Farm;

Individuals or households; Business or

other-for-profit.

Number of Respondents: 60,000.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting:

Annually.

Total Burden Hours: 25,000.

Agency is requesting and emergency

approval by May 20, 2000.

William McAndrew,

Departmental Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–13236 Filed 5–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[TB–00–09]

Flue-Cured Tobacco Advisory

Committee—Notice of Committee

Renewal

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of committee renewal.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the Secretary of Agriculture has

renewed the Flue-Cured Tobacco

Advisory Committee for an additional

period of 2 years.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

P. Duncan III, Deputy Administrator,

Tobacco Programs, AMS, USDA, 300

12th Street, S.W., Stop 0280, Room 502

Annex Building, P.O. Box 96456,

Washington, D.C. 20090–6456, (202)

205–0567.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Committee, which reports to the

Secretary through the Under Secretary

for Marketing and Regulatory Programs,

recommends opening dates and selling

schedules for the flue-cured marketing

area which aid the Secretary in making

an equitable apportionment and

assignment of tobacco inspectors. The

Committee consists of 39 members; 21

producer representatives, 10 warehouse

representatives, and 8 buyer

representatives, representing all

segments of the flue-cured tobacco

industry and meets at the call of the

Secretary. The Secretary has determined

that renewal of this Committee is in the

public interest.

To ensure that recommendations of

the Committee take into account the

needs of diverse groups served by the

Department, membership should

include, to the extent practicable,

persons with demonstrated ability to

represent minorities, women, and

persons with disabilities.

This notice is given in compliance

with the Federal Advisory Committee

Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

Dated: May 22, 2000.

Paul W. Fiddick,

Assistant Secretary for Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–13239 Filed 5–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Plantation Lakes Project; Ottawa

National Forest, Houghton County,

Michigan

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The USDA-Forest Service will

prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) for the Plantation Lakes

Project to disclose the effects of timber

harvest, site preparation for natural and

artificial regeneration, planting, road

management including: road

construction, reconstruction, temporary

road construction, obliteration, and

motorized vehicle closure; dispersed

parking area installation and

improvement, trail construction,

maintenance of permanent openings for

wildlife habitat, and classification of old

growth, in the Frost Opportunity Area

on the Ontonagon Ranger District, and

the Connors, Kenton, Plantation Lakes,

and Richard Lake Opportunity Areas on

the Kenton Ranger District, located

approximately 7 air miles northeast of

Kenton, Michigan. The purpose and

need for action is to: (1) Promote and

maintain processes which would

enhance natural species diversity,

manage to reduce insect and disease

potential below epidemic levels, and

decrease fire hazard in the long term

while providing a supply of wood

products for regional and local needs to

help support a stable economic base

within the dependent geographical area.

(2) Maintain and enhance habitat

capable of sustaining long-term

populations of a variety of wildlife

species. (3) Maintain a road system that

allows for management of National

Forest lands and provides for public

access while meeting other resource

needs, and (4) Provide dispersed

recreation opportunities to meet public

needs.

The DEIS is expected to be filed with

the EPA and available for public review

by September, 2000.

DATES: Written comments and

suggestions should be received on or

before June 26, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

suggestions concerning the scope of the

analysis should be sent to Leanne

Marten, District Ranger, Ontonagon

District, 1209 Rockland Road,

Ontonagon, MI 49953.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact Allen Nicholson,

Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Iron

34140 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Notices

River Ranger District, Phone: (906) 265–

5139.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

project area contains approximately

17,700 acres within the Ottawa National

Forest, Houghton County, Michigan.

The legal location of the National Forest

lands within the project area are: all or

portions of Section 4–10, 15–22, 27–30,

33, T48N R36W; Sections 1, 12, 24, 25,

T48N R37W; Sections 29–34, T49N

R36W; Sections 22, 23, 26, 27, 34–36,

T49N R37W, Michigan Meridian.

The Forest Service proposes to

harvest approximately 111,000 hundred

cubic feet (equivalent to approximately

60 million board feet, MMBF) of timber

through a variety of harvest methods on

approximately 7,080 acres of forest land.

Silviculture systems include

approximately 1830 acres of salvagemodified clearcut, 1070 acres of salvage/

sanitation harvest, 3,250 acres of

selection harvest, 200 acres of

shelterwood preparation harvest, and

730 acres of commercial thinning.

Connected actions include:

approximately 2120 acres of mechanical

site preparation for natural and artificial

regeneration, and supplemental planting

on approximately 140 acres. An

estimated 2.5 miles of new system road

construction, 8.0 miles of system road

reconstruction, and 4.0 miles of

temporary road construction would be

needed to access timber harvest areas.

Temporary roads would be evaluated

based on the proposed national

transportation policy and would be

either obliterated following completion

of sale activities or added to the

classified road system in the

Maintenance Level 1 closed category.

The proposal also includes an estimated

3.5 miles of system road

decommissioning, permanent closure or

obliteration of approximately 16 miles

of unclassified roads currently closed,

and permanent closure or obliteration of

approximately 7.5 miles of unclassified

roads currently open. Approximately

0.5 additional miles of Forest Road

1338, currently open, would be

managed as closed to highway vehicles.

A dispersed parking/camping area

would be provided at this new road

closure. Approximately 400 feet of new

trail and a canoe access at Echo Lake

would be constructed, about 100 feet of

trail would be resurfaced at Penegor

Lake, and improvements made to small

parking areas at Penegor and Echo

Lakes.

The proposal also includes

maintaining approximately 110 acres of

permanent openings for wildlife habitat

and the classification of approximately

1660 acres of old growth.

The Ottawa Forest Plan provides

guidance for management activities

within the potentially affected area

through its goals, objectives, standards

and guidelines, and management area

direction. The proposed projects

include activities in management areas

(MAs) 1.1,2.1,3.1, and 4.1. This proposal

includes 11 openings greater than 40

acres (size range is approximately 50 to

480 acres), to treat high-risk stands of

jack pine (Regional Forester approval for

exceeding the forty acre regeneration

and salvage/sanitation harvest would be

required prior to signing the Record of

Decision).

Range of Alternatives

The Forest Service will consider a

range of alternatives. One of these will

be the ‘‘no action’’ alternative in which

none of the proposed activities will be

implemented. Additional alternatives

will examine varying levels and

locations for the proposed activities to

achieve the proposal’s purposes, as well

as to respond to the issues and other

resource values.

The EIS will analyze the direct,

indirect, and cumulative environmental

effects of the alternatives. Past, present,

and projected activities on both private

and National Forest lands will be

considered. The EIS will disclose sitespecific mitigation measures, if needed,

and their effectiveness.

Preliminary Issues

Tentatively, several preliminary

issues of concern have been identified.

These issues are briefly described

below:

Transportation System:

Implementation of the proposed action

would permanently close or obliterate

roads not needed for the transportation

system, and manage an additional

segment of road as closed to some types

of motorized use. This may affect the

public’s ability to use traditional access

routes.

Vegetation: There are large areas of

mature and declining jack pine that are

at high risk of loss to insects, disease, or

fire. When proposed harvest areas are

added to adjacent recently harvested

areas (10–15 years ago) several

temporary open areas exceeding 40

acres will be created.

Canada Lynx: Effective April 24,

2000, the lynx was listed as a threatened

species by the US Fish and Wildlife

Service. The lynx will be addressed in

the EIS.

Decisions To Be Made

The Ottawa Forest Supervisor will

decide the following:

∑ Whether or not to harvest timber

and, if so, identify the selection of, and

site-specific location of, appropriate

timber management practices

(silvicultural prescription, fuels

treatment, site preparation, and

reforestation), road construction,

reconstruction, and temporary road

construction necessary to provide access

to accomplish treatments, and

appropriate mitigation measures.

• Whether or not to permanently

close or obliterate roads and restrict

motorized access, and if so, where and

how.

• Whether or not to maintain

permanent openings, and, if so, the

location and size of openings to be

maintained.

• What facilities, if any, should be

constructed to enhance dispersed

recreation opportunities.

• What, if any, specific project

monitoring requirements would be

needed to assure mitigation measures

are implemented and effective.

Public Involvement and Scoping: In

February 1996, initial scoping was done

for the Trophy Barr timber sale, now

one of the projects included in the

Plantation Lakes analysis. Comments

received regarding the Trophy Barr sale

project proposal prior to this notice will

be included in the documentation for

the EIS. The public is encouraged to

take part in the process by

communicating or visiting with Forest

Service officials at any time during the

analysis and prior to the decision. The

Forest Service will be seeking

information, comments, and assistance

from Federal, State, and local agencies,

as well as other individuals or

organizations who may be interested in,

or affected by, the proposed action. This

input will be used in preparation of the

draft and final EIS. The scoping process

will include:

• Identifying potential issues.

• Identifying major issues to be

analyzed in depth.

• Identifying alternatives to the

proposed action.

• Identifying potential environmental

effects of this proposed action and the

alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and

cumulative effects and connected

actions).

Estimated Dates for Filing. While

public participation in this analysis is

welcome at any time, comments

received within 30 days of the

publication of this notice will be

especially useful in the preparation of

the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is expected

to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and to be

available for public review by

September, 2000. At that time EPA will

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Notices 34141

publish a Notice of Availability of the

draft EIS in the Federal Register. The

comment period on the draft EIS will be

45 days from the date the EPA publishes

the Notice of Availability in the Federal

Register. It is very important that those

interested in the management of this

area participate at that time.

The final EIS is scheduled to be

completed by March, 2001. In the final

EIS, the Forest Service is required to

respond to comments and responses

received during the comment period

that pertain to the environmental

consequences discussed in the draft EIS

and applicable laws, regulations, and

policies considered in making a

decision regarding the proposal.

Reviewer’s Obligations: 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

may be waived or dismissed by the

courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F2d

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 45 day comment period so that

substantive comments and objectives

are made available to the Forest Service

at a time when it can meaningfully

consider and respond to them in the

final EIS.

To be most helpful, comments on the

draft EIS should be as specific as

possible and may address the adequacy

of the statement or the merit of the

alternatives discussed. 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 fl503.3 in addressing

these points.

Responsible Official: Phyllis A. Green,

Forest Supervisor, Ottawa National

Forest, E6248 U.S. 2, Ironwood, MI

49938, is the Responsible Official. As

the Responsible Official she will decide

if the proposed project will be

implemented. She will document the

decision and reasons for the decision in

the Record of Decision. I have delegated

the responsibility to prepare the EIS to

Leanne Marten, District Ranger,

Ontonagon Ranger District.

Dated: May 17, 2000.

Phyllis A. Green,

Forest Supervisor, Ottawa National Forest.

[FR Doc. 00–13027 Filed 5–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service

Notice of Request for Extension of a

Currently Approved Information

Collection

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service (RHS),

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed collection: comments

request.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this

notice announces the Rural Housing

Service’s intention to request an

extension for a currently approved

information collection in support of the

program for Farm Labor Housing Loan

and Grant Policies, Procedures and

Authorizations for Multi-Family

Housing.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by July 25, 2000 to be assured

of consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Fox, Senior Loan Specialist,

Multi-Family Housing Processing

Division, RHS, United States

Department of Agriculture, Stop 0781,

1400 Independence Ave., SW,

Washington, DC 20250–0781,

Telephone (202) 720–1624.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Farm Labor Housing Loan and

Grant Policies, Procedures and

Authorizations.

OMB Number: 0575–0045.

Expiration Date of Approval: June 30,

2000.

Type of Request: Extension of a

currently approved information

collection.

Abstract: The Rural Housing Service

(RHS) is authorized under Section 514,

516, and 521 of Title V of the Housing

Act of 1949, as amended, to make initial

and subsequent loans and grants to

provide housing and related facilities

for domestic farm labor. A loan only can

be made to a farmowner, family farm

partnership, family farm corporation, or

an association of farmers whose farming

operations demonstrate a need for farm

labor housing and that is engaged in

agricultural or aquacultural farming

operations and which will own the

housing and operate it on a nonprofit

basis. A loan can also be made to any

limited partnership in which the general

partner is a nonprofit entity. A loan

and/or grant can be made to public,

private nonprofit organizations for

domestic farm labor in areas where need

exists. In some cases, rental assistance

may be provided to eligible tenants.

RHS has the responsibility of assuring

the public that funds for Farm Labor

Housing projects are financed to build,

buy, improve or repair farm labor

housing and related facilities. The

facilities financed are to have decent,

safe and sanitary living conditions and

are managed and operated as mandated

by Congress. 7 CFR part 1944, subpart

D was issued to set forth the policies

and procedures and delegation of

authority for making initial and

subsequent insured loans under Section

514 and grants under Section 516 to

provide housing and related facilities

for domestic farm labor and to assure

that applicable laws and authorities are

carried out as intended.

With the provisions of this regulation,

RHS will be able to provide the

financial assistance and necessary

guidance to applicants in the

development of their project proposals.

It provides the Agency the capacity to

meaningfully evaluate the feasibility of

the proposed projects. RHS will be able

to assure Congress and the general

public that all LH projects will be

operated for purposes that are intended,

and for the benefit of those they are

mandated to serve.

The required information is collected

on a project-by-project basis and is done

so in accordance with the amended

Housing Act of 1949, so that RHS can

provide guidance and be assured of

compliance with terms and conditions

of loan, grant, and or subsidy

agreements.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection of information

is estimated to average 10.93 hours per

response.

Respondents: Farms, Not-for-profit

Institutions, and State, Local or Tribal

Government.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

95.

Estimated Number of Responses per

Respondent: 8.21.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 8,524 hours.

Copies of this information collection

can be obtained from Brenda Frost,

Regulations and Paperwork

Management Branch, Support Services

Division, at (202) 692–0037.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of RHS, including