Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 21, 2000 / Notices 38521

with any agency’s ability to perform its

statutory obligations. The Leader,

Regulatory Information Management,

Office of the Chief Information Officer,

publishes that notice containing

proposed information collection

requests prior to submission of these

requests to OMB. Each proposed

information collection, grouped by

office, contains the following: (1) Type

of review requested, e.g. new, revision,

extension, existing or reinstatement; (2)

Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4)

Description of the need for, and

proposed use of, the information; (5)

Respondents and frequency of

collection; and (6) Reporting and/or

Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites

public comment.

Dated: June 15, 2000.

John Tressler,

Leader, Regulatory Information Management,

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Office of the Undersecretary

Type of Review: New.

Title: Evaluation of the 21st Century

Community Learning Centers Program.

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal

Gov’t, SEAs or LEAs; businesses or

other for-profit; not-for-profit

institutions.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour

Burden: Responses: 18,780; Burden

Hours: 29,586.

Abstract: The program evaluation

uses an experimental design for

elementary school students applying to

21st Century centers and a comparison

design for middle school students

participating in 21st Century centers.

Over a 2-year period, it will include

questionnaires of students, parents, and

teachers; a reading test; and school and

center records collection.

Requests for copies of the proposed

information collection request may be

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, or

should be addressed to Vivian Reese,

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW, Room 5624, Regional

Office Building 3, Washington, DC

20202–4651. Requests may also be

electronically mailed to the internet

address OCIO_IMG_Issues@ed.gov or

faxed to 202–708–9346.

Please specify the complete title of the

information collection when making

your request. Comments regarding

burden and/or the collection activity

requirements should be directed to

Jacqueline Montague at (202) 708–5359

or via her internet address

JackielMontague@ed.gov. Individuals

who use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339.

[FR Doc. 00–15573 Filed 6–20–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–U

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Golden Field Office; Request for

Sponsorship and Support for the 2002

Solar Decathlon

AGENCY: Golden Field Office,

Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of request for

sponsorship and support for the 2002

Solar Decathlon.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of

Energy (DOE) is announcing its

intention to conduct a 2002 Solar

Decathlon and is soliciting letters of

interest from potential co-sponsor(s) and

supporters for this inaugural event. The

Solar Decathlon is an intercollegiate

competition to design and construct

energy-efficient and aesthetically

pleasing 21st-century homes that use

solar energy.

The contest focuses on designing a

place to live and work that obtains all

of its energy from the sun. Each

university team will participate in ten

contests that measure the students’

ability to design and build homes that

collect, store, and effectively use this

clean energy (e.g., heating, cooling,

lighting, communications,

transportation). The Solar Decathlon

winner will be the team that

demonstrates the most effective balance

of energy production and consumption

in these ten events during the weeklong

competition.

This historic event will be held on the

National Mall in Washington, DC,

during late summer or early fall 2002.

For seven days, solar decathletes will

transform the Mall from a pedestrian

thoroughfare to a bustling community of

energy-efficient, completely solarpowered homes. Each solar house will

be a visual showcase of architectural

expression and engineering excellence

designed and built by creative students

from some of the country’s preeminent

colleges and universities. Each team

will test its ability to effectively use the

collected solar energy to heat, cool,

refrigerate, light, communicate, and

transport. The Department’s goal is to

build the event into an energy and

housing ‘‘World Fair’’.

DATES: Letters of interest are requested

by August 16, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Copies of this

announcement can be obtained from the

Golden Field Office home page at http:/

/www.eren.doe.gov/golden/

solicitations.html. Letters of interest,

clearly marked ‘‘2002 Solar Decathlon,’’

should be submitted in writing to Ruth

E. Adams, DOE Golden Field Office,

1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO

80401–3393; transmitted via facsimile to

Ruth E. Adams at 303–275–4788; or sent

electronically to ruth_adams@nrel.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Interested parties should contact Ann

Worley at 303–275–4700 or

ann_worley@nrel.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under this

announcement, DOE is declaring its

intention to conduct a 2002 Solar

Decathlon and is soliciting interested

parties to co-sponsor or support this

solar competition. DOE’s goals for

conducting the Solar Decathlon are to

promote and celebrate the creativity and

talent of students from a full range of

academic disciplines and to support

public awareness and enthusiasm for

energy efficiency and renewable energy.

DOE’s financial support is expected to

be $1 million for planning, managing,

conducting, and promoting the event.

DOE is requesting expressions of

interest from parties interested in cosponsoring or supporting the Solar

Decathlon. Event sponsor(s) or

supporters will help to promote clean

energy for the 21st century, while

celebrating educational excellence and

the possibilities for integrating these

technologies into our homes and lives.

Sponsor(s) and supporters would

include those organizations willing to

commit cash or contributions of

equipment, supplies, or services to the

event.

Sponsor(s) would be those providing

substantive funds or resources to the

event, whereas supporters would be

those making contributions, but not to

the level necessary to co-sponsor the

event. Specific areas of interest include

programming support (e.g., public

broadcasting, media coverage, Internet

coverage), donations of equipment or

supplies for the event or each

participating team (e.g., building

materials or supplies, appliances,

computers, solar equipment), services

(e.g., public outreach, infrastructure

support), or funding to supplement that

being provided by DOE.

Letters of interest should include the

following: (1) Level of interest (i.e.,

sponsor or supporter); (2) nature of the

contributions (i.e., cash, donations of

equipment, supplies, or services) and

the amount of the proposed support; (3)

degree of commitment (i.e., fully

committed with funds or contributions

available, interested, but need

additional information before funds or

38522 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 21, 2000 / Notices

resources can be committed); (4) brief

description of your organization; (5)

description of how your investment or

involvement in the event compliments

your organization’s mission; and (6)

reasons for supporting the Solar

Decathlon.

Letters of interest, clearly marked

‘‘2002 Solar Decathlon,’’ are requested

by August 16, 2000 and should be

submitted in writing to Ruth E. Adams,

DOE Golden Field Office, 1617 Cole

Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401–3393;

transmitted via facsimile to Ruth E.

Adams at 303–275–4788; or sent

electronically to ruth_adams@nrel.gov.

Issued in Golden, Colorado, on June 12,

2000.

Jerry L. Zimmer,

Procurement Director, Golden Field Office.

[FR Doc. 00–15682 Filed 6–20–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security

Administration; Emergency Activities

Conducted at Los Alamos National

Laboratory, Los Alamos County, New

Mexico in Response to Major Disaster

Conditions Associated With the Cerro

Grande Fire

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of emergency action.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of

Energy (DOE) is issuing this notice of

emergency activities conducted at Los

Alamos National Laboratory (LANL),

Los Alamos County, New Mexico, in

response to the recent Cerro Grande

Fire. DOE’s emergency response

activities began with certain preventive

actions undertaken immediately before

the wildfire entered LANL boundaries

in early May 2000, and include those

actions taken while the fire burned

within LANL boundaries, as well as

related subsequent actions (as described

below) that are ongoing since the fire

was contained and extinguished to

address the extreme potential for

flooding damage.

About 7,500 acres of land

administered by DOE at LANL burned

during the Cerro Grande Fire, while

another 35,500 acres burned along the

mountain flanks above LANL and to the

north of the site making this New

Mexico’s most destructive fire in

recorded history. With such large areas

of burned vegetation, including areas of

bare ash along the steep slopes and

canyon sides above LANL, there is a

very high risk for flooding within the

LANL facility and in residential

communities downstream all the way to

the Rio Grande. About 36 percent of the

annual precipitation for the Los Alamos

area falls in the form of rain, primarily

during intense thunderstorms that occur

in July and August each year, but which

may occur as early as June and as late

as in October. The time period for the

DOE’s Cerro Grande Fire emergency

actions discussed in this Notice,

therefore, extends through November

2000.

Flood control measures of temporary,

semi-permanent, and permanent natures

must be taken immediately to prevent

the potential loss of life and property

damage from this threat, and also to

protect sensitive cultural resources and

potential habitat for Federally-listed

threatened and endangered species

present within floodplain areas.

Moreover, there are 74 potential

contaminant release sites (PRSs) and

two nuclear facilities at LANL that

contain hazardous and radioactively

contaminated soils and materials that

are vulnerable to flooding. The PRSs

and nuclear facilities have the potential

to release contaminants downstream.

Some 10,000 residents live in

communities located downstream from

LANL; lands of Pueblo de Cochiti lie to

the south along the Rio Grande, as does

Cochiti Reservoir, which is a popular

recreation and fishing site. Until enough

vegetation is established to cover the

hillsides and canyons to act as a

deterrent to soil erosion and flooding,

the potential for flooding will exist for

the next several years to decades in

some locations.

DOE would normally prepare an

environmental impact statement

analyzing the actions described for

public review and comment pursuant to

its National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) implementing regulations (10

CFR part 1021). However, due to the

urgent nature of the actions required to

address the effects of the Cerro Grande

Fire and the potential for severe

flooding impacts, DOE prepared this

notice regarding emergency actions

pursuant to 10 CFR 1021.343. Because

the cumulative impacts of these actions

are significant, DOE has consulted with

the Council on Environmental Quality

about alternative arrangements with

regard to NEPA compliance for its

emergency actions pursuant to the

Council NEPA regulation at 40 CFR

1506.11. Consistent with those

consultations, DOE will prepare a

special environmental analysis of

known and potential impacts from

wildfire and flood control actions as the

‘‘alternative arrangement’’ contemplated

by the Council on Environmental

Quality regulation. The special

environmental analysis is scheduled to

be completed in September 2000 and

will be available to the public. DOE will

continue to employ a variety of

mechanisms, as explained below, to

facilitate public involvement. DOE will

consider public comments received on

this Notice of Emergency Action and

will also consider public comments

received on the special environmental

analysis in planning future mitigation

actions. This compliance strategy may

be modified or altered as conditions

warrant.

This notice also serves as the Public

Notice and Statement of Findings

regarding DOE’s intention to take action

involving construction and other actions

within floodplains and wetlands

pursuant to DOE’s regulations for

Compliance with Floodplain/Wetlands

Environmental Review Requirements

(10 CFR part 1022). As provided in 10

CFR 1022.18, and because there is an

immediate need to take emergency flood

control and hazard reduction actions,

DOE is waiving the public review

periods that would otherwise apply

before DOE would take such actions in

a floodplain or wetland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO SUBMIT

COMMENTS, CONTACT: For further

information on these activities or other

information related to this Notice,

contact: Elizabeth Withers, NEPA

Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of

Energy, Los Alamos Area Office, 528

35th Street, Los Alamos, NM 87544,

phone (505) 667–8690, fax (505) 665–

4872.

For information on the DOE National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

process, contact: Carol M. Borgstrom,

Director, Office of NEPA Policy and

Assistance (EH–42), U.S. Department of

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586–

4600, or leave a message at (800) 472–

2756.

For more information regarding

activities related to the Cerro Grande

Fire and the LANL Emergency

Rehabilitation Team, including relevant

phone numbers, visit the LANL web site

at www.lanl.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On the

evening of May 4, 2000, employees of

the Department of the Interior, National

Park Service, Bandelier National

Monument, ignited a prescription burn

within the boundaries of Bandelier

National Monument at a location

identified as the Cerro Grande. This fire

was quickly pushed by winds outside

the boundaries of the prescription area

and was declared by the National Park

Service to be a ‘‘wildfire’’ on May 5,

2000. The fire spread rapidly in a

generally northeastern/eastern direction