44324 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 150 / Friday, August 4, 2006 / Notices 

recordkeeping copies of program 

publications, program planning and 

project files, correspondence, regulatory 

and policy affairs files, and documents 

relating to program liaison activities 

with agency staff and interaction with 

the White House Office of Faith-Based 

and Community Initiatives. 

9. Department of Interior, Office of the 

Secretary (N1–48–06–3, 6 items, 3 

temporary items). Files maintained by 

Deputy Assistant Secretaries and 

records lacking historical value held by 

other senior agency officials. Also 

included are electronic copies of records 

created using electronic mail and word 

processing. Proposed for permanent 

retention are recordkeeping copies of 

files maintained by the Secretary and 

the Secretary’s Counselors, Deputy 

Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, 

Solicitor, and Inspector General. 

10. Department of Justice, Justice 

Management Division (N1–60–06–1, 3 

items, 2 temporary items). Electronic 

copies of records created using 

electronic mail and word processing 

relating to agency whistleblower cases 

and the Office of Attorney Recruitment 

and Management’s handling of those 

cases. Proposed for permanent retention 

are recordkeeping copies of 

whistleblower protection case files. 

11. Department of Justice, Federal 

Bureau of Investigation (N1–65–06–10, 

1 item, 1 temporary item). Consent 

forms for contractor personnel agreeing 

to warrantless physical searches of their 

offices or workplaces within agency 

facilities. 

12. Department of the Treasury, 

Internal Revenue Service (N1–58–06–

10, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Records 

of the Office of Appeals relating to 

appraisal review requests for art and 

cultural property listed in tax returns. 

Records include copies of taxpayer case 

files consisting of forms, work papers, 

recommendations and final appraisal 

reports. This schedule reduces the 

retention period for recordkeeping 

copies of these files, which were 

previously approved for disposal. 

Dated: July 31, 2006. 

Michael J. Kurtz, 

Assistant Archivist for Records Services—

Washington, DC. 

[FR Doc. E6–12598 Filed 8–3–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7515–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Environmental Assessment 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft 

Environmental Assessment for proposed 

activities in the Pacific Ocean. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation gives notice of the 

availability of a draft Environmental 

Assessment for proposed activities in 

the Pacific Ocean. 

The Division of Ocean Sciences in the 

Directorate for Geosciences (GEO/OCE) 

has prepared a draft Environmental 

Assessment for a low-energy marine 

seismic survey by the Research Vessel 

Roger Revelle in the South Pacific 

Ocean, in international waters roughly 

between 23° and 47° S, and between 

115° and 165° W during December 

2006–January 2007. The draft 

Environmental Assessment is available 

for public review for a 30-day period. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before September 5, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft 

Environmental Assessment are available 

upon request from: Dr. William Lang, 

National Science Foundation, Division 

of Ocean Sciences, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 

Suite 725, Arlington, VA 22230. 

Telephone: (703) 292–7857. The draft is 

also available on the agency’s Web site 

at http://www.nsf.gov/geo/oce/pubs/ 

scripps_seismic_southpac_

dec2006_EA.pdf. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Scripps Institution of Oceanography 

(SIO), with research funding from the 

National Science Foundation (NSF), 

plans to conduct a piston/gravity coring, 

magnetic, and seismic survey program 

at 12 sites in the South Pacific Ocean 

during December 2006–January 2007. 

The proposed action is part of the 

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program 

(IODP) and will collect data that will be 

used to (1) document the metabolic 

activities genetic composition, and 

biomass of prokaryotic communities in 

the subseafloor sediments with very low 

total activity; (2) quantify the extent to 

which those communities may be 

supplied with harvestable energy by 

water radiolysis, a process independent 

of the surface photosynthetic world; and 

(3) survey broad characteristics of 

subseafloor communities and habitats in 

this region, in order to refine the 

planning and objectives of IODP South 

Pacific research. The seismic survey is 

required to locate optimal piston/ 

gravity-coring sites and involves one 

vessel, the R/V Roger Revelle. One pair 

of low-energy Generator-Injector (GI) 

airguns (45 in3 discharge volume each) 

will used as the seismic energy source 

with a proposed survey program of 

approximately 1930 km of seismic lines, 

including turns, with water depths of 

3200 to 5700m. The research will be 

carried out entirely within international 

waters. 

Numerous species of cetaceans and 

sea turtles occur in the South Pacific 

Ocean. Several of the species are listed 

as Endangered under the U.S. 

Endangered Species Act (ESA). The 

increased underwater noise from the 

research may result in avoidance 

behavior by some marine animals, and 

other forms of disturbance. An integral 

part of the planned survey is a 

monitoring and mitigation program 

designed to minimize impacts of the 

proposed activities on marine species 

present, and to document the nature and 

extent of any effects. Injurious impacts 

to marine animals have not been proven 

to occur near equipment proposed to be 

used in this research; however, the 

planned monitoring and mitigation 

measures would minimize the 

possibility of such effects should they 

otherwise occur. 

With the planned monitoring and 

mitigation measures, unavoidable 

impacts to each of the species of marine 

mammal that might be encountered are 

expected to be limited to short-term 

localized changes in behavior and 

distribution near the seismic vessel. At 

most, such effects may be interpreted as 

falling within the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA) definition of 

‘‘Level B Harassment’’ for those species 

managed by NMFS. No long-term or 

significant effects are expected on 

individual marine mammals, or the 

populations to which they belong, or 

their habitats. The agency is currently 

consulting with the National Marine 

Fisheries Service regarding species 

within their jurisdiction potentially 

affected by this proposed activity. 

Copies of the draft Environmental 

Assessment, titled ‘‘Environmental 

Assessment of a Planned Low-Energy 

Marine Seismic Survey by the Scripps 

Institution of Oceanography in the 

South Pacific Ocean, December 2006–

January 2007’’, are available upon 

request from: Dr. William Lang, 

National Science foundation, Division 

of Ocean Sciences, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 

Suite 725, Arlington, VA 22230. 

Telephone: (703) 292–7857 or at the 

agency’s Web site at: http://www.nsf.

gov/geo/oce/pubs/

scripps_seismic_southpac_dec

2006_EA.pdf. The National Science 

Foundation invites interested members 

of the public to provide written 

comments on this draft Environmental 

Assessment. 


gechino on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 150 / Friday, August 4, 2006 / Notices 44325 

Dated: July 31, 2006. 

William Lang, 

Program Director, Division of Ocean Sciences, 

National Science Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 06–6668 Filed 8–3–06; 8:45am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

National Science Board and Its 

Subdivisions; Meetings 

Date and Time: August 9–10, 2006. 

Wednesday, August 9, 2006—8:15 a.m.–

4:45 p.m. 

8:15–9:15—open; 

9:15–10—open; 

10–10:45—open; 

10:45–11:30—open; 

11:30–12:30—open; 

1:30–2:20—open; 

2:20–4—closed; 

4–4:15—closed; 

4:15–4:30—open; 

4:30–4:45—closed. 

Thursday, August 10, 2006—8 a.m.–3:30 

p.m. 

8–9:30—open; 

9:30–10:30—open; 

10:30–11—closed; 

11–11:30—open; 

11:30–12—closed; 

1–1:15—closed; 

1:15–1:30—closed; 

1:30–3:30—open. 

Place: National Science Foundation, 

4201 Wilson Blvd, Room 1235, 

Arlington, VA 22230. 

Public Meeting Attendance: All 

visitors must report to the NSF’s 

visitor’s desk at the 9th and N. Stuart 

Streets entrance to receive a visitor’s 

badge. 

Contact Information: Please refer to 

the National Science Board Web site 

(www.nsf.gov/nsb) for updated 

schedule. NSB Office: Dr. Robert 

Webber, (703) 292–7000. 

Status: Part of this meeting will be 

closed to the public. Part of this meeting 

will be open to the public. 

Matters To Be Considered: 

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 

Open 

CPP Subcommittee on Polar Issues (8:15 

a.m.–9:15 a.m.) 

• Chairman’s Remarks 

• Approval of Minutes 

• Astrophysics and South Pole 

Infrastructure 

• New View on Arctic Climate 

History 

• Ice Sheets 

• IPY Solicitations 

CPP Task Force on Hurricane Science 

and Engineering (9:15 a.m.–10 a.m.) 

• Approval of Minutes for May 2006 

Meeting 

• Discussion of Draft Hurricane 

Science and Engineering Report 

• Future Activities of the Task Force 

CPP Task Force on Transformative 

Research (10 a.m.–10:45 a.m.) 

• Approval of Minutes for May 2006 

Meeting 

• Outcomes of Previous TR 

Workshops—Draft Report 

CPP Task Force on International Science 

(10:45 a.m.–11:30 a.m.) 

• Approval of Minutes 

• Summary of the May 11 Hearing 

and Roundtable Discussion 

• Discussion of Items To Come Out 

of the Task Force’s Series of 

Roundtable Discussions 

• Discussion of Future Task Force 

Activities, Including the 

Roundtable Discussion Scheduled 

for September 25, 2006 in 

Singapore 

Committee on Programs and Plans 

(11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.) 

• Approval of May 10, 2006 CPP 

Minutes 

• Status Reports: 

Æ Task Force on Transformative 

Research 

Æ Task Force on Hurricane Science 

and Engineering and Dr. Ken Ford 

Æ Subcommittee on Polar Issues 

Æ Task Force on International 

Science 

• Discussion Item: NSB Policy on 

Recompetition of NSF Awards 

• Update: NSF’s Cyberinfrastructure 

Vision 

• NSB Information Item: NSF 

Activities in High Performance 

Computing: Status of the Petascale 

System Acquisition 

Committee on Programs and Plans 

Open: (1:30 p.m.–2:20 p.m.) 

• NSB Information Item: EarthScope 

Facility Construction Project 

• Update: Major Research Facilities 

& Facility Plan 

• Overview of Process for CPP/NSB 

Re-examination of Priority Order for 

New Start MREFC Projects 

Executive Committee Open: (4:15 p.m.–

4:30 p.m.) 

• Approval of Minutes for May 2006 

Meeting 

• Updates or New Business From 

Committee Members 

Closed 

Committee on Programs and Plans 

Closed: (2:20 p.m.–4 p.m.) 

• Awards and Agreements 

Committee on Programs and Plans 

Executive Closed: (4 p.m.–4:15 

p.m.) 

• Awards and Agreements 

Executive Committee Closed (4:30 p.m.–

4:45 p.m.) 

• Specific Personnel Matters 

• Future Budgets 

Thursday, August 10, 2006 

Open 

EHR Subcommittee on Science and 

Engineering Indicators (8 a.m.–9:30 

a.m.) 

• Approval of May Minutes 

• Chairman’s Remarks 

• What Is Science and Engineering 

Indicators? 

• Role of S&E Indicators 

Subcommittee 

• Introduction of Key NSBO and SRS 

Staff 

• Discussion of Science and 

Engineering Indicators Chapters 

• Introduction to Condensed Version 

of Indicators and Companion Piece 

• Key Board Dates and Activities for 

Production of Science and 

Engineering Indicators 2008 

• Chairman’s Summary 

Committee on Audit and Oversight 

Open: (9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.) 

• Approval of Minutes of May, 2006 

Meeting 

• Report by NSF Advisory Committee 

on GPRA Performance Assessment 

(ACGPA) Status of Financial Audit 

Procurement 

• CFO Update 

Committee on Strategy and Budget 

Open: (11 a.m.–11:30 a.m.) 

• Approval of May 9, 2006 CSB 

Minutes 

• Status of FY 2007 Budget Request to 

Congress 

• Discussion of NSF Strategic Plan FY 

2006–2011 

Closed 

Committee on Audit and Oversight 

Closed: (10:30 a.m.–11 a.m.) 

• Budget 

• Pending Investigations 

Committee on Strategy and Budget 

Closed (11:30 a.m.–12 noon) 

• Approval of CSB Closed Session 

Teleconference Minutes 

• Discussion of NSF FY 2008 Budget 

Request 

Plenary Sessions of the Board (1 p.m.–

3:30 p.m.) 

Plenary Executive Closed (1 p.m.–1:15 

p.m.) 

• Approval of May 2006 Minutes 

• Re-examination of Priority Order of 

MREFC 

Plenary closed (1:15 p.m.–1:30 p.m.) 

• Approval of May 2006 Minutes 

• Awards and Agreements 

• Closed Committee Reports 

Plenary Open (1:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.) 

• Approval of May 2006 Minutues 

• Resolution to Close September 2006 


gechino on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES