Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 153 / Wednesday, August 9, 2006 / Notices 45539 

Department of Commerce—National 

Marine Fisheries Service; U.S. 

Department of Homeland Security—

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency; Mississippi Department of 

Marine Resources and Department of 

Environmental Quality, and Mississippi 

Department of Archives and History. 

Participation from other agencies, 

interest groups, and individual citizens 

is being encouraged and sought. 

5. The first scoping meeting is 

expected to be held in mid-September 

in Biloxi, MS. 

6. It is anticipated that the DEIS will 

be made available for public review in 

April 2007. 

Curtis M. Flakes, 

Chief, Planning and Environmental Division. 

[FR Doc. 06–6794 Filed 8–8–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–CR–M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

Intent To Prepare a Second 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement to the Final EIS on Herbert 

Hoover Dike Major Rehabilitation and 

Evaluation Report, Reaches 2 and 3, in 

Palm Beach and Glades Counties, FL 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: On July 8, 2005, the 

Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers (Corps) issued a Final 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement (FSEIS) for the Major 

Rehabilitation actions proposed for 

Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD), Reach One. 

Herbert Hoover Dike is the levee that 

completely surrounds Lake Okeechobee. 

On September 23, 2005, a Record of 

Decision was signed adopting the 

preferred alternative as the Selected 

Plan for Reach One. 

At this time the Corps plans to extend 

rehabilitation along Reaches Two and 

Three of HHD. This stretch of HHD 

extends for approximately 27 miles 

between an area west of Belle Glade, 

Palm Beach County to east of Moore 

Haven, Glades County, FL. 

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Planning Division, 

Environmental Branch, P.O. Box 4970, 

Jacksonville, FL 32232–0019. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Barbara Cintron at (904) 232–1692 or email at 

Barbara.b.cintron@usace.army.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

a. The proposed action will be the 

selected plan described in the July 2005 

SEIS with the additional action of 

extending construction along Reaches 

Two and Three of the levee. The 

proposed action will not affect the 

Regulation Schedule for Lake 

Okeechobee. It s expected that all 

construction will take place within the 

existing real estate footprint of the HHD. 

b. Alternatives to be considered 

separately for each reach include 

alternative structural modifications to 

the existing levee which are currently 

under development. 

c. A scoping letter will be used to 

invite comments on alternatives and 

issues from Federal, State, and local 

agencies, affected Indian tribes, and 

other interested private organizations 

and individuals. A scoping meeting is 

not anticipated. 

d. A public meeting will be held after 

release of the Draft SEIS; the exact 

location, date, and times will be 

announced in a public notice and local 

newspapers. 

e. DSEIS Preparation: The 2nd DSEIS 

is expected to be available for public 

review in the fourth quarter of CY 2006. 

Brenda S. Bowen, 

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 06–6793 Filed 8–8–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–AJ—M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Record of Decision for the Boston 

Harbor Inner Harbor Maintenance 

Dredging Project 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DOD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, New England District 

announces its decision to maintenance 

dredge the following Federal navigation 

channels in Boston Harbor, 

Massachusetts: the Main Ship Channel 

upstream of Spectacle Island to the 

Inner Confluence, the upper Reserved 

Channel, the approach to the Navy Dry 

Dock, a portion of the Mystic River, and 

a portion of the Chelsea River 

(previously permitted). Maintenance 

dredging of the navigation channels 

landward of Spectacle Island is needed 

to remove shoals and restore the Federal 

navigation channels to their authorized 

depths. Dredged material suitable for 

unconfined open water disposal will be 

disposed at the Massachusetts Bay 

Disposal Site; material not suitable for 

unconfined open water disposal will be 

disposed in confined aquatic disposal 

(CAD) cell(s) located within the 

navigation channels. Major navigation 

channel improvements (deepening) 

were made in 1999 through 2001 in the 

Reserved Channel, the Mystic River, 

Inner Confluence, and the Chelsea 

River. A Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) prepared in June 1995 

for this previous navigation 

improvement project (Boston Harbor 

Navigation Improvement Project—

BHNIP) identified selected use of CAD 

cells in the Mystic River, Inner 

Confluence, and Chelsea River for 

disposal. A Supplemental Draft and 

Final EIS was prepared for this 

maintenance dredging project and built 

on the lessons learned from the previous 

improvement project. A new CAD cell 

for the proposed maintenance project 

will be constructed in the Mystic River 

(previously permitted) and in the Main 

Ship Channel just below the Inner 

Confluence. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Michael Keegan, (978) 318–8087. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers is authorized 

by the various River and Harbor Acts 

and Water Resources Development Acts 

to conduct maintenance dredging of the 

Federal navigation channels and 

anchorage areas in Boston Harbor. 

Alternatives Considered: The National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

requires a discussion of alternatives to 

the project, including the No Action 

Alternative. Since a Supplemental EIS 

was prepared, the preferred alternative 

is evaluated in the context of the 

alternatives addressed in the EIS for the 

navigation improvement project, 

including alternatives to full 

maintenance dredging, dredging 

methods, and disposal options. 

Dredging—The Boston Harbor 

terminal operators, and shipping 

interests were contacted to identify the 

type and size of vessels currently using 

the navigation channels and if they were 

experiencing any delay or impacts 

associated with the navigation project. 

The results of the survey were used to 

determine if maintenance of all or just 

a portion of the currently authorized 

navigation channels in the proposed 

project is required. Based on the results 

of the survey, it was determined that 

shoaling in the Charles River channel 

does not affect any of the current 

operations in that channel and will not 

be dredged. 

Dredging Methods—Various types of 

dredging methods were considered for 

this project including a hydraulic 

dredge, a hopper dredge, and a 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
45540 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 153 / Wednesday, August 9, 2006 / Notices 

mechanical dredge. The type of dredge 

proposed for a project is dependent 

upon the type of material to be dredged 

and the disposal site selected. Due to 

the fine nature of the materials to be 

dredged from Boston Harbor, and the 

aquatic sites selected for disposal, it was 

determined that a mechanical dredge 

would best suit the needs of the project. 

To minimize turbidity impacts from 

dredging, an enclosed ‘‘environmental’’

bucket will be used during silt dredging. 

In addition, no overflow from the scows 

will be allowed to further reduce the 

effects of turbidity on water quality. 

Disposal Alternatives—Over 370 

disposal sites were identified and 

evaluated during preparation of the EIS 

for the previous navigation 

improvement project (BHNIP). The 

screening process selected in-channel 

CAD cells for disposal of the material 

unsuitable for unconfined open water 

disposal and the Massachusetts Bay 

Disposal Site (MBDS) for disposal of the 

suitable material. In addition, seven 

sites were identified in the BHNIP Final 

EIS as potential disposal sites for future 

maintenance dredged material. The sites 

included the MBDS, Subaqueous B and 

E, Meisburger 2 and 7, Boston Lightship, 

and Spectacle Island CAD. 

The Subaqueous B and E sites, the 

Meisburger sites and the Spectacle 

Island CAD are all located in previously 

undisturbed areas. The Boston Lightship 

is a historic disposal site and would 

need to go through a lengthy site 

selection process before disposal could 

be considered. This site also recovering 

from previous disposal events. The 

MBDS is an EPA-designated ocean 

disposal site that is currently in use. 

Sites that have not been previously 

disturbed are not as desirable for 

disposal of dredged material. Therefore, 

the MBDS was selected as the preferred 

site for the suitable material and the inchannel CAD cells selected for material 

unsuitable for unconfined open water 

disposal. 

No Action Alternative—Under a No 

Action Alternative, the Federal 

navigation channels in Boston Harbor 

would not be dredged. Failure to dredge 

Boston Harbor will further restrict and 

delay commercial deep draft vessels. 

Shoaling has reduced depths in the 

channel as much as five feet in some 

sections of the project area. Without 

maintenance dredging to restore 

authorized depths in the inner portion 

of the Main Ship Channel, shippers will 

experience even longer tidal delays and 

be restricted to operating within 

narrower time periods of higher tidal 

stages. This results in a significant and 

negative impact to the region, and raises 

significant operational, safety, 

economic, and environmental concerns. 

With the increase in costs and reduction 

in vessel movement opportunities, it is 

likely that shippers will by-pass the port 

and will unload their products at other 

ports and ship the products back to the 

region via trucks. This could impact 

limited roadway capacity, resulting in 

increased air emissions, traffic, and 

deterioration of highways and bridges. 

Although the No Action Alternative is 

the environmentally preferred 

alternative, it does not meet the project 

objectives, and is not considered a 

viable alternative. Therefore the 

preferred alternative is dredging the 

above described navigation channels to 

their authorized depth using a 

mechanical dredge with disposal at the 

MBDS and in-channel CAD cells. 

Environmental Impacts: Potential 

environmental impacts associated with 

dredging and disposal includes water 

quality impacts from turbidity plumes, 

potential release contaminants during 

dredging and disposal activities, and 

impacts to biological resources. In 

particular, concerns about biological 

resources centered on potential blockage 

of anadromous fish transiting to 

spawning grounds, sediment deposition 

from suspended solids on winter 

flounder eggs, and direct impacts to 

lobsters. 

Extensive environmental monitoring 

was conducted during construction of 

the BHNIP as a requirement of the Water 

Quality Certification (WQC). 

Environmental monitoring required as 

part of the WQC included: (1) Silt 

plume tracking during dredging of and 

after disposal into CAD cells, (2) water 

quality testing after disposal into the 

CAD cells, (3) biological testing, (4) 

dissolved oxygen (DO) testing within 

and outside the CAD cells, and (5) 

fisheries monitoring. The results of the 

monitoring showed no water quality 

violations or significant impacts to 

biological resources. 

Additional investigations (i.e., outside 

the scope of the WQC) were performed 

during construction to address concerns 

raised by the Technical Advisory 

Committee (TAC) to address potential 

impacts from changes in operations 

suggested by the dredging contractor. 

The TAC met periodically to review 

monitoring results and discuss 

recommended amendments to the WQC. 

These additional investigations 

included water quality monitoring of 

disposal at low tide, plume monitoring 

of the contractor’s enclosed bucket, 

monitoring turbidity caused by vessel 

passage over an uncapped and capped 

CAD cell, bathymetric measurements, 

and lobster monitoring. Monitoring 

results showed no water quality 

violations or significant environmental 

impacts from construction of the 

project. One-year surveys and five-year 

surveys of the CAD cells constructed in 

the Inner Confluence, Mystic River, and 

Chelsea River for the BHNIP have also 

been completed, as required by the 

BHNIP WQC. The results of the 

monitoring show that the CAD cells are 

performing as expected. Experience 

gained from placing a sand cap on the 

CAD cells will be incorporated into this 

project. 

Mitigation: As a result of the extensive 

monitoring conducted for the BHNIP, 

and the lack of any water quality 

violations or significant impacts, only 

confirmatory water quality monitoring 

during initial disposal operations is 

recommended for this project. It is 

recommended that total suspended 

solids and turbidity monitoring be 

performed during the initial disposal 

events at both the Mystic River CAD cell 

and at the Main Ship Channel CAD cell. 

To reduce potential impacts to 

resources in the project area, based on 

lessons learned, the following 

mitigation measures will be 

implemented: 

• An enclosed ‘‘environmental’’

bucket will be used for silt dredging. To 

reduce the effects of turbidity on water 

quality, no overflow from the scows will 

be allowed. 

• Disposal into the CAD cells will 

occur only around periods of slack tide: 

three hours at low tide and high tide 

(one hour before and two hours after 

slack tide). 

• A three-foot sand cap will be placed 

in the CAD cells when the silt has 

consolidated enough to support a cap. 

The cap material will be released from 

a moving as opposed to a stationary 

platform. No spudding over the cap or 

mechanical disturbance of the cap will 

be allowed. 

• To reduce the impact to biological 

resources from blasting, all blasting will 

be conducted using inserted delays of a 

fraction of a second per hole. Rock or 

similar material will be placed into the 

top of the borehold to deaden the shock 

wave reaching the water column. A 

fisheries and mammal observer, and fish 

detecting sonar system, will be used to 

avoid blasting when mammals are 

present in the area or when significant 

schools of fish are observed. 

• A fisheries observer, sonar 

detection, and use of a fish startle 

system from February 15 to June 15 will 

be required for the Mystic River and 

Main Ship Channel CAD disposal 

activities to avoid disposal during the 

time of anadromous fish migration. 

• To reduce potential impacts to eggbearing lobsters that are less mobile in 


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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 153 / Wednesday, August 9, 2006 / Notices 45541 

the colder months, no dredging or 

blasting will occur seaward of the Third 

Harbor Tunnel between December 1 and 

March 31. 

• A marine mammal observer will be 

on board the scows transiting to the 

MBDS from February 1 to May 31 to 

avoid potential ship strikes with marine 

mammals, and in particular the North 

Atlantic Right Whale. 

• Rock removed from the Presidents 

Road Anchorage area will be placed 

within a new area of the MBDS to 

increase habitat diversity. 

• The dredge contractor will provide 

advance notice to the lobstermen on 

anticipated significant dredge 

movements. 

• The dredge contractor will maintain 

a short tow while inside Boston Harbor 

to minimize disruption of lobster pots. 

Based on incorporation of the above 

mitigation measures, the experience 

gained during construction of the 

BHNIP, and lack of any water quality 

violations or other significant effects 

from the BHNIP, no significant impacts 

to the environment are expected from 

the Boston Harbor Inner Harbor 

Maintenance Dredging Project. All 

practicable means to avoid or minimize 

adverse environmental effects have been 

incorporated into the recommended 

plan. The public interest will best be 

served by implementing maintenance 

dredging as identified and described in 

the Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Report. 

Dated: August 1, 2006. 

Curtis L. Thalken, 

Colonel, Corps of Engineers, New England 

District. 

[FR Doc. 06–6792 Filed 8–8–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–24–M 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection Requests 

AGENCY: Department of Education. 

SUMMARY: The Leader, Information 

Policy and Standards Team, Regulatory 

Information Management Services, 

Office of Management, invites 

comments on the proposed information 

collection requests as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before October 

10, 2006. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) provide interested 

Federal agencies and the public an early 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection requests. OMB may amend or 

waive the requirement for public 

consultation to the extent that public 

participation in the approval process 

would defeat the purpose of the 

information collection, violate State or 

Federal law, or substantially interfere 

with any agency’s ability to perform its 

statutory obligations. The Leader, 

Information Policy and Standards Team, 

Regulatory Information Management 

Services, Office of Management, 

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. 

The Department of Education is 

especially interested in public comment 

addressing the following issues: (1) Is 

this collection necessary to the proper 

functions of the Department; (2) will 

this information be processed and used 

in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate 

of burden accurate; (4) how might the 

Department enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (5) how might the 

Department minimize the burden of this 

collection on the respondents, including 

through the use of information 

technology. 

Dated: August 3, 2006. 

Leo J. Eiden, 

Leader, Information Policy and Standards 

Team, Regulatory Information Management 

Services, Office of Management. 

Institute of Education Sciences 

Type of Review: New. 

Title: Priority Needs for Educational 

Research Needs of the Southwest and 

Establishing a Baseline for SWREL 

Performance. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal 

Gov’t, SEAs or LEAs; Individuals or 

household; Businesses or other forprofit. 

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour 

Burden: 

Responses: 8,052. 

Burden Hours: 4,030. 

Abstract: The Southwestern Regional 

Educational Laboratory (SWREL) has 

been tasked with establishing a baseline 

for SWREL performance and identifying 

the educational needs (Pre-K through 

Higher Education) of constituents 

within its five state region. The 

respondents will consist of parents, 

business leaders, and educators (e.g., 

teachers, principals, testing directors, 

etc.) from Arkansas, Louisiana, New 

Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The 

information obtained in this project will 

provide a landscape of the region. It will 

also identify the educational research 

needs of SWREL constituents and create 

insights needed to most efficiently serve 

those constituents. In addition, it will 

identify satisfaction levels with current 

research available, identify educational 

issues facing SWREL constituents, and 

identify unique areas of technical 

assistance most needed. 

Requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request may be 

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

by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending 

Collections’’ link and by clicking on 

link number 3165. When you access the 

information collection, click on 

‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view. 

Written requests for information should 

be addressed to U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Potomac Center, 9th Floor, Washington, 

DC 20202–4700. Requests may also be 

electronically mailed to 

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202–

245–6623. Please specify the complete 

title of the information collection when 

making your request. 

Comments regarding burden and/or 

the collection activity requirements 

should be electronically mailed to 

ICDocketMgr@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. E6–12986 Filed 8–8–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Science; High Energy Physics 

Advisory Panel 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

meeting of the High Energy Physics 

Advisory Panel (HEPAP). Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public 

notice of these meetings be announced 

in the Federal Register. 

DATES: Thursday, October 12, 2006, 8:30 

a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, October 13, 2006, 

8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES