63352 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 209 / Monday, October 30, 2006 / Notices 

the project, including project 

description, planning process updates, 

meeting notices, reports and documents, 

and useful links associated with the 

project; direct mailings will also be 

made periodically. 

Please note that our practice is to 

make comments, including names, 

home addresses, home phone numbers, 

and e-mail addresses of respondents, 

available for public review. Individual 

respondents may request that we 

withhold their names and/or home 

addresses, etc., but if you wish us to 

consider withholding this information 

you must state this prominently at the 

beginning of your comments. In 

addition, you must present a rationale 

for withholding this information. This 

rationale must demonstrate that 

disclosure would constitute a clearly 

unwarranted invasion of privacy. 

Unsupported assertions will not meet 

this burden. In the absence of 

exceptional, documentable 

circumstances, this information will be 

released. We will always make 

submissions from organizations or 

businesses, and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives of or officials of 

organizations or businesses, available 

for public inspection in their entirety. 

Supplementary Information: As noted 

above, Ross Lake NRA is managed as 

one unit of the North Cascades National 

Park Complex (North Cascades), which 

also includes North Cascades National 

Park (north and south units), and Lake 

Chelan National Recreation Area (which 

adjoins the park on the south). North 

Cascades is located deep in the 

northernmost reaches of the Cascades 

Range in Washington State and borders 

British Columbia, Canada. 

Management guidance for Ross Lake 

NRA was included in the North 

Cascades GMP (now 18 years old) and 

has become inadequate to address the 

policy and operational issues now 

facing park management for Ross Lake 

NRA. Since the completion of the North 

Cascades GMP, many changes have 

occurred that affect NRA management. 

Seattle City Light’s three dam facilities 

have been re-licensed by the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). 

The mitigation package approved as part 

of the relicensing agreement included 

several large-scale changes and 

improvements for Ross Lake NRA that 

were not included or fully envisioned in 

the 1988 North Cascades GMP. It is 

timely to update the GMP to address 

these large scale changes that are 

occurring in Ross Lake NRA and to 

address resource protection, visitor use, 

and management issues surrounding 

these enhancements. 

Additionally, Ross Lake NRA also 

faces other broad natural and cultural 

resource protection issues—these 

include bioregional management 

strategies for grizzly bear recovery, 

control of invasive species, local climate 

change effects, changing lake levels, air 

quality, archeology, and American 

Indian traditional uses. Complementary 

management strategies will be pursued 

for these resource challenges. 

Visitor use within Ross Lake NRA has 

diversified and significantly increased 

since the 1988 North Cascades GMP, 

due in part to the enhanced recreational 

facilities. Boating on Diablo and Ross 

Lakes has intensified. Use of 

Washington State’s North Cascades 

Highway 20 (which bisects 

approximately 25 miles of Ross Lake 

NRA) has increased dramatically and is 

the most popular motorcycle touring 

route in the region. The GMP update is 

needed to adequately provide 

management guidance for visitor use, 

boats, and motor vehicles within the 

Ross Lake NRA and address carrying 

capacity for visitor experience and 

resource protection. 

Following the completion of the 1988 

North Cascades GMP, the Stephen 

Mather Wilderness within the North 

Cascades National Park Complex was 

designated by Congress in November 

1988. This act brought 93% of the park 

complex under the provisions of the 

1964 Wilderness Act, and 69% of Ross 

Lake NRA is designated wilderness (4% 

is designated potential wilderness). The 

new GMP is needed to adequately 

update zoning for the management of 

wilderness lands within Ross Lake 

NRA, and will ratify the current 

management contained in the 

Wilderness Management Plan. 

Trans-boundary ecosystem and 

recreation management is also a 

significant issue for Ross Lake NRA, 

which borders British Columbia 

provincial parks for five miles along its 

northern border. Hozomeen, at the USCanada border, is the most developed 

access point onto Ross Lake. Ross Lake 

NRA is within a large extended 

watershed that begins in Canada, 

continues through the North Cascades 

and lower river valley, and then drains 

into the Pacific Ocean. An effort by 

Skagit Environmental Endowment 

Commission (SEE), an endowed 

organization established by 

international treaty, is underway to 

manage the upper Skagit watershed 

more holistically between Canada and 

the United States. The new GMP will 

address trans-boundary resource 

management issues as well as 

partnership opportunities with U.S. and 

Canadian entities. In addition, SEE has 

provided funding to the province of 

British Columbia to complete a 

managment plan for its provincial park 

units adjacent to Ross Lake NRA and 

within the upper Skagit watershed. 

Decision Process: Following the 

scoping phase and consideration of 

public concerns and other agency 

comments, a Draft EIS and proposed 

GMP will be prepared and released for 

public review. Availability of the 

forthcoming Draft EIS for public review 

and written comment will be formally 

announced with publication of a Notice 

of Availability in the Federal Register, 

as well as through local and regional 

news media, direct mailings, and via 

Web site postings. Following due 

consideration of all agency and public 

comment, a Final EIS will be prepared; 

it is anticipated that the final GMP 

proposal will be available in September 

2009. As a delegated EIS, the official 

responsible for the decision on the 

proposed GMP is the Regional Director, 

Pacific West Region, National Park 

Service. Subsequently, the official 

responsible for implementation of the 

approved GMP would be the 

Superintendent, North Cascades 

National Park Service Complex. 

Dated: September 14, 2006. 

Patricia L. Neubacher, 

Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region. 

[FR Doc. 06–8949 Filed 10–27–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–GX–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Final Environmental Impact Statement/ 

General Management Plan, Minidoka 

Internment National Monument, 

Jerome County, ID; Notice of Approval 

of Record of Decision 

Summary: Pursuant to Section 

102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91–190, as 

amended) and the implementing 

regulation promulgated by the Council 

on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 

1505.2), the Department of the Interior, 

National Park Service has prepared, and 

the Regional Director, Pacific West 

Region has approved, the Record of 

Decision for the General Management 

Plan for Minidoka Internment National 

Monument. The formal no-action period 

was officially initiated July 28, 2006, 

with the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency’s Federal Register notification 

of the filing of the Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS). 

Decision: As soon as practicable the 

monument will begin to implement as 

its new General Management Plan the 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 209 / Monday, October 30, 2006 / Notices 63353 

Preferred Alternative (Alternative C) 

contained in the Draft and Final EIS. 

The selected plan features a deliberate, 

long-term strategy emphasizing on-site 

education and interpretation and the 

extensive treatment and use of cultural 

resources in telling the Minidoka story. 

A range or preservation techniques to 

protect and enhance historic resources 

will be employed, including 

delineation; stabilization, restoration, or 

rehabilitation; and limited 

reconstruction. A complete barracks 

block exhibit in its original location will 

be established. A visitor contact facility 

area will be developed by adaptively 

reusing existing historic buildings; there 

will be minimal new development. As 

document in the EIS, this course of 

action was also deemed to be the 

‘‘environmentally preferred’’ alternative. 

The proposed plan and three 

alternatives were identified and 

analyzed in the Final EIS, and 

previously in the Draft EIS (the latter 

was distributed in June 2005). The full 

spectrum of foreseeable environmental 

consequences was assessed, and 

appropriation mitigation measures 

identified, for each alternative. 

Beginning with early scoping, through 

the preparation of the Draft and Final 

EIS, scores of public meetings were 

conducted and over 2000 interested 

individuals participated overall. 

Approximately 375 written comments 

were received during the scoping phase 

or in response to the Draft EIS (given the 

minor nature of comments received on 

the Draft EIS, an abbreviated format was 

used for the Final EIS). Key 

consultations or other contacts that 

aided in preparing the EIS involved (but 

were not limited to) the Jerome County 

Office of Planning and Zoning, Jerome 

County Historical Society, State Historic 

Preservation Offices in Idaho, Oregon, 

and Washington, the Advisory Council 

on Historic Preservation, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, native American 

Tribes, Japanese American Citizens 

League, South Central Idaho Tourism 

Association, and adjoining land 

managing agencies. Local communities, 

county and city officials, and interested 

organizations were contacted 

extensively during initial scoping and 

throughout the GMP planning process. 

Copies: Interested parties desiring to 

review the Record of Decision may 

obtain a complete copy by contacting 

the Superintendent, Minidoka 

Internment National Monument, P.O. 

Box 570, Hagerman, Idaho 83332–0570; 

or via telephone request at (208) 837–

4793. 

Dated: September 6, 2006. 

Jonathan B. Jarvis, 

Regional Director, Pacific West Region. 

[FR Doc. 06–8952 Filed 10–27–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–DC–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection for 1029–0047 and 1029–

0080 

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing 

its intention to request renewed 

authority for two collections of 

information: 30 CFR parts 816 and 817 

relating to the permanent program 

performance standards—surface mining 

activities and underground mining 

activities, and 30 CFR part 850 

authorizing State regulatory authorities 

to develop blaster certification 

programs. These information collection 

activities were previously approved by 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), and assigned clearance numbers 

1029–0047 and 1029–0080, respectively. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed 

information collection must be received 

by December 29, 2006, to be assured of 

consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to 

John A. Trelease, Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 

1951 Constitution Ave, NW., Room 

202—SIB, Washington, DC 20240. 

Comments may also be submitted 

electronically to jtrelease@osmre.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request a copy of the information 

collection requests, explanatory 

information and related forms, contact 

John A. Trelease, at (202) 208–2783. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, which 

implement provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13), 

require that interested members of the 

public and affected agencies have an 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection and recordkeeping activities 

[see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)]. This notice 

identifies information collections that 

OSM will be submitting to OMB for 

approval. These collections are 

contained in 30 CFR parts 816 and 

817—Permanent Program Performance 

Standards—Surface and Underground 

Mining Activities, and 30 CFR part 850, 

Permanent Regulatory Program 

Requirements—Standards for 

Certification of Blasters. OSM will 

request a 3-year term of approval for 

each information collection activity. 

Comments are invited on: (1) The 

need for the collection of information 

for the performance of the functions of 

the agency; (2) the accuracy of the 

agency’s burden estimates; (3) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility and clarity 

of the information collection; and (4) 

ways to minimize the information 

collection burden on respondents, such 

as use of automated means of collection 

of the information. A summary of the 

public comments will accompany 

OSM’s submission of the information 

collection request to OMB. 

The following information is provided 

for each information collection: (1) Title 

of the information collection; (2) OMB 

control number; (3) summary of the 

information collection activity; and (4) 

frequency of collection, description of 

the respondents, estimated total annual 

responses, and the total annual 

reporting and recordkeeping burden for 

the collection of information. 

Title: Permanent Program 

Performance Standards—Surface and 

Underground Mining Activities, 30 CFR 

Parts 816 and 817. 

OMB Control Number: 1029–0047. 

Summary: Section 515 and 516 of the 

Surface Mining Control and 

Reclamation Act of 1977 provides that 

permittees conducting coal mining 

operations shall meet all applicable 

performance standards of the Act. The 

information collected is used by the 

regulatory authority in monitoring and 

inspecting surface coal mining activities 

to ensure that they are conducted in 

compliance with the requirements of the 

Act. 

Bureau Form Number: None. 

Frequency of Collection: Once, on 

occasion, quarterly and annually. 

Description of Respondents: Coal 

mining operators and State regulatory 

authorities. 

Total Annual Responses: 326,027. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 

1,432,142. 

Total Annual Burden Cost: $323,096. 

Title: Permanent Regulatory Program 

Requirements—Standards for 

Certification of Blasters, 30 CFR Part 

850. 

OMB Control Number: 1029–0080. 

Summary: This part establishes the 

requirements and procedures applicable 

to the development of regulatory 

programs for the training, examination, 

and certification of persons engaging in 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES