Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 241 / Friday, December 15, 2006 / Notices 75511 

contractual changes with TSPs must 

precede implementation of the Defense 

Personal Property System (DPS) under 

the Families First program.’’

Regulation Flexibility Act 

This action is not considered 

rulemaking within the meaning of 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–

612. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 

U.S.C. 3051 et seq., does not apply 

because no information collection or 

record keeping requirements are 

imposed on contractors, offerors or 

members of the public. 

Steven L. Amato, 

Colonel, U.S. Air Force, DCS, Passenger and 

Personal Property. 

[FR Doc. 06–9729 Filed 12–14–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–08–M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Intent To Prepare a Draft Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement 

(DSEIS) for the Nourishment of 25,000 

ft of Beach in Topsail Beach, Onslow 

County, NC 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, 

Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has 

received a request for Department of the 

Army authorization, pursuant to Section 

404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 

10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from 

the Town of Topsail Beach to conduct 

an emergency beach fill project to 

protect ocean front development and 

infrastructure until such time that a 

federally authorized shore protection 

project can be implemented. At this 

time, the construction date for the 

Federal project is uncertain. A Draft 

General Reevaluation Report—

Environmental Impact Statement (GRR–

EIS has been prepared by the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (USACE) and was 

released for public review and comment 

in June 2006 (USACE, 2006). Given the 

current status of the GRR–EIS and the 

need for Congressional authorization, 

funding, preparation of plans and 

specifications, and right-of-way 

acquisition, the Federal project may not 

be implemented until Fiscal Year 2010, 

or possibly later. 

DATES: A public scoping meeting for the 

DSEIS will be held at Topsail Beach 

Assembly Building, located on Channel 

Boulevard in Topsail Beach, on January 

15, 2007 at 6 p.m. Written comments 

will be received until January 31, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and 

questions regarding scoping of the 

DSEIS may be addressed to: U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 

Regulatory Division. ATTN: File 

Number SAW–2006–40848–071, Post 

Office Box 1890, Wilmington, NC 

28402–1890. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the proposed action 

and DSEIS can be directed to Mr. Dave 

Timpy, Wilmington Regulatory Field 

Office, telephone: (910) 251–4634. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project 

Description. The fill placement area will 

occur between the Topsail Beach/Surf 

City limit to Godwin Avenue on the 

ocean beach. The project design will 

remain consistent with the Federal 

design and will involve a dune and 

berm system to be constructed to a 

height of 15 feet NGVD with a 7 foot 

NGVD berm height. An optimum berm 

width of 50 feet is proposed. An 

offshore sand source area located about 

1 mile east of Lea-Hutaff Island is 

currently being investigated for 

sediment compatibility with the native 

beach. The proposed construction 

timeframe for the emergency beach fill 

activities will occur in late calendar 

year 2007 or early calendar year 2008. 

Beach Fill Surveys & Design. Typical 

cross-sections of the beach along the 

Topsail Beach project area will be 

surveyed. Nearshore profiles will extend 

seaward of the monuments to a point 

equal to or greater than 50 feet seaward 

of the construction toe of fill. The total 

volume of beach fill to be placed in 

front of the existing development and 

infrastructure will be based on an 

evaluation of erosion of the project area 

from 2002 through the expected 

construction of the Federal project. 

Geotechnical Investigations. The 

offshores and search investigations 

include approximately two square miles 

(1,220 acres) of seabed. Offshore 

investigations include bathymetric 

surveys, sidescan sonar surveys, seismic 

and cultural resource surveys, as well as 

vibracore collection and analysis. The 

results of the offshore investigations 

coupled with the compatibility of the 

sand resource area and native beach 

sand will be assessed to define the 

borrow area. 

Environmental Resource Coordination 

& Permitting. The GRR–EIS prepared by 

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

prepared an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for the larger Federal 

Shore protection project. The interim 

(emergency) beach fill project will be 

subject to Section 10 of the Rivers and 

Harbors Act, Section 404 of the Clean 

Water Act and the State Environmental 

Policy Act (SEPA). 

Preliminary coordination with the 

USACE-Wilmington District resulted in 

a determination that a Department of the 

Army Application for an Individual 

Permit will be needed for project 

compliance with Sections 10 and 404. 

Similarly, coordination with the North 

Carolina Division of Coastal 

Management determined that the project 

would require a State EIS developed in 

accordance with SEPA; as well as a 

Major Permit under the Coastal Area 

Management Act. 

2. Proposed Action. The scope of 

activities for the proposed emergency 

beach fill project includes: (1) 

Vibracores in the identified borrow area, 

(b) side scan sonar surveys of the ocean 

bottom, (c) in-water investigations of 

potential near shore hard bottom 

resources identified by the side scan 

sonar survey, and (d) beach profile 

surveys. Offshore investigations include 

bathymetric surveys, sidescan sonar 

surveys, seismic and cultural resource 

surveys, as well as vibracore collection 

and analysis. The results of the offshore 

investigations coupled with the 

compatibility of the sand resource area 

and native beach sand will be assessed 

to define the borrow area. 

3. Issues. There are several potential 

environmental issues that will be 

addressed in the DSEIS. Additional 

issues may be identified during the 

scoping process. Issues initially 

identified as potentially significant 

include: 

a. Potential impact to marine 

biological resources (organisms, 

passageway for fish and other marine 

life) and Essential Fish Habitat, 

particularly Hard Bottoms. 

b. Potential impact to threatened and 

endangered marine mammals, birds, 

fish, and plants. 

c. Potential impacts to water quality. 

d. Potential increase in erosion rates 

to adjacent beaches. 

e. Potential impacts to navigation, 

commercial and recreational. 

f. Potential impacts to private and 

public property. 

g. Potential impacts on public health 

and safety. 

h. Potential impacts to recreational 

and commercial fishing. 

i. The compatibility of the material for 

nourishment. 

j. Potential economic impacts. 

4. Alternatives. Several alternatives 

are being considered for the proposed 

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75512 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 241 / Friday, December 15, 2006 / Notices 

project. These alternatives will be 

further formulated and developed 

during the scoping process and an 

appropriate range of alternatives, 

including the no action alternative, will 

be considered in the Supplemental Draft 

EIS. 

5. Scoping Process. A public scoping 

meeting (see DATES) will be held to 

receive public comment and assess 

public concerns regarding the 

appropriate scope and preparation of 

the DSEIS. Participation in the public 

meeting by Federal, State, and local 

agencies and other interested 

organizations and persons is 

encouraged. 

The COE will also be consulting with 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under 

the Endangered Species Act and the 

Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and 

with the National Marine Fisheries 

Service under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and Endangered Species Act. 

Additionally, the EIS will assess the 

potential water quality impacts 

pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean 

Water Act, and will be coordinated with 

the North Carolina Division of Coastal 

Management (DCM) to determine the 

projects consistency with the Coastal 

Zone Management Act. The COE will 

closely work with DCM through the EIS 

to ensure the process complies with all 

State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) 

requirements. It is the COE and DCM’s 

intentions to consolidate both NEPA 

and SEPA processes to eliminate 

duplications. 

6. Availability of the Draft 

Supplemental EIS. The DSEIS is 

expected to be published and circulated 

sometime in early 2007, and a public 

hearing will be held after the 

publication of the DSEIS. 

Dated: December 4, 2006. 

John E. Pulliam, Jr. 

Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander. 

[FR Doc. 06–9727 Filed 12–14–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–GN–M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army; Corps of 

Engineers 

Review and Comments From the 

Interested Public on Draft 

Programmatic Agreement on the Effect 

on Historic Properties Due to Project 

Operations on the Federal Columbia 

River Power System 

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, in cooperation with 

Bonneville Power Administration and 

the Bureau of Reclamation (together 

referred to as ‘‘Lead Federal Agencies’’), 

has released a draft of the Systemwide 

Programmatic Agreement (PA) under 

the National Historic Preservation Act. 

16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.; 36 CFR 800.14(b). 

The Lead Federal Agencies (Corps, BPA, 

and Reclamation) have released the 

draft PA for the management of historic 

properties affected by the multipurpose 

operations of fourteen dam/reservoir 

Projects of the Federal Columbia River 

Power System (Libby, Albeni Falls, 

Chief Joseph, McNary, John Day, the 

Dalles, Bonneville, Dworshak, Lower 

Granite, Lower Monumental, Little 

Goose, Ice Harbor, Grand Coulee, and 

Hungry Horse) on the Columbia or 

Snake rivers in the states of Oregon, 

Washington, Idaho, and Montana 

pursuant to section 106 of the National 

Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). 

DATES: Comments are due on Friday, 

January 19, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to 

Tribal Affairs—DKT–7, Bonneville 

Power Administration; P.O. Box 14428; 

Portland, OR 97293–5884. They may 

also be faxed to (503) 230–5884 or emailed to comment@bpa.gov. Please 

include with your comments the title 

‘‘Draft FCRPS Systemwide PA’’. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kimberly St. Hilaire, BPA Cultural 

Resource Manager, (503) 230–5361; 

Lynne MacDonald, Bureau of 

Reclamation Regional Archeologist, 

(208) 378–5316; or, Gail Celmer, Corps 

Regional Archeologist, (503) 808–4762. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed agreement has been under 

development for over 10 years following 

commitments made by the agencies in 

Records of Decision in 1997 following 

the analysis of the System Operation 

Review Environmental Impact 

Statement. Agencies found that the 

Project operations have the potential to 

adversely affect and may continue to 

threaten historic properties eligible for 

the National Register of Historic Places. 

The Lead Federal Agencies developed 

this draft of the PA in cooperation and 

consultation with tribes, State and tribal 

historic preservation officers, the 

Advisory Council on Historic 

Preservation, Federal land managing 

agencies, and other interested parties. 

Comments are now being sought on the 

draft PA which is available at http:// 

efw.bpa.gov/environmental_services/ 

culturalresources.aspx. The Lead 

Federal Agencies would appreciate any 

comments from interested members of 

the public. 

Dated: December 5, 2006. 

Randall L. Fofi, 

Deputy Division Commander. 

[FR Doc. 06–9728 Filed 12–14–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–AR–M 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection Requests 

AGENCY: Department of Education 

(DOE). 

SUMMARY: The IC Clearance Official, 

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 February 

13, 2007. 

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 IC Clearance 

Official, 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 

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