51530 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2012 / Notices 

statements, both oral and written, will 

become part of the public record on the 

Draft EIS and will be responded to in 

the Final EIS. Equal weight will be 

given to both oral and written 

statements. In the interest of available 

time, and to ensure all who wish to give 

an oral statement have the opportunity 

to do so, each speaker’s comments will 

be limited to two (2) minutes. If a long 

statement is to be presented, it should 

be summarized at the public hearing 

with the full text submitted either in 

writing at the hearing, or mailed, faxed, 

or emailed to Commander, Naval 

Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren 

Division, 6149 Welsh Road, Suite 203, 

Dahlgren, VA 22448–5130, Attn: Code 

C6 (NSWCDD PAO), Fax: 1–540–653– 

4679, or Email: DLGR_NSWC_EIS@navy.

mil during the comment period. All 

written comments must be postmarked 

or received by October 01, 2012 to 

ensure they become part of the official 

record. All comments will be addressed 

in the Final EIS. 

Dated: August 20, 2012. 

C.K. Chiappetta, 

Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate 

General’s Corps, U.S. Navy, Federal Register 

Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20937 Filed 8–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Proposed Agency Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice and request for OMB 

review and comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) has submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

clearance a proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 

proposed collection will enable DOE to 

have current knowledge of Federal 

employees and contractors conducting 

foreign travel to a non U.S. territory on 

the behalf of DOE. Information gathered 

will include dates of travel, destination, 

purpose, and after-hour contact 

information in case of emergency. 

DATES: Comments regarding this 

collection must be received on or before 

30 days after date of publication in the 

Federal Register. If you anticipate that 

you will be submitting comments, but 

find it difficult to do so within the 

period of time allowed by this notice, 

please advise the DOE Desk Officer at 

OMB of your intention to make a 

submission as soon as possible. The 

Desk Officer may be telephoned at 202– 

395–4650. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to the DOE Desk Officer, Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 

735 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 

20503, and to Julie Squires by fax at 

(202) 586–0406 or by email at 

julie.squires@hq.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Julie Squires at 

julie.squires@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

information collection request contains: 

(1) OMB No. 1910–5144. 

(2) Information Collection Request 

Title: records, and secures approval of 

all foreign travel conducted by DOE 

federal employees and contractors. The 

system allows DOE to have full 

accountability of all travel and in cases 

of emergency DOE is able to quickly 

retrieve information as to who is 

traveling, where the individual is 

traveling, and the dates of travel. 

Information gathered is listed under 

three categories: (1) Traveler 

Information which requests traveler’s 

name, passport information, site, 

position, and contact information, (2) 

General Trip Information which consists 

of estimated travel costs, and (3) Trip 

Itinerary Information which consists of 

destination, dates of travel, and 

purpose. 

(3) Type of Respondents: DOE Federal 

employees and contractors traveling on 

behalf of DOE. 

(4) Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents 8,313. 

(5) Estimated Annual Number of 

Burden Hours: 4,228. 

(6) Estimated Annual Cost Burden: 

None. 

Authority: DOE Order 551.1D (April 2, 

2012), regarding ‘‘Official Foreign Travel.’’ 

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 14, 

2012. 

Umeki G. Thorne, 

Director, Office of Management, Office of 

International Travel and Exchange Visitor 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20840 Filed 8–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[ER–FRL9004–7] 

Amended Environmental Impact 

Statement Filing System Guidance for 

Implementing 40 CFR 1506.9 and 

1506.10 of the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s Regulations 

Implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

1. Introduction 

On October 7, 1977, the Council of 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

signed a Memorandum of Agreement 

(MOA) that allocated the 

responsibilities of the two agencies for 

assuring the government-wide 

implementation of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA). Specifically, the MOA 

transferred to EPA the administrative 

aspects of the environmental impact 

statement (ElS) filing process. Within 

EPA, the Office of Federal Activities has 

been designated the official recipient in 

EPA of all EISs. These responsibilities 

have been codified in CEQ’s NEPA 

Implementing Regulations (40 CFR Parts 

1500–1508), and are totally separate 

from the substantive EPA reviews 

performed pursuant to both NEPA and 

Section 309 of the Clean Air Act. 

Under 40 CFR 1506.9, EPA can issue 

guidelines to implement its EIS filing 

responsibilities. The purpose of the EPA 

Filing System Guidelines is to provide 

guidance to Federal agencies on filing 

EISs, including draft, final, and 

supplemental EISs. Information is 

provided on: (1) How to file EISs; (2) the 

steps to follow when a Federal agency 

is adopting an EIS, or when an EIS is 

withdrawn, delayed or reopened; (3) 

public review periods; (4) issuance of 

notices of availability in the Federal 

Register; and (5) retention of filed EISs. 

The guidelines published today 

update the previous guidelines, which 

were first published in the Federal 

Register on March 7, 1989. These 

updated guidelines have been modified 

to incorporate changes necessary to 

implement the e-NEPA electronic filing 

system. 

2. Purpose 

Pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.9 and 

1506.10, EPA is responsible for 

administering the EIS filing process, and 

can issue guidelines to implement those 

responsibilities. The process of EIS 

filing includes the following: (1) 

Receiving and recording of the EISs, so 

that information in them can be 

incorporated into EPA’s computerized 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2012 / Notices 51531 

data base; (2) establishing the beginning 

and ending dates for comment and 

review periods for draft and final EISs, 

respectively; (3) publishing these dates 

in a weekly Notice of Availability 

(NOA) in the Federal Register; (4) 

retaining the EISs in a central 

repository; and (5) determining whether 

time periods can be lengthened or 

shortened for ‘‘compelling reasons of 

national policy.’’ 

Under 40 CFR 1506.9, lead agencies 

are responsible for distributing EISs, 

and for providing additional copies of 

already distributed EISs, to the 

interested public for review. However, 

EPA will assist the public and other 

Federal agencies by providing agency 

contacts on, and information about, 

EISs. 

3. Filing Draft, Final, and Supplemental 

EISs 

Federal agencies are required to 

prepare EISs in accordance with 40 CFR 

part 1502, and to file the EISs with EPA 

as specified in 40 CFR 1506.9. As of 

October 1, 2012, Federal agencies file an 

EIS by submitting the complete EIS, 

including appendices, to EPA through 

the e-NEPA electronic filing system. 

To sign up for e-NEPA, register for an 

account at: https://cdx.epa.gov/ 

epa_home.asp 

Select ‘‘NEPA Electronic Filing 

System (e-NEPA)’’ when prompted to 

add a program. Inquiries can also be 

made to: (202) 564–7146 or (202) 564– 

0678 or by email to: EISfiling@epa.gov. 

Please note that if a Federal agency 

prepares an abbreviated Final EIS (as 

described in 40 CFR 1503.4(c)), it 

should include copies of the Draft EIS 

when filing the Final EIS. 

The EISs must be filed no earlier than 

they are transmitted to commenting 

agencies and made available to the 

public (40 CFR 1506.9). This will assure 

that the EIS is received by all interested 

parties by the time EPA’s NOA appears 

in the Federal Register, and, therefore, 

allows for the full minimum comment 

and review periods. 

If EPA receives a request to file an EIS 

and transmittal of that EIS is not 

complete, it will not publish a NOA in 

the Federal Register until assurances 

have been given that the transmittal 

process is complete. Similarly, if EPA 

discovers that a filed EIS has not been 

transmitted, EPA will issue a notice 

with the weekly Notices of Availability 

retracting the EIS from public review of 

the EIS until the transmittal process is 

completed. Once the agency has 

fulfilled the requirements of 40 CFR 

1506.9, and has completed the 

transmittal process, EPA will reestablish 

the filing date and the minimum time 

period, and will publish this 

information in the next NOA. 

Requirements for circulation of EISs 

appear in 40 CFR 1502.19. Please note 

that the EIS submitted to the Office of 

Federal Activities through e-NEPA is 

only for filing purposes. 

EPA must be notified when a Federal 

agency adopts an EIS in order to 

commence the appropriate comment or 

review period. If a Federal agency 

chooses to adopt an EIS written by 

another agency, and it was not a 

cooperating agency in the preparation of 

the original EIS, the EIS must be recirculated and filed with EPA according 

to the requirements set forth in 40 CFR 

1506.3(b). In turn, EPA will publish a 

NOA in the Federal Register 

announcing that the document will have 

an appropriate comment or review 

period. When an agency adopts an EIS 

on which it served as a cooperating 

agency, the document does not need to 

be circulated for public comment or 

review; it is not necessary to file the EIS 

again with EPA. However, EPA should 

be notified in order to ensure that the 

official EIS record is accurate. 

Notifications can be sent by email to: 

EISfiling@epa.gov. EPA will publish an 

amended NOA in the Federal Register 

that states that an adoption has 

occurred. This will not establish a 

comment period, but will complete the 

public record. 

EPA should also be notified of all 

situations where an agency has decided 

to withdraw, delay, or reopen a review 

period on an EIS. Notifications can be 

sent by email to: EISfiling@epa.gov. All 

such notices to EPA will be reflected in 

EPA’s weekly Notices of Availability 

published in the Federal Register. In the 

case of reopening EIS review periods, 

the lead agency should notify EPA as to 

what measures will be taken to ensure 

that the EIS is available to all interested 

parties. This is especially important for 

EIS reviews that are being reopened 

after a substantial amount of time has 

passed since the original review period 

closed. 

Once received by EPA, each EIS is 

assigned an official filing date and 

checked for completeness and 

compliance with 40 CFR 1502.10. If the 

EIS is not ‘‘complete’’ (i.e., if the 

documents do not contain the required 

components), EPA will contact the lead 

agency to obtain the omitted 

information or to resolve any questions 

prior to publishing the NOA in the 

Federal Register. 

Agencies often publish (either in their 

EISs or individual notices to the public) 

a date by which all comments on an EIS 

are to be received; such actions are 

encouraged. However, agencies should 

ensure that the date they use is based on 

the date of publication of the NOA in 

the Federal Register. If the published 

date gives reviewers less than the 

minimum review time computed by 

EPA, EPA will send the agency contact 

a letter explaining how the review 

period is calculated and the correct date 

by which comments are due back to the 

lead agency. This letter also encourages 

agencies to notify all reviewers and 

interested parties of the corrected 

review periods. 

4. Notice in the Federal Register 

EPA will prepare a weekly report of 

all EISs filed during the preceding week 

for publication each Friday under a 

NOA in the Federal Register. If the 

Friday is a Federal holiday the 

publication will be on Thursday. At the 

time EPA sends its weekly report for 

publication in the Federal Register, the 

report will also be sent to the CEQ. 

Amended notices may be added to the 

NOA to include corrections, changes in 

time periods of previously filed EISs, 

withdrawals of EISs by lead agencies, 

and retraction of EISs by EPA. 

5. Time Periods 

The minimum time periods set forth 

in 40 CFR 1506.10 (b), (c), and (d) are 

calculated from the date EPA publishes 

the NOA in the Federal Register. 

Comment periods for draft EISs, draft 

supplements, and revised draft EISs will 

end 45 calendar days after publication 

of the NOA in the Federal Register; 

review periods for final EISs and final 

supplements will end 30 calendar days 

after publication of the NOA in the 

Federal Register. If a calculated time 

period would end on a non-working 

day, the assigned time period will be the 

next working day (i.e., time periods will 

not end on weekends or Federal 

holidays). While these time periods are 

minimum time periods, a lead agency 

may establish longer time periods. If the 

lead agency employs a longer time 

period, it must notify EPA of the 

extended time period when either filing 

the EIS through e-NEPA or by email to: 

EISfiling@epa.gov when the lead agency 

extends the time period. It should be 

noted that 40 CFR 1506.10(b) allows for 

an exception to the rules of timing. An 

exception may be made in the case of 

an agency decision which is subject to 

a formal internal appeal. Agencies 

should assure that EPA is informed so 

that the situation is accurately reflected 

in the NOA. 

Moreover, under 40 CFR 1506.10(d), 

EPA has the authority to both extend 

and reduce the time periods on draft 

and final EISs based on a demonstration 

of ‘‘compelling reasons of national 


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51532 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2012 / Notices 

policy.’’ A lead agency request to EPA 

to reduce time periods or another 

Federal agency (not the lead agency) 

request to formally extend a time period 

should be submitted in writing to the 

Director, Office of Federal Activities, 

and outline the reasons for the request. 

These requests can be submitted by 

email to: EISfiling@epa.gov. EPA will 

accept telephone requests; however, 

agencies should follow up such requests 

in writing so that the documentation 

supporting the decision is complete. A 

meeting to discuss the consequences for 

the project and any decision to change 

time periods may be necessary. For this 

reason, EPA asks that it be made aware 

of any intent to submit requests of this 

type as early as possible in the NEPA 

process. This is to prevent the 

possibility of the time frame for the 

decision on the time period 

modification from interfering with the 

lead agency’s schedule for the EIS. EPA 

will notify CEQ of any reduction or 

extension granted. 

6. Retention 

Filed EISs are retained in the e-NEPA 

Filing system for two years. After two 

years the EISs are sent to the National 

Records Center. After a total of twenty 

(20) years the EISs are transferred to the 

National Archives Records 

Administration (NARA). 

Please note that EPA maintains a Web 

site that will make available copies of 

the filed EISs to the public. The 

retention schedule does not affect the 

availability of these electronic copies. 

Dated: August 21, 2012. 

Cliff Rader, 

Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office 

of Federal Activities. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20914 Filed 8–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[ER–FRL–9004–6] 

Environmental Impacts Statements; 

Notice of Availability 

AGENCY: Office of Federal Activities, 

General Information (202) 564–7146 or 

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/ 

Weekly receipt of Environmental Impact 

Statements Filed 08/13/2012 Through 

08/17/2012 Pursuant to 40 CFR 

1506.9. 

Notice 

Section 309(a) of the Clean Air Act 

requires that EPA make public its 

comments on EISs issued by other 

Federal agencies. EPA’s comment letters 

on EISs are available at: http:// 

www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/ 

eisdata.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Starting 

October 1, 2012, EPA will not accept 

paper copies or CDs of EISs for filing 

purposes; all submissions on or after 

October 1, 2012 must be made through 

e-NEPA. While this system eliminates 

the need to submit paper or CD copies 

to EPA to meet filing requirements, 

electronic submission does not change 

requirements for distribution of EISs for 

public review and comment. To begin 

using e-NEPA, you must first register 

with EPA’s electronic reporting site— 

https://cdx.epa.gov/epa_home.asp. 

EIS No. 20120268, Draft EIS, USFWS, 

WV, Proposed Issuance of an 

Incidental Take Permit for the Beech 

Ridge Energy Wind Project Habitat 

Conservation Plan, Implementation, 

Greenbrier and Nicholas Counties, 

WV, Comment Period Ends: 10/23/ 

2012, Contact: Laura Hill 304–636– 

6586, ext 18. 

EIS No. 20120269, Final EIS, FHWA, 

CA, State Route 91 Corridor 

Improvement Project, Widening SR 91 

from SR 91/State Route 241 

Interchange in Orange County to 

Pierce Street in Riverside County, 

Orange and Riverside Counties, CA, 

Review Period Ends: 09/24/2012, 

Contact: Aaron Burton 909–388–2841. 

EIS No. 20120270, Final Supplement, 

FHWA, MN, Trunk Highway 60 

between Windom and St. James, 

Implementation of Transportation 

System Improvements, Funding, 

USACE Section 404 Permit, 

Cottonwood and Watonwan Counties, 

MN, Review Period Ends: 09/24/2012, 

Contact: Philip Forst 651–291–6110. 

EIS No. 20120271, Final EIS, USFWS, 

NV, Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge 

Project, Draft Resource Conservation 

Plan, Implementation, Humboldt and 

Washoe Counties, NV and Lake 

County, OR, Review Period Ends: 09/ 

24/2012, Contact: Aaron Collins 541– 

947–3315, ext. 223. 

EIS No. 20120272, Final EIS, USN, CA, 

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton 

Project, Base wide Water 

Infrastructure, Construction and 

Operation, San Diego County, CA, 

Review Period Ends: 09/24/2012, 

Contact: Jesse Martinez 619–532– 

3844. 

EIS No. 20120273, Final EIS, FHWA, 

CO, Breckenridge Ski Resort Peak 6 

Project, Implementation, White River 

National Forest, Summit County, CO, 

Review Period Ends: 09/24/2012, 

Contact: Joe Foreman 970–262–3443. 

EIS No. 20120274, Draft EIS, USFS, AZ, 

Prescott National Forest Land and 

Resource Management Plan, 

Implementation, Yavapai and 

Coconino Counties, AZ, Comment 

Period Ends: 10/08/2012, Contact: 

Mary C. Rasmussen 928–443–8265. 

EIS No. 20120275, Draft EIS, USFS, MT, 

Wild Cramer Forest Health and Fuels 

Reduction Project, Swan Lake Ranger 

District, Flathead National Forest, 

Flathead County, MT, Comment 

Period Ends: 10/08/2012, Contact: 

Richard Kehr 406–837–7500. 

Amended Notices 

EIS No. 20120201, Draft Supplement, 

USACE, IN, Indianapolis North Flood 

Damage Reduction, Modifications to 

Project Features and Realignment of 

the South Warfleigh Section, Marion 

County, IN, Comment Period Ends: 

08/31/2012, Contact: Michael Turner 

502–315–6900. 

Revision to FR Notice Published 07/ 

20/2012; Extending Comment Period 

from 08/31/2012 to 09/28/2012. 

EIS No. 20120227, Draft EIS, USMC, 

GA, Proposed Modernization and 

Expansion of Townsend Bombing 

Range, Acquiring Additional Property 

and Constructing Infrastructure to 

Allow the Use of Precision-Guided 

Munitions, McIntosh and Long 

Counties, GA, Comment Period Ends: 

09/27/2012, Contact: Veronda 

Johnson 571–256–2783. 

Revision to FR Notice Published 7/13/ 

2012; Extending Review Period from 8/ 

27/12 to 09/27/2012. 

EIS No. 20120247, Final EIS, USACE, 

00, Mississippi River Gulf Outlet 

Ecosystem Restoration, To Develop a 

Comprehensive Ecosystem 

Restoration Plan To Restore the Lake 

Borgne Ecosystems, LA and MS, 

Review Period Ends: 09/06/2012, 

Contact: Tammy Gilmore 504–862– 

1002. 

Revision to FR Notice Published 7/27/ 

2012; Extending Review Period from 08/ 

27/2012 to 09/06/2012. 

Dated: August 21, 2012. 

Cliff Rader, 

Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office 

of Federal Activities. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20913 Filed 8–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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