42234 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 151 / Wednesday, August 6, 1997 / Notices

October 16, 1997: Summit Middle

School, 0156 Summit County Road

1030, Frisco, Co.

October 21, 1997: Inn at Aspen, 38750

Highway 82, Aspen Co.

Release and Review of the EIS

The DEIS is expected to be filed with

the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) and be available for public

comment in the fall of 1998. At that

time, the EPA will publish a notice of

availability for the DEIS in the Federal

Register. The comment period of the

DEIS will be 90 days from the date the

EPA publishes the notice of availability

in the Federal Register.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, it is important to give

reviewers notice of several court rulings

related to public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of the DEIS must structure

their participation in the environmental

review of the proposal so that it is

meaningful and alerts an agency to the

reviewer’s position and contentions;

Vermong Yankee Nuclear Power Corp.

v. NRDC. 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also,

environmental objections that could be

raised at the DEIS stage but are not

raised until after completion of the Final

Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)

may be waived or dismissed by the

courts; City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803

F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and

Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., v. Harris, 490

F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980).

Because of these court rulings, it is very

important that those interested in this

proposed action participate by the close

of the three-month comment period so

that substantive comments and

objections are made available to the

Forest Service at a time when it can

meaningfully consider them and

respond to them in the FEIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed actions,

comments on the DEIS should be as

specific as possible. It is also helpful if

comments refer to specific pages or

chapters of the draft statement.

Comments may also address the

adequacy of the DEIS or the merits of

the alternatives formulated and

discussed in the statements. Reviewers

may wish to refer to the Council on

Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions

of the National Environmental Policy

Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing

these points.

After the comment period ends on the

DEIS, comments will be analyzed,

considered, and responded to by the

Forest Service in preparing the Final

EIS. The FEIS is schedules to be

completed in the fall of 1999. The

responsible official will consider the

comments, responses, environmental

consequences discussed in the FEIS,

and applicable laws, regulations, and

policies in making decisions regarding

these revisions. The responsible official

will document the decisions and

reasons for the decisions in a Record of

Decision for the revised Plan. The

decision will be subject to appeal in

accordance with 36 CFR 217.

Dated: July 30, 1997.

Elizabeth Estill,

Regional Forester, Rocky Mountain Region.

[FR Doc. 97–20631 Filed 8–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

Notice of Request for Extension of a

Currently Approved Information

Collection

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this

notice announces the Farm Service

Agency’s (FSA) intention to request an

extension for an information collection

currently approved for FSA’s regulation

governing the Emergency Loan program.

The regulations concerning this activity

are published under the authority of the

Consolidated Farm and Rural

Development Act, as amended.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received on or before October 6, 1997 to

be assured of consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven R. Bazzell, Senior Loan Officer,

Farm Loan Programs, Loan Making

Division, Farm Service Agency, STOP

0522, 1400 Independence Avenue,

S.W.,Washington, DC 20250–0522.

Telephone (202) 720–3889; e-mail

sbazzell@wdc.fsa.usda.gov; or facsimile

(202) 690–1117.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Emergency Loan Policies,

Procedures, and Authorizations.

Expiration Date of Approval: August

31, 1997.

OMB Number: 0560–0159.

Type of Request: Extension of a

currently approved information

collection.

Abstract: The information collected

under Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) Number 0560–0159, as indicated

above, is needed to enable FSA to carry

out its mission of providing emergency

assistance to family-size farmers, who

have suffered physical and/or

production losses in a Presidential,

Secretarial, or Adminstratively declared

natural disaster, and who are unable to

secure commercial credit to recover

from the losses. This regulation outlines

the process for determining an

applicant’s eligibility based on the

nature and extent of the physical or

production losses suffered.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection of information

is estimated at 0.51 hours per response.

Respondents: Individuals or

households and farms.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

3,100.

Estimated Number of Responses per

Respondents: 4.10.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 12,710.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of FSA, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of FSA’s estimate of the

burden of the collection of information,

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions; (c) ways

to enhance the quality, utility and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information.

Comments may be sent to the Desk

Officer for Agriculture, Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

OMB, Washington, D.C. 20503, and to

Steven R. Bazzell at the address listed

above. All responses to this notice will

be summarized and included in the

request for OMB approval.

All comments will become a matter of

public record.

Signed at Washington, D.C., on July 31,

1997.

Bruce R. Weber,

Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency.

[FR Doc. 97–20692 Filed 8–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

U.S. Warehouse Act Fees; Correction

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; correction.

SUMMARY: The Farm Service Agency

published a notice in the Federal

Register on June 20, 1997 (62 FR 33582),

which contained a schedule for

increasing the fees to be charged under

the United States Warehouse Act
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 151 / Wednesday, August 6, 1997 / Notices 42235

regulations. As published, the Notice

contains errors which may prove to be

misleading and need to be clarified.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steve Mikkelsen, Warehouse and

Inventory Division, Farm Service

Agency, United States Department of

Agriculture, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, STOP 0553, Washington,

DC 20250–0553, telephone (202) 720–

7433, FAX (202) 690–3123.

Correction of Publication

Accordingly, in the notice (FR Doc.

97–16248), published on June 20, 1997,

page (62 FR 33583), in the second

column, correct the following to read:

Tobacco and Wool

Annual fee: $15 for each 100,000

pounds of licensed capacity, or fraction

thereof, but in no case less than $575.

Inspection fee: $15 for each 100,000

pounds of licensed capacity, or fraction

thereof, but in no case less than $150

nor more than $1,500.

Nuts

Annual fee: 13¢ for each 100 short

tons of licensed capacity, or fraction

thereof, but in no case less than $575.

Inspection fee: $7 for each 100 short

tons of licensed capacity, or fraction

thereof, of peanuts, and $13 for each

1,000 hundredweight, or fraction

thereof, of other nuts, but in no case less

than $150 nor more than $1,500.

Syrup

Annual fee: $5 for each 5,000 gallons

of licensed capacity, or fraction thereof,

but in no case less than $575.

Inspection fee: $5 for each 5,000

gallons, or fraction thereof, but in no

case less than $150 nor more than

$1,500.

Cottonseed

Annual fee: $15 for each 1,000 short

tons of licensed capacity, or fraction

thereof, but in no case less than $575.

Inspection fee: $15 for each 1,000

short tons of licensed capacity, or

fraction thereof, but in no case less than

$150 nor more than $1,500.

Signed at Washington, D.C., on July 31,

1997.

Bruce R. Weber,

Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency.

[FR Doc. 97–20691 Filed 8–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

National Commission on Small Farms;

Meeting

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

Request for comments and

recommendations.

SUMMARY: The Secretary of Agriculture

by Departmental Regulation No. 1043–

43 dated July 9, 1997, established the

National Commission on Small Farms

(Commission) and further identified

NRCS to provide support to the

Commission. The purpose of the

Commission is to gather and analyze

information regarding small farms and

ranches and recommend to the

Secretary of Agriculture a national

policy and strategy to ensure their

continued viability. This notice seeks

comments on issues that the

Commission should address and

recommendations that the Commission

could consider as part of its report. The

second public meeting of the

Commission will be August 21–22,

1997.

DATES: Written comments and

recommendations must be received on

or before September 22, 1997. These

comments will be summarized and

presented to the Commission for their

consideration.

PLACE, DATE AND TIME OF MEETING: The

Commission’s second meeting will be at

the Best Western Ramkota Inn, 2400

North Louise, Sioux Falls, South

Dakota. The Commission will meet from

7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on August 21 to

conduct an organizational business

meeting. This meeting is open to the

public; however, the committee does

not plan to hear public testimony at this

session. The Commission will meet

from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on August

22 . From 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. the

Commission will continue to conduct

an organizational business meeting.

Starting at 10:15 a.m., the Commission

will hear public testimony. We are

seeking testimony from various sources

to arrive at conclusions and

recommendations that will ensure the

continued viability of small farms. The

Commission requests that testimony

include ideas and recommendations

based on the following questions.

Concerns or problems of individual

farms that relate to specific USDA

programs should be addressed only in

the context of a recommendation for the

Commission to consider.

The questions are:

1. How are current USDA programs

helping or hurting the viability of small

farms?

2. What are the needs of small farms

in terms of financing, research,

extension, marketing and risk

management and other areas? What

recommendations would you make

about these needs that could be part of

a long-range strategy to ensure the

continued viability of small farms?

3. Are there innovative nongovernmental or state efforts to assist

beginning and smaller independent

farms that might be replicated or

supplemented at the Federal level?

4. What changes in USDA policy or

practices are needed to make USDA

programs in the areas of credit, research,

extension, marketing, risk management

and other areas more effective in

enabling small farms to survive and

thrive?

5. What new programs could provide

effective and affordable support for

small farmers as commodity programs

are phased out?

6. What can be done to assist

beginning farmers and farm workers to

become farmer owners?

7. What role should the Federal

government play to ensure a diversified,

decentralized and competitive farm

structure?

8. What do small farms contribute to

your community and your state?

9. What other generic issues

pertaining to small farms should the

Commission consider?

Interested parties wishing to testify

must contact the office of the National

Commission on Small Farms by August

15, 1997 in order to be placed on a list

of witnesses. Oral presentations will be

limited to 5 minutes. Those wishing to

testify, but unable to notify the

Commission office by August 15, will be

able to sign up as a presenter August 22.

Sign up will begin at 12:30 p.m. and end

at 2:00 p.m. These presenters will testify

on a first come, first served basis and

comments will be limited based on the

time available and the number of

presenters. Written statements will be

accepted at the meeting or may be

mailed or faxed to the Commission

office by September 12, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments and statements

should be sent to National Commission

on Small Farms, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, P.O. Box 2890, Room 5237,

South Building, Washington, D.C.

20013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer Yezak Molen, Director, National

Commission on Small Farms, at the

address above or at (202) 690–0648 or