Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 1997 / Notices 4245

State or unit Number of

vacancies

South Dakota ............................ 2

Tennessee ................................ 1

Texas ........................................ 4

Utah .......................................... 1

Wisconsin .................................. 2

Wyoming ................................... 1

Mid-Atlantic Unit ........................ 1

Northeast Unit ........................... 1

Western Unit (Oregon-Nevada

Region) .................................. 1

Importer Unit ............................. 2

Since there are no anticipated

vacancies on the Board for the

remaining States’ positions, or for the

positions of the Northwest unit,

nominations will not be solicited from

certified organizations or associations in

those States or units.

Uncertified eligible producer

organizations in all States that are

interested in being certified as eligible

to nominate cattle producers for

appointment to the listed producer

positions, must complete and submit an

official ‘‘Application for Certification of

Organization or Association,’’ which

must be received by close of business

February 28, 1997. Uncertified eligible

importer organizations that are

interested in being certified as eligible

to nominate importers for appointment

to the listed importer positions must

apply by the same date. Importers

should not use the application form but

should provide the requested

information by letter as provided for in

7 CFR § 1260.540(b). Applications from

States or units without vacant positions

on the Board and other applications not

received within the 30-day period after

publication of this Notice in the Federal

Register will be considered for

eligibility to nominate producers or

importers for subsequent vacancies on

the Board.

Only those organizations or

associations which meet the criteria for

certification of eligibility promulgated at

7 CFR § 1260.530 are eligible for

certification. Those criteria are:

(a) For State organizations or

associations:

(1) Total paid membership must be

comprised of at least a majority of cattle

producers or represent at least a

majority of cattle producers in a State or

unit.

(2) Membership must represent a

substantial number of producers who

produce a substantial number of cattle

in such State or unit.

(3) There must be a history of stability

and permanency.

(4) There must be a primary or

overriding purpose of promoting the

economic welfare of cattle producers.

(b) For organizations or associations

representing importers, the

determination by the Secretary as to the

eligibility of importer organizations or

associations to nominate members to the

Board shall be based on applications

containing the following information:

(1) The number and type of members

represented (i.e., beef or cattle

importers, etc.).

(2) Annual import volume in pounds

of beef and beef products and/or the

number of head of cattle.

(3) The stability and permanency of

the importer organization or association.

(4) The number of years in existence.

(5) The names of the countries of

origin for cattle, beef, or beef products

imported.

All certified organizations and

associations, including those which

were previously certified in the States or

units having vacant positions on the

Board, will be notified simultaneously

in writing of the beginning and ending

dates of the established nomination

period and will be provided with

required nomination forms and

background information sheets.

The names of qualified nominees

received by the established due date

will be submitted to the Secretary of

Agriculture for consideration as

appointees to the Board.

The information collection

requirements referenced in this notice

have been previously approved by the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) under the provisions of 44

U.S.C., Chapter 35 and have been

assigned OMB No. 0581–0093, except

Board member nominee information

sheets are assigned OMB No. 0505–

0001.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.

Dated: January 23, 1997.

Lon Hatamiya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–2126 Filed 1–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

Forest Service

Environmental Impact Statement,

Crystal Creek Timber Harvest on the

Petersburg Ranger District, Stikine

Area, Tongass National Forest,

Petersburg, Alaska

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: The Stikine Area of the USDA

Forest Service proposes to harvest

approximately 16 million board feet of

timber in the Crystal Creek project area,

which is near Thomas Bay on the

Southeast Alaska mainland. A variety of

harvest methods and silvicultural

prescriptions will be used. This project

would include the necessary road

construction for transport of timber. The

existing log transfer site would be

reconstructed at Thomas Bay.

The purpose and need for this project

is to make available for harvest

approximately 16 million board feet of

timber. This will:

1. Implement direction in the Tongass

Land Management Plan,

2. Contribute to providing a sustained

volume of wood to meet local and

national demand, and

3. Provide local and regional

employment opportunities.

There may also be opportunities to

maintain or enhance forage for moose

habitat to sustain a huntable population

in the area. Activities such as

commercial and pre-commercial

thinning of second growth stands, and

geographically distributing timber

harvest over time and habitat will be

considered toward achieving this goal.

A variety of resources and values will

be maintained through the application

of ecosystem management principles in

the design of the project.

A range of alternatives will respond to

environmental and social issues. The

no-action alternative will not harvest

timber in the area. The Thomas Bay log

transfer facility will be reconstructed

and required roads will be constructed

or reconstructed as needed.

The decision to be made is:

1. Whether or not timber harvest will

occur in the Crystal Creek project area;

2. How much timber will be

harvested;

3. Location and design of harvest

units;

4. Location and design of road

construction and reconstruction; and

5. What mitigation measures and

monitoring will be implemented.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The Draft

Environmental Impact Statement should

be available for public review by June,

1997. The final Environmental Impact

Statement is scheduled to be completed

by November, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Questions,

written comments, and suggestions

concerning the analysis should be sent

to Bruce Sims, Team Leader, Petersburg

Ranger District, P.O. Box 1328,

Petersburg, AK 99833, phone (907) 772–

3871, fax (907) 772–5995.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All

appropriate agencies will be contacted

and all required permits will be

received before the proposed action is

implemented. The following permits are

anticipated in order to implement the

proposed action:
4246 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 1997 / Notices

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

approval under Section 404 of the Clean

Water Act,

• State of Alaska, Department of

Natural Resources tideland permit and

lease or easement, and

• State of Alaska, Department of

Environmental Conservation

authorization under Section 401 of the

Clean Water Act.

Public Comment

Federal, State, and local agencies,

potential contractors, and other

individuals or organizations who may

be interested in, or affected by, the

decision are invited to participate in the

scoping process. This process will

include:

1. Identification of potential issues;

2. Identification of issues to be

analyzed in depth;

3. Determination of potential

cooperating agencies and assignment of

responsibility; and

4. Examination of various alternatives.

The Forest Supervisor will hold

public meetings during the planning

process. Interested people are invited to

comment. The comment period on the

Draft EIS will be 45 days from the date

the Notice of Availability appears in the

Federal Register.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, it is important to give

reviewers notice of several draft

environmental impact statements must

structure their participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of the draft environmental

impact statements must structure their

participation in the environmental

review of the proposal so it is

meaningful and alerts an agency to the

reviewer’s position and contentions

(Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp.

v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 533 [1978]).

Also, environmental objections that

could have been raised at the Draft EIS

stage may be waived if not raised until

after the completion of the final

environmental impact statement 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 45 day

comment period so substantive

comments and objections are made

available to the Forest Service at the

time when we can meaningfully

consider them and respond to them in

the final environmental impact

statement.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed action,

comments on the draft environmental

impact statement should be as specific

as possible. It is helpful if comments

refer to specific pages or chapters of the

draft environmental impact statement.

Comments may also address the

adequacy of the draft environmental

impact statement or the merits of the

alternatives formulated and discussed in

the statement. Reviewers may wish to

refer to the Council on Environmental

Quality regulations for implementing

the procedural provisions of the

National Environment Policy Act in 40

CFR 1503.3 while addressing these

points.

The responsible official for the

decision is Abigail R. Kimbell, Forest

Supervisor, Stikine Area, Tongass

National Forest, Alaska Region,

Petersburg, Alaska.

Dated: January 13, 1997.

Abigail R. Kimbell,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–2120 Filed 1–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Rural Housing Service

Refinancing Community Facilities

Loans

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This Notice describes the

Rural Housing Service (RHS)

Community Facilities (CF) loan program

refinancing policies, informs

commercial lenders of the availability of

a list of eligible CF borrowers who have

the potential to refinance outstanding

debt, and invites cooperative and

private credit sources to participate in

refinancing loans. This action ensures

that CF loan program borrowers are

aware of lenders that are willing to

provide reasonable rates and terms for

refinancing. The intended effect of this

action is to increase the number of

cooperative or private credit sources

which are actively involved with RHS’s

refinancing efforts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Chadwick O. Parker, Loan Specialist,

Rural Housing Service, USDA, Room

6314, South Agriculture Building, 1400

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, D.C. 20250, Telephone:

(202) 720–1502.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Program Affected

This action affects the RHS program

listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance as 10.766 Community

Facilities Loans.

Discussion of Notice

The RHS CF loan program provides

credit to public entities such as

municipalities, counties, specialpurpose districts, Indian tribes, and

nonprofit corporations. Eligible CF loan

purposes are to construct, enlarge,

extend, or otherwise improve

community facilities providing essential

services. The loan program is

administered in a manner which

ensures that it does not compete with

credit available from private sources.

Loan agreements require financially

capable borrowers to refinance debts

owed to the RHS when other credit is

available at reasonable rates and terms

from a cooperative or private credit

source.

The RHS would like to further

develop its public/private partnerships

while enhancing its refinancing efforts.

As part of these efforts, each Rural

Development State Office, which

administers the CF loan program in the

field, will maintain a current listing of

borrowers who have the potential to

refinance. The RHS will also maintain a

national list on its World Wide Web site

at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/agency/

rhs/cf/cf.htm.

The RHS will develop a unified

database of lenders interested in this

refinancing initiative as part of their

ongoing effort to establish a stronger

alliance with private sector lenders. The

RHS requests that interested lenders

contact the State Office in each State

where they have active lending

operations.

Dated: January 21, 1997.

Jan Shadburn,

Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service.

[FR Doc. 97–2197 Filed 1–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–U

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

[Docket No. 961213356–6356–01]

RIN 0607–XX25

Census Tract Program for Census

2000—Proposed Criteria

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census,

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed program

revisions and request for comments.

SUMMARY: Census tracts are relatively

permanent small-area geographic

divisions of a county or statistically