63700 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Notices

instructional staff in two ways—

allowing comparisons to be made over

time and examining critical issues

surrounding faculty that have developed

since the first two studies. This

clearance request covers field test and

full scale activities for the second phase

of the study—collection of information

from a nationally representative sample

of faculty and instructional staff at

postsecondary institutions. This

information, together with information

collected in the first phase of the study

(1850–0665) on the institutions

themselves, will provide a source of

descriptive, analytical, trend and policy

relevant research on the way

postsecondary education functions.

Office of the Under Secretary

Type of Review: NEW.

Title: Guidance for Reporting on

Waivers Granted by the U.S. Department

of Education.

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: State, local or Tribal

Gov’t, SEAs or LEAs.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping

Hour Burden:

Responses: 20.

Burden Hours: 100.

Abstract: The Department is required

by statute to collect reports from state

education agencies on the uses of

waivers in their states. The purpose of

this guidance is to assist states in

meeting the statutory requirements.

Information from this collection will be

used to monitor the progress of waiver

recipients in improving teaching and

learning and to inform the Department’s

annual report to Congress on waivers.

[FR Doc. 97–31495 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Idaho Operations Office; Notice of

Intent To Solicit Comments for

Financial Assistance Awards

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent to solicit

comments for financial assistance

awards.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of

Energy’s Office of Geothermal

Technologies, Advanced Drilling

Systems Research Program, via the

Idaho Operations Office (DOE–ID), is

soliciting comments on its draft

solicitation for cost-shared cooperative

agreements, industry-government

Research & Development projects to

develop advanced drilling technologies

and transfer the results to industry.

These new developments can then be

used by the U.S. geothermal industry to

solve technical problems.

Comments regarding the draft

solicitation are welcome from potential

developers, owners and operators of

geothermal facilities, including utilities,

as well as from manufacturers,

universities, and other non-industry

groups.

DATES: Comments to the draft

solicitation should be sent to the point

of contact shown below by January 8,

1998. A copy of the draft solicitation in

its full text can be found at the

following internet address: http://

www.inel.gov/doeid/solicit.html under

Current Solicitations.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the

draft solicitation or requests to be

placed on the final solicitation mailing

list shall be submitted in writing to: Ms.

Peggy Brookshier, U.S. Department of

Energy, Idaho Operations Office, 850

Energy Drive, Mail Stop 1220, Idaho

Falls, Idaho 83401–1563, e-mail:

brookspa@inel.gov, Tele: (208) 526–

1403, Fax: (208) 526–5964.

It is the agency preference that all

submitted comments be received by email. All written comment responses

must include name, title, organization,

address, phone number, fax number, email address.

A Federal Register notice soliciting

applications will be published at a later

date upon issuance of the final

solicitation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael K. Barrett, Contracting Officer

at (208) 526–5743 or Peggy Brookshier,

Program Manager at (208) 526–1403;

U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho

Operations Office, 850 Energy Drive,

Mail Stop 1221, Idaho Falls, Idaho

83401–1563.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

solicitation will be issued pursuant to

10 CFR 600.6(a) with no eligibility

restrictions. The statutory authority for

the issuance of this solicitation is Pub.

L. 93–410, the Geothermal Energy

Research, Development &

Demonstration Act of 1974. The catalog

of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

for this program is 81.087.

This notice is also intended to

promote the formation of industry

partnerships, to stimulate interaction

among potential participants, and to

encourage organizations to investigate

creative solutions. Funding for phase I

will be available to support several

awards for a period of approximately six

to twelve months. Funding for phase II

will be available to support one or more

awards, for a period of 12–24 months.

Applications may include Federally

Funded Research and Development

Centers, but only as lower tier

participants with funding for their

expected costs provided through their

existing arrangements with the

Government.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE IS

TO SOLICIT COMMENTS FOR

INCLUSION IN THE FINAL ISSUANCE

OF THE SOLICITATION. PLEASE DO

NOT SEND APPLICATIONS AT THIS

TIME.

Issued in Idaho Falls, ID, November 24,

1997.

B.G. Bauer,

Acting Director, Procurement Services

Division.

[FR Doc. 97–31555 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Revised Draft Request for

Proposals for Waste Acceptance and

Transportation Services

AGENCY: Office of Civilian Radioactive

Waste Management, U.S. Department of

Energy.

ACTION: Request for Comments on a

Revised Draft Request for Proposals.

SUMMARY: The Office of Civilian

Radioactive Waste Management

(OCRWM) is responsible under the

Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as

amended (NWPA), for accepting and

transporting spent nuclear fuel (SNF)

from commercial nuclear reactor sites to

a federal facility for storage or disposal.

The Standard Contract for Disposal of

Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level

Radioactive Waste (10 CFR part 961)

details the arrangements between the

Department of Energy (DOE) and the

owners and generators of SNF

(Purchasers) for the Department to

accept the SNF at the Purchasers’ sites

for transport to a federal facility. Section

137(a)(2) of the NWPA requires the

utilization of private industry to the

‘‘fullest extent possible’’ in the

transportation of SNF.

OCRWM anticipates seeking

competitive proposals for commercial

SNF acceptance and transportation

services, including the provision of

storage equipment, in accordance with

the final version of this revised draft

Request for Proposals (RFP). In May

1996, OCRWM published in the Federal

Register (61 FR 26508) and the

Commerce Business Daily, a Request for

Expression of Interest and Comments on

a previous draft Statement of Work for

these services. In July 1996, comments

were received from interested parties at

a presolicitation conference. In

December 1996, OCRWM issued a draft
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Notices 63701

RFP that requested comments on all

aspects of its proposed contracting

approach embodied in that draft

document. In February 1997, OCRWM

held another presolicitation conference

to receive additional comments and

questions on the first draft RFP. The

draft RFP has been extensively revised

to reflect the public review and

comments received as a result of these

activities. Comments and suggestions

included input from industry, utilities,

and other interested parties.

DOE is seeking further comments on

all aspects of the proposed contracting

approach embodied in this revised draft

RFP to use the innovative powers of the

marketplace for meeting DOE’s mission

objectives.

DATES: Comments in response to this

Notice should be received by the

Department no later than February 13,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to: Contracting Officer, U.S.

Department of Energy, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW, Attn: HR–

542, Draft RFP Number DE–RP01–

98RW00320, Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contracting Officer (DOE HR–542), (202)

426–0067 or (202) 426–0076, (fax) 202–

426–0168.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments

OCRWM is interested in receiving

comments relating to this revised draft

RFP, especially with regard to the

following areas:

1. Contracting refinements concerning

financing and business aspects, as in

structuring the procurement to provide

sufficient financial incentive and

appropriate risk balancing mechanisms

between DOE and contractors in order

for industry to provide efficient waste

acceptance and transportation services.

2. Mitigation of delays which may

occur during Phase C that are beyond

the control of the contractor and/or the

Department.

3. Technical details associated with

the logistics of waste acceptance and

transportation services.

4. Potential extensions of the contract

durations of Phase A and Phase B for up

to one year each.

5. Mechanisms and refinements for

economic price adjustments over the

duration of the contract period.

6. Any other areas, terms or

conditions that DOE should consider in

formulating this acquisition.

DOE will consider and may utilize all

information, recommendations, and

suggestions provided in response to this

Notice. Respondents should not provide

any information that they consider to be

privileged or confidential or which the

respondent does not want disclosed to

the public. DOE does not intend to

respond to comments, either to

individual commentors or by

publication of a formal Notice. Several

RFP reference documents have been

placed in the DOE Forrestal Building

Public Reading Room that are listed in

the revised draft RFP. Also, copies of all

comments received as a result of this

notice will be placed in the DOE Public

Reading Room at the end of the

comment period, as were copies of

previous comments received on the

December 1996 draft RFP. Each

submittal should consist of one original

and three photocopies.

This Notice should not be construed

as: (1) a commitment by the Department

to enter into any agreement with any

entity submitting comments in response

to this Notice, (2) a commitment to issue

any RFP concerning the subject of this

Notice, or (3) an RFP.

DOE anticipates that the revised draft

RFP will be available on the internet

within two weeks of the date of this

Notice on the ‘‘Current Business

Opportunities at Headquarters

Procurement Operations’’ Home Page

located at address http://

www.pr.doe.gov./solicit.html. It will

also be available on the OCRWM Home

Page, Waste Acceptance, Storage and

Transportation Section, located at

http://www.rw.doe.gov/. Interested

parties that do not have the electronic

capability to download the revised draft

RFP may submit a written request to the

Contracting Officer at the address listed

above. Offerors who have previously

submitted written comments on the

December 1996 draft RFP or placed their

names on the mailing list at the

OCRWM Spent Nuclear Fuel

Transportation Workshop held on

August 12–13, 1997, in Reston, Virginia,

will be mailed a copy of the revised

draft RFP.

Issued in Washington, DC, on November

24, 1997.

Lake H. Barrett,

Acting Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive

Waste Management.

[FR Doc. 97–31554 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP98–80–000]

NorAm Gas Transmission Company,

Notice of Request Under Blanket

Authorization

November 20, 1997.

Take notice that on November 14,

1997, NorAm Gas Transmission

Company (NorAm), 1600 Smith Street,

Houston, Texas 77002, filed in Docket

No. CP98–80–000 a request pursuant to

Section 157.205 of the Commission’s

Regulations under the Natural Gas Act

(18 CFR 157.205) to abandon and

construct certain facilities in Union

County, Arkansas, under NorAm’s

blanket certificates issued in Docket

Nos. CP82–384–000 and CP82–384–001

pursuant to Section 7 of the Natural Gas

Act, all as more fully set forth in the

request which is on file with the

Commission and open to public

inspection.

NorAm states that it would abandon

6,647 ft. of 2-inch plastic pipe on Line

HM–2, 7,401 ft. of 2 to 8-inch coupled

steel pipe on Line HM–1 and three

inactive delivery taps. NorAm states

further that it would reconfigure its

delivery facilities to Arkla at

Smackover, Arkansas and abandon

deteriorated and unreliable facilities.

NorAm indicates that the estimated

cost of the facilities to be abandoned is

$49,721 and the estimated cost of the

new facilities to relocate the delivery

meter is $59,513.

No service, it is said, would be

abandoned as a result of the proposal.

Any person or the Commission’s staff

may, within 45 days after issuance of

the instant notice by the Commission,

file pursuant to Rule 214 of the

Commission’s Procedural Rules (18 CFR

385.214) a motion to intervene or notice

of intervention and pursuant to Section

157.205 of the Regulations under the

Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 157.205) a

protest to the request. If no protest is

filed within the time allowed therefor,

the proposed activity shall be deemed to

be authorized effective the day after the

time allowed for filing a protest. If a

protest is filed and not withdrawn

within 30 days after the time allowed

for filing a protest, the instant request

shall be treated as an application for

authorization pursuant to Section 7 of

the Natural Gas Act.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–31482 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M