Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 227 / Tuesday, November 25, 1997 / Notices 62761

DATES: Comments may be submitted on

or before January 26, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack

O’Neill, Federal Acquisition Policy

Division, GSA (202) 501–3856.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding this

burden estimate or any other aspect of

this collection of information, including

suggestions for reducing this burden,

should be submitted to: FAR Desk

Officer, OMB, Room 10102, NEOB,

Washington, DC 20503, and a copy to

the General Services Administration,

FAR Secretariat, 1800 F Street, NW,

Room 4037, Washington, DC 20405.

Please cite OMB Control No. 9000–0135,

Subcontractor Payments, in all

correspondence.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Purpose

Part 28 of the FAR contains guidance

related to obtaining financial protection

against damages under Government

contracts (e.g., use of bonds, bid

guarantees, insurance etc.). Part 52

contains the texts of solicitation

provisions and contract clauses. These

regulations implement a statutory

requirement for information to be

provided by Federal contractors relating

to payment bonds furnished under

construction contracts which are subject

to the Miller Act (40 USC 270a-270d).

This collection requirement is mandated

by Section 806 of the National Defense

Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992

and 1993 (Pub. L. 102–190), as amended

by Section 2091 of the Federal

Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994

(Pub. L. 103–335). The clause at 52.228–

12, Prospective Subcontractor Requests

for Bonds, implements Section 806(a)(3)

of Public Law 102–190, as amended,

which specifies that, upon the request of

a prospective subcontractor or supplier

offering to furnish labor or material for

the performance of a construction

contract for which a payment bond has

been furnished to the United States

pursuant to the Miller Act, the

contractor shall promptly provide a

copy of such payment bond to the

requestor.

In conjunction with performance

bonds, payment bonds are used in

Government construction contracts to

secure fulfillment of the contractor’s

obligations under the contract and to

assure that the contractor makes all

payments, as required by law, to

persons furnishing labor or material in

performance of the contract. This

regulation provides prospective

subcontractors and suppliers a copy of

the payment bond furnished by the

contractor to the Government for the

performance of a Federal construction

contract subject to the Miller Act. It is

expected that prospective

subcontractors and suppliers will use

this information to determine whether

to contract with that particular prime

contractor. This information has been

and will continue to be available from

the Government. The requirement for

contractors to provide a copy of the

payment bond upon request to any

prospective subcontractor or supplier

under the Federal construction contract

is contained in Section 806(a)(3) of

Public Law 102–190, as amended by

Sections 2091 and 8105 of Public Law

103–355.

B. Annual Reporting Burden

The annual reporting burden is

estimated as follows: Respondents,

12,000; responses per respondent, 5;

total annual responses, 60,000;

preparation hours per response, .5; and

total response burden hours, 30,000.

Obtaining Copies of Proposals:

Requester may obtain a copy of the

justification from the General Services

Administration, FAR Secretariat (VRS),

Room 4037, 1800 F Street, Washington,

DC 20405, telephone (202) 501–4755.

Please cite OMB Control No. 9000–0135,

Subcontractor Payments, in all

correspondence.

Dated: November 20, 1997.

Sharon A. Kiser,

FAR Secretariat.

[FR Doc. 97–30896 Filed 11–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–34–U

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

on Management of Certain Plutonium

Residues and Scrub Alloy Stored at

the Rocky Flats Environmental

Technology Site

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy

(DOE) announces the availability of the

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

on Management of Certain Plutonium

Residues and Scrub Alloy Stored at the

Rocky Flats Environmental Technology

Site (draft EIS) for public review and

comment. The Department has prepared

this draft EIS pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42

U.S.C. § 4321, et seq.), in accordance

with the Council on Environmental

Quality Regulations for Implementing

the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40

CFR parts 1500–1508) and the DOE

NEPA implementing regulations (10

CFR part 1021). The draft EIS analyzes

reasonable alternative means of

processing certain plutonium residues

and all of the scrub alloy currently

stored at the Rocky Flats Site near

Golden, Colorado to a form suitable for

disposal or other disposition. Plutonium

residues and scrub alloy are materials

that were generated during the

manufacture of components for nuclear

weapons. DOE will hold three public

hearings during the comment period,

which ends January 5, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the

draft EIS should be directed to: Center

for Environmental Management

Information, P.O. Box 23769,

Washington, D.C. 20026–3769, 1–800–

736–3282 or in Washington, D.C., 202–

863–5084. Copies of the draft EIS are

also available for public review at the

locations listed at the end of this Notice.

Written comments on the draft EIS

should be mailed to: Mr. Charles R.

Head, U.S. Department of Energy, Office

of Environmental Management (EM–60),

1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Room

5B–086, Washington, DC 20585–0001.

Comments may also be submitted to

RFPR.EIS@EM.DOE.GOV by E-mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

further information about the draft EIS

and about plutonium residues and scrub

alloy, contact: Mr. Charles Head at the

above address or call (202) 586–5151.

For information on the DOE NEPA

process, contact: Carol M. Borgstrom,

Director, Office of NEPA Policy and

Assistance, U.S. Department of Energy,

1000 Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20585–0001, (202) 586–

4600 or leave a message at 1–800–472–

2756.

DATES: The comment period ends on

January 5, 1998. Comments postmarked

after that date will be considered to the

extent practicable. DOE will hold public

hearings as follows:

Golden, Colorado—December 10, 1997

Los Alamos, New Mexico—December

11, 1997

Augusta, Georgia—December 16, 1997

Further details on the hearings are

provided under SUPPLEMENTAL

INFORMATION.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On November 19, 1996, DOE

published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the

Federal Register (61 FR 58866) to

prepare an EIS on the management of

certain plutonium residues and scrub

alloy stored at the Rocky Flats

Environmental Technology Site. The

plutonium residues and scrub alloy

were generated as intermediate products

or byproducts resulting from the

manufacture of components for nuclear
62762 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 227 / Tuesday, November 25, 1997 / Notices

weapons. Now that nuclear weapons

manufacturing and processing activities

at Rocky Flats have ceased, the

plutonium residues and scrub alloy are

being stored pending disposition.

The purpose and need for agency

action is to process certain plutonium

residues and all of the scrub alloy

currently stored at the Rocky Flats Site

to address health and safety concerns

raised by the Defense Nuclear Facilities

Safety Board in its Recommendation

94–1, and to prepare these materials for

offsite disposal or other disposition,

while supporting site closure and

limiting worker exposure and waste

production. The proposed action is to

process the plutonium residues and

scrub alloy in preparation for disposal

or other disposition.

The materials addressed in this draft

EIS include approximately 40% of the

106,600 kg (235,000 lb) existing

inventory of Rocky Flats plutonium

residues, and also the entire inventory

of Rocky Flats scrub alloy. The covered

material consists of 42,200 kg (93,000

lb) of plutonium residues [containing

2,600 kg (5,730 lb) of plutonium] and

700 kg (1,540 lb) of scrub alloy

[containing 200 kg (440 lb) of

plutonium]. The remaining Rocky Flats

plutonium residues will meet the

requirements for disposal after being

processed as discussed in DOE’s Solid

Residues Environmental Assessment

(DOE/EA–1120, April 1996), and are not

addressed in the draft EIS.

Alternatives Considered

The draft EIS evaluates reasonable

processing alternatives that could be

applied in the 1998–2004 time frame.

Three alternatives are analyzed for each

residue category and the scrub alloy:

Alternative 1—No Action

Alternative 2—Processing without

Plutonium Separation

Alternative 3—Processing with

Plutonium Separation

Any plutonium separated from the

plutonium residues and scrub alloy as a

result of the proposed action would be

placed into safe and secure storage

pending disposition by immobilization

or conversion to mixed-oxide fuel in

accordance with decisions to be made

under DOE’s Surplus Plutonium

Disposition Environmental Impact

Statement (62 FR 28009, May 22, 1997).

The processing technology options for

each material category analyzed in the

draft EIS include those that can be

accomplished at Rocky Flats, and those

for plutonium separation only that can

be accomplished offsite at the Savannah

River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina,

and/or at Los Alamos National

Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Invitation To Comment

The public is invited to submit

written and oral comments on any or all

portions of the draft EIS. DOE especially

welcomes comments on the following

topics: the technical adequacy of the

document; the alternative(s) that DOE

should select upon completion of the

document; and the criteria that DOE

should use in making these selections.

Public Hearings and Procedures

DOE will hold three public hearings

according to the schedule provided at

the end of this section. The hearing

format will provide for collection of

written and oral comments and will

enable the public to discuss issues and

concerns with DOE staff. Participants

who wish to speak at the hearings are

asked to register in advance by calling

toll-free: 1–800–736–3282. Requests to

speak that have not been submitted

prior to the hearings will be handled in

the order in which they are received

during the meetings. DOE’s responses to

comments received during the public

comment period will be presented in

the final EIS.

An independent facilitator will open

the hearings by explaining the format to

be followed. The hearings will be

conducted in a manner that is intended

to foster a cordial, open and mutually

beneficial dialog between the

participants and the DOE

representatives. In the interests of

achieving this goal, DOE representatives

may ask clarifying questions regarding

statements made at the hearings, will

answer questions from the public, and

may comment on statements made by

other hearing participants.

To ensure that everyone has an

adequate opportunity to speak, each

speaker at a public hearing will be

allotted 5 minutes. Depending on the

number of persons who request an

opportunity to speak, more time may be

allowed for speakers representing

several parties or organizations. Persons

wishing to speak on behalf of

organizations should identify the

organization in their request. Written

comments will also be accepted at the

hearings, and speakers at public

hearings are encouraged to provide

written versions of their oral comments

for the record.

DOE will take notes and prepare a

summary of the oral comments received

during the public hearings.

Schedule of Public Hearings

December 10, 1997—Rocky Flats

Environmental Technology Site, Near

Golden, CO

6:00–9:00 pm mountain time, Rocky

Flats Environmental Technology Site,

Building 060 (outside of the West Gate

of the Rocky Flats Environmental

Technology Site), State Highway 93,

Golden, CO 80402. Contact: Michael

Konczal, 303–966–7095.

December 11, 1997—Los Alamos, NM

6:00–9:00 pm mountain time, Los

Alamos Area Office, 528—35th Street,

Rooms 100/129, Los Alamos, NM 87544.

Contact: Bob Promell, 505–665–4411.

December 16, 1997—Augusta, Georgia

6:00–9:00 pm eastern time, Ramada

Plaza Hotel, Grove Room, 640 Broad

Street, Augusta, GA 30901. Contact:

Drew Grainger, 807–725–1523.

Public Reading Rooms where the draft

EIS is available:

U.S. Department of Energy, Freedom

of Information Room, Room 1E–190,

Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585.

Telephone 202–586–6020.

Lawrence Livermore National

Laboratory, East Gate Visitors Center,

Greenville Road, Livermore, CA 94550.

Telephone 510–424–4026.

California State University,

Northridge/Oviatt Library, 18111

Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330.

Telephone 818–677–2274.

U.S. Department of Energy, Oakland

Operations Office, Public Reading

Room, Energy Information Center, 8th

Floor, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA

94612. Telephone 510–637–1762.

Simi Valley Public Library, 2629 Tapo

Canyon Road, Simi Valley, CA 93063.

Telephone 805–525–2384.

Platt Brand Public Library, 23600

Victory Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA

91367. Telephone 818–887–0160.

Standley Lake Public Reading Room,

8485 Kipling Street, Arvada, CO 80005.

Telephone 303–456–0806.

University of Colorado Libraries,

Government Publications, Campus Box

184, Boulder, CO 80309. Telephone

303–492–1411.

U.S. EPA Superfund Records Center,

999 18th Street, 5th Floor Denver, CO

80202. Telephone 303–312–6473.

Colorado Department of Public Health

and Environment, Information Center,

4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver,

CO 80222. Telephone 303–692–2037.

Colorado State University, Document

Department, The Libraries, Fort Collins,

CO 80523. Telephone 970–491–1101.

U.S. Department of Energy, Golden

Field Office, Public Reading Room,
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 227 / Tuesday, November 25, 1997 / Notices 62763

14869 Denver West Parkway, Golden,

CO 80401. Telephone 303–275–4742.

Colorado School of Mines, Arthur

Lakes Library, 1400 Illinois Street,

Golden, CO 80401. Telephone 303–273–

3000.

Rocky Flats Citizens Advisory Board,

Public Reading Room, 9035 Wadsworth

Avenue, Suite 2250, Westminster, CO

80021. Telephone 303–420–7855.

Rocky Flats Public Reading Room,

Front Range Community College

Library, 3645 West 112th Avenue,

Westminster, CO 80030. Telephone

303–469–4435.

Pullen Public Library, 100 Decatur

Street, SE, Atlanta, GA 30303.

Telephone 404–651–2185.

Georgia Institute of Technology,

Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30332.

Telephone 404–894–4519.

Reese Library—Augusta College, 2500

Walton Way, Augusta, GA 30904.

Telephone 706–737–1744.

Chatham Effingham Library, 2002

Bull Street, Savannah, GA 31499.

Telephone 912–234–5127.

Argonne National Laboratory,

Technical Library, P.O. Box 2528, Idaho

Falls, ID 83403. Telephone 208–533–

7341.

University of Illinois at Chicago, U.S.

Department of Energy, Public Document

Room, 3rd Floor, 801 S. Morgan Street,

Chicago, IL 60607. Telephone 312–996–

2738.

East St. Louis Public Library, 405

North 9th Street, East St. Louis, IL

62201. Telephone 618–747–7280.

Lincoln Public Library, 326 South 7th

Street, Springfield, IL 62701. Telephone

217–753–4900.

Salina Public Library, 301 West Elm,

Salina, KS 67401. Telephone 785–825–

4624.

Washburn Law Library, 1700 College,

Topeka, KS 66621. Telephone 913–231–

1010.

U.S. Department of Energy,

Environmental Information Center, 175

Freedom Boulevard, Kevil, KY 42053.

Telephone 502–462–2550.

Paducah Public Library, 555

Washington Street, Paducah, KY 42001.

Telephone 502–442–2510.

Mid Continent Public Library, Blue

Ridge Branch, 9253 Blue Ridge

Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64138.

Telephone 816–761–3382.

St. Louis Public Library, 1301 Olive

Street, St. Louis, MO 63103. Telephone

314–241–2288.

Scenic Regional Library, 308

Hawthorn Drive, Union, MO 63084.

Telephone 314–583–3224.

Albuquerque Operations Office,

National Atomic Museum, 20358

Wyoming Boulevard SE, Kirtland Air

Force Base, Albuquerque, NM 87185.

Telephone 505–845–4378.

U.S. Department of Energy, Technical

Vocation Institute, Main Campus

Library, 525 Buena Vista SE,

Albuquerque, NM 87106. Telephone

505–845–4378.

U.S. Department of Energy, FOIA

Reading Room, 4700 Morris NE,

Albuquerque, NM 87111. Telephone

505–224–5731.

Los Alamos Community Reading

Room, 1350 Central, Suite 101, Los

Alamos, NM 87544. Telephone 505–

665–2127.

New Mexico State Library, 325 Don

Gasper, Santa Fe, NM 87503. Telephone

505–827–3800.

U.S. Department of Energy, Public

Reading Room, Gregg Graniteville

Library, 171 University Parkway, Aiken,

SC 29801. Telephone 803–641–3465.

County Library, 404 King Street,

Charleston, SC 29403. Telephone 803–

723–1645.

South Carolina State Library, 1500

Senate Street, Columbia, SC 29211.

Telephone 803–734–8666.

Orangeburg County Free Library, 510

Louis Street, NE, Orangeburg, SC 29116.

Telephone 803–531–4636.

Lawson McGhee Public Library, 500

West Church Avenue, Knoxville, TN

37902. Telephone 615–544–5750.

Nashville Public Library, 225 Polk

Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203.

Telephone 615–862–5800.

U.S. Department of Energy, Public

Reading Room, Oak Ridge Operations

Office, 55 Jefferson Circle, Room 1123,

Oak Ridge, TN 37831. Telephone 615–

576–1216.

Issued in Washington, D.C., November 20,

1997.

David G. Huzienga,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear

Material and Facility Stabilization, Office of

Environmental Management.

[FR Doc. 97–30957 Filed 11–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP98–81–000]

Florida Gas Transmission Company;

Notice of Request Under Blanket

Authorization

November 19, 1997.

Take notice that on November 12,

1997, Florida Gas Transmission

Company, (FGT) 1400 Smith Street,

Houston, Texas 77002, filed in the

above docket a request pursuant to

Sections 157.205 and 157.212 of the

Commission’s Regulations, under the

Natural Gas Act (NGA) (18 CFR 157.205

and 157.212) for authorization to

construct and operate a new delivery

point in Iberville Parish, Louisiana

under FGT’s blanket authority issued in

Docket No. CP82–553–000 pursuant to

Section 7 of the NGA, all as more fully

set forth in the request which is on file

with the Commission and open to

public inspection.

Specifically, FGT proposes to

construct, operate and own a new

delivery point for Iberville Parish

Natural Gas System (Iberville) at or near

mile post 19.9 on FGT’s existing

Chacahoula Lateral in Iberville Parish,

Louisiana. FGT states that the subject

delivery point will include minor

connecting pipe, electronic flow

measurement equipment, and any other

related appurtenant facilities necessary

for FGT to transport for and deliver up

to 500 MMBtu per day and 182,500

MMBtu per year of natural gas to

Iberville. FGT further states that

Iberville will construct, own and

operate the meter and regulation station.

Iberville will reimburse FGT for the

$30,000 estimated construction costs.

FGT states that the proposed

quantities to be delivered by FGT to

Iberville at the subject delivery point

will be on an interruptible basis and

consequently will have no incremental

effect on FGT’s pipeline system. FGT

states that the proposed request will not

impact FGT’s peak day deliveries but

could impact FGT’s annual gas

deliveries up to 182,500 MMBtu.

FGT states that the proposed activity

described herein is not prohibited by its

existing tariff and that it has sufficient

capacity to continue all services without

detriment or disadvantage to FGT’s

other customers. FGT further states that

the total volumes to be delivered after

this request will not exceed the total

volumes delivered prior to this request.

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