63730 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Notices

Applicant ............................................................................................................................................................ Permit Application: 98–020.

Howard E. Evans, Veterinary College, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.

Activity for Which Permit is Requested

Take and Import into the United States

The applicant will be leading a Cornell Adult University tour on a cruise ship in the Antarctic Peninsula and applicant proposes salvage

carcasses and remains of penguins, birds or seals as study materials. These materials will be imported to the U.S. and stored in the Cornell University Collections for use as teaching aides or in research.

Location

Various sites within the Antarctic Peninsula Area

Dates

January 7, 1998 to January 21, 1998

2. Applicant ........................................................................................................................................................ Permit Application: 98–021.

Rennie S. Holt, Chief Scientist, AMLR Program, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093.

Activity for Which Permit is Requested

Taking, Import into the United States, and Enter Site of Special Scientific Interest. The applicant will be conducting ship-supported and

land-based studies in the region of the Antarctic Peninsula. Studies encompassing census surveys, attendance, energetics, foraging, and

long term monitoring (censusing/tagging) of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) will be initiated at the newly established AMLR

Program campsite at Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island and continued at their existing camp on Seal Island. Up to 80 adult and 1180 pups

will be captured and tagged. In addition up to 40 female/pup pairs will be captured to quantify the foraging costs of maternal investment

in pups associated with changes in foraging strategies observed. Energetic costs and benefits of different foraging patterns can be determined by simultaneous measurements of energy expenditure (isotope), food intake (isotope), dive depth, duration, time of day and dive

frequency (via TDR’s), swim speed (TDR), and foraging location (satellite transmitter). Attendance information collected from these instrumented females will address issues such as (a) prey availability and subsequent impact on females and pups, and (b) attendance-related

factors of pup growth. Milk extraction and gastric lavage/intubation will be used for energetic studies, providing trophic information.

In addition the applicant proposes to salvage bones and carcasses of dead seals for importation to the U.S. These materials will be

stored at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center for education and research purposes.

Location

Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island (SSSI #32), Byers Peninsula (SSSI #6), South Shetland Island, Antarctic Peninsula.

Dates

January 1, 1998 to April 1, 2001.

Nadene G. Kennedy,

Permit Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–31585 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission for OMB

Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of the OMB review of

information collection and solicitation

of public comment.

SUMMARY: The NRC has recently

submitted to OMB for review the

following proposal for the collection of

information under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. Chapter 35). The NRC hereby

informs potential respondents that an

agency may not conduct or sponsor, and

that a person is not required to respond

to, a collection of information unless it

displays a currently valid OMB control

number.

1. Type of submission, new, revision,

or extension: New.

2. The title of the information

collection: Joint NRC/EPA Survey of

Sewage Sludge/Ash.

3. The form number if applicable:

None.

4. How often the collection is

required: This is a one-time collection.

5. Who will be required or asked to

report: Selected publicly owned

treatment works (POTWs), and

Agreement States.

6. An estimate of the number of

responses: 600 POTWs for the

questionnaire and 300 POTWs for

sample collection, plus 30 Agreement

States for reporting of licensees

associated with Zip Codes.

7. An estimate of the total number of

hours needed annually to complete the

requirement or request: An average of 1

hour per respondent for questionnaire

and 6 hours each for selected

respondents for collecting samples, plus

8 hours each for 30 Agreement States.

The total burden is 2,640 hours.

8. An indication of whether Section

3507(d), Pub. L. 104–13 applies: Not

applicable.

9. Abstract: The survey will obtain

national estimates of high probability

occurrences of elevated levels of

radioactive materials in sludge and ash

at POTWs, estimate the extent to which

radioactive contamination comes from

either NRC/Agreement State licensees or

from naturally-occurring radioactivity,

and support possible rulemaking

decisions by NRC and EPA. NRC and

EPA will send questionnaires to

selected POTWs. Based on the results of

that survey, NRC and EPA will identify

approximately 300 POTWs from which

samples of sewage sludge/ash will be

taken and analyzed. Results of the full

survey will be published for use by
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Notices 63731

Federal agencies, States, POTWs, local

POTW officials and other interested

parties.

A copy of the draft supporting

statement may be viewed free of charge

at the NRC Public Document Room,

2120 L Street NW (lower level),

Washington, DC. OMB clearance

packages are available at the NRC

worldwide web site (http://

www.nrc.gov) under the FedWorld

collection link on the home page tool

bar. The document will be available on

the NRC home page site for 60 days after

the signature date of this notice.

Comments and questions should be

directed to the OMB reviewer by

January 2, 1998. Norma Gonzales, Office

of Information and Regulatory Affairs

(3150- ) NEOB–10202, Office of

Management and Budget, Washington,

DC 20503.

Comments can also be submitted by

telephone at (202) 395–3087.

The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda

Jo Shelton, (301) 415–7233.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day

of November 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Brenda Jo. Shelton,

NRC Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–31518 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[IA 97–087]

Finis Scott Bandy; Order Prohibiting

Involvement in NRC-Licensed

Activities (Effective Immediately)

I

Finis Scott Bandy was formerly

employed by Omaha Public Power

District (OPPD) as an instrumentation

and control technician at OPPD’s Fort

Calhoun Station nuclear power plant,

Blair, Nebraska. OPPD holds license No.

DPR–40, issued August 9, 1973, by the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC

or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR Part

50. The license authorizes the operation

of the Fort Calhoun Station (FCS) in

accordance with the conditions

specified therein.

II

In August 1996, the NRC inspected

access authorization files during an NRC

security inspection at FCS. The NRC

raised a question about arrest

information that Mr. Bandy had

supplied to OPPD during the course of

1993, in connection with his application

for unescorted access to the plant. The

information in question pertained to

whether Mr. Bandy had been arrested

for theft of personal property, as certain

documents in his file appeared to

indicate, or had been arrested for

excessive speed while driving, as Mr.

Bandy claimed. As a result of the NRC’s

questions, OPPD agreed to interview Mr.

Bandy in the presence of the NRC

inspector. During the interview, Mr.

Bandy denied that he had been arrested

for theft and asserted that the only

charge he was aware of involved

excessive speed while driving.

Based on further questions about the

accuracy of Mr. Bandy’s statements and

the information provided by him, Mr.

Bandy’s unescorted access to FCS was

temporarily suspended on August 22,

1996. On August 26, 1996, OPPD

terminated Mr. Bandy’s employment

and revoked his unescorted access to

FCS. OPPD then conducted an

investigation and determined that: (1)

The only charge brought against Mr.

Bandy in 1991 was a charge of theft of

personal property; (2) copies of court

records provided to OPPD by Mr. Bandy

had been altered to make it appear that

the charge had been for speeding; and

(3) Mr. Bandy made false statements

when questioned about his criminal

history in 1993 by OPPD and in 1996

when questioned by OPPD and the NRC

during its inspection. The NRC’s

investigation of this matter concluded

that Mr. Bandy deliberately falsified

criminal history information submitted

to OPPD in 1993, and provided false

information to OPPD and an NRC

inspector when questioned about this in

August 1996.

On July 22, 1997, the NRC issued a

Demand for Information to Mr. Bandy,

seeking information as to why the NRC

should not conclude that he engaged in

deliberate misconduct and, if so, why

the NRC should not prohibit his

involvement in NRC-licensed activities.

On July 29, 1997, Mr. Bandy contacted

the NRC’s Office of Enforcement,

indicated that he had no interest in

being involved in NRC-licensed

activities, and indicated that he would

be willing to consent to an order

prohibiting his involvement in NRClicensed activities. On August 19, 1997,

the NRC sent a letter to Mr. Bandy

formally seeking his consent to a

confirmatory order prohibiting his

involvement in NRC-licensed activities

for five years. Mr. Bandy failed to

respond to this letter or to NRC efforts

to contact him.

III

Based on the above, the NRC has

concluded that Mr. Bandy engaged in

deliberate misconduct in 1993 and in

August 1996, by: (1) Deliberately falsely

stating to OPPD during the course of

1993 that he had been convicted in 1991

of excessive speeding while driving

when, in fact, he had been convicted of

theft of personal property, and by

deliberately altering copies of court

records that were provided to OPPD;

and (2) deliberately falsely stating in

August 1996 to OPPD and an NRC

inspector that he had been convicted in

1991 of excessive speeding while

driving. These actions constituted a

violation of 10 CFR 50.5(a)(2), which

prohibits an individual from

deliberately submitting to the NRC or a

licensee information that the person

submitting the information knows to be

incomplete or inaccurate in some

respect material to the NRC. In this case,

the information that Mr. Bandy

provided regarding his personal history

was material because licensees are

required to consider such information in

making unescorted access

determinations in accordance with the

requirements of 10 CFR 73.56.

The NRC must be able to rely on the

licensee and its employees to comply

with NRC requirements, including the

requirement to provide information that

is complete and accurate in all material

respects. Mr. Bandy’s actions in

deliberately providing false information

to the licensee and to the NRC

constitute deliberate violations of

Commission regulations. His conduct

raises serious doubt about his

trustworthiness and reliability;

particularly whether he can be relied

upon to comply with NRC requirements

and to provide complete and accurate

information to NRC licensees in the

future.

Consequently, I lack the requisite

reasonable assurance that licensed

activities can be conducted in

compliance with the Commission’s

requirements and that the health and

safety of the public would be protected

if Mr. Bandy were permitted at this time

to be involved in NRC-licensed

activities. Therefore, the public health,

safety and interest require that Mr.

Bandy be prohibited from any

involvement in NRC-licensed activities

for a period of five years from the date

of this Order. Additionally, Mr. Bandy

is required to notify the NRC of his first

employment in NRC-licensed activities

following the prohibition period.

Furthermore, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202,

I find that the significance of Mr.

Bandy’s conduct described above is

such that the public health, safety and

interest require that this Order be

effective immediately.