67656 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 1997 / Notices

Expiration Date: To be requested.

Type of Request: Request for new

clearance.

Description of Need: NPS needs

information concerning park visitor

demographics and visitor opinions

about the services that the National Park

Service provides. For Project (1),

Hopewell Culture National Historical

Park Visitor and Community Survey,

NPS also needs information about the

perceptions of people who do not visit

the park to help the park be more

responsive to community needs. For

Projects 2&3, Canyonlands National

Park (Green and Colorado Rivers)

Visitor Study, and Voyageurs National

Park Visitor Study, NPS also needs

information about visitor perceptions of

standards for achieving quality visitor

experiences. For Project 4, Perry’s

Victory and International Peace

Memorial Visitor Study, NPS also needs

information about how visitors are

reacting to changes made in park

management based on past research in

the park. For Project 5, Great Plains

Prairie Cluster Visitor Studies at 7

parks, NPS also needs information about

visitor perceptions of standards for

achieving quality visitor experiences.

The information proposed to be

collected from visitors in these parks

and from community residents to meet

these needs is not available from

existing records, sources, or

observations.

Automated Data Collection: At the

present time, there is no automated way

to gather this information, since it

includes asking visitors to react to

management and services at the parks

they are visiting. The intrusion on

visitors is minimized by contacting

them only once during their visit to the

park.

Description of Respondents: Project 1:

A sample of visitors to the park and a

sample of individuals from Ross

County, Ohio. Projects 2&3: A sample of

visitors on the Green and Colorado

Rivers and at Voyageurs National Park.

Projects 4&5: A sample of visitors to

each park.

Estimated Average Number of

Respondents: Project 1: 400 visitors

contacted at the park and 400 residents

of Ross county. Projects 2&3: 600 at each

location. Project 4: 400. Project 5: 250 at

each park.

Estimated Average Number of

Responses: Each respondent will

respond only one time, so the number

of responses will be the same as the

number of respondents.

Estimated Average Burden Hours Per

Response: Projects 1, 4, and 5: 20

minutes. Projects 2&3: 30 minutes.

Frequency of Response: 1 time per

respondent.

Estimated Annual Reporting Burden:

Project 1: 270 hours. Projects 2&3: 900

hours. Project 4: 135 hours. Project 5: 85

hours at each park for a total of 595

hours.

Diane M. Cooke,

Information Collection Clearance Officer,

WASO Administrative Program Center,

National Park Service.

[FR Doc. 97–33728 Filed 12–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[DES 97–46]

Availability of the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement for the AT&T

Corporation P140 Coaxial Cable

Removal Project, Soccoro County,

New Mexico, Clark County, Nevada,

and Kern and San Bernardino

Counties, California

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C)

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 the National Park Service

announces the availability of the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

The Superintendent of Mojave National

Preserve, is the Department of the

Interior’s designated lead federal agency

official in accordance with 516 DM

2.4(A), the Bureau of Land Management,

Riverside District Office, is the

designated cooperating agency; and the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(USFWS), Ventura Office, is a

coordinating agency. This notice also

announces public meetings for the

purpose of receiving public comments

on the DEIS.

The National Park Service (NPS) and

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

received a request from AT&T Corp. to

remove portions of a

telecommunications system, that is nonsupportive to their fiber optic network

and to relinquish associated rights-ofway easements. As jurisdictional

agencies of federal Iands crossed by the

project, the NPS and the BLM are

responsible for determining terms and

conditions of any removal activity and

rehabilitation actions to promote

restoration of the land. AT&T owns and

maintains approximately 709 miles of

coaxial communications cable and

equipment generally between Mojave,

California and Socorro, New Mexico

known as the P140 cable system

consisting of underground cable,

repeater huts, manholes, cable markers,

other electronic equipment and access

corridor. The project addresses a 220

mile portion of the system including 7.7

miles in New Mexico, 7.4 miles in

Nevada, and 205.2 miles in California.

Alternatives

The DEIS describes and analyzes four

alternatives in response to AT&T’s

request to remove cable and to terminate

the associated rights-of-way. The

original right-of-way grants for public

and state lands in New Mexico and

private and state lands in California

provide AT&T a right to remove cable

and equipment; so it was necessary to

assume cable and equipment removal in

these areas. The proposed action, and

two additional action alternatives have

been developed to reduce or avoid

adverse effects on desert vegetation,

wilderness, the desert tortoise and

recreational access. The No Action

alternative is included as a baseline for

comparison of the action alternatives.

To varying degrees all action

alternatives include cable and structure

removal along with rehabilitation of the

access corridor and repeater hut sites.

The No Action Alternative includes

no cable or structural removal nor any

rehabilitation action. AT&T would

retain its right-of-way easements and

would continue to patrol and maintain

the access corridor. The Proposed

Action-Alternative A, includes the

removal of 174.5 miles of cable, repeater

huts and manholes along 220 miles of

the right-of-way. Removal of marker

posts along 174.2 miles and elimination

of 39.8 miles of the access corridor and

4 miles of dual track. In addition, the

proposed action includes rehabilitation

actions to promote restoration and

habitat recovery at the repeater hut sites

and along portions of the access

corridor. Alternative B, was developed

to protect desert tortoise critical habitat

on federal lands by not removing cable

from these areas and eliminating more

of the access corridor within critical

habitat. Cable would be removed along

113.7 miles outside of critical habitat on

federal lands, repeater huts and

manholes would be removed along

174.7 miles, and 51.6 miles of the access

corridor and 4 miles of dual track would

be eliminated and rehabilitated.

Alternative C, was developed to

minimize construction related impacts

on desert vegetation and desert tortoise

on federal lands by not removing any

cable on federal lands and by

eliminating the access corridor in

wilderness areas only. Cable would be

removed along 72.3 miles on primarily

state and private lands. Repeater huts

and manholes would be removed along

220 miles, marker posts would be

removed along 174.7 miles, and 5.4

miles of the access corridor and 4 miles
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 1997 / Notices 67657

of dual tract would be eliminated and

rehabilitated.

Environmental Consequences

In general, the Proposed Action

would involve trade-offs between long

term, adverse affects on desert resources

as a result of cable removal activities

and permanent gains or benefits

associated with removal of structures

and rehabilitation actions at the repeater

hut sites and along the access corridor.

Removal and rehabilitation activities

would result in unavoidable, long term

adverse effects on desert vegetation,

animal species of concern, soil

productivity, and visual aesthetics.

Construction activities would also result

in temporary adverse air quality and

noise impacts. Removal of marker posts

along 220 miles would enhance desert

tortoise habitat by eliminating predator

perches and removal of repeater huts

would enhance desert aesthetics.

Rehabilitation actions along the access

corridor would have an unavoidable,

permanent adverse effect on recreational

access to open desert areas on federal

land. Rehabilitation action along the

access corridor and at the repeater hut

sites, overall, would have a beneficial

impact on desert resources. Alternative

B would result in long term losses of

desert vegetation and desert tortoise

habitat due to 113.7 fewer miles of cable

removal activities, but would affect 61

fewer miles than the Proposed action.

The enhancement of desert tortoise

habitat by eliminating predator perches

would be the same as the proposal.

Elimination of 12 more miles of the

access corridor would result in a greater

permanent gain to desert tortoise habitat

by eliminating the vehicle related

impacts, but would have greater impacts

on recreation access than the proposal.

The permanent enhancement of habitat

values at the repeater hut sites would be

the same as the proposal. The

permanent visual enhancement

associated with removal of aboveground

structures would be the same as the

proposal. Impacts of Alternative C

would result in long term loss of desert

vegetation and desert tortoise habitat

due to 72.3 fewer miles of cable

removal, but would affect 102 miles less

than the proposal. The enhancement of

desert tortoise habitat by eliminating

predator perches along 220 miles would

be the same as the proposal. Eliminating

34 fewer miles of the access corridor as

compared with the proposal would

result in a smaller permanent gain to

desert tortoise habitat but would avoid

the recreational access impacts of the

proposal. The permanent enhancement

of habitat values at the repeater hut sites

would be the same as the proposal. The

permanent visual enhancement

associated with removal of the

aboveground structures would be the

same as the proposal.

The DEIS was prepared in order to

evaluate a range of alternatives, assess

the impacts of these alternatives and to

provide the public with an opportunity

to comment. This document will be on

public review for at least 60 days. The

NPS and the BLM would appreciate any

comments on the project.

DATES: Comments on the Draft EIS

should be received no later than March

27, 1998. Two public meetings are

scheduled for Wednesday, January 14,

1998 (10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.) at the

Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Center within

the Mojave National Preserve; and (7:00

p.m.—9:00 p.m.) at the Holiday Inn,

1511 E. Main Street, in Barstow,

California. Further information can be

obtained by contacting Joan DeGraff of

the NPS at (303) 969–2464.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

Draft EIS should be submitted to Joan

DeGraff National Park Service, Denver

Service Center, P.O. BOX 25287,

Denver, CO. 80225–0287.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of

the DEIS are available on the Internet at

the NPS web site http://www.nps.gov/

planning/index.html. Public reading

copies of the DEIS are available for

review at local NPS and BLM Offices

and at local public libraries. For

information on these locations contact:

Joan DeGraff at (303) 969–2464.

Dated: December 19, 1997.

Willie R. Taylor,

Director, Office of Environmental Policy and

Compliance.

[FR Doc. 97–33650 Filed 12–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 2310–67–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Acadia National Park Advisory

Commission; Notice of Meeting

Notice is hereby given in accordance

with the Federal Advisory Committee

Act (Pub. L. 92–463, 86 Stat. 770, 5

U.S.C. App. 1, Sec. 10), that the Acadia

National Park Advisory Commission

will hold a meeting on Monday, January

12, 1998.

The Commission was established

pursuant to Public Law 99–420, Section

103. The purpose of the commission is

to consult with the Secretary of the

Interior, or his designee, on matters

relating to the management and

development of the park, including but

not limited to the acquisition of lands

and interests in lands (including

conservation easements on islands) and

termination of rights of use and

occupancy.

The meeting will convene at park

Headquarters, McFarland Hill, Bar

Harbor, Maine, at 1:00 p.m. to consider

the following agenda:

1. Review and approval of minutes

from the meeting held October 27, 1997.

2. Committee reports.

3. Old business.

4. Superintendent’s report.

5. Public comments.

6. Proposed agenda and date of next

Commission meeting.

The meeting is open to the public.

Interested persons may make oral/

written presentations to the Commission

or file written statements. Such requests

should be made to the Superintendent

at least seven days prior to the meeting.

Further information concerning this

meeting may be obtained from the

Superintendent, Acadia National Park,

P.O. Box 177, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609,

tel: (207) 288–3338.

Dated: December 18, 1997.

Len Bobinchock,

Acting Superintendent, Acadia National

Park.

[FR Doc. 97–33721 Filed 12–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332–288]

Ethyl Alcohol for Fuel Use:

Determination of the Base Quantity of

Imports

AGENCY: United States International

Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of determination.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 19, 1997.

SUMMARY: Section 7 of the Steel Trade

Liberalization Program Implementation

Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2703 note),

which concerns local feedstock

requirements for fuel ethyl alcohol

imported by the United States from CBIbeneficiary countries, requires the

Commission to determine annually the

U.S. domestic market for fuel ethyl

alcohol during the 12-month period

ending on the preceding September 30.

The domestic market estimate made by

the Commission is to be used to

establish the ‘‘base quantity’’ of imports

that can be imported with a zero percent

local feedstock requirement. The base

quantity to be used by the U.S. Customs

Service in the administration of the law

is the greater of 60 million gallons or 7

percent of U.S. consumption as