65686 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 240 / Monday, December 15, 1997 / Notices

Burden Hours: 26,600

Abstract: The Blue Ribbon Schools

award is a national school improvement

strategy with a threefold purpose: (1) to

identify and give public recognition to

outstanding public and private schools

across the nation; (2) to make available

a comprehensive framework of key

criteria for school effectiveness that can

serve as a basis for participatory selfassessment and planning in schools;

and (3) to facilitate communication and

sharing of best practices within and

among schools based on a common

understanding of criteria related to

success. The information collected will

be used to determine by peer review

which schools receive the award and

information on their exemplary

practices and policies will be made

available to other schools.

[FR Doc. 97–32604 Filed 12–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Submission for OMB review;

comment request.

SUMMARY: The Deputy Chief Information

Officer, Office of the Chief Information

Officer, invites comments on the

submission for OMB review as required

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to

submit comments on or before January

14, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Attention: Dan Chenok, Desk Officer,

Department of Education, Office of

Management and Budget, 725 17th

Street, NW., Room 10235, New

Executive Office Building, Washington,

DC 20503. Requests for copies of the

proposed information collection

requests should be addressed to Patrick

J. Sherrill, Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue, S.W., Room

5624, Regional Office Building 3,

Washington, DC 20202–4651.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick J. Sherrill (202) 708–8196.

Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the Federal Information

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time,

Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires

that the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) provide interested

Federal agencies and the public an early

opportunity to comment on information

collection requests. OMB may amend or

waive the requirement for public

consultation to the extent that public

participation in the approval process

would defeat the purpose of the

information collection, violate State or

Federal law, or substantially interfere

with any agency’s ability to perform its

statutory obligations. The Deputy Chief

Information Officer, Office of the Chief

Information Officer, publishes this

notice containing proposed information

collection requests prior to submission

of these requests to OMB. Each

proposed information collection,

grouped by office, contains the

following: (1) Type of review requested,

e.g., new, revision, extension, existing

or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary

of the collection; (4) Description of the

need for, and proposed use of, the

information; (5) Respondents and

frequency of collection; and (6)

Reporting and/or Recordkeeping

burden. OMB invites public comment at

the address specified above. Copies of

the requests are available from Patrick J.

Sherrill at the address specified above.

Dated: December 9, 1997.

Gloria Parker,

Deputy Chief Information Officer, Office of

the Chief Information Officer.

Office of Educational Research and

Improvement

Type of Review: Reinstatement.

Title: 1998 Field Test for Schools and

Staffing Survey (SASS): LEA,

Administrator, School, Teacher and

Finance.

Frequency: One Time.

Affected Public: Individuals or

households; Not-for-profit institutions;

State, local or Tribal Gov’t, SEAs or

LEAs.

Reporting Burden and Recordkeeping:

Responses: 2,270

Burden Hours: 2,354

Abstract: The National Center for

Education Statistics (NCES) will use the

field test to assess data collection

procedures and new questions that are

planned for the next full-scale SASS in

1999–2000. Policy makers, researchers,

and practitioners at the national, state,

and local levels use SASS data.

Respondents include public and private

school principals, teachers, and school

and LEA staff persons.

[FR Doc. 97–32605 Filed 12–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Educational Research Policy

and Priorities Board; Meeting

AGENCY: National Educational Research

Policy and Priorities Board; Education.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the

schedule and proposed agenda of a

forthcoming meeting of the National

Educational Research Policy and

Priorities Board. This notice also

describes the functions of the Board.

Notice of this meeting is required under

Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory

Committee Act. This document is

intended to notify the public of their

opportunity to attend the meeting.

DATE: January 15 and 16, 1998.

TIME: January 15, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

January 16, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

LOCATION: Room 100, 80 F St., N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20208–7564.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thelma Leenhouts, Designated Federal

Official, National Educational Research

Policy and Priorities Board, 80 F St.,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20208–7564.

Telephone: (202) 219–2065; fax: (202)

219–1528; e-mail: Thelmal

Leenhouts@ed.gov. The main telephone

number for the Board is (202) 208–0692.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

National Educational Research Policy

and Priorities Board is authorized by

Section 921 of the Educational

Research, Development, Dissemination,

and Improvement Act of 1994. The

Board works collaboratively with the

Assistant Secretary for the Office of

Educational Research and Improvement

to forge a national consensus with

respect to a long-term agenda for

educational research, development, and

dissemination, and to provide advice

and assistance to the Assistant Secretary

in administering the duties of the Office.

The January meeting will be the

Board’s quarterly meeting, consisting of

three sessions led by committee chairs,

followed by a business session. On

Thursday, January 15, the Board will

hear reports from the Peer Review and

Standards Committee and from the

Program Committee. On Friday, January

16, the Board will hear a report from the

Research, Development, and

Dissemination Committee. The business

meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. A final

agenda will be available from the

Board’s office on January 7. Records are

kept of all Board proceedings and are

available for public inspection at the

office of the National Educational

Research Policy and Priorities Board, 80

F St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20208–

7564.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 240 / Monday, December 15, 1997 / Notices 65687

Dated: December 9, 1997.

Eve M. Bither,

Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 97–32598 Filed 12–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Research; Energy

Research Financial Assistance

Program Notice 98–06; Plasma Physics

Junior Faculty Development Program

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE).

ACTION: Notice inviting grant

applications.

SUMMARY: The Office of Fusion Energy

Sciences (OFES) of the Office of Energy

Research (OER), U.S. Department of

Energy hereby announces its interest in

receiving grant applications for support

under its Plasma Physics Junior Faculty

Development Program. Applications

should be from tenure-track faculty

investigators who are currently involved

in experimental or theoretical plasma

physics research and should be

submitted through a U.S. academic

institution. The purpose of this program

is to support the development of the

individual research programs of

exceptionally talented scientists and

engineers early in their careers.

DATES: To permit timely consideration

for awards in FY 1998, formal

applications in response to this notice

should be received on or before March

4, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Completed formal

applications referencing Program Notice

98–06 should be forwarded to: U.S.

Department of Energy, Office of Energy

Research, Grants and Contracts

Division, ER–64, 19901 Germantown

Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874–

1290, ATTN: Program Notice 98–06.

The above address must also be used

when submitting applications by U.S.

Postal Service Express, and commercial

mail delivery service or when hand

carried by the applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Ronald McKnight, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Fusion Energy

Sciences, Science Division, ER–55,

19901 Germantown Road, Germantown,

Maryland 20874–1290. Telephone: (301)

903–4597. E-mail:

ron.mcknight@oer.doe.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Plasma Physics Junior Faculty

Development Program was started in FY

1997. A principal goal of this program

is to identify exceptionally talented

plasma faculty members early in their

careers and assist and facilitate the

development of their research programs.

Eligibility for awards under this notice

is, therefore, restricted to tenure-track

regular academic faculty investigators

who are conducting experimental or

theoretical plasma physics research.

Emphasis is to be placed on basic

plasma science research. For

applications to be considered for

funding, certification of the status of the

applicant as a tenure-track regular

academic faculty member by the head of

the applicant’s academic department or

other university/college certifying

official will be required before the grant

is awarded. Awards made under this

program will help to maintain the

vitality of university plasma physics

research and assure continued

excellence in the teaching of plasma

physics and related disciplines.

Applications from Junior Faculty

involved in any areas of plasma physics

research, not only magnetic fusion, are

welcomed and encouraged.

It is anticipated that annual funding

levels up to $150,000 per award may be

made available for grants under this

notice during FY 1998, contingent upon

the availability of appropriated funds.

Funding for equipment above this level

will be considered on a case-by-case

basis. DOE may make up to four awards

during FY 1998, depending on the

number of meritorious applications and

the availability of appropriated funds.

Multiple year funding of grant awards is

expected, with funding provided on an

annual basis subject to availability of

funds. These grants will not normally be

renewed after the project period is

completed; grantees may, however,

submit new grant applications to

continue their research using the usual

Departmental grant application process.

Applications will be subjected to formal

merit review and will be evaluated

against the following criteria, which are

listed in descending order of importance

as set forth in 10 CFR Part 605:

1. Scientific and/or technical merit of

the project;

2. Appropriateness of the proposed

method or approach;

3. Competency of applicant’s

personnel and adequacy of proposed

resources; and

4. Reasonableness and

appropriateness of the proposed budget.

General information about

development and submission of

applications, eligibility, limitations,

evaluations and selection processes, and

other policies and procedures are

contained in the Application Guide for

the Office of Energy Research Financial

Assistance Program and 10 CFR Part 605

which is available on the World Wide

Web at: http://www.er.doe.gov/

production/grants/grants.html

(The Catalog Of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number for this program is 81.049, and the

solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR

Part 605)

Issued in Washington, DC on December 1,

1997.

John Rodney Clark,

Associate Director for Resource Management,

Office of Energy Research.

[FR Doc. 97–32642 Filed 12–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP98–106–000]

Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice

of Request Under Blanket

Authorization

December 9, 1997.

Take notice that on December 1, 1997,

Northern Natural Gas Company

(Northern), 1111 South 103rd Street,

Omaha, Nebraska 68124–1000, filed in

Docket No. CP98–106–000 a request

pursuant to Sections 157.205 and

157.216 of the Commission’s

Regulations under the Natural Gas Act

(18 CFR 157.205 and 157.216) for

authorization to abandon a small

volume measurement station (farm tap)

located in Dodge County, Minnesota,

under Northern’s blanket certificate

issued in Docket No. CP82–401–000

pursuant to Section 7 of the Natural Gas

Act, all as more fully set forth in the

request that is on file with the

Commission and open to public

inspection.

Northern states that it is in the

process of replacing its Dodge Center

Branchline. Northern states that it has

negotiated with the two landowners

along the route of the original pipeline

regarding service lines to reconnect farm

tap facilities. One of the farm tap users

elected to reconnect their service line to

Northern and will continue to receive

service from their local distribution

company (LDC). The other farm tap user

(City of Dodge Center) elected to

disconnect from Northern and has

connected their service line directly to

the LDC. As a result, Northern is

requesting authority to abandon the City

of Dodge Center farm tap facility.

Northern states that the proposed

activity is not prohibited by its existing

tariff and that it has sufficient capacity

to accommodate the proposed changes

without detriment or disadvantage to

Northern’s other customers.