Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 14, 2012 / Notices 15089 

and design will be determined based on 

the technical requirements of the 

selected turbines, soils profile, depth, 

and site conditions. Typical foundations 

may include monopole, gravity based, 

suction caisson, or jacket structures. 

Scour protection in the form of 

prefabricated materials or clean stone 

may be placed at the base of the 

foundations. 

b. Transmission Lines: Installation of 

up to 4 substations will be required in 

each lease to reduce the number of 

transmission lines to shore and reduce 

electricity loss. Offshore substations 

gather electricity from the rows of 

turbines through an inter-array of subsea 

cables and convert it into a higher 

voltage. Transforming power into a 

higher voltage allows for the installation 

of fewer export cables, more efficient 

transmission of power and minimizes 

power loss. The inter-array cables will 

be buried to a target depth of 3 feet and 

18 inches wide, but will be dependent 

on the nature of the seabed. Connection 

between turbines and the substation 

platform is pre-installed j-tubes which 

protect the cable from the seabed to 

topside. To transfer the electricity to 

shore, up to 2 transmission lines per 

substation will be installed which 

connect the offshore substation to 

onshore electrical facilities. The 

dimension of the cables is in the range 

of 10 inches. However, for redundancy 

and safety issues, the transmission lines 

will be kept separate. Routing will be 

designed to minimize impacts to natural 

and cultural resources by following 

previously disturbed areas and areas 

devoid of vegetation, reefs, seagrasses, 

dunes and other valuable habitats. 

Scheduling of the work will also take 

into consideration minimization of 

impacts to marine mammals, sea turtles, 

birds, fisheries and other natural 

resources. 

c. Planning and Construction: Prior to 

Construction, Baryonyx Corporation 

will conduct the necessary surveys and 

studies to describe and quantify natural 

resources. These studies will include 

geophysical geotechnical survey, 

delineation of aquatic habitats, and 

cultural resource surveys. Onshore 

construction and assembly will utilize 

existing port facilities. No new onshore 

or port facilities are anticipated to be 

constructed. 

d. Mitigation: The Applicant proposes 

to avoid impacts to special aquatic sites 

and sensitive sea areas where 

practicable. No surface areas or 

wetlands are proposed to be filled at 

this time other than temporary side-cast 

material from trench construction. 

Horizontal drilling for burial of cables 

will be considered under unavoidable 

wetlands, seagrass beds, reefs and dunes 

where practicable. 

2. Scoping and Public Involvement 

Process: A Public Notice was published 

on June 15, 2011 to initiate the public 

scoping process for the proposed 

project. At that time, based on 

information provided by the Applicant, 

a preliminary review indicated that an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

was not required. However, based on 

continuing permit assessment and 

information brought forth during the 

initial coordination process, areas of 

potential significant impact on the 

human environment have been 

identified. Therefore, the EIS process is 

being implemented so that the permit 

application can be fully evaluated and 

a permit decision can be made. All 

comments received to date, including 

those provided for review during the 

Public Notice comment period, will be 

considered by the Galveston District 

during EIS preparation. The purpose of 

the EIS scoping meeting is to gather 

information on the subjects to be 

studied in detail by the EIS. In addition 

to the EIS, the Applicant has avoided 

and minimized impacts identified 

during the public notice comment 

period by removing the Mustang site, 

and its alternate, from consideration 

during this permit application. While 

the Applicant’s minimization effort is 

designed to avoid potential impacts to 

the Padre Island National Seashore and 

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, it is 

without prejudice to apply for these 

sites at another date. 

3. Purpose and Need. The basic 

purpose of the proposed action is to 

construct a power generation facility. 

The overall purpose is to provide 

electrical generation capacity for current 

markets in Texas and potential sale in 

the wholesale market utilizing wind 

resources offshore. The Corps 

recognizes that there is a public and 

private need for additional power 

generation. 

4. Alternatives. An evaluation of 

alternatives to the Applicant’s preferred 

alternative initially being considered 

includes a No Action alternative, 

alternatives that would avoid, minimize 

and compensate for impacts to the 

aquatic environment within the project 

footprint, alternatives that would avoid, 

minimize and compensate for impacts 

to the aquatic environment outside of 

the footprint, alternatives utilizing 

alternative practices, and other 

reasonable alternatives that will be 

developed through the project scoping 

process which may also meet the 

identified purpose and need. 

5. Public Involvement. The purpose of 

the public scoping process is to 

determine relevant issues that will 

influence the scope of the 

environmental analysis and EIS 

alternatives. General concerns in the 

following categories have been 

identified to date: potential direct 

effects to waters of the United States 

including wetlands; water quality; 

aquatic species; air quality; 

environmental justice; socioeconomic 

environment; archaeological and 

cultural resources; recreation and 

recreational resources; energy supply 

and natural resources; hazardous waste 

and materials; aesthetics; public health 

and safety; navigation; erosion and 

accretion; invasive species; cumulative 

impacts; public benefit and needs of the 

people along with potential effects on 

the human environment. All parties 

who express interest will be given an 

opportunity to participate in the 

process. 

6. Coordination. The proposed action 

is being coordinated with a number of 

Federal, State, regional and local 

agencies including but not limited to the 

Environmental Protection Agency, the 

United States (U.S.) Fish and Wildlife 

Service, U.S. National Marine Fisheries 

Service, the Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality, the Texas 

General Land Office, and the Texas 

Parks and Wildlife Department. 

7. Availability of the Draft EIS. The 

Corps currently expects the Draft EIS to 

be made available to the public by 

December 2014. A State and Federal 

agency scoping meeting will be held at 

Holiday Inn Brownsville at 2 p.m. on 

March 28, 2012. A public scoping 

meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn 

Brownsville on March 28, 2012 at 6 p.m. 

The Holiday Inn Brownsville is located 

at 3777 North Expressway, Brownsville, 

TX 78520. The Corps will announce the 

public scoping meeting through local 

news media and the Corps’ Web page at 

http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/reg at 

least 15 days prior to the first meeting. 

Brenda S. Bowen, 

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6128 Filed 3–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Equity and Excellence Commission 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. 

Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice of An Open Meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the 

schedule and proposed agenda of an upcoming meeting of the Equity and 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
15090 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 50 / Wednesday, March 14, 2012 / Notices 

Excellence Commission (Commission). 

The notice also describes the functions 

of the Commission. Notice of this 

meeting is required by section 10(a)(2) 

of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA) and is intended to notify the 

public of their opportunity to attend. 

DATES: March 29, 2012. 

Time: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern 

Daylight Time. 

ADDRESSES: The Commission will meet 

in Washington, DC at the United States 

Department of Education at 400 

Maryland Avenue SW., Washington, DC 

20202, in Room 1W105/108. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim 

Eichner, Designated Federal Official, 

Equity and Excellence Commission, 

U.S. Department of Education, 400 

Maryland Avenue SW., Washington, DC 

20202. Email: 

equitycommission@ed.gov. Telephone: 

(202) 453–5945. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 

29, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Eastern Daylight Time, the Equity and 

Excellence Commission will hold an 

open meeting in Washington, DC at the 

United States Department of Education 

at 400 Maryland Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20202, in Room 

1W105/108. 

The purpose of the Commission is to 

collect information, analyze issues, and 

obtain broad public input regarding how 

the Federal government can increase 

educational opportunity by improving 

school funding equity. The Commission 

will also make recommendations for 

restructuring school finance systems to 

achieve equity in the distribution of 

educational resources and further 

student performance, especially for the 

students at the lower end of the 

achievement gap. The Commission will 

examine the disparities in meaningful 

educational opportunities that give rise 

to the achievement gap, with a focus on 

systems of finance, and recommend 

appropriate ways in which Federal 

policies could address such disparities. 

The agenda for the Commission’s 

March 29, 2012 meeting will include 

reviewing and editing the Commission’s 

final report. The Commission is also 

expected to discuss what materials will 

accompany the final report and the 

timing of the release of the final report. 

Due to time constraints, there will not 

be a public comment period, however, 

individuals wishing to provide 

comments related to the Commission 

may contact the Equity Commission via 

email at equitycommission@ed.gov. For 

comments related to the upcoming 

meeting, please submit comments no 

later than March 22, 2012. 

Individuals interested in attending the 

meeting must register in advance, as 

meeting room seating may be limited. 

Please contact Jim Eichner at (202) 453– 

5945 or by email at 

equitycommission@ed.gov. Individuals 

who will need accommodations for a 

disability in order to attend the meeting 

(e.g., interpreting services, assistive 

listening devices, or materials in 

alternative format) should notify Jim 

Eichner at (202) 245–5945 no later than 

March 22, 2012. We will attempt to 

meet requests for accommodations after 

this date but cannot guarantee 

availability. The meeting site is 

accessible to individuals with 

disabilities. 

Records are kept of all Commission 

proceedings and are available for public 

inspection at the Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20202 from the hours 

of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight 

Time. 

Russlynn Ali, 

Assistant Secretary, Office for Civil Rights. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6189 Filed 3–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Proposed Agency Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy, 

DOE. 

ACTION: Notice and request for OMB 

review and comment. 

SUMMARY: This notice corrects DOE’s 

notice of January 26th, which 

incorrectly stated the Internet link for 

the collection instrument. The 

Department of Energy (DOE) has 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for clearance, a 

proposal for collection of information 

under the provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed 

collection will supersede the existing 

Form OE–781R, ‘‘Monthly Electricity 

Imports and Exports Report’’. The Form 

OE–781R is currently suspended and 

would be terminated with the 

implementation of the proposed Form 

EIA–111. 

DATES: Comments regarding this 

collection must be received on or before 

April 13, 2012. If you anticipate that 

you will be submitting comments, but 

find it difficult to do so within the 

period of time allowed by this notice, 

please advise the DOE Desk Officer at 

OMB of your intention to make a 

submission as soon as possible. The 

Desk Officer may be telephoned at 202– 

395–4650. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to the: DOE Desk Officer, Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 

735 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 

20503, and to Michelle Bowles. To 

ensure receipt of the comments by the 

due date, email (eia-111@eia.gov) is 

recommended. The mailing address is 

the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. 

Energy Information Administration, 

Mail Stop: EI–23 (Form EIA–111), 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. Alternatively, 

Ms. Bowles may be contacted by 

telephone at 202–586–2430 or via fax at 

(202) 287–1960. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of any forms and instructions 

(the draft proposed collection) should 

be directed to Michelle Bowles at the 

address listed above. Forms and 

instructions are also available on the 

Internet at: http://www.eia.gov/survey/

#oe-781r. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

information collection request contains: 

(1) OMB No.; (2) Information Collection 

Request Title; (3) Type of Request; (4) 

Purpose; (5) Annual Estimated Number 

of Respondents; (6) Annual Estimated 

Number of Total Responses; (7) Annual 

Estimated Number of Burden Hours; (8) 

Annual Estimated Reporting and 

Recordkeeping Cost Burden. 

1. New. 

2. Form EIA–111, Quarterly 

Electricity Imports and Exports Report. 

3. Three-year approval. 

4. Form EIA–111 collects U. S. 

electricity import and export data. The 

data are used to get an accurate measure 

of the flow of electricity into and out of 

the United States. The import and 

export data are reported by U.S. 

purchasers, sellers and transmitters of 

wholesale electricity, including persons 

authorized by Order to export electric 

energy from the United States to foreign 

countries, persons authorized by 

Presidential Permit to construct, 

operate, maintain, or connect electric 

power transmission lines that cross the 

U.S. international border, and U.S. 

Balancing Authorities that are directly 

interconnected with foreign Balancing 

Authorities. Such entities are to report 

monthly flows of electric energy 

received or delivered across the border, 

the cost associated with the 

transactions, and actual and 

implemented interchange. The data 

collected on this form may appear in 

various EIA publications. 

5. 173 respondents surveyed 

quarterly. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES