Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 189 / Thursday, September 28, 2000 / Notices 58265

work of the Committee, and ability to

work with governmental and officials

and industry representatives to reach

consensus on complex environmental

and trade issues affecting the relevant

industry sector.

(3) Preference will be accorded

nominees who also demonstrate

knowledge of and familiarity with the

relevant industry sector, as well as with

international trade matters, including

trade policy development, relevant to

that sector.

The environmental representative, as

a member of the Committee, will be

required to have a security clearance.

Members serve without compensation

and are responsible for all expenses

incurred in attending Committee

meetings.

Application Procedures

Requests for applications should be

sent to the Director of the Industry

Consultations Program, U.S. Department

of Commerce, 14th and Constitution

Avenue, NW, Room 2015–B,

Washington, D.C. 20230.

This notice is issued under the

Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

U.S.C., app. 2) and 21 CFR part 14

relating to advisory committees.

Michael J. Copps,

Assistant Secretary for Trade Development.

[FR Doc. 00–24890 Filed 9–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–U

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 090600A]

Taking and Importing Marine

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals

Incidental to Construction and

Operation of Offshore Oil and Gas

Facilities in the Beaufort Sea

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of issuance of a letter of

authorization.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Marine Mammal Protection Act

(MMPA), as amended, and

implementing regulations, notification

is hereby given that a letter of

authorization (LOA) to take a small

number of marine mammals incidental

to construction and operation of

offshore oil and gas facilities at the

Northstar development in the Beaufort

Sea off Alaska has been issued to BP

Exploration (Alaska), Anchorage, AK

(BPXA).

DATES: This LOA is effective from

September 18, 2000, through November

30, 2001.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the application

and LOA are available for review in the

following offices: Office of Protected

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, and

Western Alaska Field Office, NMFS, 701

C Street, Anchorage, AK 99513.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kenneth R. Hollingshead (301) 713-

2055, ext. 128, or Brad Smith (907) 271-

5006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C.

1361 et seq.) directs NMFS to allow, on

request, the incidental, but not

intentional, taking of small numbers of

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who

engage in a specified activity (other than

commercial fishing) within a specified

geographical region, if certain findings

are made by NMFS and regulations are

issued. Under the MMPA, the term

≥taking≥ means to harass, hunt, capture,

or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt,

capture or kill marine mammals.

Permission may be granted for periods

up to 5 years if NMFS finds, after

notification and opportunity for public

comment, that the taking will have a

negligible impact on the species or

stock(s) of marine mammals, will not

have an unmitigable adverse impact on

the availability of the species or stock(s)

of marine mammals for subsistence

uses, and if regulations are prescribed

setting forth the permissible methods of

taking and the requirements pertaining

to the monitoring and reporting of such

taking. Regulations governing the taking

of marine mammals incidental to

construction and operation of the

offshore oil and gas facility at Northstar

in the Beaufort Sea were published and

made effective on May 25, 2000 (65 FR

34014), and remain in effect until May

25, 2005.

Summary of Request

On November 30, 1998 (64 FR 9965,

March 1, 1999), NMFS received a

request from BPXA for an incidental,

small take exemption under section

101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA to take

marine mammals incidental to

construction and operation of an

offshore oil and gas facility at Northstar

in state and Federal waters. Because of

delays in construction during 1999, and

in issuing a proposed rule on this

matter, on October 1, 1999, BPXA

updated its application to NMFS. On

October 22, 1999 (64 FR 57010), NMFS

published a notice of proposed

rulemaking on BPXA’s application and

invited interested persons to submit

comments, information, and suggestions

concerning the application and

proposed rule. These comments were

addressed during the promulgation of

final rulemaking on this action, which

was published on May 25, 2000 (65 FR

34014). A complete description of the

activity, the level of taking of marine

mammals, and other concerns can be

found in this document.

Issuance of this LOA is based on

findings, described in the preamble to

the final rule, that the total takings by

this activity will result in only small

numbers of marine mammals being

taken, have no more than a negligible

impact on marine mammal stocks in the

Beaufort Sea, and not have an

unmitigable adverse impact on the

availability of the affected marine

mammal stocks for subsistence uses. In

addition, NMFS finds that BPXA has

met the requirements contained in the

implementing regulations, including

monitoring and reporting requirements.

Dated: September 18, 2000.

Donald R. Knowles,

Director, Office of Protected Resources,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–24938 Filed 9–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

SUMMARY: The Leader, Regulatory

Information Management Group, Office

of the Chief Information Officer, invites

comments on the proposed information

collection requests as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to

submit comments on or before

November 27, 2000.

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 Leader,

Regulatory Information Management

Group, Office of the Chief Information

58266 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 189 / Thursday, September 28, 2000 / Notices

Officer, publishes that 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. The Department of

Education is especially interested in

public comment addressing the

following issues: (1) Is this collection

necessary to the proper functions of the

Department; (2) will this information be

processed and used in a timely manner;

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;

(4) how might the Department enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (5) how

might the Department minimize the

burden of this collection on the

respondents, including through the use

of information technology.

Dated: September 22, 2000.

John Tressler,

Leader, Regulatory Information Management,

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Office of Educational Research and

Improvement

Type of Review: New.

Title: Evaluation of Educational

Achievement (IEA) Progress in

International Reading Literacy Study.

Frequency: One time.

Affected Public: Businesses or other

for-profit; State, Local, or Tribal Gov’t,

SEAs or LEAs.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour

Burden:

Responses: 12,700.

Burden Hours: 11,350.

Abstract: Information collected is

used to assess the reading literacy skills,

habits, and attitudes of approximately

6,000 4th-graders in 200 schools. The

purposes of collecting the data in the

full-scale study are twofold; first, the

data will allow a comparative analysis

of American students’ reading literacy

with that of their counterparts in 36

other nations; second, the data will give

researchers an understanding of the

status of reading instruction in the

United States today.

Requests for copies of the proposed

information collection request may be

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, or

should be addressed to Vivian Reese,

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW, Room 4050, Regional

Office Building 3, Washington, D.C.

20202–4651. Requests may also be

electronically mailed to the internet

address OCIO_IMG_Issues@ed.gov or

faxed to 202–708–9346. Please specify

the complete title of the information

collection when making your request.

Comments regarding burden and/or the

collection activity requirements should

be directed to Kathy Axt at

Kathy_Axt@ed.gov. Individuals who use

a telecommunications device for the

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339.

[FR Doc. 00–24891 Filed 9–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

SUMMARY: The Leader, Regulatory

Information Management Group, Office

of the Chief Information Officer, invites

comments on the proposed information

collection requests as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to

submit comments on or before

November 27, 2000.

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 Leader,

Regulatory Information Management

Group, Office of the Chief Information

Officer, publishes that 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. The Department of

Education is especially interested in

public comment addressing the

following issues: (1) Is this collection

necessary to the proper functions of the

Department; (2) will this information be

processed and used in a timely manner;

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;

(4) how might the Department enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (5) how

might the Department minimize the

burden of this collection on the

respondents, including through the use

of information technology.

Dated: September 22, 2000.

John Tressler,

Leader, Regulatory Information Management,

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Office of Intergovernmental and

Interagency Affairs

Type of Review: Reinstatement.

Title: Applications for the U.S.

Presidential Scholars Program.

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: Businesses or other

for-profit.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour

Burden:

Responses: 2,600.

Burden Hours: 41,600.

Abstract: The United States

Presidential Scholars Program is a

national recognition program to honor

and recognize outstanding graduating

high school seniors. Candidates are

invited to apply to the program based on

academic achievements on the SAT and

ACT. This program was established

under Executive Order of the President

11155.

Requests for copies of the proposed

information collection request may be

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, or

should be addressed to Vivian Reese,

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW, Room 4050, Regional

Office Building 3, Washington, D.C.

20202–4651. Requests may also be

electronically mailed to the internet

address OCIO_IMG_Issues@ed.gov or

faxed to 202–708–9346.

Please specify the complete title of the

information collection when making

your request.

Comments regarding burden and/or

the collection activity requirements

should be directed to Jacqueline

Montague at (202) 708–5359 or via her

internet address

Jackie_Montague@ed.gov. Individuals

who use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339.

[FR Doc. 00–24892 Filed 9–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P