Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 209 / Friday, October 27, 2000 / Notices 64433

West Highway, Room 13130, Silver

Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289); and

Northeast Region, NMFS, One

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-

2298; phone (508) 281-9250; fax (508)

281-9371.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ruth Johnson or Simona Roberts, 301/

713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

subject permit is requested under the

authority of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended

(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the

Regulations Governing the Taking and

Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR

part 216), the Endangered Species Act of

1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531

et seq.), and the regulations governing

the taking, importing, and exporting of

endangered and threatened species (50

CFR parts 222-227).

The Northeast Fisheries Science

Center seeks permission to conduct

research on seven species of baleen

whales, twenty species of odontocetes

and four species of pinnipeds. The

study area would include all waters of

the North Atlantic Ocean, including

international waters, from the equator to

latitude 80 degrees N except for

territorial waters of other nations. The

principal purpose of the research, for all

species, relates to stock assessment

(notably, but not limited to, estimation

of abundance and determination of

population structure); this is an activity

for which NMFS has primary

responsibility under the MMPA. Aerial

surveys for right whales will be flown

at a minimum altitude of 500 feet for the

purpose of stock assessment as well to

alert mariners of their presence. Types

of take include potential harassment

through approach (shipboard /aerial),

biopsy sampling, acoustic sampling,

tagging, and (for pinnipeds) tag/release.

Permission is also sought to import and

export material (including soft and hard

tissue, blood, extracted DNA, and whole

dead animals or parts thereof) to and

from any country.

In compliance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial

determination has been made that the

activity proposed is categorically

excluded from the requirement to

prepare an environmental assessment or

environmental impact statement.

Written comments or requests for a

public hearing on this application

should be mailed to the Chief, Permits

and Documentation Division, F/PR1,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705,

Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those

individuals requesting a hearing should

set forth the specific reasons why a

hearing on this particular request would

be appropriate.

Comments may also be submitted by

facsimile at (301) 713-0376, provided

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy

submitted by mail and postmarked no

later than the closing date of the

comment period. Please note that

comments will not be accepted by email or by other electronic media.

Concurrent with the publication of

this notice in the Federal Register,

NMFS is forwarding copies of this

application to the Marine Mammal

Commission and its Committee of

Scientific Advisors.

Dated: October 23, 2000.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–27699 Filed 10–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22 –S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 101700G]

Caribbean Fishery Management

Council; Public Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

hold meetings.

DATES: The meetings will be held on

November 14-15, 2000. The Council will

convene on Tuesday, November 14,

2000, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. through

Wednesday, November 15, 2000, from 9

a.m. to 12 noon, approximately.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at

the Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino,

25 Estate Turnerhole, Christiansted, St.

Croix, USVI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Caribbean Fishery Management Council,

268 Mun ̃oz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108,

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-2577,

telephone: (787) 766-5926.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Council will hold its 102nd regular

public meeting to discuss the items

contained in the following agenda:

Call to Order

Adoption of Agenda

Consideration of 101st Council

Meeting Summary Minutes

Executive Director’s Report

Dolphin/Wahoo Fishery Management

Plan (FMP) Final Action

-Scientific and Statistical Committee

(SSC)/Advisory Panel (AP) Minutes

-Ad-Hoc Committee Meeting Report

Queen Conch FMP Final Action

-Continuation of Discussion of

Management Measures

-Honduras-Jamaica Meeting Report

Essential Fish Habitat

-Habitat AP Meeting Minutes

Other Business

-AP Membership

Next Council Meeting

The meetings are open to the public,

and will be conducted in English.

Fishers and other interested persons are

invited to attend and participate with

oral or written statements regarding

agenda issues.

Although non-emergency issues not

contained in this agenda may come

before the Council for discussion, those

issues may not be the subject of formal

action during this meeting. Action will

be restricted to those issues specifically

identified in this notice and any issues

arising after publication of this notice

that require emergency action under

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act, provided the public has been

notified of the Council’s intent to take

final action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

These meetings are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

For more information or request for sign

language interpretation and/other

auxiliary aids, please contact Mr.

Miguel A. Rolon, Executive Director,

Caribbean Fishery Management Council,

268 Mun ̃oz Rivera Avenue, Suite 1108,

San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00918-2577,

telephone: (787) 766-5926, at least 5

days prior to the meeting date.

Dated: October 20, 2000.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–27700 Filed 10–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22 –S

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of

Engineers

Intent To Prepare a Draft

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Proposed Pine Hills Casino and

Resort, Located in Harrison County,

Mississippi

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

DoD.

64434 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 209 / Friday, October 27, 2000 / Notices

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

SUMMARY: The Mobile District, U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers (Corps),

intends to prepare a Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)

to address the potential impacts

associated with the construction of the

proposed Pine Hills Casino and Resort

located on the Bay of St. Louis, in

Harrison County, Mississippi. The

Corps will be evaluating a permit

application for the work under the

authority of Section 10 of the Rivers and

Harbors Act and Section 404 of the

Clean Water Act. The EIS will be used

as a basis for the permit decision and to

ensure compliance with the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions about the proposed action

and the DEIS should be addressed to

Mr. John McFadyen, Regulatory Branch,

phone (334) 690–3261, or Dr. Susan

Ivester Rees, Coastal Environment

Team, phone (334) 694–4141, Mobile

District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

P.O. Box 2288, Mobile, AL 36628.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. The permit applicant is proposing

to construct a casino development on

the northern shore of the Bay of St.

Louis consisting of the following: A

casino mooring facility consisting of

breasting dolphins and a 520-foot-long

by 330-foot-wide low water sediment

control structure. The control structure

will consist of 1,250 linear feet of sheet

pile and a water aeration system. The

3.9-acre basin within the control

structure will be mechanically

excavated to minus 7.0 feet, mean low

water. The 32,000 cubic yards of

excavated material will be deposited at

a 15-acre upland disposal site. A 500-

foot-long by 300-foot-wide casino barge

will be moored in the basin. A 450-footlong bulkhead will be installed along

the shoreline fronting the casino. A 700-

foot-long by 8-foot-wide pier and 24-

inch diameter water intake/transmission

line will be constructed east of the

casino. Related upland development

includes a 30 story, 1,400-room hotel;

an access road from the Interstate

Highway 10 Kiln-DeLisle exit; parking

facilities for 3,500 vehicles; stormwater

detention ponds; and three entrance

road bridges spanning non-tidal

wetlands. Water and sewer facilities

will be constructed by Pine Hills

Development Partnership and turned

over to Harrison County for operation

and maintenance. The proposed project

will result in the dredging of

approximately 3.2 acres of shallow

water bottoms for the casino mooring

basin. Approximately 0.033 acre of

marsh vegetation at the casino basin site

has been relocated to an adjacent 0.1

acre site. No other wetlands or ‘‘special

aquatic sites’’ will be excavated or

filled. Upland development associated

with the project will cover up to 63

acres of primarily pine plantation.

2. Alternatives to the applicant’s

proposal may exist which would reduce

the impacts to the Bay of St. Louis.

These could include alternate sites, or

alternative sites layouts, or alternative

operational methods.

3. Scoping: a. The Corps invites full

public participation to promote open

communication on the issues

surrounding the proposal. All Federal,

State, and local agencies, and other

persons or organizations that have an

interest are urged to participate in the

NEPA scoping process. A public

meeting will be held to help identify

significant issues and to receive public

input and comment.

b. The DEIS will analyze the potential

social, economic, and environmental

impacts to the local area resulting from

the proposed project. Specifically, the

following major issues will be analyzed

in depth in the DEIS: hydrologic and

hydraulic regimes, essential fish habitat

and other marine habitat, air quality,

cultural resources, wastewater treatment

capacities and discharges,

transportation systems, alternatives,

secondary and cumulative impacts,

socioeconomics, environmental justice

(effect on minorities and low-income

groups), and protection of children

(Executive Order 13045).

c. The Corps will serve as the lead

Federal agency in the preparation of the

DEIS. It is anticipated that the following

agencies will be invited and will accept

cooperating agency status for the

preparation of the DEIS: U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.

Department of the Interior-Fish and

Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of

Commerce—National Marine Fisheries

Service, U.S. Department of

Transportation—Federal Highway

Administration.

4. The scoping meeting will be held

on November 21, 2000 at the DeLisle

Elementary School in DeLisle,

Mississippi beginning at 6:30 p.m.

5. It is anticipated that the DEIS will

be made available for public review in

summer 2001.

Ronald A. Krizman,

Chief, Regulatory Branch.

[FR Doc. 00–27647 Filed 10–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–CR–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. RP01–38–000]

Colorado Interstate Gas Company;

Notice of Compliance Filing

October 23, 2000.

Take notice that on October 11, 2000,

Colorado Interstate Gas Company (CIG),

tendered for filing a letter stating that

CIG believes it is currently in full

compliance with Section 284.12(c)(2)(ii)

of the Commission’s regulations. Order

No. 587–L requires pipelines to be in

compliance with this regulation by

November 1, 2000, to permit shippers to

offset imbalances on different contracts

held by the shipper and to trade

imbalances.

CIG further states that copies of this

filing have been served on CIG’s

jurisdictional customers and public

bodies.

Any person desiring to be heard or to

protest said filing should file a motion

to intervene or a protest with the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC

20426, in accordance with Sections

385.214 or 385.211 of the Commission’s

Rules and Regulations. All such motions

or protests must be filed in accordance

with Section 154.210 of the

Commission’s Regulations. Protests will

be considered by the Commission in

determining the appropriate action to be

taken, but will not serve to make

protestants parties to the proceedings.

Any person wishing to become a party

must file a motion to intervene. Copies

of this filing are on file with the

Commission and are available for public

inspection in the Public Reference

Room. This filing may be viewed on the

web at http://www.ferc.fed.us/online/

rims.htm (call 202–208–2222 for

assistance).

Davis P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–27622 Filed 10–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. RP95–409–010]

Northwest Pipeline Corporation; Notice

of Compliance Filing

October 23, 2000.

Take notice that on October 16, 2000,

Northwest Pipeline Corporation