65892 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 213 / Thursday, November 2, 2000 / Notices

availability of funds. Awards made will

be subject to periodic reporting and

evaluation requirements.

Notification

Final awards cannot be made until

funds have been appropriated by

Congress, allocated and committed

through internal Bureau procedures.

Dated: October 26, 2000.

Helena Kane Finn,

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau

of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S.

Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–28185 Filed 11–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3460]

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs; Fulbright Student Program

NOTICE: Conference for bidders.

SUMMARY: The State Department’s

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs announces a Conference for

Bidders, inviting for discussion

organizations that are interested in

submitting a Proposal to administer the

Fulbright Student Program. The

conference will take place November 9,

2000 at 2 p.m. at the following location:

SA–44, Room 800–A, 301 4th Street,

SW., Washington, DC 20547.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Interested organizations should contact

Rosalind Swenson at (202) 619–5384

prior to November 9, 2000 to schedule

their attendance at the Conference.

The Fulbright Student Program was

announced in the Federal Register,

Volume 65, Number 206, on October 24,

2000.

Dated: October 25, 2000.

William B. Bader,

Assistant Secretary for Educational and

Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–28184 Filed 11–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Tellico Reservoir Land Management

Plan, Blount, Loudon, and Monroe

Counties, TN

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority

(TVA).

ACTION: Issuance of record of decision.

SUMMARY: This notice is provided in

accordance with the Council on

Environmental Quality’s regulations (40

CFR parts 1500 to 1508) and TVA’s

procedures implementing the National

Environmental Policy Act. On August

29, 2000, the TVA Board of Directors

decided to adopt the preferred

alternative (Allocation Alternative)

identified in its Final Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS), Tellico

Reservoir Land Management Plan.

The Final EIS was made available to

the public in July, 2000. A Notice of

Availability of the Final EIS was

published in the Federal Register on

July 7, 2000. Under the Allocation

Alternative, TVA seeks to provide a

clear statement on how it will manage

its lands, based on scientific, cultural,

and economic principles. The plan and

EIS cover 12,643 acres of TVA lands on

Tellico Reservoir. About half (6,103

acres) of the land is currently committed

to specific uses, which would be

continued. The remaining 6,540 acres

have no outstanding commitments and

their use is determined in the plan. The

total 12,643 acres is allocated as follows:

9,321 acres for natural resource

conservation and management; 635

acres for TVA project operations and

public works; 331 acres for industrial

and commercial development uses;

1,804 acres for recreation developments;

and 552 acres for shoreline residential

access.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles P. Nicholson, NEPA Specialist,

Environmental Policy and Planning,

Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West

Summit Hill Drive, WT 8C, Knoxville,

Tennessee 37902–1499; telephone (865)

632–3592 or email

cpnicholson@tva.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: During the

development of the Tellico Project, TVA

purchased about 37,737 acres of land.

About 13,943 acres are normally

covered by water during the summer,

resulting in a reservoir pool with 360.8

miles of shoreline. About 11,150 acres

of the remaining project lands were sold

to the Tellico Reservoir Development

Agency (TRDA) in November 1982. TVA

has since entered into agreements for

the use of about half the remaining

lands. The management of the lands

retained under TVA’s control, as well as

the lands sold to TRDA, is prescribed by

the land plan included in a 1982 joint

agreement (Contract No. TV–60000A)

between TVA and TRDA.

In its 1999 Record of Decision on its

Shoreline Management Initiative (SMI)

Final EIS, TVA committed to

developing comprehensive land

management plans for all its reservoirs.

These plans are intended to integrate

land and water benefits, provide for the

optimum public benefit, and balance

competing, and sometimes, conflicting

resource uses. In doing so, these plans

will provide a clear statement of how

TVA manages reservoir lands and

identify the specific uses of individual

land parcels.

TVA began public scoping and

preparation of this plan in 1997. In late

1998, TVA determined that an EIS

would be the appropriate level of

environmental review. TVA then issued

a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS on

January 14, 1999, and held a public

scoping meeting two weeks later. The

Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS

was published on March 17, 2000. TVA

subsequently held a public meeting in

Lenoir City, Tennessee on March 28,

2000, to solicit comments on the Draft

plan and EIS. Written and oral

comments on the EIS were received

from 36 parties. The Notice of

Availability for the Final EIS was

published on July 7, 2000.

Alternatives Considered

TVA considered two alternatives for

planning the uses of 12,643 acres of

Tellico Reservoir lands. A third

alternative, which included the use of

850 acres of TVA land for a commercial

development proposed by Tellico

Landing, Inc., was dropped after the

TVA Board announced on March 15,

1999, that it would not consider this

proposal.

Under both alternatives, TVA would

implement the categorization of

residential and flowage easement

shoreline, as defined in the SMI. The

results of this categorization are as

follows: Shoreline Protection, 1 mile;

Residential Mitigation, 38 miles; and

Managed Residential, 23 miles. TVA

would also continue existing land uses

on lands transferred to TRDA and other

parties, and continue existing land uses

on 6,103 acres of TVA lands under

easement or other committed long-term

use. About 6,540 acres have no

committed uses and are considered

plannable lands.

Under Alternative A, the No Action

Alternative, TVA would continue to use

the 1982 land use plan established by

Contract No. TV–60000A with TRDA.

The largest land use category is

Cultural/Public Use/Open Space (61

percent of the area). Other categories

include TVA Dam Reservation (5

percent), Natural/Wildlife (15 percent),

Industrial Development (3 percent),

Private Residential (3 percent),

Recreation (11 percent), and Eastern

Band of Cherokee Indians Memorial (1

percent).

Under Alternative B, the Allocation

Alternative, TVA would adopt a new

Reservoir Land Management Plan for

139 tracts of TVA land. The TVA lands

would be allocated as follows: 5 percent

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 213 / Thursday, November 2, 2000 / Notices 65893

for TVA project operations and public

works; 17 percent for management of

sensitive resources such as rare species,

wetlands, and cultural resources; 56

percent for natural resource

conservation, with emphasis on public

use; 3 percent for industrial and

commercial development; 14 percent for

recreational uses, and 4 percent for

residential shoreline access. In response

to comments on the Draft EIS, the

Allocation Alternative was slightly

modified in the Final EIS by changing

the proposed use of a 140-acre

recreation tract to natural resource

conservation. TVA identified the

Allocation Alternative as the preferred

alternative in both the Draft EIS and the

Final EIS.

During the preparation of the Plan

and EIS, TVA consulted with the

Tennessee State Historic Preservation

Officer (SHPO), The Eastern Band of

Cherokee Indians (EB), the United

Keetoowah Band, the Cherokee Nation

of Oklahoma, The Tennessee

Commission of Indian Affairs, the

Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma,

and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians

on the identification and evaluation of

historic properties within the Area of

Potential Effect for the land plan. TVA,

TDEC, SHPO, and EB executed a

Memorandum of Agreement, dated June

23, 2000, stipulating measures that will

be carried out by TVA prior to the

commencement of ground-disturbing

activities or transfer of property rights.

This agreement allows phased

identification, evaluation, and treatment

of historic properties, and ensures that

the effects on historic properties of

future activities undertaken in

implementing the Tellico Reservoir

Land Management Plan will be taken

into account.

Response to Comments on Final EIS

Appendix A–2 of the Final EIS

contains summaries of and responses to

the comments TVA received on the

Draft EIS. TVA received comments from

36 individuals and organizations.

The Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) commented on the Final EIS. EPA

noted that TVA neglected to include the

EPA rating of the Draft EIS. This rating

was EC–2: Environmental Concerns

with some modification of the Plan

requested. EPA also asked for more

information on prospective forest

management activities on TVA lands.

Forest management activities could be

carried out on lands allocated for

natural resource conservation to achieve

TVA’s objective of maintaining or

enhancing ecological diversity. The Plan

and Final EIS do not propose specific

forest management activities. Such

activities would, instead, be determined

by tract-specific management plans

developed with public and peer agency

input and consideration of potential

environmental impacts. Potential forest

management activities could include

timber harvesting by both clearcutting

and selection methods, thinning,

prescribed burns, and reforestation.

Based on past experience, clearcutting

of large areas is not expected. Forest

management activities would likely

occur on less than 100 acres of natural

resource conservation lands each year

and would include measures to protect

the reservoir shoreline and prevent

water quality degradation.

EPA asked whether TVA will monitor

the number of people recreating in the

area to help control their environmental

impacts. TVA does not have any plans

to formally monitor the number of

people recreating in the area. However,

TVA will continue to monitor the

environmental conditions of the

reservoir through its standard

operations.

EPA also asked whether any

residential development on reservoir

lands will be consistent with the

Shoreline Management Initiative Final

EIS/Record of Decision. The

implementation of the shoreline

categorization component of the SMI is

described above. Applicants for

residential shoreline alterations would

have to comply with the standards

adopted in the SMI Record of Decision.

In an initiative, unique to Tellico

Reservoir, guidelines that are more

restrictive than those in the SMI would

be applied to the River Corridor area in

view of the need to protect the sensitive

resources in this area.

Decision

The TVA Board adopted the Tellico

Reservoir Land Management Plan as

described in Alternative B on August

29, 2000. Alternative B optimally

balances recreation use, resource

conservation needs, and residential

shoreline access needs in a way that

maintains the quality of life and other

important values provided by Tellico

Reservoir. Alternative B sets aside

parcels containing sensitive resources

and habitats in the Sensitive Resource

Protection and Natural Resource

Conservation categories. TVA is

adopting commitments under

Alternative B to further minimize the

potential for adverse impacts to the

environment. These commitments are

listed below, under Environmental

Commitments. With these mitigation

measures, all practicable means to avoid

or minimize environmental harm would

have been adopted.

Environmentally Preferred Alternative

TVA has concluded that Alternative B

is the environmentally preferable

alternative. It allocates the majority of

TVA lands to long-term resource

conservation and management uses,

provides for compatible recreation

developments, and enhances the

protection of the riverine portions of the

reservoir.

Environmental Commitments

TVA is adopting the following

measures to minimize environmental

impacts:

• TVA will follow the procedures

specified in the memorandum of

agreement with the State Historic

Preservation Officer for the

identification, evaluation, and treatment

of historic properties that are eligible for

inclusion in the National Register of

Historic Places.

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

guidelines will be used to establish and

maintain buffer zones around bald eagle

nests.

• The current practice of prohibiting

the construction of water-use facilities

and shoreline alterations within the

marked limits of safety landings will be

continued to avoid interference with

commercial navigation.

• Noise covenants consistent with the

guidelines described in Section 3.12.2.

of the Final EIS will be included in land

transfer instruments pertaining to

parcels in Zone 5.

• Amenities provided in Coytee

Springs Recreation Area (Parcel 10) (e.g.

picnic areas, walking trails, and

greenway entry/exit points) will be

limited to day-time use.

• Guidelines proposed in Appendix

B–1 of the Final EIS will be consulted

in reviewing applications for water-use

facilities on the River Corridor.

Dated: October 23, 2000.

Kathryn J. Jackson,

Executive Vice President, River System

Operations & Environment.

[FR Doc. 00–28183 Filed 11–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8120–08–U

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of The Secretary

Application Of Kitty Hawk International

d/b/a American International Airways

and Kalitta Air, L.L.C. For Transfer Of

Certificate Authority

AGENCY: Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of order to show cause

(Order 2000–10–29) Docket OST–2000–

7588.