Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 215 / Monday, November 6, 2000 / Notices 66537

RP01–57, 000, MIGC, INC.

RP01–58, 000, GRANITE STATE GAS

TRANSMISSION, INC.

CAG–15.

DOCKET# PR00–17, 000, TRANSOK, LLC

CONSENT AGENDA—MISCELLANEOUS

CAM–1.

DOCKET# RM99–8, 001, PRESERVATION

OF RECORDS OF PUBLIC UTILITIES

AND LICENSEES, NATURAL GAS

COMPANIES, AND OIL PIPELINE

COMPANIES

CAM–2. OMITTED

CONSENT AGENDA—ENERGY

PROJECTS—HYDRO

CAH–1.

DOCKET# P–459, 108, UNION ELECTRIC

COMPANY, D/B/A AMERENUE

CAH–2.

DOCKET# P–2842, 029, CITY OF IDAHO

FALLS, IDAHO

OTHER#S P–553, 066, CITY OF SEATTLE,

WASHINGTON P–619 077 CITY OF

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA

P–637, 015, PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT

NO. 1 OF CHELAN COUNTY,

WASHINGTON

P–943, 068, PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT

NO. 1 OF CHELAN COUNTY,

WASHINGTON

P–1417, 052, THE CENTRAL NEBRASKA

PUBLIC POWER AND IRRIGATION

DISTRICT

P–1862, 041, CITY OF TACOMA,

WASHINGTON

P–2000, 019, NEW YORK POWER

AUTHORITY

P–2016, 033, CITY OF TACOMA,

WASHINGTON

P–2042, 009, PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT

NO. 1 OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY,

WASHINGTON

P–2101, 057, SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL

UTILITY DISTRICT

P–2144, 020, CITY OF SEATTLE,

WASHINGTON

P–2145, 035, PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT

NO. 1 OF CHELAN COUNTY,

WASHINGTON

P–2149, 072, PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT

NO. 1 OF DOUGLAS COUNTY,

WASHINGTON

P–2216, 037, NEW YORK POWER

AUTHORITY

P–2409, 098, CALAVERAS COUNTY

WATER DISTRICT

P–2442, 032, CITY OF WATERTOWN,

NEW YORK

P–2685, 006, NEW YORK POWER

AUTHORITY

P–2705, 012, CITY OF SEATTLE,

WASHINGTON

P–2952, 061, CITY OF IDAHO FALLS,

IDAHO

P–2959, 076, CITY OF SEATTLE,

WASHINGTON

P–2997, 019, SOUTH SUTTER WATER

DISTRICT

P–3083, 085, OKLAHOMA MUNICIPAL

POWER AUTHORITY

P–3190, 009, CITY OF SANTA CLARA,

CALIFORNIA

P–3193, 009, CITY OF SANTA CLARA,

CALIFORNIA

P–6842, 097, CITIES OF ABERDEEN AND

TACOMA, WASHINGTON

P–10551, 069, CITY OF OSWEGO, NEW

YORK

CAH–3.

DOCKET# P–2197, 035, ALCOA POWER

GENERATING, INC.

CAH–4.

DOCKET# P–459, 109, UNION ELECTRIC

COMPANY, D/B/A AMERENUE

CONSENT AGENDA—ENERGY

PROJECTS—CERTIFICATES

CAC–1. DOCKET# CP00–446, 000,

MONTANA POWER COMPANY

CAC–2. DOCKET# CP00–82, 001, WILLIAMS

GAS PIPELINES CENTRAL, INC.

CAC–3. DOCKET# CP96–557, 001, GREEN

CANYON GATHERING COMPANY

CAC–4. DOCKET# CP99–604, 001,

SOUTHERN NATURAL GAS COMPANY

CAC–5. DOCKET# RP00–220, 001, TOWN

OF NELIGH, NEBRASKA V. KINDER

MORGAN INTERSTATE GAS

TRANSMISSION, L.L.C. AND K N

ENERGY, A DIVISION OF KINDER

MORGAN, INC.

ENERGY PROJECTS—HYDRO AGENDA

H–1. RESERVED

ENERGY PROJECTS—CERTIFICATES

AGENDA

C–1. RESERVED

MARKETS, TARIFFS AND RATES—

ELECTRIC AGENDA

E–1. DOCKET# RM98–4, 000, REVISED

FILING REQUIREMENTS UNDER PART

33 OF THE COMMISSION’S

REGULATIONS

ORDER ON FINAL RULE.

MARKETS, TARIFFS AND RATES—GAS

AGENDA

G–1. RESERVED

David P. Boergers,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–28493 Filed 11–2–00; 11:30 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6894–9]

Notice of Request for Pre-Proposals

for Projects To Be Funded From the

Water Quality Cooperative Agreement

Allocation

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: EPA is soliciting preproposals from States, Tribal

governments, universities, non-profits,

and other eligible entities interested in

applying for Federal assistance for

Water Quality Cooperative Agreements

under the Clean Water Act Section

104(b)(3). EPA Headquarters will award

an estimated $3.9 million to eligible

applicants through assistance

agreements ranging in size from $10,000

up to $500,000 for innovative projects/

demonstrations/studies that have

maximum transferability or can be used

as models relating to the prevention,

reduction, and elimination of water

pollution. The Agency intends to make

available at least $200,000 per year of

the annual appropriation Water Quality

Cooperative Agreements, from FY 2001

through FY 2005, for projects which

address cooling water intake issues to

include technical and environmental

studies.

DATES: EPA will consider all preproposals received on or before 5 pm

Eastern Time November 27, 2000. Preproposals received after the due date,

may be reviewed at EPA’s discretion.

ADDRESSES: It is preferred that preproposals be electronically mailed (Emailed) to WQCA2001@EPA.GOV. If

mailed through the postal service or

other means, three copies should be sent

to: Barry Benroth, 4204M, WQCA2001,

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC 20460.

For Overnight Delivery the following

address must be used: Barry Benroth,

4204M, WQCA2001, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Room 7324 J, ICC Building, 1200

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Barry Benroth by telephone at 202–564–

0672 or by E-mail at

benroth.barry@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What Is the Purpose of This Request for

Pre-Proposals?

The Office of Wastewater

Management, Office of Water at EPA

Headquarters is requesting preproposals from States, Tribes, local

governments, non-profit organizations

and other eligible entities under the

Clean Water Act Section 104(b)(3) for

unique and innovative projects that

address the requirements of the National

Pollutant Discharge Elimination

Systems (NPDES) program with special

emphasis on wet weather activities, i.e.,

storm water, combined sewer overflows,

sanitary sewer overflows, and

concentrated animal feeding operations

as well as projects that enhance the

ability of the regulated community to

deal with non-traditional pollution

problems in priority watersheds.

An organization whose pre-proposal

is selected for Federal assistance must

complete an EPA Application for

Assistance, including the Federal SF–

66538 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 215 / Monday, November 6, 2000 / Notices

424 form (Application for Federal

Assistance, see 40 CFR 30.12 and 31.10).

Has Office of Wastewater Management,

Office of Water, EPA Headquarters

Identified High Priority Areas for

Consideration?

The Office of Wastewater

Management at EPA Headquarters has

identified several project areas for

priority consideration to the extent they

are for research, investigations,

experiments, training, demonstrations,

surveys and studies related to the

causes, effects, extent, prevention,

reduction, and elimination of water

pollution:

Concentrated Animal Feeding

Operations

Alternative markets for excess manure

Voluntary Comprehensive Nutrient

Management Plans for Animal

Feeding

Operations with 300 to 500 animal units

Wet Weather (Sanitary Sewer Overflows

(SSOs), Combined Sewer Overflows

(CSOs), Storm Water)

Water quality-based CSO program

(including Use Attainability Analysis)

Integration of CSO, SSO, and storm

water requirements

Measuring the effectiveness of storm

water Best Management Practices

(BMPs)

Trends analysis of load reductions due

to implementation of storm water

BMPs

Storm water monitoring techniques

Estimating quantified benefits of

enhanced sewer performance (e.g.,

reduced backups)

Quantifying the impacts of sewage

overflows

Evaluation of impacts of peak wet

weather flows on Publicly Owned

Treatment Works (POTW)

Capacity, Management, Operations and

Maintenance (CMOM) of POTWs

Inflow/Infiltration reduction

Sewer rehabilitation methods

National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (NPDES) Programs

Stakeholder watershed approaches

Nutrient trading

Watershed integration of NPDES

programs

Innovative Permit Writing Tools

Pretreatment

Performance measures

Facilitation of innovative technology

transfer

Pretreatment on the Mexican Border

Environmental Management System

(EMS)

Benefits and impacts of EMS

EMS adoption by public agencies

Non-Governmental Organizations

participation in EMS projects

Cooling Water Intake Structures (Clean

Water Act, Section 316(b))

Innovative technologies that reduce

impingement and entrainment of

aquatic organisms into cooling water

intakes

Ecological effects of cooling water

intake structures on aquatic

environments

Effectiveness of ecological restoration

activities in reducing the impact of

cooling water intake structures on the

aquatic environment

Infrastructure Funding Related to

Asset Management

Operations and Maintenance (O&M)

issues for small communities

Capacity Building for Tribes/Native

Villages/Environmental Justice

Biosolids

Demonstrations of regional biosolids

approaches

Food crop applications on biosolids

and/or reclaimed water (assessments,

research, demonstrations analyses)

Onsite/Decentralized Systems

State-level adoption of EPA

management guidelines

Overcoming institutional, regulatory

and funding barriers to

implementation of decentralized

options

Development of tools to assist

communities with conducting

comprehensive, watershed-wide

assessments of risks associated with

decentralized wastewater systems

Water Use Efficiency

EPA may also consider other project

areas for funding to the extent

authorized by CWA sec. 104(b)(3) and

to the extent funds are available for

such project areas.

Statutory Authority, Applicable

Regulations, and Funding Level

Funding is authorized under the

provisions of the Clean Water Act Sec.

104(b)(3), 33 U.S.C. 1254(b)(3).

The regulations governing the award

and administration of Water Quality

Cooperative Agreements are 40 CFR Part

30 (for institutions of higher learning,

hospitals, and other non-profit

organizations) and 40 CFR Part 31 (for

States, Tribes, local governments,

intertribal consortia, and interstate

agencies). In addition, EPA expects to

promulgate final rules in the near future

that will include program specific

regulations for Water Quality

Cooperative Agreements to States,

Tribes, local governments, interstate

agencies and intertribal consortia. When

the rules are finalized, they will be

codified at 40 CFR Part 35 Subparts A

and B.

Total funding available for award by

Headquarters will depend on EPA’s

appropriation for Fiscal Year 2001;

however, it is estimated that $3.9

million will be available for funding

approved projects. The average size of

an award is anticipated to be

approximately $100,000.

Should funding available for award

remain reasonably stable or increase in

future years, the Agency intends to

reserve $1 million ($200,000 per year of

the annual amount available) over the

next five years to support projects and

studies on cooling water intake

structures.

Pre-Proposal Format and Contents

Pre-proposals should be limited to

three pages. Full application packages

should not be submitted at this time.

The following format should be used for

all pre-proposals:

Name of Project:

Point of Contact: (Individual and

Organization Name, Address, Phone

Number, Fax Number, E-mail Address)

Is this a Continuation of a Previously

Funded Project (if so, please provide the

status of the current grant or cooperative

agreement):

Proposed Award Amount:

Proposed Awardee Cost Share: (Cost

sharing is not required)

Description of General Budget

Proposed to Support Project:

Project Description: (Should not

exceed two pages of single-spaced text)

Expected Accomplishments or

Product, with Dates, and Interim

Milestones: This section should also

include a discussion of a

communication plan for distributing the

project results to interested parties.

Describe How the Project Meets the

Evaluation Criteria Specified Below: 

EPA Pre-Proposal Evaluation Criteria

EPA will consider pre-proposals

based on the following criteria:

• The relationship of the proposed

project to the priorities identified in this

notice.

• How well the project proposes to

address a nationally important need,

issue, or interest.

• Communication plan to transfer

results of the project to other potentially

interested parties.

• How well the project furthers the

goal of the Clean Water Act to prevent,

reduce, and eliminate water pollution.

• Leverage of other resources (e.g.

cost share, participation by other

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 215 / Monday, November 6, 2000 / Notices 66539

organizations) as part of the proposed

approach.

• Cost effectiveness of the proposal.

• Compliance with directions for

submittal contained in this notice.

EPA may consider applications even

if all criteria are not fully met, provided

the proposed projects meet the

applicable statutory and regulatory

requirements and funds are available for

such projects.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants for assistance

agreements under section 104(b)(3) of

the Clean Water Act are State water

pollution control agencies, Tribal

governments, interstate agencies, and

other public or non-profit private

agencies, institutions, and

organizations.

Application Procedure

Electronic transmittal of pre-proposals

is preferred to facilitate the review

process. Hard copies are acceptable.

Please send three copies of the preproposal if it is not electronically

transmitted.

Schedule of Activities

This is the estimated schedule of

activities for review of proposals and

notification of selections:

November 27, 2000—Pre-proposals

due to EPA.

December 18, 2000—Initial approvals

identified and sponsors of projects

selected for funding will be requested to

submit a formal application package.

Dated: October 26, 2000.

Michael B. Cook,

Director, Office of Wastewater Management.

[FR Doc. 00–28017 Filed 11–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6897–7]

National Environmental Justice

Advisory Council; Notification of

Meeting and Public Comment Period(s)

Open Meetings

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory

Committee Act (FACA), Public Law 92–

463, we now give notice that the

National Environmental Justice

Advisory Council (NEJAC), along with

the various subcommittees, will meet on

the dates and times described below. All

times noted are Eastern Standard Time.

All meetings are open to the public. Due

to limited space, seating at the NEJAC

meeting will be on a first-come basis.

Documents that are the subject of

NEJAC reviews are normally available

from the originating EPA office and are

not available from the NEJAC. The

NEJAC and the subcommittee meetings

will take place at the Hyatt Regency

Crystal City Hotel, 2700 Jefferson Davis

Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202.

The meeting dates are as follows:

December 11, 2000 through December

14, 2000. This is the third in a series of

focused policy issue meetings for the

NEJAC. To help prepare for this specific

focused policy issue meeting the

following background information is

provided:

Request

The Charter for the National

Environmental Justice Advisory Council

(NEJAC) states that NEJAC shall provide

independent advice to the

Administrator on areas relating to

environmental justice including, among

other things, ‘‘advice for improving how

EPA and others participate, cooperate,

and communicate within the Agency

and between other Federal agencies,

State, or local governments, Federally

recognized Tribes, EJ leaders, interest

groups, and the public.’’ The Agency,

through the Office of Environmental

Justice (OEJ), requests that the NEJAC

convene a focused and issue-oriented

public meeting in Arlington, VA to

receive comments, discuss, and analyze

a major public policy issue. The

Agency, furthermore, requests that the

NEJAC produce a comprehensive report

on the differing views, interests,

concerns, and perspectives expressed by

the stakeholder participants on the

issue, and provide advice and

recommendations for the Agency’s

review and consideration.

Issue

What progress has the Federal

government made towards integrating

environmental justice into its policies,

programs, and activities consistent with

existing laws and Executive Order

12898?

Background

Developing integrated strategies plays

a vital role for achieving environmental

justice for all Federal agencies and is

consistent with the missions of those

agencies. Executive Order 12898,

‘‘Federal Actions to Address

Environmental Justice in Minority

Populations and Low-Income

Populations,’’ represents an important

first step towards realizing the goal of

achieving environmental justice

throughout the Federal government.

The Executive Order requires that

each Federal agency shall, to the

greatest extent practicable and

permitted by law, make achieving

environmental justice part of its mission

by identifying and addressing, as

appropriate, disproportionately high

and adverse human health or

environmental effects on minority and

low-income populations. Specifically,

the Executive Order directs Federal

agencies to:

(1) Develop a strategic plan to

integrate environmental justice into

their activities;

(2) Conduct activities in a manner that

ensures that they do not have the effect

of excluding people and groups from

public participation opportunities or the

benefits of such activities;

(3) Include diverse segments of the

population in studies involving human

health and environmental hazards;

(4) Collect, maintain and analyze

information on consumption patterns of

populations who rely principally on fish

and wildlife for subsistence;

(5) Enhance public participation

opportunities and the accessibility of

meetings and documents; and,

(6) Develop interagency model

projects on environmental justice that

evidence cooperation among Federal

agencies.

Purpose

Much can be gained from an

examination of the successes, failures

and challenges encountered by Federal

agencies in integrating environmental

justice during the past 61⁄2 years. While

there have been significant

accomplishments and important

initiatives, attempts to integrate

environmental justice also have

encountered tremendous barriers and

challenges. A thoughtful examination

will prove invaluable for understanding

how future strategies for integrating

environmental justice can be made more

effective.

NEJAC’s examination of

environmental justice implementation

throughout the Federal government

should be forward-looking. The analysis

should identify lessons learned from

implementation of the Executive Order

and make recommendations for future

efforts to address environmental justice.

Since issues of environmental justice

are often complex, multi-faceted and

cross-cutting, they require new

approaches on the part of the Federal

government. Coordinated interagency

strategies are critical, including the

development of community-based

interagency demonstration projects.

NEJAC will examine interagency

environmental justice implementation

in two basic areas: (1) Progress and

lessons gained from individual agency