Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Notices 6355

and will begin at 8 a.m. and continue

until 4 p.m. on the second day. Agenda

items to be covered include: (1) Review

draft CMP alternatives and, (2) Open

Public forum. All meetings are open to

the public. Public comments will be

received at 1:30 p.m. on March 9.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this meeting

to Kendall Clark, Area Ranger, USDA,

Hells Canyon National Recreation Area,

88401 Highway 82, Enterprise, OR

97828, 541–426–5501.

Dated: February 3, 2000.

Karyn L. Wood,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 00–2985 Filed 2–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Notice of Proposed Changes in the

National Handbook of Conservation

Practices

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the

intention of NRCS to issue a series of

new or revised conservation practice

standards in its National Handbook of

Conservation Practices. These standards

include Alley Cropping, Constructed

Wetland, Firebreak, Forest Site

Preparation, Forest Stand Improvement,

Forest Trails and Landings, Prescribed

Burning, Riparian Forest Buffer, Spring

Development, Tree/Shrub

Establishment, Tree/Shrub Pruning, Use

Exclusion, Windbreak/Shelterbelt

Establishment, and Windbreak/

Shelterbelt Renovation. These standards

are used to convey national guidance

when developing Field Office Technical

Guide Standards used in the States.

NRCS State Conservationists who

choose to adopt these practices for use

within their States will incorporate

them into Section IV of their Field

Office Technical Guide. These practices

may be used in conservation systems

that treat highly erodible land or on

land determined to be wetland.

DATES: Comments will be received on or

before April 10, 2000. T his series of

new or revised conservation practice

standards will be adopted after the close

of the 60-day period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Single copies of these standards are

available from NRCS–CED in

Washington, D.C. Submit individual

inquiries and return any comments in

writing to William Hughey, National

Agricultural Engineer, Natural

Resources Conservation Service, Post

Office Box 2890, Room 6139–S,

Washington, D.C. 20013–2890.

Telephone Number 202–720–5023. The

standards are also available and can be

downloaded from the Internet at: http:

//www.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/

practicelstds.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

343 of the Federal Agriculture

Improvement and Reform Act of 1996

requires NRCS to make available for

public review and comment proposed

revisions to conservation practice

standards used to carry out the highly

erodible land and wetland provisions of

the law. For the next 60 days, NRCS will

receive comments relative to the

proposed changes. Following that

period, a determination will be made by

NRCS regarding disposition of those

comments, and a final determination of

change will be made.

Signed at Washington, DC, on January 27,

2000.

Danny D. Sells,

Associate Chief, Natural Resources

Conservation Service.

[FR Doc. 00–2863 Filed 2–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

DOC has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance the following proposal for

collection of information under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Agency: Census Bureau.

Title: Pollution Abatement Costs and

Expenditures (PACE) Survey.

Agency Form Number(s): MA–200.

OMB Approval Number: 0607–0176.

Type of Request: Reinstatement, with

change, of an expired collection.

Burden Hours: 160,000 hours.

Number of Respondents: 20,000.

Average Hours Per Response: 8 hours.

Needs and Uses: The Pollution

Abatement Costs and Expenditures

(PACE) Survey was conducted annually

prior to 1995 but suspended due to

Census Bureau budget limitations. The

PACE Survey provided measures of the

cost to private industry for the Nation’s

commitment to protecting the

environment. This survey is an essential

source of data for monitoring the impact

of environmental programs on the U.S.

economy and responsiveness to these

programs. The absence of the data over

the past 4 years has highlighted the

need for measures of private industry

spending on pollution abatement

activities. With support from the EPA,

the Census Bureau proposes to reinstate

this survey.

The survey will collect information

similar to that previously collected:

Pollution abatement expenditures,

operating costs for pollution abatement,

each by media, air pollution control,

water pollution control and multimedia, and waste disposal. In addition,

the survey will include the nature of the

costs incurred, distinguishing between

prevention and treatment. The survey

will include approximately 20,000

establishments selected to represent

manufacturing, mining and electric

utilities industries defined by the North

American Industry Classification

System (NAICS) with emphasis on

industries most heavily involved in

pollution abatement activities. The

survey sample will also include

representation of establishments in the

apparel and textile industry and

manufacturing establishments with less

than 20 employees. These groups had

been excluded from the earlier survey

design under the assumption that they

contributed little or nothing to the

estimates. Representation from these

groups will be used to confirm the

assumption.

The EPA will use the data to monitor

the impact of environmental programs

and to estimate cost projections for its

regulatory impact analysis for proposed

pollution regulations. Capital

expenditures for pollution abatement is

an important component of total capital

expenditures when analyzing

investment and productivity at the

Bureau of Labor Statistics and the

Bureau of Economic Analysis. State and

local governments, trade associations,

the academic community, and private

businesses will use the data to evaluate

regional pollution abatement spending,

local legislation, and performance of

specific industries.

Affected Public: Businesses or other

for-profit organizations.

Frequency: Annually.

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.

OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter,

(202) 395–5103.

Copies of the above information

collection proposal can be obtained by

calling or writing Linda Engelmeier,

DOC Forms Clearance Officer, (202)

482–3272, U.S. Department of

Commerce, Room 5027, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20230 (or via the Internet at

LEngelme@doc.gov).