Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 236 / Thursday, December 7, 2000 / Notices 76621

also expressed concern about potential

harm to manatees during routine

delivery of fuel to the plant, and

recommended that DOE consult with

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to

determine whether the use of propeller

guards should be required to protect

manatees.

In regard to the protection of northern

right whales from collisions with

project-related vessels, approximately

50 to 60 ocean-going vessels are

expected to deliver solid fuel, fuel oil,

and limestone to Northside Generating

Station annually after both units are

repowered. In comparison, about 65

vessels delivered fuel oil to the station

in 1998. However, some of these vessels

were smaller river barges that did not

enter into the Atlantic Ocean, which

contains critical habitat for northern

right whales from the shoreline out to as

far as 15 nautical miles. As an upperbound estimate, the annual increase in

traffic in the Atlantic Ocean after both

units are repowered would be about 50

vessels, which is less than 2.5% of the

2,047 round-trips made by vessels

traveling between the St. Johns River

and the Atlantic Ocean in 1999. The

ocean-going vessels are not expected to

travel at speeds greater than about 12

knots. Because (1) the trips (about 1 per

week) would be relatively infrequent,

(2) the number of trips would be a small

percentage of current traffic, and (3) the

vessels would travel slower than the

threshold speed of 14 knots above

which most serious injuries to whales

occur, no mitigation measures would be

necessary to protect northern right

whales from collisions with projectrelated vessels. Staff with the National

Marine Fisheries Service have

concurred with this assessment.

In regard to the use of propeller

guards to protect manatees from vessels

delivering fuel to Northside Generating

Station, currently propeller guards are

not used on vessels in the St. Johns

River. However, with the

implementation of the mitigation

measures discussed in the EIS (e.g., the

dock design would allow sufficient

space between vessels and the dock

structure such that manatees could

easily avoid being trapped), it is

unlikely that the proposed project

would cause harm to a significant

number of manatees, even without

propeller guards on project-related

vessels. Staff with the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service have concurred with

this assessment.

The Florida Department of

Transportation stated that the project

may have a direct impact on the State

Transportation System and requested

that JEA submit all site plans and access

plans to the Jacksonville permit

engineer. JEA has contacted the

Jacksonville permit engineer cited in the

comment and both parties agree that,

because project-related construction

would not occur along Heckscher Drive

and because the only access for

construction personnel would be

located at the New Berlin Road entrance

to the facility, JEA is not required to

submit site plans and access plans for

the proposed project to the Florida

Department of Transportation.

The Florida Department of State,

Division of Historical Resources stated

that the JEA EIS addresses their

concerns in regard to the potential

impact on historic properties listed, or

eligible for listing, in the National

Register of Historic Places. The Division

of Historical Resources also stated their

opinion that no historic resources

would be affected by the proposed

action.

The U.S. EPA, Region 4, stated that

their initial comments/concerns on the

draft EIS have been satisfactorily

addressed and that they appreciate the

mitigation measures that JEA has agreed

to employ in order to address potential

impacts. EPA further stated that they

continue to have environmental

concerns about potential process

releases and project impacts. DOE

believes that by implementing the

mitigation measures described in this

Record of Decision it will address EPA’s

concerns.

A member of the local community

expressed concerns regarding

groundwater use, particulate emissions,

and construction worker safety.

Regarding groundwater use, as

discussed above under Water Resources,

JEA has committed to a 10% reduction

in total annual groundwater

consumption at Northside Generating

Station after Units 1 and 2 are

repowered (as compared to 1996 levels).

Similarly for particulate emissions (see

Air Quality above), JEA has established

a target of a 10% reduction in annual

stack emissions of particulate matter

from Northside Generating Station

(Units 1, 2, and 3), as compared to

emissions during a recent typical 2-year

operating period (1994–95) of the

station (Units 1 and 3). These reductions

are to be accomplished while increasing

the total annual energy output of the

station. In regard to the concerns

expressed about construction worker

safety, DOE believes that this concern

reflects an accident that occurred in July

2000, while JEA was constructing (at its

own risk) the solid fuel storage dome

associated with the proposed project. In

the response to the accident, JEA

completed a root cause analysis to

ensure that worker safety is not

compromised. The analysis concluded

that wind speeds during the incident

exceeded the design threshold of the

dome anchoring system during

construction. Consequently, the

construction process has been

redesigned to use additional anchors

and to delay installation of most of the

dome covering until after the entire

structural frame is permanently

anchored.

Decision

DOE will implement the proposed

action of providing approximately $73

million in cost-shared federal funding

support to design, construct, and

demonstrate the CFB technology

proposed by JEA. The project is

intended to demonstrate the combined

removal of SO2, NOX, and particulate

matter in a promising technology that is

ready to be commercialized within the

range that is most desired by utilities

(250 to 400 MW). The project is

expected to generate sufficient data from

design, construction, and operation to

allow private industry to assess the

potential for commercial application of

the CFB technology. This decision to

provide cost-shared funding for the

proposed project was made after careful

review of the potential environmental

impacts, as analyzed in the EIS.

Mitigation Action Plan

In accordance with § 1021.331(a) of

the DOE NEPA regulations, DOE will

prepare a Mitigation Action Plan that

addresses mitigation commitments

expressed in this ROD. Copies of the

Mitigation Action Plan may be obtained

from Dr. Jan Wachter, NEPA Document

Manager, U.S. Department of Energy,

National Energy Technology Laboratory,

626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA

15236, telephone: (412) 386–4809.

Issued in Washington, D.C., on this 29th

day of November, 2000.

Robert S. Kripowicz,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy.

[FR Doc. 00–31160 Filed 12–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Golden Field Office; Fiscal Year 2001

Broad Based Solicitation for

Submission of Financial Assistance

Applications Involving Research,

Development and Demonstration

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Issuance of the Fiscal Year 2001

Broad Based Solicitation for Submission

of Financial Assistance Applications

76622 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 236 / Thursday, December 7, 2000 / Notices

Involving Research, Development and

Demonstration.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of

Energy (DOE) is announcing its

intention to issue the Fiscal Year 2001

Broad Based Solicitation for Submission

of Financial Assistance Applications

Involving Research, Development and

Demonstration (herein referred to as

Broad Based Solicitation), DE–PS36–

01GO90000.

DATES: Supplemental Announcements

to the Broad Based Solicitation will be

issued throughout the year. Each

Supplemental Announcement will

contain technology specific information,

anticipated programmatic funding

levels, any specific eligibility

requirements, any specific application

instructions, evaluation criteria, any

cost sharing requirements, Program

Policy Factors, application deadlines,

and any other requirements specific to

obtaining Financial Assistance Awards.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Fiscal Year

2001 Broad Based Solicitation,

consisting of the first part and all

Supplemental Announcements, will be

posted on the DOE Golden Field Office

Home Page at http://

www.golden.doe.gov/

businessopportunities.html, under

‘‘Solicitations.’’

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under this

announcement, the U.S. Department of

Energy (DOE) is announcing its

intention to issue the Fiscal Year 2001

Broad Based Solicitation for Submission

of Financial Assistance Applications

Involving Research, Development and

Demonstration (herein referred to as

Broad Based Solicitation), DE–PS36–

01GO90000. The Broad Based

Solicitation expresses the Department of

Energy (DOE), Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s

(EERE), continuing interest in receiving

Applications for Financial Assistance

Awards (Grants and Cooperative

Agreements) in support of renewable

energy and energy efficiency basic

research, applied research, cooperative

demonstrations, and related activities.

The Broad Based Solicitation will

consist of two parts: the first part which

establishes guidelines and requirements

for submitting Applications in response

to individual Supplemental

Announcements; the second part will

consist of individual Supplemental

Announcements and will be specific to

designated technology areas of interest.

These individual Supplemental

Announcements will contain

technology specific information,

anticipated programmatic funding

levels, any specific eligibility

requirements, any specific application

instructions, evaluation criteria, any

cost sharing requirements, application

deadlines, and any other requirements

specific to obtaining Financial

Assistance Awards. The Broad Based

Solicitation, consisting of the first part

and all Supplemental Announcements,

will be posted on the DOE Golden Field

Office Home Page at http://

www.golden.doe.gov/

businessopportunities.html, under

‘‘Solicitations.’’

DOE intends to issue Supplemental

Announcements to this document

throughout Fiscal Year 2001. Each

Supplemental Announcement will be

posted on the Golden Field Office Home

Page. A notice to release Supplemental

Announcements will be published in

the Federal Register and, if appropriate,

in the Commerce Business Daily or

other publications. Any application that

is submitted in response to this Broad

Based Solicitation must also be in direct

response to a specific Supplemental

Announcement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: All

questions concerning the Broad Based

Solicitation must be submitted in

writing to: Ruth E. Adams, DOE Golden

Field Office, 1617 Cole Boulevard,

Golden, CO 80401–3393 or transmitted

via facsimile to Ruth E. Adams at (303)

275–4788, or electronically to

ruth_adams@nrel.gov. Responses to

questions will be made by Amendment

to this Broad Based Solicitation and

posted on the DOE Golden Field Office

Home Page. Questions specific to

individual Supplemental

Announcements should be directed to

the point of contact indicated in the

Supplemental Announcement, and

answers will be posted as Amendments

to the Supplemental Announcement on

the Golden Field Office Home Page.

Issued in Golden, Colorado, on November

22, 2000.

Jerry L. Zimmer,

Director, Office of Acquisition and Financial

Assistance.

[FR Doc. 00–31161 Filed 12–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–U

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Science; Continuation of

Solicitation for the Office of Science

Financial Assistance Program—Notice

01–01

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Annual notice of continuation

of availability of grants and cooperative

agreements.

SUMMARY: The Office of Science of the

Department of Energy hereby announces

its continuing interest in receiving grant

applications for support of work in the

following program areas: Basic Energy

Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear

Physics, Advanced Scientific

Computing, Fusion Energy Sciences,

Biological and Environmental Research,

and Energy Research Analyses. On

September 3, 1992, (57 FR 40582), DOE

published in the Federal Register the

Office of Energy Research Financial

Assistance Program (now called the

Office of Science Financial Assistance

Program), 10 CFR part 605, Final Rule,

which contained a solicitation for this

program. Information about submission

of applications, eligibility, limitations,

evaluation and selection processes and

other policies and procedures are

specified in 10 CFR part 605.

DATES: Applications may be submitted

at any time in response to this Notice of

Availability.

ADDRESSES: Applications must be sent

to: Director, Grants and Contracts

Division, Office of Science, SC–64, U.S.

Department of Energy, 19901

Germantown Road, Germantown, MD

20874–1290. When preparing

applications, applicants should use the

Office of Science Financial Assistance

Program Application Guide and Forms

located on the World Wide Web at http:/

/www.science.doe.gov/production/

grants/grants.html. Applicants without

Internet access may call 301–903–5212

for information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice is published annually and

remains in effect until it is succeeded by

another issuance by the Office of

Science, usually published after the

beginning of the fiscal year. This annual

Notice 01–01 succeeds Notice 00–01,

which was published November 5,

1999.

It is anticipated that approximately

$400 million will be available for grant

and cooperative agreement awards in

FY 2001. The DOE is under no

obligation to pay for any costs

associated with the preparation or

submission of an application. DOE

reserves the right to fund, in whole or

in part, any, all, or none of the

applications submitted in response to

this Notice.

In addition, the following program

descriptions are offered to provide more

in-depth information on scientific and

technical areas of interest to the Office

of Science:

1. Basic Energy Sciences

The Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

program supports fundamental research