58112 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 182 / Wednesday, September 19, 2012 / Notices 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) requires that 

Federal agencies provide interested 

parties an early opportunity to comment 

on information collection requests. The 

Director, Information Collection 

Clearance Division, Privacy, Information 

and Records Management Services, 

Office of Management, publishes this 

notice containing proposed information 

collection requests at the beginning of 

the Departmental review of the 

information collection. The Department 

of Education is especially interested in 

public comment addressing the 

following issues: (1) Is this collection 

necessary to the proper functions of the 

Department; (2) will this information be 

processed and used in a timely manner; 

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate; 

(4) how might the Department enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (5) how 

might the Department minimize the 

burden of this collection on the 

respondents, including through the use 

of information technology. Please note 

that written comments received in 

response to this notice will be 

considered public records. 

Title of Collection: Higher Education 

Act (HEA) Title II Report Cards on State 

Teacher Credentialing and Preparation. 

OMB Control Number: 1840–0744. 

Type of Review: Revision. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 1,780. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 266,016. 

Abstract: This request is approve 

revision of the state and institution and 

program report cards required by the 

Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

amended in 2008 by the HEOA. States 

must report annually on criteria and 

assessments required for initial teacher 

credentials using a State Report Card, 

and IHEs with teacher preparation 

programs (TPP), and TPPs outside of 

IHEs, must report on key program 

elements on an Institution and Program 

Report Card. IHEs and TPPs outside of 

IHEs report annually to their states on 

program elements, including program 

numbers, type, enrollment figures, 

demographics, completion rates, goals 

and assurances to the state. States, in 

turn, must report on TPP elements to 

the Secretary of Education in addition to 

information on assessment pass rates, 

state standards, initial credential types 

and requirements, numbers of 

credentials issued, TPP classification as 

at-risk or low performing. The 

information from states, institutions, 

and programs is published annually in 

The Secretary’s Report to Congress on 

Teacher Quality. 

Dated: September 14, 2012. 

Darrin A. King, 

Director, Information Collection Clearance 

Division, Privacy, Information and Records 

Management Services, Office of Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–23097 Filed 9–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment (EA) for 

the Proposed Conveyance of Land at 

the Hanford Site, Richland, WA and 

Notice of Potential Floodplain and 

Wetland Involvement 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) and the Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) and U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE) NEPA 

implementing regulations, DOE is 

announcing its intention to prepare an 

Environmental Assessment (EA; DOE/ 

EA–1915) to assess the potential 

environmental effects of conveying 

approximately 1,641 acres of Hanford 

Site land to a local economic 

development organization. Conveyance 

of the land could include title transfer, 

lease, easement, license, or a 

combination of these realty actions. The 

Tri-City Development Council 

(TRIDEC), a DOE designated 

Community Reuse Organization (CRO) 

and 501(c)(6) nonprofit corporation, 

submitted a proposal to DOE in May 

2011 (amended October 2011) 

requesting the transfer of approximately 

1,641 acres of land located in the 

southeastern corner of the Hanford Site 

near the City of Richland in Benton 

County, Washington for economic 

development purposes. DOE anticipates 

that there may be continuing mission 

needs, such as security and safety buffer 

zones on some of the requested lands, 

making them less suitable for 

conveyance. Therefore, the lands that 

will be addressed in the EA analysis 

will include the acreage requested by 

TRIDEC and approximately 2,772 

additional acres adjacent to the 

requested lands. The EA will evaluate 

the potential environmental impacts of 

conveying approximately 1,641 acres of 

the total 4,413 acres included in the 

analysis area. The acreage being 

considered in the EA analysis is part of 

approximately 59 square miles of 

Hanford Site lands previously 

designated by DOE for industrial uses 

under the Hanford Comprehensive 

Land-Use Plan (CLUP), based on 

analyses presented in the Hanford 

Comprehensive Land-Use Plan 

Environmental Impact Statement (HCP– 

EIS) [DOE/EIS–0222; September 1999; 

Record of Decision (ROD) (64 FR 61615; 

November 12, 1999)]. The HCP–EIS 

recognized the potential for future 

conveyance of some industrialdesignated lands to the local community 

for economic development. The CLUP 

was reaffirmed in a Supplement 

Analysis to the HCP–EIS (DOE/EIS– 

0222–SA–01; June 2008) and amended 

ROD (73 FR 55824; September 26, 

2008). 

The EA will analyze the reasonably 

foreseeable environmental effects 

associated with the probable future uses 

of lands in the analysis area, based upon 

industry targets described in the 

TRIDEC proposal, including 

warehousing and distribution; research 

and development; technology 

manufacturing; food processing and 

agriculture; and ‘‘back office’’ (i.e., 

business services). The proposed action 

may affect floodplains and wetlands, so 

this Notice of Intent also serves as a 

notice of proposed floodplain or 

wetland action in accordance with DOE 

floodplain and wetland environmental 

review requirements. 

DATES: DOE invites public comment on 

the scope of this Hanford Site Land 

Conveyance EA during a 30-day public 

scoping period beginning September 19, 

2012 and ending on October 19, 2012. 

DOE will consider all comments 

received or postmarked by the end of 

the scoping period to define the scope 

of this EA. Comments received or 

postmarked after the end date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. A 

public scoping meeting is scheduled for 

October 10, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting 

will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

at the Richland Public Library in 

Richland, Washington. DOE will issue 

stakeholder and media notifications and 

publish an additional notice on the date, 

time and location of the scoping 

meeting in the local newspaper before 

the scheduled meeting. DOE will notify 

stakeholders and the media of any 

changes concerning the scoping 

meeting. 

Scoping comments may be submitted 

by regular mail and addressed as 

follows: Ms. Paula Call, NEPA 

Document Manager, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Richland Operations Office, 

P.O. Box 550, MSIN A2–15, Richland, 

WA 99352. 

Scoping comments may also be 

submitted by email to 

landconveyanceEA@rl.doe.gov. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 182 / Wednesday, September 19, 2012 / Notices 58113 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on DOE’s proposed action, 

contact Ms. Call by mail or email as 

noted above in ADDRESSES, or at 509– 

376–2048. 

For general information concerning 

DOE’s NEPA process, contact: Ms. Carol 

M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA 

Policy and Compliance (GC–54), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0119, 

Telephone: 202–586–4600, Fax: 202– 

586–7031, Voice mail message: 1–800– 

472–2756, Email: asknepa@hq.doe.gov. 

Additional information regarding 

DOE’s NEPA activities is available on 

the DOE NEPA Web site at http:// 

energy.gov/nepa. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Situated along the Columbia River in 

southeastern Washington, DOE’s 586- 

square-mile Hanford Site is undergoing 

extensive efforts to clean up 

contamination resulting from past 

nuclear defense research and 

development activities dating back to 

World War II. DOE has real property 

conveyance authority under a number of 

different laws including the Atomic 

Energy Act of 1954 (AEA). Section 

161(g) of the AEA authorizes DOE to 

convey real property by sale or lease to 

another party. 

DOE may hold harmless and 

indemnify a person or entity to whom 

real property is conveyed against 

liability for pre-existing contamination 

that may have resulted from DOE (or 

predecessor agency) activities at the site. 

Such indemnification is consistent with 

the Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act (CERCLA) Section 

120(h)(3)(A)(ii)(II); EPA’s ‘‘Policy 

Towards Landowners and Transferees of 

Federal Facilities’’ (EPA, 1997); and 

DOE regulation 10 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) part 770, Transfer of 

Real Property at Defense Nuclear 

Facilities for Economic Development. 

Significant progress has been made in 

cleanup of the Hanford Site, particularly 

as a result of the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act (111th Congress: 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009). Accordingly, there is 

heightened focus in the local 

community on the need to transition 

away from an economy focused largely 

on DOE and Hanford activities to one 

based on private sector or other nonDOE Federal agencies. As the 

designated CRO for the Hanford Site, 

TRIDEC’s charter is to promote these 

economic development goals. Beginning 

in 1996, and continuing in 2000, 2003, 

2004, and 2005, TRIDEC commissioned 

studies to develop strategies and target 

industries that would be most 

appropriate for future economic 

development. TRIDEC also engaged in 

marketing and recruitment activities 

during this time period. Industries that 

were targeted in these studies and 

recruitment efforts included 

warehousing and distribution; research 

and development; technology 

manufacturing; food processing and 

agriculture; and ‘‘back office’’ (i.e., 

business services). 

In February 2011, the Secretary of 

Energy established a DOE-wide Task 

Force on an Asset Revitalization 

Initiative (ARI), to initiate a 

comprehensive review of DOE assets 

and possible disposition paths. DOE 

submitted its report to Congress on the 

progress of this Initiative in August 

2011 (Asset Revitalization Initiative 

Report to Congress, Department of 

Energy, August 2011). Also in 2011, 

TRIDEC submitted a request to DOE for 

title transfer of approximately 1,641 

acres of undeveloped land located near 

the southeastern boundary of the 

Hanford Site, pursuant to 10 CFR part 

770. TRIDEC’s proposal states its intent 

to work with the City of Richland, the 

Port of Benton, and Benton County to 

establish the property as an Industrial 

Development and Energy Park. The 

proposal states that TRIDEC may 

subsequently transfer ownership either 

to a private user or to one of its public 

agency partners, such as the City of 

Richland. 

Purpose and Need for Agency Action 

TRIDEC, the recognized CRO for the 

Hanford Site, has requested transfer of 

1,641 acres of Hanford lands for 

economic development. Consistent with 

the Hanford CLUP which designates the 

subject lands for industrial use, and the 

HCP–EIS which recognized the 

potential for future conveyance of 

industrial-designated lands to the local 

community for economic development, 

DOE will consider the TRIDEC request 

for the transfer of 1,641 acres of Hanford 

lands to support local economic 

development. 

Proposed Action and Alternatives 

In response to the TRIDEC proposal, 

DOE proposes to convey approximately 

1,641 acres of Hanford land to the CRO 

for the purposes of facilitating local 

economic development and assisting the 

local community in the transition away 

from an economy focused largely on 

DOE and Hanford-related funding. 

Conveyance of the land could include 

title transfer, lease, easement, license, or 

a combination of these realty actions. It 

is important to note that at this time, no 

specific end users or development 

proposals have been identified or 

proposed. In addition to reasonable 

alternatives that may be identified 

during public scoping, the EA will 

analyze two alternatives: the No Action 

Alternative and the Proposed Action 

Alternative. Under the No Action 

Alternative, DOE would retain 

ownership and management of the land. 

Under the Proposed Action 

Alternative, DOE would convey 

approximately 1,641 acres of 

undeveloped land in response to the 

CRO’s land transfer request. The CRO 

plans to use, market, lease, sell, or 

otherwise develop the land to conduct 

industrial development and commercial 

activities that are consistent with local 

zoning and comprehensive land use 

plans. These lands are generally 

bounded by Horn Rapids Road and 

Highway 240 to the south; Route 10 to 

the west; and Stevens Drive or Route 4 

South to the east and north, and are 

located near the northeast boundary of 

the City of Richland. The TRIDEC 

request includes two parcels: (1) A 

1,341-acre parcel located northwest of 

the intersection of Horn Rapids Road 

and Stevens Drive, with the west and 

north boundaries adjacent to the 

Hanford Firing Range and an active 

borrow pit; and (2) a 300-acre parcel 

located 1⁄2-mile north of the 1,341-acre 

parcel, separated from the 1,341-acre 

parcel by the active borrow pit. DOE 

anticipates that there may be continuing 

mission needs, such as security and 

human health and safety buffer zones, 

on portions of the lands requested by 

TRIDEC. Therefore, the EA analysis will 

consider for conveyance the parcels 

requested by TRIDEC as well as the 

adjacent 2,772-acre parcel roughly 

bounded by the 1,341-acre parcel to the 

south, the Hanford Firing Range to the 

west, the Hanford Railroad and Route 4 

South to the east, and a straight line 

extending from the northeastern tip of 

the Hanford Firing Range to the Hanford 

Railroad to the north. The EA will 

evaluate whether to convey 

approximately 1,641 acres of the total 

4,413 acres included in the analysis 

area. 

Consistent with the CLUP analyses of 

reasonably foreseeable environmental 

effects associated with the probable 

future use of the lands, DOE intends to 

base its analyses in the EA on the 

previous TRIDEC target industry studies 

and TRIDEC’s intent to market the land 

as an Industrial Development and 

Energy Park including: 

(i) Warehousing&Distribution—such 

as manufactured parts/materials 

distribution, food/agricultural; 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
58114 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 182 / Wednesday, September 19, 2012 / Notices 

(ii) Research and Development—such 

as scientific research, software, data 

security, computation, energy, 

environmental, or biotechnology; 

(iii) Technology Manufacturing—such 

as defense manufacturing, sensor 

manufacturing, or medical devices; 

(iv) Food/Agriculture—such as wine, 

food processing, or agricultural 

products; 

(v) ‘‘Back Office’’ (i.e. business 

services)—such as call centers, 

administrative processing, or data 

processing. 

DOE’s analysis of the Proposed Action 

Alternative will also assume that future 

uses would be developed in accordance 

with local zoning and current City of 

Richland (2008) and Benton County 

(2006) comprehensive land use plans 

that were developed to comply with the 

Washington State Growth Management 

Act. In order to identify environmental 

effects that could result from 

implementation of the proposed action, 

DOE intends to use analytical 

assumptions in the EA that would tend 

to maximize estimates of reasonably 

foreseeable environmental impacts 

associated with footprint, infrastructure, 

utilities, emissions, construction of 

buildings, projected workforce and 

traffic, water usage, and similar 

requirements. 

Preliminary Identification of 

Environmental Issues 

Issues tentatively identified for 

analysis in the EA include the 

reasonably foreseeable effects associated 

with: land use; ecological resources; 

cultural and historic resources; geology 

and soils; water resources; climate and 

air quality; noise; transportation; 

accidents and intentional destructive 

acts; socioeconomics; environmental 

justice; visual resources; waste 

management; infrastructure; and human 

health and safety. The proposed action 

may affect floodplains and wetlands. 

This NOI serves as a notice of proposed 

floodplain or wetland action in 

accordance with DOE floodplain and 

wetland environmental review 

requirements (10 CFR part 1022). The 

EA will include an assessment of 

potential impacts to floodplains and 

wetlands, and if required, a statement of 

findings following DOE regulations for 

compliance with floodplain and 

wetlands environmental review (10 CFR 

part 1022). The analyses will identify 

the environmental effects that are 

reasonably foreseeable to the local 

region as well as to ongoing DOE 

missions and activities at the Hanford 

Site. The analysis will also consider 

cumulative environmental effects. The 

EA will also explore potential 

mitigation measures that could result in 

imposing deed restrictions aimed at 

precluding or minimizing 

environmental consequences. 

National Historic Preservation Act 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (NHPA) requires 

Federal agencies to take into account the 

effects of their undertakings on historic 

properties. Federal agencies are 

encouraged to coordinate compliance 

with Section 106 of the NHPA with any 

steps taken to meet the requirements of 

NEPA. In the interest of being 

comprehensive and less duplicative, 

DOE plans to coordinate the NEPA 

review and Section 106 compliance 

processes for the preparation of this EA 

to the greatest extent possible. 

Scoping Process 

DOE has established a 30-day scoping 

period during which Federal agencies, 

State, Tribal and local governments, 

special interest groups, concerned 

citizens and any other interested parties 

are invited to comment on the scope of 

the EA, including specific issues that 

should be addressed in the EA. In 

keeping with DOE’s plans to coordinate 

the NEPA and NHPA Section 106 

requirements, DOE also invites 

comments regarding the identification 

of historic properties governed by the 

NHPA, and any potential adverse effects 

that may result from the proposed 

action, along with suggested actions 

DOE might take to mitigate any such 

adverse effects. A public meeting will be 

held during the scoping period. At the 

public meeting, DOE will provide an 

overview of the proposed action, an 

informal question-and-answer period to 

clarify the information presented, and 

an opportunity for individuals to 

provide formal written or oral 

statements. DOE will consider all 

comments received during the scoping 

period in preparing the draft EA. 

If at any time during preparation of 

the EA DOE determines that an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) is 

needed, DOE will issue a revised Notice 

of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS in the 

Federal Register. In that case, the 

current scoping process will serve as the 

scoping process that normally would 

follow an NOI to prepare an EIS. 

Accordingly, DOE will consider any 

comments on the scope of the EA 

received during this scoping process in 

preparing the EIS. 

Issued in Richland, WA on September 12, 

2012. 

Matt McCormick, 

Manager, Richland Operations Office. 

[FR Doc. 2012–23099 Filed 9–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

SunShot Prize: Race to the Rooftop 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice; Release of competition 

rules and processes to compete. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

release of the SunShot Prize: Race to the 

Rooftop competition. This competition 

offers $10 million in prizes to those who 

can lower the non-hardware installation 

cost of rooftop solar energy systems. 

DATES: Registration opened on 

September 12, 2012, and will run 

through October 31, 2014. Participants 

can submit Phase I materials through 

December 31, 2014, and Phase II 

materials through December 31, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

encouraged to learn about the SunShot 

Prize: Race to the Rooftop competition 

rules at eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/ 

prize.html. Teams that wish to enter the 

competition can register at 

eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/ 

prize.html. Questions about the prize 

competition can be sent to: 

Email: SunShot.Prize@ee.doe.gov. 

Mail: Solar Energy Technologies 

Program, U.S. Department of Energy, 

1000 Independence Ave. SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Minh Le, Solar Energy Technologies 

Program, U.S. Department of Energy, 

1000 Independence Ave. SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. Email: 

SunShot.Prize@ee.doe.gov 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

America COMPETES Reauthorization 

Act of 2010, Public Law 111–358, 

enacted January 4, 2011, authorizes, 

among other things, Federal agencies to 

issue competitions to stimulate 

innovations in technology, education, 

and science. The $10 million SunShot 

Prize: Race to the Rooftop competition 

challenges the ingenuity of America’s 

businesses and communities to make it 

faster, easier, and cheaper to install 

rooftop solar energy systems. Successful 

competitors will deploy domestically 

and in two phases, at least 6,000 new 

rooftop photovoltaic (PV) installations 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES