27048 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 94 / Friday, May 15, 1998 / Notices

watershed should the plan be

implemented. The NRCS has consulted

with the State Historic Preservation

Office on the effects of the planned

measures. There is no effect foreseen on

significant cultural resources. However,

construction of floodways, dikes, grade

stabilization structures and diversions

have the potential for seriously

disrupting individual sites. Therefore,

caution shall be exercised in planning

and installing any such measures to

avoid serious disruption of cultural

resource sites.

Signficant cultural resources

identified during implementation will

be avoided or otherwise preserved in

place to the fullest extent practical. If

significant cultural resources cannot be

avoided or preserved, pertinent

information will be recovered before

construction. If there is a significant

cultural resource discovery during

construction, appropriate notice will be

made by NRCS to the State Historic

Preservation Officer and the National

Park Service. Consultation and

coordination have been made, and will

continue to be used, to ensure the

provisions of Section 106 of Public Law

89–665 have been met and to include

provisions of Public Law 89–523, as

amended by Public Law 93–291. NRCS

will take action as prescribed in the

NRCS GM 420, Part 401, to protect or

recover any significant cultural

resources discovered during

construction.

No threatened or endangered species

are known to exist in the watershed.

One of the primary objectives of the

project is to reduce agricultural

flooding. Approximately 7,000 acres of

prime farmland will be protected from

frequent flood events. An estimated 20

miles of farm to market roads, and 40

bridges and culverts will be protected

by reduced quantities and velocities of

flood waters. Flood damages to

farmstead buildings for machinery and

crop storage will be reduced.

Water quality will be improved in the

Wild Rice River by reducing sediment

delivery rates, implementing nutrient

and pest management systems, and

improved soil health and cover.

Sediment control basins, along with

buffer and filter strips adjacent to the

proposed floodways and diversions will

significantly reduce non-point source

pollutants runoff. Associated land

treatment measures (ALTM) will

promote total resource management

systems on 7,500 acres of land in the

watershed. These systems, in addition

to addressing management of the soil,

water, air, plant, and animal resources

will also address the social and

economic resources of the watersheds

land users.

Fish and wildlife habitats may be

temporarily disturbed in some areas of

the watershed during the construction

phase. These resources will be restored

or enhanced when the project is

completed. Improvements in soil health,

water quality, and plant diversity

should result from the implementation

of this project. The value of woodland

habitat will not decline. An estimated

2.2 acres of seasonal partially drained

wetlands will be lost due to project

impacts. These wetland values will be

properly mitigated for using the Hydro

Geologic Model (HGM).

No wilderness areas are in the

watershed.

Scenic values will be complimented

with the diversity added by associated

land treatment measures. During

installation of structural features the

scenic values will be temporarily

decreased at specific construction

locations in the watershed.

No significant adverse environmental

impacts will result from installations

except for minor inconveniences to

local residents during construction.

Alternatives

A total of 7 alternatives were

evaluated to address the problems and

opportunities the local sponsoring

organizations and watershed residents

identified in the planning stages. The

first 6 alternatives were formulated

using varied combinations of floodwater

diversions, dikes, and floodways with

grade stabilizations structures. Each of

these alternatives provided similar flood

protection and land treatment benefits

with varying economic, social and

environmental impacts. The seventh

alternative was the ‘‘no action’’

alternative.

It was determined by the sponsoring

local organizations and watershed

residents that alternative 6 is the

recommended plan.

Consultation—Public Participation

Formal agency consultation began

with the initiation of the notification of

the State Single Point of Contact for

Federal Assistance (Office of

Intergovernmental Assistance) in March

1992. The Governor and the State Soil

Conservation Committee were also

notified of the application for Federal

Assistance. Agencies were again

notified when planning was authorized

in October 1993.

Scoping meetings were held in

September 1992 and June 1993, and

interdisciplinary efforts were used in all

cases. An Interagency Watershed

Committee (IAWC) was utilized

throughout the planning process. The

process involved five Federal agencies

(FSA, FS, F&WS, COE, and EPA), five

State agencies (Department of Health,

State Soil Conservation Committee,

Game and Fish Department, State Water

Commission, and State Historical

Society), two county agencies (Richland

County Soil Conservation District and

Richland County Water Resource

District), and the City of Colfax and the

Red River & Western Railroad in part or

all of the scoping and planning

processes.

Specific consultation was conducted

with the State Historic Preservation

Officer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Regulatory Office, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, and North Dakota

Department of Health. All of these

agencies comments were used in the

development of this plan.

The environmental assessment was

transmitted to all participating and

interested agencies, groups, and

individuals for review and comment in

March 1998. Three public meetings

were held during the planning process

to keep all interested parties informed of

the study progress and to obtain public

input into the plan and environmental

evaluation. The last public meeting was

held March 1998, in the City of Colfax,

during the interagency review process

Agency consultation and public

participation to date have shown no

unresolved conflicts with the

implementation of the selected plan.

Conculsions

The Environmental Assessment

summarized above indicates that this

Federal action will not cause significant

local, regional, or national, impacts.

Therefore, based on the above findings,

I have determined that an

environmental impact statement for the

Colfax Watershed is not required.

Dated: May 7, 1998.

Scott Hoag Jr.,

State Conservationist.

[FR Doc. 98–13031 Filed 5–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation

Service.

Notice of Proposed Change to Section

IV of the Field Office Technical Guide

(FOTG) of the Natural Resources

Conservation Service in Kentucky

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS) in

Kentucky, U.S. Department of

Agriculture.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 94 / Friday, May 15, 1998 / Notices 27049

ACTION: Notice of availability of

proposed changes in Section IV of the

FOTG of the NTCS in Kentucky for

review and comment.

SUMMARY: It is the intention of the NRCS

in Kentucky to issue revised

conservation practice standards:

Composting Facility (Code 317), Grassed

Waterway (Code 412), Heavy Use Area

Protection (Code 561), Obstruction

Removal (Code 500), and Waste

Management System (Code 312).

DATES: Comments will be received until

June 15, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Inquire in writing to David G. Sawyer,

State Conservationist, Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS), 771

Corporate Drive, Suite 110, Lexington,

KY 40503–5479. Copies of the practice

standards are made available upon

written request.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: Section 343

of the Federal Agriculture Improvement

and Reform Act of 1996 states that

revisions made after enactment of the

law to NRCS State Technical Guides

used to carry out highly erodible land

and wetland provisions of the law shall

be made available for public review and

comment. For the next 30 days the

NRCS in Kentucky will receive

comments relative to the proposed

changes. Following that period a

determination will be made by the

NRCS in Kentucky regarding deposition

of those comments and a final

determination of change will be made.

Dated: April 13, 1998.

William N. Craddock,

Acting State Conservationist, Natural

Resources Conservation Service, Lexington,

KY.

[FR Doc. 98–10827 Filed 5–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–M

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR

SEVERELY DISABLED

Procurement List; Proposed Additions

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From

People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled.

ACTION: Proposed Additions to

Procurement List.

SUMMARY: The Committee has received

proposal(s) to add to the Procurement

List a commodity and services to be

furnished by nonprofit agencies

employing persons who are blind or

have other severe disabilities.

COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR

BEFORE: June 15, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase

From People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled, Crystal Gateway 3, Suite 310,

1215 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, Virginia 22202–4302.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Beverly Milkman (703) 603–7740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice is published pursuant to 41

U.S.C. 47(a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3. Its

purpose is to provide interested persons

an opportunity to submit comments on

the possible impact of the proposed

actions.

If the Committee approves the

proposed additions, all entities of the

Federal Government (except as

otherwise indicated) will be required to

procure the commodity and services

listed below from nonprofit agencies

employing persons who are blind or

have other severe disabilities.

I certify that the following action will

not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The major factors considered for this

certification were:

1. The action will not result in any

additional reporting, recordkeeping or

other compliance requirements for small

entities other than the small

organizations that will furnish the

commodity and services to the

Government.

2. The action does not appear to have

a severe economic impact on current

contractors for the commodity and

services.

3. The action will result in

authorizing small entities to furnish the

commodity and services to the

Government.

4. There are no known regulatory

alternatives which would accomplish

the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46–48c) in

connection with the commodity and

services proposed for addition to the

Procurement List. Comments on this

certification are invited. Commenters

should identify the statement(s)

underlying the certification on which

they are providing additional

information.

The following commodity and

services have been proposed for

addition to Procurement List for

production by the nonprofit agencies

listed:

Commodity

Mop Sponge Scrub Brush

M.R. 1012

NPA: Signature Works, Inc.,

Hazlehurst, Mississippi.

Services

Base Supply Center

Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida,

NPA: Industries for the Blind, Inc.,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Car Wash Service

U.S. Border Patrol, 1111 N. Imperial

Avenue, El Centro, California

U.S. Border Patrol, 1150 Birch Street,

Calexico, California

NPA: Association for Retarded

Citizens—Imperial Valley El Centro,

California

Furnishings Management Services

Dover Air Force Base, Delaware,

NPA: The Chimes, Inc., Baltimore,

Maryland.

Janitorial/Custodial

PFC Harold P. Lynch USAR Center,

Plattsburgh, New York, Canton

USAR Center, Canton, New York

NPA: Citizen Advocates, Inc., Malone,

New York.

Refuse Collection and Disposal

Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey,

NPA: The First Occupational Center

of New Jersey, Orange, New Jersey.

Beverly L. Milkman,

Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 98–13035 Filed 5–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6353–01–P

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS

Hearing on Schools and Religions

AGENCY: Commission on Civil Rights.

ACTION: Notice of hearing.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given

pursuant to the provisions of the Civil

Rights Commission Amendments Act of

1994, Section 3, Pub. L. 103–419, 108

Stat. 4338, as amended, and 45 CFR

Section 702.3, that a public hearing

before the U.S. Commission on Civil

Rights will commence on Friday, June

12, 1998, beginning at 9:00 a.m., in the

United States Court of International

Trade Center, located at 1 Federal Plaza,

New York, NY 10007.

The purpose of the hearing is to

collect information within the

jurisdiction of the Commission, under

45 CFR Section 702.2, to examine the

operation of the Equal Access Act and

similar laws and the adherence by the

public schools to these laws and the

Constitution in regard to religious

freedom. The Commission is authorized

to hold hearings and to issue subpoenas

for the production of documents and the

attendance of witnesses pursuant to 45

CFR Section 701.2(c). The Commission

is an independent bipartisan,

factfinding agency authorized to study,

collect, and disseminate information,

and to appraise the laws and policies of

the Federal Government, and to study

and collect information with respect to