19912 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 77 /Wednesday, April 22, 1998 / Notices

prepared for an application filed by the

Georgia Power Company on January 29,

1998, requesting the Commission’s

authorization to permit the ClaytonRabun County Water Authority

(Authority) to increase its water

withdrawal from Lake Rabun reservoir

for municipal water supply from

806,000 gallons per day (gpd) currently

to 2.0 million gpd.

The EA evaluates the environmental

impacts that would result from

permitting the Authority to increase its

water withdrawal from Lake Rabun

reservoir, as discussed above. Existing

pumps and water treatment facilities at

the site are able to accommodate this

increased water withdrawal;

consequently, the proposed action

would not require any new construction

activity.

The EA finds that approval of the

application would not constitute a

major federal action significantly

affecting the quality of the human

environment.

The EA was written by staff in the

Office of Hydropower Licensing,

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Copies of the EA can be viewed at the

Commission’s Reference and

Information Center, Room 2A, 888 First

Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426.

Copies also may be obtained by calling

the EA coordinator, Jim Haimes, at (202)

219–2780.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–10614 Filed 4–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Project No. 516–280]

South Carolina Electric & Gas

Company; Notice of Availability of

Environmental Assessment

April 16, 1998.

In accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and

the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission’s regulations, 18 CFR Part

380 (Order No. 486, 52 FR 47910), the

Office of Hydropower Licensing (OHL)

has prepared an environmental

assessment (EA) for an application for

approval of non-project use of project

lands and change of land rights on Lake

Murray. South Carolina Gas & Electric

Company (licensee) proposes to sell to

Larry Koon and James Cromer

(developers) 20.5 acres of project lands

for residential purposes. The licensee

also proposes to allow use of the lake’s

75-foot buffer strip to provide parking

and vehicular access to an approved

Willows End Marina. In the EA, staff

concludes that approval of the licensee’s

proposal would not constitute a major

Federal action significantly affecting the

quality of the human environment. The

Saluda Project is located on the Saluda

River in Richland, Lexington, Saluda

and Newberry Counties, near Columbia,

South Carolina.

The EA was written by staff in the

office of Hydropower Licensing, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission. Copies

of the EA are available for review at the

Commission’s Reference and

Information Center, Room 2–A, 888

North Capitol Street, NE., Washington,

DC 20426.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–10612 Filed 4–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6000–6]

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request; Environmental

Documentation and Associated

Reporting for Environmental Impact

Assessment of Nongovernmental

Activities in Antarctica

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq.), this notice announces that

EPA is planning to submit the following

proposed Information Collection

Request (ICR) to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB):

Environmental Documentation and

Associated Reporting for Environmental

Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental

Activities in Antarctica, EPA ICR No.

1808.02, OMB Control No. 2020–0007.

Before submitting the ICR to OMB for

review and approval, EPA is soliciting

comments on specific aspects of the

proposed information collection as

described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before June 22, 1998.

CONTACTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND

TO BE PLACED ON THE PROJECT MAILING

LIST: For a copy of the ICR or for further

information on this project, contact Mr.

Joseph Montgomery or Ms. Katherine

Biggs, Office of Federal Activities

(2252A), U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington,

DC 20460; telephone (202) 564–7157 or

(202) 564–7144, respectively.

Information on this project, including

the Supporting Statement for this ICR, is

also available on the World Wide Web

at: http//www.epa.gov/oeca/ofa.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Affected entities: Entities potentially

affected by this action are

nongovernmental operators, including

tour operators, conducting expeditions

to Antarctica.

Title: Environmental Documentation

and Associated Reporting for

Environmental Impact Assessment of

Nongovernmental Activities in

Antarctica, EPA ICR No. 1808.02, OMB

Control No. 2020–0007, expiring August

8, 1998.

Abstract: The Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated

an Interim Final Rule for Environmental

Impact Assessment of Nongovernmental

Activities in Antarctica, 40 CFR part 8,

in accordance with the Antarctic

Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act

of 1996 (Act), 16 U.S.C. 2401 et seq., as

amended, 16 U.S.C. 2403a, which

implements the Protocol on

Environmental Protection (Protocol) to

the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 (Treaty).

The Interim Final Rule provides for

assessment of the environmental

impacts of nongovernmental activities

in Antarctica, including tourism, and for

coordination of the review of

information regarding environmental

impact assessments received from other

Parties under the Protocol. The

requirements of the Interim Final Rule

apply to operators of nongovernmental

expeditions organized in or proceeding

from the territory of the United States to

Antarctica and include commercial and

non-commercial expeditions.

Expeditions may include ship-based

tours; yacht, skiing or mountaineering

expeditions; privately funded research

expeditions; and other nongovernmental

or nongovernmental-sponsored

activities. The Interim Final Rule does

not apply to individual U.S. citizens or

groups of citizens planning to travel to

Antarctica on an expedition for which

they are not acting as an operator.

(Operators, for example, typically

acquire use of vessels or aircraft, hire

expedition staff, plan itineraries, and

undertake other organizational

responsibilities.)

Environmental Documentation.

Persons subject to the Interim Final Rule

at 40 CFR part 8 must prepare

environmental documentation, as

appropriate, to support the operator’s

determination regarding the level of

environmental impact of the proposed

expedition. Environmental