19944 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 77 /Wednesday, April 22, 1998 / Notices

6. City of El Paso, Rio Grande Project,

Texas and New Mexico: Amendment to

the 1941 and 1962 contracts to expand

acreage owned by the city to 3,000

acres; extend terms of water rights

assignments; and allow assignments

outside city limits under authority of

the Public Service Board.

15. Provo Reservoir Water Users

Company, Wasatch Irrigation Company,

Timpanogas Irrigation Company,

Exchange Irrigation Company,

Washington Irrigation Company, and

the City of Provo; CUP, Utah: Water

exchange contracts, water rights in

several mountain lakes and reservoirs

are being exchanged for equivalent

contract water rights in Jordanelle

Reservoir.

20. El Paso County Water

Improvement District No. 1, Rio Grande

Project, Texas and New Mexico:

Supplemental contract between El Paso

County Water Improvement District No.

1 and the United States to allow the

conversion of project water from

irrigation to M&I within the El Paso

area.

Great Plains Region

Bureau of Reclamation, PO Box

36900, Federal Building, 316 North 26th

Street, Billings, Montana 59107–6900,

telephone 406–247–7730.

Modified contract actions:

7. City of Rapid City, Rapid Valley

Unit, P–SMBP, South Dakota: Contract

renewal for up to 55,000 acre-feet of

storage capacity in Pactola Reservoir.

13. P–SMBP, Kansas and Nebraska:

Initiate negotiations for renewal of longterm water supply contracts with

Kansas-Bostwick, Nebraska-Bostwick,

Frenchman Valley, FrenchmanCambridge, and Almena IDs.

14. Northwest Area Water Supply,

North Dakota: Long-term contract for

water supply from Garrison Diversion

Unit facilities. Basis of negotiation is

completed and awaiting regional

director’s signature.

15. Fort Shaw and Greenfields IDs,

Sun River Project, Montana: Contract for

SOD costs for repairs to Willow Creek

Dam. Greenfields ID has signed a 1-year

repayment contract for its share of the

SOD costs. Have received the approved

basis of negotiation from the

Commissioner. In the process of

negotiating a contract with Fort Shaw

ID.

25. Lower Marias Unit, P-SMBP,

Montana: Water service contract expired

June 1997. Initiating renewal of existing

contract for 25 years for up to 480 acrefeet of storage from Tiber Reservoir to

irrigate 160 acres. Received approved

basis of negotiation from the

Commissioner. Currently developing the

contract and consulting with the tribes

regarding Water Rights Compact.

29. Belle Fourche Unit, P–SMBP,

South Dakota: Negotiations have been

held with the Belle Fourche ID to

amend their long-term repayment

contract deferring their 1997

construction payment and reducing

their annual construction payment.

Dated: April 15, 1998.

Wayne O. Deason,

Deputy Director, Program Analysis Office.

[FR Doc. 98–10589 Filed 4–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–94–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Yakima River Basin Water

Enhancement Project, Yakima, WA,

INT–DES 98–17

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft

programmatic environmental impact

statement and notice of public hearings.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C)

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969, as amended, the

Department of the Interior, Bureau of

Reclamation (Reclamation), has

prepared a draft programmatic

environmental impact statement (Draft

PEIS) for implementing provisions of

Phase 2 of the Yakima River Basin

Water Enhancement Project

(Enhancement Project). The purpose of

the Enhancement Project is to meet the

competing needs of the Yakima River

basin through improved water

conservation and management and other

appropriate means. The Enhancement

Project legislation also authorizes

actions on the Yakima Indian

Reservation which will result in

improvements to their irrigation system

and enhance local resources.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft

PEIS must be submitted by July 22,

1998, to the address listed under the

ADDRESSES Section. Public hearings to

accept oral comments on the Draft PEIS

will be held on June 2, 1998, from 1:30

to 3:30 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. in

Toppenish, Washington; and on June 3,

1998, from 1 to 3 p.m. and from 7 to 9

p.m. in Yakima, Washington.

ADDRESSES: The public hearings will be

held at:

• Yakima Indian Nation, Eagle

Seelatsee Auditorium, 401 Fort Road,

Toppenish, Washington.

• DoubleTree Inn, 1507 North First

Street, Yakima, Washington.

Copies of the Draft PEIS are available

for inspection at the following addresses

and at libraries in the project vicinity.

• Bureau of Reclamation, Upper

Columbia Area Office, 1917 Marsh

Road, Yakima, Washington 98907.

• Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific

Northwest Regional Office, 1150 N.

Curtis Road, Suite 100, Boise, Idaho

83706–1234.

Written comments on the Draft PEIS

should be submitted to: Mr. Robert

Black D–8580, Bureau of Reclamation,

Denver Federal Center, PO Box 25007,

Denver, Colorado 80225–0007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Robert Black, Telephone (303) 445–

2704.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Those

wishing to obtain a copy of the Draft

PEIS or schedule time, in advance, to

make oral comments at the hearing(s)

may contact Mr. Black at the above

address and telephone or call toll free to

1–800–861–5443. Speakers will be

called in order of their requests.

Requests to comment may also be made

at each hearing, and speakers will be

scheduled to follow the advance

requests. Oral comments will be limited

to 10 minutes per individual. All oral

comments will be included in the

hearing record. Written comments will

be accepted into the hearing record for

14 days following the public hearing

date. These comments may be submitted

in addition to review comments made

during the 90-day review period and

should be identified as hearing

comments. Special needs assistance

requests should be submitted to Mr.

Black by May 15, 1998.

The Draft PEIS evaluates the effects of

Title XII of the Enhancement Project

legislation. The provisions and

measures of the Enhancement Project

legislation form the parameters and the

methods for achieving the protection,

mitigation, and enhancement of fish and

wildlife through improved water

management, instream flows, water

quality, the creation and enhancement

of wetlands, and improved reliability of

irrigation water supplies. Central to this

legislation is the Yakima River Basin

Water Conservation Program which

attempts to balance competing demands

on the basin’s water supply. This

voluntary program will reduce demands

on the available water supply by

promoting conservation measures to

improve the efficiency of water delivery

and use, instream flows for fish and

wildlife, and the reliability of the

irrigation water supply.

Specific measures that will be

implemented depend upon proposals

contained in the water conservation
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 77 /Wednesday, April 22, 1998 / Notices 19945

plans, feasibility investigations of

measures selected for consideration, and

program criteria. Consequently, the

Draft PEIS is a broad scope document to

provide ‘‘umbrella’’ coverage for

implementing the Enhancement Project

with subsequent tiering for NEPA

compliance of specific follow-on

actions, as appropriate.

Six alternatives, including no action,

are considered in the Draft PEIS. The no

action alternative is presented as the

most likely future condition that could

be expected without the implementation

of additional Title XII provisions

beyond the currently established

riverflows, which includes the new

operational criteria required by the

legislation. This alternative provided

the basis for impact comparisons. Five

action alternatives present the

implementation of all elements of the

Enhancement Project at different levels

of implementation of project

components. A preferred alternative has

not been selected in the Draft PEIS.

Alternative 1 includes implementation

of all the Enhancement Project measures

except the Basin Conservation Program.

Alternative 2 consists of all the

measures cited in Alternative 1 plus

different levels (Alternatives 2A, 2B,

and 2C) of water conservation program

implementation at various locations

within the Yakima basin. Alternative 2A

consists of all the measures cited in

Alternative 1 plus a 7.5-percent basinwide reduction in diversion demand

(except for the Wapato Irrigation Project

and the Yakima-Tieton Canal).

Alternative 2B consists of all the

measures cited in Alternative 1 plus a

15-percent reduction in diversion

demand from the Yakima River

downstream from the Roza Diversion

Dam (except for the Wapato Irrigation

Project and the Yakima-Tieton Canal).

Alternative 2C consists of all the

measures cited in Alternative 1 plus a

21-percent reduction in diversion

demand at diversion points between the

Sunnyside and Roza Canals. Alternative

3 consists of all the measures cited in

Alternative 1 except for implementation

of the Kachess Reservoir augmentation

and specific tributary measures.

Environmental consequences that

would result from implementation of

any of the alternatives should have no

significant adverse impacts, such that

irrigation contracts will not be modified

and any minor adverse impacts

identified could be mitigated to a level

of insignificance by implementation of

mitigation measures. Beneficial impacts

are considered to be enhanced water

quality, increased streamflow, and

overall reinforcement of fish and

wildlife habitat, as well as an increase

in the reliability of irrigation water

supplies.

Dated: April 13, 1998.

John W. Keys, III,

Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region.

[FR Doc. 98–10631 Filed 4–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–94–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing

that the information collection request

for the title described below has been

forwarded to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) for review and

comment. The information collection

request describes the nature of the

information collection and the expected

burden and cost.

DATES: OMB has up to 60 days to

approve or disapprove the information

collection but may respond after 30

days. Therefore, public comments

should be submitted to OMB by May 22,

1998, in order to be assured of

consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request a copy of the information

collection request, explanatory

information and related form, contact

John A. Trelease at (202) 208–2783, or

electronically to jtreleas@osmre.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

of Management and Budget (OMB)

regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which

implement provisions of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13),

require that interested members of the

public and affected agencies have an

opportunity to comment on information

collection and recordkeeping activities

(see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). OSM has

submitted a request to OMB to renew its

approval of the collection of information

for the permanent program performance

standards—underground mining

activities, 30 CFR Part 817. OSM is

requesting a 3-year term of approval for

this information collection activity.

An agency may not conduct or

sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information

unless it displays a currently valid OMB

control number. The OMB control

number for this collection of

information is listed in 30 CFR 817.10,

which is 1029–0048.

As required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), a

Federal Register notice soliciting

comments on these collections of

information was published on January

29, 1998 (63 FR 4472). No comments

were received. This notice provides the

public with an additional 30 days in

which to comment on the following

information collection activity:

Title: Permanent Program

Performance Standards—Underground

Mining Activities, 30 CFR Part 817.

OMB Control Number: 1029–0048.

Summary: Sections 515 and 516 of the

Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 provide that

permittees conducting surface coal

mining operations with underground

mining activities shall meet all

applicable performance standards of the

Act. The information collected is used

by the regulatory authority in

monitoring and inspecting surface coal

mining activities to ensure that they are

conducted in compliance with the

requirements of the Act.

Bureau Form Number: None.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion,

quarterly and annually.

Description of Respondents: 2,837

active underground coal mining

operators.

Total Annual Responses: 52,690.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 183,284.

Send comments on the need for the

collections of information for the

performance of the functions of the

agency; the accuracy of the agency’s

burden estimates; ways to enhance the

quality, utility and clarity of the

information collections; and ways to

minimize the information collection

burdens on respondents, such as use of

automated means of collections of the

information, to the following addresses.

Please refer to the appropriate OMB

control number in all correspondence.

ADDRESSES: Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget, Attention:

Department of Interior Desk Officer, 725

17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503.

Also, please send a copy of your

comments to John A. Trelease, Office of

Surface Mining Reclamation and

Enforcement, 1951 Constitution Ave.,

NW, Room 210–SIB, Washington, DC

20240, or electronically to

jtreleas@osmre.gov.

Dated: April 15, 1998.

Richard G. Bryson,

Chief, Division of Regulatory Support.

[FR Doc. 98–10579 Filed 4–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M