Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 80 / Monday, April 27, 1998 / Notices 20615

which the contractor intends to

withhold from a subcontractor/

supplier. Part 32 of the FAR and the

clause at 52.232–27, Prompt Payment

for Construction Contracts, further

require that contractors on construction

contracts:

(a) Notify subcontractors/suppliers of

any amounts to be withheld and furnish

a copy of the notification to the

contracting officer;

(b) Pay interest to subcontractors/

suppliers if payment is not made by 7

days after receipt of payment from the

Government, or within 7 days after

correction of previously identified

deficiencies;

(c) Pay interest to the Government if

amounts are withheld from

subcontractors/suppliers after the

Government has paid the contractor the

amounts subsequently withheld, or if

the Government has inadvertently paid

the contractor for nonconforming

performance; and

(d) Include a payment clause in each

subcontract which obligates the

contractor to pay the subcontractor for

satisfactory performance under its

subcontract not later than 7 days after

such amounts are paid to the contractor,

include an interest penalty clause which

obligates the contractor to pay the

subcontractor an interest penalty if

payments are not made in a timely

manner, and include a clause requiring

each subcontractor to include these

clauses in each of its subcontractors and

to require each of its subcontractors to

include similar clauses in their

subcontracts.

These requirements are imposed by

Public Law 100–496, the Prompt

Payment Act Amendments of 1988.

Contracting officers will be notified if

the contractor withholds amounts from

subcontractors/suppliers after the

Government has already paid the

contractor the amounts withheld. The

contracting officer must then charge the

contractor interest on the amounts

withheld from subcontractors/suppliers.

Federal agencies could not comply with

the requirements of the law if this

information were not collected.

B. Annual Reporting Burden

Public reporting burden for this

collection of information is estimated to

average .11 hours per response,

including the time for reviewing

instructions, searching existing data

sources, gathering and maintaining the

data needed, and completing and

reviewing the collection of information.

The annual reporting burden is

estimated as follows: Respondents,

38,194; responses per respondent, 11;

total annual responses, 420,134;

preparation hours per response, .11; and

total response burden hours, 46,215.

C. Annual Recordkeeping Burden

The annual recordkeeping burden is

estimated as follows: Recordkeepers,

34,722; hours per recordkeeper, 18; and

total recordkeeping burden hours,

624,996.

Obtaining Copies of Proposals

Requester may obtain a copy of the

justification from the General Services

Administration, FAR Secretariat

(MVRS), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4035,

Washington, DC 20405, telephone (202)

501–4755. Please cite OMB Control No.

9000–0102, Prompt Payment, in all

correspondence.

Dated: April 22, 1998.

Sharon A. Kiser,

FAR Secretariat.

[FR Doc. 98–11077 Filed 4–24–98; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Final Draft Environmental Assessment

and Draft Finding of No Significant

Impact for the Fielding of the

‘‘Generator, Mechanical Smoke: For

Dual Purpose Unit, M56’’ and the

‘‘Generator Smoke Mechanical:

Mechanized Smoke Obscurant System

M58’’

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: The Department of the Army

announces today the availability of the

final draft Environmental Assessment

(EA) and draft Finding of No Significant

Impact (FNSI) for the Fielding of the

‘‘Generator, Mechanical Smoke: For

Dual Purpose Unit, M56’’ and the

‘‘Generator Smoke Mechanical:

Mechanized Smoke Obscurant System

M58’’, in accordance with Pub. L. 101–

510, as amended. The Army will

consider public comments prior to

determining whether to sign the FNSI.

The Army needs to field state-of-theart obscuration systems to maximize

operational success by denying enemy

detection of friendly units and activities

on the battlefield. This fielding will

preserve forces and minimize casualties.

This EA has been prepared in

accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969

(NEPA), its implementing regulations

published by the Council on

Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Army

Regulation 200–2, ‘‘Environmental

Effects of Army Actions’’ (AR 200–2).

This EA is programmatic in nature,

and is designed to identify assess, and

disclose to the decision-maker and the

public the possible environmental

impacts expected to result from the

proposed fielding of the M56 and M58

at various installations throughout the

United States, as well as the potential

impacts associated with reasonable

alternatives to the proposed action. The

EA analyzes the environmental effects

associated with introducing graphite

particles into the environment in

conjunction with fog oil. The effects of

fog oil used without graphite flakes has

been assessed previously.

The Army’s proposed action is to field

the M56 and M58 to Army installations

across the Nation for use in visual and

infrared training. Alternatives examined

in the EA include: Limiting the use

graphite flakes; restricting units to

training with fog oil with no emission

of graphite flakes; consolidating training

to limited locations; and prohibiting

fielding of the systems within the

United States (the no action alternative).

The Army’s preferred alternative is

implementation of the proposed action.

The EA examines the potential

impacts of the proposed action and

alternatives on resource areas and areas

of environmental concern including:

human health, threatened and

endangered species, air quality, water

resources, vegetation, the sociological

environment, and cultural resources.

The EA concludes that the

implementation of the proposed action

will not have a significant impact on the

human environment. As a result the

Army is proposing to make a FNSI and

an Environmental Impact Statement will

not be required prior to implementation

of the proposed action.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before May 27, 1998.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the EA or

inquiries into the draft FNSI may be

obtained by writing to Commander, U.S.

Army Environmental Center, ATTN:

SFIM–AEC–PA (Mr. Hankus), Aberdeen

Proving Ground, Maryland 21010–5401,

or by calling (410) 671–2556.

Dated: April 21, 1998.

Raymond J. Fatz,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army

(Environment, Safety and Occupational

Health) (OASA (I,L&E).

[FR Doc. 98–11066 Filed 4–24–98; 8:45 am]

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