Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 20, 1998 / Notices 2947

preliminary analysis was completed

during the summer and fall of 1997. The

developed alternative consisted of: (A)

low management intensity; retention of

more than the prescribed amount of

standing green trees and down logs (20–

30% retention), (B) conventional

management intensity; retention of

prescribed amounts of standing green

trees and down logs (15% retention), (C)

No old-growth harvest, and (D) No

Action. All action alternatives were

developed to avoid forest fragmentation

and system road construction. Results of

the above analysis indicated a potential

for significant effects to the human

environment, hence the need for

documentation with the Environmental

Impact Statement.

The Forest Service will be seeking

additional information, comment and

assistance from Federal, State, local

agencies, tribes, and other individuals

or organizations who may be interested

or affected by the proposed project.

Additional input will be used to help

verify the existing analysis and

determine if additional issues and

alternatives should be developed. This

input will be used in preparation of the

draft EIS.

The scoping process will include the

following:

• Identification of potential

additional issues;

• Identification of issues to be

analyzed in depth;

• Elimination of insignificant issues

or those which have been covered by a

relevant previous environmental

process;

• Exploration of potential additional

alternatives based on the issues

identified during the scoping process;

and

• Verification of and potential

addition to environmental effects of the

proposed action and alternatives (i.e.

direct, indirect, and cumulative effects

and connected actions).

The draft EIS is expected to be filed

with the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) and to be available for

public review by February 28, 1998. The

comment period on the draft EIS will be

45 days from the date the EPA publishes

the notice of availability in the Federal

Register.

The Forest Service believes it is

important to give reviewers notice at

this early stage of several court rulings

related to public participation in the

environmental review process. First, a

reviewer of a draft EIS must structure

their participation in the environmental

review of the proposal so that it is

meaningful and alerts an agency to the

reviewer’s position and contentions.

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v.

NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also,

environmental objections that could be

raised at the draft EIS stage but that are

not raised until after completion of the

final EIS may be waived or dismissed by

the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803

f. 2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir., 1986) and

Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490

F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980).

Because of these court rulings, it is very

important that those interested in this

proposed action participate by the close

of the 45-day comment period so that

substantive comments and objections

are made available to the Forest Service

at a time when it can meaningfully

consider them and respond to them in

the final EIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed action,

comments on the draft EIS should be as

specific as possible. It is also helpful if

comments refer to specific pages or

chapters of the draft statement.

Comments may also address the

adequacy of the draft EIS or the merits

of the alternatives formulated and

discussed in the statement. (Reviewers

may wish to refer to the Council on

Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions

of the National Environmental Policy

Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing

these points.)

The final EIS is scheduled to be

completed in June, 1998. In the final

EIS, the Forest Service is required to

respond to comments and responses

received during the comment period

that pertain to the environmental

consequences discussed in the draft EIS

and applicable laws, regulations, and

policies considered in making the

decision regarding this proposal. Rick

Scott, District Ranger, is the responsible

official and as responsible official, he

will document the Christy Basin Timber

Sales and restoration project decision

and rationale in a Record of Decision.

That decision will be subject to Forest

Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR

Part 215).

Dated: January 5, 1998.

Rick Scott,

District Ranger.

[FR Doc. 98–1198 Filed 1–16–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

The Department of Commerce (DOC)

has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance the following proposal for

collection of information under

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Title: Capital Construction Fund

Agreement and Certificate.

Agency Form Number: NOAA 88–14.

OMB Approval Number: 0648–0090.

Type of Request: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Burden: 2,250 hours.

Number of Respondents: 1,000.

Avg. Hours Per Response: 2.25 hours.

Needs and Uses: The Merchant

Marine Act provides for the

administration of the Capital

Construction Fund (CCF) by NOAA.

This program enables fishermen to

construct, reconstruct, or (under limited

circumstances) acquire fishing vessels

with before-tax, rather than after-tax,

dollars. NOAA collects information

from fishermen to determine their

eligibility to participate in the program

and to certify completion of the

agreement objectives.

Affected Public: Businesses or other

for-profit organizations.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to

obtain or retain benefits.

OMB Desk Officer: David Rostker,

(202) 395–3897.

Copies of the above information

collection proposal can be obtained by

calling or writing Linda Engelmeier,

DOC Forms Clearance Officer, (202)

482–3272, Department of Commerce,

Room 5327, 14th and Constitution

Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230.

Written comments and

recommendations for the proposed

information collection should be sent

within 30 days of publication of this

notice to David Rostker, OMB Desk

Officer, Room 10202, New Executive

Office Building, 725 17th Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20503.

Dated: January 2, 1998.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 98–1264 Filed 1–16–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

Census 2000 Special Place Facility

Questionnaire

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing
2948 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 20, 1998 / Notices

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other Federal agencies to

take this opportunity to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 3506

(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before March 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5327, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument and instructions should be

directed to Charles Moore, Bureau of the

Census, SFC2, MS–5700, Room 1304,

4301 Suitland Road, Suitland, Maryland

20746, phone number (301) 457–2050.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Census Bureau must provide

everyone in the United States and

Outlying Areas the opportunity to be

counted in the Census 2000, including

persons living in group quarters (GQs),

(ex. student dormitories and shelters)

and housing units (HUs) at and/or

associated with SPs.

To that end, the Census Bureau is

currently developing final plans for

implementing the Census 2000 Special

Place Facility Questionnaire Operation.

This operation replaces the Special

Place Prelist field operation conducted

in previous censuses. During that

operation, census enumerators visited

each special place (SP) and conducted

personal interviews to identify and

classify the types of GQs and HUs for

each SP. One of the major requirements

for enumeration of persons at SP

facilities is to identify the GQs and any

associated HUs at each SP.

We obtain an updated SP/GQ master

file from the Census 2000 Dress

Rehearsal which contains the names,

addresses and phone numbers of each

special place. Phone numbers for these

SPs were obtained through the use of

telephone books, directory assistance

and contractors.

We will then mail advance letters to

each SP informing them about the

upcoming Census 2000 and letting them

know that a Census Bureau

representative will be phoning in the

next few weeks to update the list of

places where people stay and to collect

other administrative information.

By phoning each SP and conducting

interviews, we will identify and collect

updated information about the GQs and

HUs at each SP using Form D–351,

Special Place Facility Questionnaire.

The types of information collected

during the interviews consists of

collecting administrative information,

updating existing information,

identifying GQs/HUs at each SP,

determining facility type and expected

population count.

Throughout the Facility

Questionnaire Operation, the SP/GQ

master file is continually updated. Once

the Facility Questionnaire Operation is

completed, files will be created based

on the requirements for each of the

upcoming SP operations, i.e., Local

Knowledge Update, Transient Night,

Group Quarters Enumeration and

Service-Based Enumeration.

II. Method of Collection

Computer Assisted Telephone

Interviewing (CATI) will be used for the

majority of cases using a computerized

questionnaire. Nonrespondents

(including SPs that request personal

visit follow-up) and adds from other

field operations will require a personal

visit or telephone interview (non-CATI)

by regional office or local census office

staff using a paper D–351 questionnaire.

To collect the GQ information for

military installations, a census

representative will visit each of the

military installations to interview

military personnel on Form D–

351(MIL), Military Installation Group

Quarters Address List. Information to be

collected consists of the installation

name, state, county, military contact,

group quarters location, type of GQ and

expected population count.

Once completed, the D–351s and the

D–351(MIL)s will be sent to the Data

Capture Center (DCC) in Jeffersonville,

Indiana for processing.

III. Data

OMB Number: Not available.

Form Number: D–351, D–351(MIL).

Type of review: Regular Submission.

Affected Public: Individuals,

businesses or other for-profit

organizations, non-profit institutions

and small businesses or organizations.

Estimated number of Respondents:

450,000 Special Places in Census 2000.

Estimated Time Per Response: Each

interview should take about 15 minutes

(0.25 hours).

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 112,500 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: There is

no cost to respondents for providing

information on this operation, except for

a few minutes of their time.

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Title 13, United States

Code, Sections 141 and 193.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden

(including hours and cost) of the

proposed collection of information; (c),

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval of this information collection;

they also will become a matter of public

record.

Dated: January 13, 1998.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 98–1209 Filed 1–16–98 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

Master Address File (MAF) and

Topologically Integrated Geographic

Encoding and Referencing (TIGER)

Update Activities

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other Federal agencies to

take this opportunity to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before March 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5327, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or