Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Notices 32207

Dated: May 28, 1998.

W. Michael McCabe,

Regional Administrator, Region III.

[FR Doc. 98–15583 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[ER–FRL–5492–5]

Environmental Impact Statements;

Notice of Availability

Responsible Agency: Office of Federal

Activities, General Information (202)

564–7167 or (202) 564–7153. Weekly

receipt of Environmental Impact

Statements Filed June 1, 1998 Through

June 5, 1998 Pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.9.

EIS No. 980208, Draft EIS, AFS, AK, Sea

Level Harvest Timber Sale,

Implemention, Tongass National

Forest, Ketchikan Ranger District, U.S.

Coast Guard Permit, NPDES Permit

and COE Section 10 and 404 Permit,

Revillagigedo (Revilla) Island/

Cleveland Peninsula, AK, Due:

August 7, 1998, Contact: Peter Griffin

(907) 228–4131.

EIS No. 980209, Final EIS, FHW, CA, I–

805 Nobel Drive Interchange and

Extension Project, Improvements,

between Nobel Drive and Miramar

Road/LaJolla Village Drive and the

extension of Nobel Drive from

Shoreline Drive to Miramar Road, in

the City of San Diego, San Diego

County, CA, Due: July 13, 1998,

Contact: G. Glenn Clinton (916) 498–

5037.

EIS No. 980210, Final EIS, JUS, CA,

Service Processing Center (SPC) for

Detainees, Construction and

Operation, Possible Sites, Stockton

and Tracy Sites, San Joaquin

Counties, CA, Due: July 13, 1998,

Contact: William A. Kopitz (202) 307–

1877.

EIS No. 980211, Final EIS, AFS, CA,

Payen, Pass Creek and English Range

Allotments, Grazing Land

Management Plan, Implementation,

Tahoe National Forest, Sierraville

Ranger District, Sierra and Nevada

Counties, CA, Due: July 13, 1998,

Contact: Fred Kent (530) 994–3401.

EIS No. 980212, Final Supplement,

AFS, OR, Summit Fire Recovery

Forest Restoration Project,

Implementation, Malheur National

Forest, Long Creek Ranger District,

Grant County, OR, Due: July 13, 1998,

Contact: Michael Hutchins (541) 575–

3000.

EIS No. 980213, Final EIS, BOP, DC,

District of Columbia, Department of

Corrections (DCDC), Felony Inmate

Population, Implementation,

Contracting Private Correctional

Facilities for Housing of Inmate

Population, United States Capitol,

City of Washington, D.C., Due: July

13, 1990, Contact: David D. Dorworth

(202) 514–6470.

EIS No. 980214, Final EIS, FHW, PA, US

222 Corridor Design Location Study,

Improvements from Breingsville to

the I–78 Interchange, Funding, Lower

and Upper Macungie Township,

Lehigh County, PA, Due: July 13,

1998, Contact: Ronald W. Carmichael

(717) 221–3461.

EIS No. 980215, Draft EIS, USA, AZ,

Fort Huachuca Real Property Master

Planning, Approval of Land Use and

Real Estate Investment Strategies,

Cochise County, AZ, Due: July 27,

1998, Contact: Gregory Brewer (703)

693–4583.

EIS No. 980216, Final EIS, COE, CA,

Yuba River Basin Investigation Study,

Flood Protection, Also Portions of the

Feather River Basin below Oroville

Dam, City of Maryville Yuba County,

CA, Due: July 13, 1998, Contact: Jack

Rinck (916) 557–6715.

EIS No. 980217, Draft EIS, DOC, PR, VI,

Corals and Reef Associated Plants and

Invertebrates, Fishery Management

Plan, Amendment I Marine

Conservation District (MCD),

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),

Puerto Islands and U.S. Virgin

Islands, PR and VI, Due: July 27, 1998,

Contact: Andrew J. Kemmerer (813)

570–5305.

EIS No. 980218, Draft EIS, COE, AK,

Beaufort Sea Oil and Gas

Development Northstar Project,

Implementation, NPDES Permit, Sea

Island, Alaskan Beaufort Sea, Offshore

Marine Environment and Onshore

Northslope of Alaskan Coastal Plain,

AK, Due: July 27, 1998, Contact: Ms.

Terry Carpenter (907) 753–2712.

EIS No. 980219, Final EIS, AFS, MT,

Bighorn Sheep Range and China Basin

Salvage Project, Wildlife Habitat

Enhancement Activities and

Watershed Restoration Activities,

Kootenai National Forest, Libby

Ranger District, Lincoln County, MT,

Due: July 13, 1998, Contact: Kirsten

Kaiser (406) 293–7773.

EIS No. 980220, Legislative Draft EIS,

USN, NV, Fallon Naval Air Station,

Renewal of the B–20 Land

Withdrawal, City of Fallon, Churchill

County, NV, Due: August 3, 1998,

Contact: Sam Dennis (650) 244–3007.

EIS No. 980221, Draft EIS, USA, IN,

Newport Chemical Depot,

Construction and Operation, Pilot

Testing of Neutralization/

Supercritical Water Oxidation of VX

Agent, Vermillion County, IN, Due:

July 27, 1998, Contact: Matt Hurlburt

(410) 612–7207.

EIS No. 980222, Draft EIS, GSA, NY,

Governors Island Disposition of

Surplus Federal Real Property,

Implementation, Upper New York

Bay, NY, Due: July 27, 1998, Contact:

Peter A. Sneed (212) 264–3581.

EIS No. 980223, Draft EIS, NPS, MT,

Interagency Bison Management Plan

for State of Montana and Yellowstone

National Park, Implementation,

Maintain a wild, Free Ranging

Population, Address the risk of

Brucellosis Transmission, Park and

Gallatin Counties, MT, Due: October

1, 1998, Contact: Sarah Bransom (303)

969–2310.

EIS No. 980224, Final EIS, COE, GA,

Brunswick Harbor Deepening Federal

Navigation Project, Improvements,

Brunswick, Glynn County, GA, Due:

July 13, 1998, Contact: William G.

Bailey (912) 652–5781.

Dated: June 9, 1998.

Ken Mittelholtz,

Environmental Specialist, NEPA Compliance

Division, Office of Federal Activities.

[FR Doc. 98–15758 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[ER–FRL–5492–6]

Environmental Impact Statements and

Regulations; Availability of EPA

Comments

Availability of EPA comments

prepared May 25, 1998 Through May

29, 1998 pursuant to the Environmental

Review Process (ERP), under Section

309 of the Clean Air Act and Section

102(2)(c) of the National Environmental

Policy Act as amended. Requests for

copies of EPA comments can be directed

to the Office of Federal Activities at

(202) 564–7167.

An explanation of the ratings assigned

to draft environmental impact

statements (EISs) was published in FR

dated April 10, 1998 (63 FR 17856).

Draft EISs

ERP No. D–MMS–G02007–TX Rating

LO, Western Planning Area, Proposed

Western Gulf of Mexico 1997–2002 (5-

Year Program) Outer Continental Shelf

Oil and Gas Sales 171, 174, 177 and 180,

Lease Offering, Offshore Marine

Environmental and Coastal Counties/

Parishes of Texas and Louisiana.

Summary: EPA had no objections to

the selection of the preferred alternative.

EPA encourages MMS to continue the

practice of applying those stipulations
32208 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Notices

provided to previous lease sales for the

OCS to the proposed sales of 1997 to

2002.

ERP No. D–NOA–L90027–AK Rating

*LO, Kackhemak Bay National Estuarine

Research Reserve (KBNERR)

Management Plan, Operations and

Development, Southcentral, AK.

Summary: EPA Region 10 used a

screening tool to conduct a limited

review of this action. Based upon the

screen, EPA does not foresee having any

environmental objections to the

proposed project. Therefore, EPA will

not be conducting a detailed review.

Final EISs

ERP No. F–AFS–K65201–CA Liberty

Forest Health Improvement Project,

Implementation, Tahoe National

Forests, Sierraville Ranger District,

Sierra and Nevada Counties, CA.

Summary: Review of the Final EIS

was not deemed necessary. No formal

comment letter was sent to the

preparing agency.

ERP No. F–FHW–E40751–NC US 70

Goldsboro Bypass Construction, US 70

in the vicinity of NC–1237 to US 70 in

the vicinity of NC–1731, Funding and

COE Permits, Wayne County, NC.

Summary: EPA continues to be

concerned regarding impact related to

noise, relocations, and flood plain

impacts.

ERP No. F–FHW–K50011–CA

Carquinez Bridge Project, Replace/

Retrofit the westbound I–80 between

Cummings Skyway and CA–29,

Funding, US Coast Guard and COE

Section 10 and 404 Funding, Contra

Costa and Solano Counties, CA.

Summary: Review of the Final EIS

was not deemed necessary. No formal

comment letter was sent to the

preparing agency.

Dated: June 9, 1998.

Ken Mittelholtz,

Environmental Specialist, NEPA Compliance

Division, Office of Federal Activities.

[FR Doc. 98–15759 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6110–8]

Proposed Policies Affecting the

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

(DWSRF) Program and Announcement

of Stakeholder Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to

issue two policy decisions for the

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

(DWSRF) program. The first would

allow eligible privately-owned public

water systems to be reimbursed for costs

incurred after a State notifies the system

that it will provide a loan, but before the

system actually receives the loan. This

will allow privately-owned systems to

move ahead with construction to take

advantage of construction seasons. The

second policy would allow States to

make loans for projects that are needed

to solve public health problems for

residents currently served by

contaminated ground water wells. This

policy would expand the universe of

eligible loan recipients by allowing

loans to an entity that is not currently

a public water system, but which will

become a public water system upon

completion of the project.

EPA has also developed a proposed

strategy to be used, if necessary, for

implementing withholding of DWSRF

funds in cases where States fail to meet

statutory requirements for ensuring

capacity of new systems commencing

operation after October 1, 1999.

EPA is soliciting comments on these

proposals until July 19, 1998. Comments

in writing should be directed to

Veronica Blette, Implementation and

Assistance Division, Office of Ground

Water and Drinking Water, U.S. EPA,

(4606), 401 M Street SW, Washington,

D.C. 20460, by fax to (202) 260–4656 or

by E-mail to blette.veronica@epa.gov.

EPA is also holding a stakeholders

meeting on July 13, 1998 in Washington,

D.C. to discuss the proposals, and to

provide an opportunity for participants

to comment, ask questions and express

their views.

Background

The DWSRF program was established

by the reauthorized Safe Drinking Water

Act (SDWA) (Pub. L. 104–182), signed

by President Clinton on August 6, 1996.

The SDWA Amendments authorizes

$9.6 billion for the DWSRF program and

related programs from fiscal year 1994

through fiscal year 2003. EPA’s budget

included $1.275 billion for the DWSRF

program and related programs in FY

1997 and $725 million in FY 1998. Final

Guidelines [EPA 816–R–97–005] for the

program were released on February 28,

1997. Funding provided by EPA from

the national DWSRF appropriation is

used by States to establish DWSRF loan

programs. States can also use part of the

funds to support State and local

programs related to source water

protection, operator certification and

drinking water programs.

State DWSRF programs can make

loans to both privately-owned and

publicly-owned community water

systems and not-for-profit noncommunity water systems. A

community water system is a system

that serves at least 15 service

connections used by year-round

residents of the area served by the

system; or regularly serves at least 25

year-round residents. A non-community

water system is a public water system

that is not a community water system.

States have the flexibility to tailor

DWSRF programs to address local needs

as long as the programs meet minimum

Federal requirements. States must

develop a priority system which will be

used to prioritize use of DWSRF funds.

Funding priority must be based on three

criteria: projects needed to protect

public health, achieve or maintain

SDWA compliance, and to help those

systems with the greatest economic

need. States are required annually to

develop, and subject to public review, a

comprehensive priority list of projects

that have applied for funding and a

fundable list, which is a list of the

highest ranked projects which are

expected to receive funding in that year.

Proposals

(1) The Safe Drinking Water Act

(SDWA) contains a provision which

allows State DWSRF programs to

provide loans to municipally owned

systems to refinance debt incurred for

eligible projects. Specifically, section

1452(f)(2) allows States ‘‘to buy or

refinance the debt obligation of a

municipality, intermunicipal or

interstate agency within the State * * *

in any case in which a debt obligation

is incurred after July 1, 1993.’’ However,

the SDWA does not have a similar

provision for privately-owned facilities.

A number of States have expressed

concern that a strict interpretation of

this refinance provision could delay

construction of some privately-owned

projects that are needed to solve public

health problems. States would like the

option of reimbursing eligible privatelyowned systems for debt or costs

incurred by the system after it receives

notification from the State that the State

intends to offer it a loan in the near

future. Costs incurred after the

notification, but before the loan was

made, would be eligible for

reimbursement. This would encourage

systems to move ahead with

construction in order to, for example,

take advantage of seasonal construction

cycles.

EPA believes that projects which have

been approved for funding from the

DWSRF, but move ahead with

construction prior to the actual award,

should be able to include these short