Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 122 /Thursday, June 25, 1998 / Notices 34629

2003. This funding will support

competitive research, education, and

extension grants as well as activities

carried out under the Alternative

Agricultural Research and

Commercialization Act of 1990.

The Secretary of Agriculture is

soliciting public comment regarding

establishing priorities for the research,

education, and extension grant purposes

of the Initiative. Statutory purposes of

the grant program are defined as

‘‘critical emerging agricultural issues

related to:

(i) Future food production;

(ii) Environmental quality and natural

resource management; or

(iii) Farm income’’ which also address

‘‘priority mission areas related to:

(A) Agricultural genome;

(B) Food safety, food technology, and

human nutrition;

(C) New and alternative uses and

production of agricultural commodities

and products;

(D) Agricultural biotechnology;

(E) Natural resource management,

including precision agriculture; and

(F) Farm efficiency and profitability,

including the viability and

competitiveness of small- and mediumsized dairy, livestock, crop, and other

commodity operations.’’

The meeting is open to the public.

Written comments and suggestions on

issues that may be considered in the

meeting may be submitted to the

CSREES Docket Clerk at the address

below.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

Thursday, July 9, 1998, from 9:00 a.m.

to 4:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Jefferson Auditorium, United States

Department of Agriculture, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Persons wishing to orally present

comments at this meeting are requested

to pre-register by contacting Ms. Sarah

Poythress at (202) 720–4423, by fax at

(202) 720–8987 or by e-mail to

spoythress@reeusda.gov. Participants

may reserve a 5-minute comment period

when they register. More time may be

available, depending on the number of

people wishing to make a presentation

and the time needed for questions,

following the presentations.

Reservations will be confirmed on a

first-come, first-served basis. All other

attendees may register at the meeting.

Written comments may also be

submitted for the record at the meeting

or mailed to Ms. Sarah Poythress,

USDA/CSREES, Room 305A, Jamie L.

Whitten Federal Building, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250–2201. Please

provide three copies of the comments.

Written comments must be received by

Friday, July 24, 1998, to be considered.

All comments and the official transcript

of the meeting, when it becomes

available, will be available for review

for six months at the address listed

above from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,

Monday through Friday.

Participants who require a sign

language interpreter or other special

accommodations should contact Ms.

Poythress as directed above.

Done in Washington, DC, on this 23rd day

of June, 1998.

Colien Hefferan,

Acting Administrator, Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension Service.

[FR Doc. 98–17109 Filed 6–24–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

Official Moisture Meter for Corn,

Soybeans, and Sunflower Seeds

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Grain Inspection, Packers

and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)

is announcing that as of August 1, 1998,

and thereafter, all official moisture

content measurements of corn,

soybeans, and sunflower seed inspected

under the United States Grain Standards

Act will be made with the Grain

Analysis Computer Model 2100 (GAC

2100). Official moisture content

measurements of other grains and

agricultural commodities will continue

to be made with the Motomco Model

919 Moisture Meter until the

changeover date for those grains is

announced.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven N. Tanner, Director, Technical

Services Division, GIPSA, USDA, 10383

N. Executive Hills Boulevard, Kansas

City, Missouri 64153; telephone (816)

891–0401; fax (816) 891–0478.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Grain

Inspection, Packers and Stockyards

Administration (GIPSA) announced the

selection of the Grain Analysis

Computer Model 2100 (GAC 2100),

manufactured by Dickey-john

Corporation, Auburn, Illinois, to replace

the Motomco Model 919 Moisture Meter

for official moisture content

measurements in the Federal Register

(63 FR 17356) on April 9, 1998.

Implementation of the new instruments

for official measurements of grains,

oilseeds, and processed commodities

will be phased in, product by product,

over a period of at least 2 years. For any

given product, all official moisture

measurements will be performed using

the Motomco Model 919 until the

transition date for that product; the GAC

2100 will be used exclusively thereafter.

Transition dates for each product will

be selected to minimize the impact of

the changes on the value of carry-over

stocks and will be announced by GIPSA

through a Notice in the Federal Register

prior to the transition.

The transition date for corn, soybeans,

and oil-type sunflower seeds is hereby

designated as August 1, 1998. The GAC

2100 will be used for all official

moisture determinations on these grains

after July 31, 1998. Official calibrations

for the GAC 2100 to be used with corn

(8% to 20% moisture), high moisture

corn (19% to 40% moisture), soybeans

(6% to 24% moisture), and oil-type

sunflower seeds (4% to 20% moisture)

are provided in GIPSA Directive

9180.61, dated May 5, 1998.

The tentative transition date for

barley, oats, rough rices, sorghum, and

all wheats is May 1, 1999. Transition

dates for peas, beans, lentils, and other

commodities may lie beyond 1999.

GIPSA’s decision to use the GAC 2100

for official moisture measurements does

not mean that the Agency endorses or

recommends this instrument for

unofficial purposes over other similar

instruments that are not approved for

the official system. The Agency’s

selection of this instrument was based

on GIPSA’s unique operational needs.

Other instrument models may be as

suitable or more suitable for a

commercial entity’s needs.

In addition, this document corrects

the authority citation as published in

the April 9, 1998, Federal Register, 63

FR 17356, in the first column of page

17357, in a notice concerning

implementation of a new official

moisture meter. That notice

inadvertently omitted reference to the

Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 in

the authority citation. The April 9, 1998,

citation should read the same as the

authority citation for this document.

Authority: Pub. L. 94–582, 90 Stat. 2867,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.); and Secs.

202–208, 60 Stat. 1087, as amended (7 U.S.C.

1621 et seq.).
34630 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 122 /Thursday, June 25, 1998 / Notices

Dated: June 19, 1998.

David R. Shipman,

Acting Administrator, Grain Inspection,

Packers and Stockyards Administration.

[FR Doc. 98–16963 Filed 6–24–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc.;

Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Finding of No

Significant Impact.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the Rural Utilities Service (RUS),

pursuant to the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the

Council on Environmental Quality

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508),

and RUS Environmental Policies and

Procedures (7 CFR part 1794), has made

a Finding of No Significant Impact

(FONSI) with respect to a project

proposed by two electric utilities:

Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc.,

(MPC) of Grand Forks, North Dakota,

and Otter Tail Power Company (OTPC)

of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. These two

utilities are collectively referred to as

the Partners for the purpose of this

project. MPC is a RUS borrower and

anticipates to requesting financing

assistance for its portion of the proposed

transmission line. MPC and OTPC have

proposed to construct and operate a

transmission line and associated

facilities between Oslo in Walsh

County, North Dakota and Thief River

Falls in Pennington County, Minnesota.

The line will originate at an existing

substation located approximately two

miles west of Oslo in Walsh County,

North Dakota. The line will terminate at

an existing substation located in

Pennington County, Minnesota.

RUS has concluded that the impacts

from the proposed project would not be

significant and that the proposed action

is not a major Federal action

significantly affecting the quality of the

human environment. Therefore, the

preparation of an environmental impact

statement is not necessary.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nurul Islam, Environmental Protection

Specialist, RUS, Engineering and

Environmental Staff, Stop 1571, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250—1571,

telephone (202)-720–1784.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The RUS,

in accordance with its environmental

policies and procedures, required that

the MPC prepares a Borrower’s

Environmental Report (BER) reflecting

the potential impacts of the proposed

facilities. The BER which includes input

from the Federal, state, and local

agencies, has been adopted as RUS’s

Environmental Assessment for the

project in accordance with § 1794.61.

The RUS has concluded that the BER

represents an accurate assessment of the

environmental impacts of the project.

The proposed project will not affect any

known properties listed or eligible for

listing in the National Register of

Historic Places. The project will be

constructed on an existing right-of-way

for about 24.5 miles. Of the 56 mile total

length of the proposed route, 54 miles

share rights-of-way with existing

highways or roadways. Two miles will

be along entirely new rights-of-way.

However, if previously unknown

resources are discovered during

construction, the Partners will halt

construction while the significance of

the finding and proper mitigation is

determined. Construction of the line

should have no impact on floodplains,

air quality, and formally classified areas.

The project should also have no

significant impact on farmlands, water

quality, wetlands, aesthetics, federally

listed or proposed for listing threatened

or endangered species or their critical

habitat.

Alternatives considered to the project

included no action, power purchase

from other sources, localized generating

facilities, load management and energy

conservation, alternative routes,

construction method alternatives,

design alternatives, and voltage

alternatives. RUS has considered these

alternatives and concluded that the

project as proposed will meet the needs

of the MPC to provide adequate service

in the project area with a minimum of

adverse impact.

Copies of the BER and FONSI are

available for review at, or may be

obtained from RUS at the address

provided above or from the office of

MPC, P.O. Box 13200, Grand Forks,

North Dakota 58208–3200, telephone

(701) 795–4000 during normal business

hours.

Dated: June 19, 1998.

Blaine D. Stockton, Jr.

Assistant Administrator—Electric Program.

[FR Doc. 98–16946 Filed 6–24–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P

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 the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

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

Agency: National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Title: Northeast Region Logbook

Family of Forms.

Agency Form Number: NOAA 88–30

and 88–140.

OMB Approval Number: 0648–0212.

Type of Request: Revision of a

currently approved collection.

Burden: 6,348 hours.

Number of Respondents: 5,875 with

multiple responses.

Avg. Hours Per Response: 5 minutes

for vessel logbooks and 12.5 minutes for

shellfish logbooks. These estimates do

not include the time for entries that

respondents would make to their own

logbooks as normal business practice.

Needs and Uses: Under the Magnuson

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act, the Regional Fishery Management

Councils have developed fishery

management plans to conserve and

manage marine resources in the

exclusive economic zone. Participants

in the summer flounder, scup, black

seas, bass, Northeast multispecies,

Atlantic sea scallop, Atlantic mackerel,

squid, butterfish or surf clam and ocean

quahog fisheries in the Northeast must

submit logbooks containing catch and

effort data about their fishing trips. The

information is used in the development

of management measures to control

fishing effort, as well as to enforce the

measures once they are in effect.

Affected Public: Businesses or other

for-profit organizations.

Frequency: Weekly, monthly.

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.

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, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

Written comments and

recommendations for the proposed

information collection should be sent to

David Rostker, OMB Desk Officer, Room

10202, New Executive Office Building,

725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC

20503.