Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 136 /Thursday, July 16, 1998 / Notices 38393

Dated: July 9, 1998.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–19014 Filed 7–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Inland Waterways Users Board

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Section 302 of Public Law

(PL) 99–662 established the Inland

Waterways Users Board. The Board is an

independent Federal advisory

committee. Its 11 members are

appointed by the Secretary of the Army.

This notice is to solicit nominations for

six (6) appointments or reappointments

to two-year terms that will begin

January 1, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Office of the Assistant

Secretary of the Army (Civil Works),

Department of the Army, Washington,

DC 20310–0103. Attention: Inland

Waterways Users Board Nominations

Committee.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Joseph W. Westphal, Assistant

Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)

(703) 697–8986.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

selection, service, and appointment of

Board members are covered by

provisions of Section 302 of PL 99–662.

The substance of those provisions is as

follows:

a. Selection

Members are to be selected from the

spectrum of commercial carriers and

shippers using the inland and

intracoastal waterways, to represent

geographical regions, and to be

representative of waterborne commerce

as determined by commodity ton-miles

statistics.

b. Service

The Board is required to meet at least

semi-annually to develop and make

recommendations to the Secretary of the

Army on waterways construction and

rehabilitations priorities and spending

levels for commercial navigation

improvements, and report is

recommendations annually to the

Secretary and Congress.

c. Appointment

The operation of the Board and

appointment of its members are subject

to the Federal Advisory Committee Act

(PL 92–463, as amended) and

departmental implementing regulations.

Members serve without compensation

but their expenses due to Board

activities are reimbursable. The

considerations specified in section 302

for the selection of the Board members,

and certain terms used therein, have

been interpreted, supplemented, or

otherwise clarified as follows:

(1) Carriers and Shippers

The law uses the terms ‘‘primary

users and shippers.’’ Primary users has

been interpreted to mean the providers

of transportation services on inland

waterways such as barge or towboat

operators. Shippers has been interpreted

to mean the purchasers of such services

for the movement of commodities they

own or control. Individuals are

appointed to the Board, but they must

be either a carrier or shipper, or

represent a firm that is a carrier or

shipper. For that purpose a trade or

regional association is neither a shipper

or primary user.

(2) Geographical Representation

The law specifies ‘‘various’’ regions.

For the purpose of selecting Board

members, the waterways subjected to

fuel taxes and described in PL 95–502,

as amended, have been aggregated into

six regions. The are (1) the Upper

Mississippi River and its tributaries

above the mouth of the Ohio; (2) the

Lower Mississippi River and its

tributaries below the mouth of the Ohio

and above Baton Rouge; (3) the Ohio

River and its tributaries; (4) the Gulf

Intracoastal Waterway in Louisiana and

Texas; (5) the Gulf Intracoastal

Waterway east of New Orleans and

associated fuel-taxed waterways

including the Tennessee-Tombigbee,

plus the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway

below Norfolk; and (6) the ColumbiaSnake Rivers System and Upper

Willamette. The intent is that each

region shall be represented by at least

one Board member, with that

representation determined by the

regional concentration of the

individual’s traffic on the waterways.

(3) Commodity Representation

Waterway commerce has been

aggregated into six commodity

categories based on ‘‘inland’’ ton-miles

shown in Waterborne Commerce of the

United States. In rank order they are (1)

Farm and Food Products; (2) Coal and

Coke; (3) Petroleum, Crude and

Products; (4) Minerals, Ores, and

Primary Metals and Mineral Products;

(5) Chemicals and Allied Products; and

(6) All other. A consideration in the

selection of Board members will be that

the commodities carried or shipped by

those individuals or their firms will be

reasonably representative of the above

commodity categories.

d. Nomination

Reflecting preceding selection criteria,

the current representation by the six (6)

Board members whose terms expire

December 31, 1998, is one member

representing each of the six regions

previously described. Also, these Board

members represent three shipper/

carriers, one shipper and two carriers.

Three (3) of the six members whose

terms expire December 31, 1998, are

eligible for reappointment.

Nominations to replace Board

members whose terms expire December

31, 1998, may be made by individuals,

firms or associations. Nominations will:

(1) State the region to be represented;

(2) State whether the nominee is

representing carriers, shippers or both.

(3) Provide information on the

nominee’s personal qualifications;

(4) Include the commercial operations

of the carrier and/or shipper with whom

the nominee is affiliated. This

commercial operations information will

show the actual or estimated ton-miles

of each commodity carried or shipped

on the inland waterways system in a

recent year (or years) using the

waterway regions and commodity

categories previously listed.

Nominations received in response to

last year’s Federal Register notice,

published on July 9, 1997, have been

retained for consideration.

Renomination is not required but may

be desirable.

e. Deadline for Nominations

All nominations must be received at

the address shown above no later than

August 31, 1998.

Gregory D. Showalter,

Army Federal Register, Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 98–19024 Filed 7–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–08–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of

Engineers

Intent To Prepare a Draft

Environmental Impact Statement/Draft

Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/R)

for the Napa River, California, Salt

Marsh Restoration Feasibility Study

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.
38394 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 136 /Thursday, July 16, 1998 / Notices

SUMMARY: The San Francisco District,

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers together

with its local sponsor, the California

State Coastal Conservancy, and the

California Department of Fish and

Game, are conducting a feasibility study

for restoration of salt marshes in areas

currently occupied by constructed salt

ponds west of the Napa River, Napa and

Solano Counties, California. A

reconnaissance study has determined

that there is a Federal interest in an

alternative that would restore four of the

seven ponds to tidal marsh while

reducing salinity in the remaining three

ponds. This alternative would provide

substantial ecological benefits, and has

the support of the local sponsor and the

California Department of Fish and

Game.

The Corps of Engineers is the lead

agency for this project under the

National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA), and the California State Coastal

Conservancy is the lead agency under

the California Environmental Quality

Act (CEQA). The DEIS/R will enable the

lead agencies to comply with the

requirements of NEPA and CEQA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Bill DeJager at (415) 977–8670, or at the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San

Francisco District, 333 Market Street,

7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105–

2197.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Napa

River, Salt Marsh Restoration Feasibility

Study is being conducted under

authority of a resolution adopted by the

Committee on Public Works and

Transportation of the U.S. House of

Representatives on September 28, 1994.

A reconnaissance study of potential

marsh restoration alternatives along the

lower Napa River was completed in

1997. This study determined that there

is a Federal interest in a marsh

restoration project in the study area. A

detailed (feasibility) study has

subsequently been initiated with the

California State Coastal Conservancy to

support further Federal participation in

the project. The California Department

of Fish and Game, while not formally a

sponsor, owns the salt ponds under

study and is participating in the study.

One alternative was developed for the

reconnaissance study, based upon

information available at that time. This

alternative would initially remove

excess salts from all the ponds using

controlled flushing through new water

control structures. After salt

concentrations in the four less-saline

ponds reaches levels close to that of San

Pablo Bay, the water control structures

would be removed and establishment

and growth of tidal marshes would be

allowed to occur naturally. The

remaining three ponds would be

retained as saline pond habitat, but with

less-saline conditions than at present.

Other alternatives could include

pumping water through the pond

complex to dilute salts, or using treated

sewage effluent to dilute the salts.

Due to uncertainties regarding the

feasibility and environmental impacts of

these alternatives, the first phase of the

feasibility study will focus on gathering

baseline data, developing restoration

objectives, and conducting modeling of

existing conditions and potential

alternatives. The second phase of the

study will develop and analyze specific

alternatives for meeting study

objectives.

The Corps of Engineers is requesting

public input during the preparation of

the DEIS/R for this project. All

interested Federal, State, and local

agencies, Indian tribes, private

organizations, and individuals are

invited to participate in the

environmental scoping process

established by Federal regulations.

A scoping meeting will be held at the

Napa County Board of Supervisors

offices, 1195 Third Street, Room 305,

Napa, California on July 21, 1998 at 7:30

P.M. The purpose of the meeting will be

to determine the environmental issues

of concern to the public that should be

addressed by the DEIS/R. A public

comment period for the proposal will

open on July 17, 1998 and will close on

August 17, 1998. The public will have

an additional opportunity to comment

on proposed alternatives after the DEIS/

R is released to the public at a later date.

The DEIS/R will examine

environmental issues of public concern

arising from the scoping process, and

project impacts already known to the

Corps. These impacts will include, but

are not limited to: wildlife, waterfowl,

fisheries, threatened and endangered

species, wetlands and mudflats, water

quality, recreation, navigation and

dredging, aesthetics, law enforcement,

construction impacts, and concerns of

nearby landowners.

The DEIS/R will disclose the project’s

compliance with all applicable statutes,

rules, and regulations. Included will be

coordination with the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Fish

and Wildlife Coordination Act and the

Endangered Species Act (ESA),

coordination with the FWS and the

National Marine Fisheries Service under

the ESA, and consultation with the State

of California under the Coastal Zone

Management Act, Clean Water Act, and

Clean Air Act.

The California State Coastal

Commission is issuing a separate notice

regarding compliance with the

requirements of CEQA. The

aforementioned DEIS scoping meeting

will also serve as a scoping meeting for

the purposes of CEQA.

Peter T. Grass,

Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers,

District Engineer.

[FR Doc. 98–19022 Filed 7–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–19–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of

Engineers

Intent To Prepare a Draft

Environmental Impact Statement

(DEIS) To Evaluate a Permit

Application by The Port Authority of

New York and New Jersey To

Construct and Operate a Confined

Dredged Material Disposal Facility

(Sub-Channel Disposal Cells) in

Newark Bay, NJ

AGENCY: U.S. Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

SUMMARY: The Port Authority of New

York and New Jersey has submitted an

application for a Department of the

Army (DA) permit to construct and

operate a confined dredged material

disposal facility by constructing

disposal cells beneath the existing

Federal Navigation Channel (Project No.

64) in Newark Bay. The creation of a

facility for the disposal of dredged

material by dredging and discharging of

dredged material into waters of the

United States requires a Department of

the Army Permit pursuant to Section 10

of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation

Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), Section 404

of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344),

and Section 103 of the Marine

Protection, Research and Sanctuaries

Act (33 U.S.C. 1413). An Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) will assist the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

in determining whether to issue a

permit for the project under these

authorities. This determination will take

place in accordance with the USACE

policies and procedures for

implementing the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42

U.S.C. 4332), as set forth at Title 33 of

the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

Part 230, and for review of applications

for DA permits, set forth at 33 CFR Part

325. This notice of intent is published

as required by the President’s Council

on Environmental Quality regulations

implementing NEPA, set forth at 40 CFR

parts 1500–1508.