8810 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 37 / Thursday, February 26, 2009 / Notices 

INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND 

WATER COMMISSION, UNITED 

STATES AND MEXICO 

United States Section; Notice of Intent 

To Prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement, Increased Flood Protection 

and Partial Realignment of the Presidio 

Flood Control Project Along Rio 

Grande on the Texas-Mexico Border 

AGENCY: United States Section, 

International Boundary and Water 

Commission, United States and Mexico. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

that pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the United 

States Section, International Boundary 

and Water Commission (USIBWC) 

intends to prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed 

action to increase flood protection 

capability and partial levee realignment 

of the Presidio Flood Control Project 

(FCP) along the Texas-Mexico Border. 

This notice is being provided as 

required by the Council on 

Environmental Quality Regulations (40 

CFR 1501.7) and the USIBWC’s 

Operating Procedures for Implementing 

Section 102 of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to 

obtain suggestions and information from 

other agencies and the public on the 

scope of issues to be addressed in the 

EIS. A public meeting will be held in 

the city of Presidio, Texas. 

DATES: The USIBWC will conduct a 

public meeting at the following location 

and date: City of Presidio, Presidio 

Activities Center, 1200 East O’Reilly 

Street, Presidio, Texas 79845 on March 

10, 2009, at 5 p.m. CST. Full public 

participation by interested federal, state, 

and local agencies, as well as other 

interested organizations and the general 

public, is encouraged during the 

scoping process. The USIBWC 

anticipates release of the Draft EIS for 

agency and public review in September 

2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Daniel Borunda, Environmental 

Protection Specialist, Environmental 

Management Division, USIBWC, 4171 

North Mesa Street, C–100, El Paso, 

Texas 79932 or e-mail: 

danielborunda@ibwc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Action 

The USIBWC operates and maintains 

the Presidio Flood Control Project (FCP) 

located along the Rio Grande within the 

city of Presidio, Texas. The FCP extends 

approximately 15 miles, from 

Haciendita, upstream of the Rio 

Conchos confluence, and ending 

downstream of Presidio near Alamito 

Creek. In September and October 2008, 

the Presidio FCP levees sustained major 

flood damage from overtopping, 

seepage, and erosion. The USIBWC 

intends to prepare an EIS to assess 

impacts associated with rehabilitating 

the levee system; increasing flood 

control capability; and partial levee 

system realignment. 

Alternatives 

The current Presidio FCP levee 

system would be rehabilitated for its 

current level of protection against a 25- 

year frequency flood, or raised to meet 

a 100-year flood containment design 

capacity. Levee height increases would 

expand the current levee footprint and 

require additional right-of-way 

acquisition. In-place rehabilitation is 

anticipated along approximately 9 miles 

in the upper reach of the Presidio FCP. 

Current alignment of the levee system in 

the upper reach would be retained for 

levee rehabilitation for raising levee 

height to reach the 100-year flood 

containment design capacity. 

Approximately 6 miles of this segment 

overlap with an area where the U.S. 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) intends to construct border 

fencing. One option under consideration 

by DHS is to incorporate a border wall 

into the USIBWC levee. Along the 6 

mile segment in the lower reach of the 

Presidio FCP, where flood damage was 

more extensive, a number of levee 

realignment options are under 

consideration. To reach the 100-year 

flood containment design capacity, the 

primary realignment under 

consideration is partial levee relocation, 

approximately 500 feet inland from its 

current alignment. Other options under 

consideration are the construction of a 

new spur levee beginning 

approximately 1.5 miles downstream of 

the Railroad Bridge. The proposed spur 

levee would follow a northeastward 

alignment and intersect Highway 170. 

The NEPA analysis and 

documentation will identify and 

evaluate all relevant impacts, 

conditions, and issues associated with 

the proposed alternative actions. In 

considering a range of alternatives, 

including the no action alternative, the 

EIS will explain proposed flood 

protection improvements; identify, 

describe, and evaluate the existing 

environmental, cultural, sociological 

and economical resources; and evaluate 

the impacts associated with the 

alternatives under consideration. 

Significant issues which have been 

identified to be addressed in the EIS 

include but are not limited to impacts 

to water resources, water quality, 

cultural and biological resources, and 

threatened and endangered species. 

Close coordination will be maintained 

with the United States Fish and Wildlife 

Service and the Texas State Historic 

Preservation Officer to ensure 

compliance with applicable biological 

and cultural resources regulations. 

Other federal and state agencies will 

also be consulted, as required, to ensure 

compliance with all applicable federal 

and state laws and regulations. 

Dated: February 20, 2009. 

Robert McCarthy, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. E9–4092 Filed 2–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7010–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Antitrust Division 

Notice Pursuant to the National 

Cooperative Research and Production 

Act of 1993—Alliance for Flexible 

Polyurethane Foam, Inc. 

Notice is hereby given that, on 

January 5, 2009, pursuant to Section 6(a) 

of the National Cooperative Research 

and Production Act of 1993, 15 U.S.C. 

4301 et seq. (‘‘the Act’’), Alliance for 

Flexible Polyurethane Foam, Inc. 

(‘‘AFPF’’) has filed written notifications 

simultaneously with the Attorney 

General and the Federal Trade 

Commission disclosing (1) the name and 

principal place of business of the 

standards development organization 

and (2) the nature and scope of its 

standards development activities. The 

notifications were filed for the purpose 

of invoking the Act’s provisions limiting 

the recovery of antitrust plaintiffs to 

actual damages under specified 

circumstances. 

Pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Act, 

the name and principal place of 

business of the standards development 

organization is: Alliance for Flexible 

Polyurethane Foam, Inc. (‘‘AFPF’’), 

Loudon, TN. The nature and scope of 

AFPF’s standards development 

activities are: To develop standards 

related to flexible polyurethane foam, 

and to certify flexible polyurethane 

foam meeting those standards. 

Patricia A. Brink, 

Deputy Director of Operations, Antitrust 

Division. 

[FR Doc. E9–4020 Filed 2–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–11–M