49792 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 160 / Friday, August 17, 2012 / Notices 

operation of the U.S. electric power 

supply system under normal and 

contingency conditions, and any other 

factors that DOE may consider relevant 

to the public interest. 

DOE has determined that the potential 

impacts from the Route for the DoubleCircuit 230-kV Transmission Line are 

expected to be small, as discussed 

above. 

For the reasons stated above, DOE 

will issue Presidential Permit PP–334 to 

authorize ESJ to construct, operate, 

maintain, and connect the Energia 

Sierra Juarez U.S. Double-Circuit 230-kV 

Transmission Line across the U.S. 

border. Presidential Permit PP–334 will 

limit the project to a maximum of 400 

MW. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 13, 

2012. 

Patricia A. Hoffman, 

Assistant Secretary of Energy Electricity, 

Delivery and Energy Reliability. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20234 Filed 8–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[ER–FRL–9004–5] 

Environmental Impacts Statements; 

Notice of Availability 

Responsible Agency: Office of Federal 

Activities, General Information (202) 

564–7146 or http://www.epa.gov/ 

compliance/nepa/. 

Weekly receipt of Environmental Impact 

Statements Filed 08/06/2012 Through 

08/10/2012 

Pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.9 

Notice 

Section 309(a) of the Clean Air Act 

requires that EPA make public its 

comments on EISs issued by other 

Federal agencies. EPA’s comment letters 

on EISs are available at: http://www.epa.

gov/compliance/nepa/eisdata.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Starting 

October 1, 2012, EPA will not accept 

paper copies or CDs of EISs for filing 

purposes; all submissions on or after 

October 1, 2012 must be made through 

e-NEPA. While this system eliminates 

the need to submit paper or CD copies 

to EPA to meet filing requirements, 

electronic submission does not change 

requirements for distribution of EISs for 

public review and comment. To begin 

using e-NEPA, you must first register 

with EPA’s electronic reporting site— 

https://cdx.epa.gov/epa_home.asp. 

EIS No. 20120264, Final EIS, USFS, CA, 

On Top Hazardous Fuels Reduction 

Project, To Disclose the 

Environmental Effects of a Federal 

Proposal on National Forest System 

(NFS) Land, Plumas National Forest, 

Feather River Ranger District, Plumas, 

Butte Counties, CA, Review Period 

Ends: 09/17/2012, Contact: Carol 

Spinos 530–534–6500. 

EIS No. 20120265, Draft EIS, FHWA, 

MT, Billings Bypass Improvements, 

Connecting Interstate 90 (I–90) east of 

Billings with Old Highway (Old Hwy 

312), Possible USACE Section 10 and 

404 Permits, Yellowstone County, 

MT, Comment Period Ends: 10/01/ 

2012, Contact: Brian Hasselbach 406– 

441–3908. 

EIS No. 20120266, Draft EIS, USFS, CO, 

Village at Wolf Creek Access Project, 

Conveyance of Non-Federal Land to 

the U.S. in Exchange for National 

Forest System Lands Managed by the 

Rio Grande National Forest, Mineral 

County, CO, Comment Period Ends: 

10/01/2012, Contact: Harold Dyer 

719–852–6215. 

EIS No. 20120267, Draft EIS, USN, VA, 

Outdoor Research, Development, Test 

and Evaluation Activities within the 

Potomac River Test Range and 

Explosives Experimental Area 

Complexes, the Mission Area and 

Special-Use Airspace at Naval 

Support Facility Dahlgren, Expansion, 

Dahlgren, VA, Comment Period Ends: 

10/01/2012, Contact: Jennifer Boyd 

540–653–8695. 

Amended Notices 

EIS No. 20120184, Draft EIS, NOAA, 00, 

Issuing Annual Quotas to the Alaska 

Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) 

for a Subsistence Hunt on Bowhead 

Whales for the Years 2013 through 

2017/2018, Comment Period Ends: 

08/31/2012, Contact: Ellen Sebastian 

907–586–7247. Revision to FR Notice 

Published 06/15/2012; Extending 

Comment Period from 08/14/2012 to 

08/31/2012. 

EIS No. 20120197, Draft EIS, USFS, ID, 

Golden Hand No. 1 and No. 2 Lode 

Mining Claims Project, Krassel Ranger 

District, Payette National Forest, 

Valley and Idaho Counties, ID, 

Comment Period Ends: 08/13/2012, 

Contact: Jeff Hunteman 208–634– 

0434. Revision to FR Notice Published 

06/29/2012; Extending Comments 

Period from 08/13/2012 to 09/17/ 

2012. 

EIS No. 20120263, Final EIS, USFS, CA, 

Barren Ridge Renewable 

Transmission Project, Construct, 

Operate, Maintain, and Upgrade 

220kV Electrical Transmission Lines 

and Switching Stations, Kern and Los 

Angeles Counties, CA, Review Period 

Ends: 09/10/2012, Contact: Justin 

Seastrand 626–574–5278(AFS), 

Lynette Elser 951–697–5233(BLM). 

Revision to FR Notice Published 08/ 

10/2012; Review Period ends 09/10/212. 

More information on the U.S. Forest 

Service’s appeal process is available at 

http://www.ladwp.com/barrenridge. 

Dated: July 14, 2012. 

Aimee Hessert, 

Deputy Director, NEPA Compliance Division, 

Office of Federal Activities. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20248 Filed 8–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0442; FRL–9356–5] 

FIFRA Pesticide Registration Review 

and ESA Consultation Processes; 

Proposal Regarding Stakeholder Input; 

Request for Comment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: EPA is seeking public 

comment on a proposal to enhance 

opportunities for stakeholders to 

provide input during its review of 

pesticide registrations under the Federal 

Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 

Act (FIFRA) and associated 

consultations under Section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA). The 

proposal was jointly prepared by EPA, 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), the National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS) in the U.S. Department 

of Commerce and the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS) in the U.S. 

Department of Interior. The proposal 

describes significant changes to EPA’s 

registration review process which are 

intended to facilitate ESA pesticide 

consultations and coordination across 

these Federal agencies, and calls for a 

greater role for USDA. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 16, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0442, by 

one of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. 

• Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental 

Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/ 

DC), Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 


erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 160 / Friday, August 17, 2012 / Notices 49793 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: To make special 

arrangements for hand delivery or 

delivery of boxed information, please 

follow the instructions at http:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.htm. 

Additional instructions on commenting 

or visiting the docket, along with more 

information about dockets generally, is 

available at http://www.epa.gov/ 

dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard P. Keigwin, Jr., Pesticide Reevaluation Division (7510P), Office of 

Pesticide Programs, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001; 

telephone number: (703) 308–8000; fax 

number: (703) 308–8005; email address: 

keigwin.richard@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. What action is the Agency taking? 

EPA is taking public comment on a 

document entitled, ‘‘Proposal for 

Enhancing Stakeholder Input in the 

Pesticide Registration Review and ESA 

Consultation Processes and 

Development of Economically and 

Technologically Feasible Reasonable 

and Prudent Alternatives,’’ a copy of 

which is available in the docket at 

http://www.regulations.gov under 

docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012– 

0442. The document describes proposed 

changes to EPA’s pesticide registration 

review program and how it conducts 

consultation with the Services under 

Section 7 of the ESA. 

II. Why is the Agency taking this 

action? 

In an effort to be responsive to 

stakeholders’ desires for a mechanism to 

get information into the registration 

review process as early as possible, EPA 

proposes to hold ‘‘Focus’’ meetings at 

the start of registration review for each 

active ingredient. In response to 

stakeholders’ desires for a more open, 

reliable, and transparent pesticide 

consultation process, EPA proposes to 

initiate any needed formal ESA 

consultations at a later stage in the 

review process. Consulting later in the 

registration review process allows EPA 

to develop more refined ecological risk 

assessments and to engage affected 

stakeholders in discussions that should 

result in more focused consultation 

packages inclusive of mitigation for 

listed species. There is an emerging 

consensus that EPA and the Services 

should engage informally and early in 

the consultation process, but that formal 

consultation should be reserved until 

EPA’s ecological risk assessment and 

proposed decision are more fully 

formed. This approach has the potential 

to maximize the opportunity to effect 

changes that provide protections for 

species and their designated critical 

habitat, lessen the impacts on 

agriculture, and narrow the scope of the 

Federal action. 

Additionally, the proposal describes 

EPA’s plans to reach out to pesticide 

users potentially affected to discuss the 

technological and economic feasibility 

of ‘‘Reasonable and Prudent 

Alternatives’’ (RPAs) intended to avoid 

jeopardy to threatened and/or 

endangered species. The USDA’s 

relationships with the agricultural 

community provide a critical link 

between EPA’s expertise on pesticides 

and the Services’ expertise on listed 

species’ locations, status and biology. 

Finally, the proposal describes the 

process by which public comments 

received on RPAs will be summarized 

and organized by EPA and provided to 

the Services, who will prepare a 

document to be included in the 

administrative record of the 

consultation explaining how comments 

were considered, and if appropriate, 

how the final biological opinion was 

modified to address the comments. The 

Services will provide the document to 

EPA, and both the Services and EPA 

will make the document available to the 

public upon request. These process 

changes are intended to provide clarity 

and transparency to the ESA Section 7 

consultation process for pesticides. 

EPA and the departments of 

Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior are 

taking this action because many 

stakeholders have expressed concerns 

regarding the apparent lack of 

transparency surrounding ESA 

consultations on pesticide registration 

review decisions, and the need for 

increased access to the decision-making 

process by states and other stakeholders 

for the purpose of providing relevant 

data for consideration during 

registration review and accompanying 

ESA consultation. Increasing public 

participation opportunities during both 

the registration review and 

accompanying ESA consultation 

processes, and improving clarity and 

transparency during these processes are 

important goals of this action. 

In the interest of facilitating 

discussion and providing clarification 

on the process changes described in the 

proposal, EPA and the departments of 

Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior are 

willing to meet with affected 

stakeholders. Individuals and/or 

organizations wanting to meet with the 

agencies to discuss this proposal should 

submit a request to the docket. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, 

Endangered species, Pesticides and 

pests, Threatened species. 

Dated: August 3, 2012. 

Steven Bradbury, 

Director, Office of Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20237 Filed 8–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0570; FRL–9358–4] 

Ortho-Phthalaldehyde; Receipt of 

Application for Emergency Exemption, 

Solicitation of Public Comment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EPA has received a specific 

exemption request from the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration 

(NASA) to use the pesticide orthophthalaldehyde (OPA) (CAS No. 643– 

79–8) to treat the International Space 

Station internal active thermal control 

system (IATCS) coolant to control 

Cupriavidus metallidurans, Variovorax 

paradoxus, Acidovorax sp., 

Sphingomonas parapaucimobilis, 

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, 

Methylobacterium extorquens, and 

unidentified gram negative rods. This 

emergency exemption involves the use 

of a chemical which has not been 

registered by the EPA. EPA is soliciting 

public comment on the exemption. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0570, by 

one of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. 

• Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental 

Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/ 

DC), Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: To make special 

arrangements for hand delivery or 

delivery of boxed information, please 

follow the instructions at http:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.htm. 

Additional instructions on commenting 

or visiting the docket, along with more 


erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES