95188 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 231 / Monday, December 2, 2024 / Notices 

five years. This draft, revised 

management plan is intended to replace 

the NBNERR management plan 

approved in 2010. 

DATES: Comments must be received at 

the appropriate address (see ADDRESSES) 

on or before January 2, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: The draft revised 

management plan can be downloaded or 

viewed at: http://nbnerr.org/wp-content/ 

uploads/2024/08/NBNERR_

ManagementPlan_DRAFT_

PublicComment.pdf. It is also available 

by sending a written request to the point 

of contact identified below (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

You may submit comments by email 

to claudia.mazur@noaa.gov. Include 

‘‘Comments on draft Narragansett Bay 

National Estuarine Research Reserve 

Management Plan’’ in the subject line of 

the message. NOAA will accept 

anonymous comments; however, the 

written comments NOAA receives are 

considered part of the public record, 

and the entirety of the comment, 

including the name of the commenter, 

email address, attachments, and other 

supporting materials, will be publicly 

accessible. Sensitive, personally 

identifiable information, such as 

account numbers and Social Security 

numbers, should not be included. 

Comments that are not related to the 

management plan for NBNERR, or that 

contain profanity, vulgarity, threats, or 

other inappropriate language, will not 

be considered. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Claudia Mazur, claudia.mazur@

noaa.gov, or Betsy Nicholson, 

betsy.nicholson@noaa.gov, (617–894– 

0197) of NOAA’s Office for Coastal 

Management. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to 15 CFR 921.33(c), Rhode Island must 

revise the management plan for 

NBNERR at least every five years. If 

approved by NOAA, the revised 

management plan will replace the plan 

previously approved in 2010. 

Management plans outline a reserve’s 

strategic goals and objectives; 

administrative structure; programs for 

conducting research and monitoring, 

education, and training; resource 

protection, restoration, and 

manipulation plans; public access and 

visitor use plans; consideration for 

future land acquisition; and facility 

development to support reserve 

operations. In particular, this draft 

revised plan for NBNERR provides 

information on new staff positions and 

new staff hired, and describes the 

reserve’s updated position within the 

Rhode Island Department of 

Environmental Management. 

Since the last management plan, 

NBNERR has secured a land acquisition 

and expanded its boundary. 

Additionally, the updated plan 

describes strategic goals and objectives 

and identifies topic areas where 

additional planning will be conducted 

to identify and develop new goals and 

objectives over the next five years. The 

revised management plan, once 

approved, would serve as the guiding 

document for the reserve for the next 

five years. 

NOAA’s Office for Coastal 

Management analyzes the 

environmental impacts of the proposed 

approval of this management plan in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq., and the Council on Environmental 

Quality Regulations for Implementing 

the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 

CFR 1500–1508 (2022). The public is 

invited to comment on the draft revised 

management plan. NOAA will take 

these comments into consideration 

when deciding whether to approve the 

revised management plan in whole or in 

part. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.; 15 

CFR 921.33. 

Keelin S. Kuipers, 

Deputy Director, Office for Coastal 

Management, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28208 Filed 11–29–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2024–SCC–0111] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Comment Request; Carl 

D. Perkins Career and Technical 

Education Act State Plan Guide 

AGENCY: Office of Career, Technical, and 

Adult Education (OCTAE), Department 

of Education (ED). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 

1995, the Department is proposing a 

revision of a currently approved 

information collection request (ICR). 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before January 

2, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for proposed 

information collection requests should 

be submitted within 30 days of 

publication of this notice. Click on this 

link www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain to access the site. Find this 

information collection request (ICR) by 

selecting ‘‘Department of Education’’ 

under ‘‘Currently Under Review,’’ then 

check the ‘‘Only Show ICR for Public 

Comment’’ checkbox. Reginfo.gov 

provides two links to view documents 

related to this information collection 

request. Information collection forms 

and instructions may be found by 

clicking on the ‘‘View Information 

Collection (IC) List’’ link. Supporting 

statements and other supporting 

documentation may be found by 

clicking on the ‘‘View Supporting 

Statement and Other Documents’’ link. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Braden Goetz, 

(202) 245–7405. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department is especially interested in 

public comment addressing the 

following issues: (1) is this collection 

necessary to the proper functions of the 

Department; (2) will this information be 

processed and used in a timely manner; 

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate; 

(4) how might the Department enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (5) how 

might the Department minimize the 

burden of this collection on the 

respondents, including through the use 

of information technology. Please note 

that written comments received in 

response to this notice will be 

considered public records. 

Title of Collection: Carl D. Perkins 

Career and Technical Education Act 

State Plan Guide. 

OMB Control Number: 1830–0029. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved ICR. 

Respondents/Affected Public: State, 

Local, and Tribal Governments. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 54. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 1,026. 

Abstract: This information collection 

is used by the Department to request 

State Plans and annual revisions under 

the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

Education Act of 2006. We are 

proposing to revise the ICR to provide 

data specifications for the numerators 

and denominators used to calculate the 

law’s performance indicators so that 

they are measured in a manner that is 

consistent with the statute, reduce the 

collection of potentially duplicative 

information, give States more time to 

report education and employment 

outcomes to improve the accuracy and 

completeness of these data, and to 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 231 / Monday, December 2, 2024 / Notices 95189 

1 DOE has further analyzed the meaning of 

‘‘facility or facilities of the [DOE]’’ in a memo 

entitled The Meaning of ‘‘Facility or Facilities of the 

Department of Energy’’ in the Mercury Export Ban 

Act of 2008, in the Administrative Record. 

improve the consistency of performance 

data reported by States. 

Dated: November 26, 2024. 

Juliana Pearson, 

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and 

Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, 

Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of 

Planning, Evaluation and Policy 

Development. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28204 Filed 11–29–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Record of Decision for the Long-Term 

Management and Storage of Elemental 

Mercury and Designation of a LongTerm Management and Storage Facility 

AGENCY: Office of Environmental 

Management, U.S. Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Record of decision and facility 

designation. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) is issuing this Record of 

Decision (ROD) for the long-term 

management and storage of elemental 

mercury to meet the purpose and need 

for agency action, which is to fulfill 

DOE’s statutory responsibility for longterm management and storage of 

elemental mercury generated within the 

United States as required by the 

Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 and the 

Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for 

the 21st Century Act (together referred 

to herein as MEBA). 

ADDRESSES: For copies of this ROD/ 

MEBA Designation or the Mercury 

Storage SEIS–II, please contact Timothy 

Herald at U.S. Department of Energy, 

Office of Environmental Management, 

Office of Waste and Materials 

Management (EM–4.2), 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC, 20585 or via email, 

Timothy.Herald@em.doe.gov. Electronic 

files can be accessed at https://

www.energy.gov/nepa/listings/recordsdecision-rod. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information on the management 

and storage of elemental mercury, 

please contact Timothy Herald at 

Timothy.Herald@em.doe.gov or visit 

https://www.energy.gov/em/long-termmanagement-and-storage-elementalmercury; by telephone: 240–243–8753. 

For general information on the Office of 

Environmental Management’s National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) process, please contact Bill 

Ostrum, NEPA Compliance Officer for 

the Office of Environmental 

Management, via email 

William.Ostrum@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ROD 

is issued for the Long-Term 

Management and Storage of Elemental 

Mercury Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Statement (DOE/EIS–0423–S2) 

(Mercury Storage SEIS–II), which 

evaluates the storage of up to 7,000 

metric tons (7,700 tons) of elemental 

mercury in one or more existing 

facilities at alternative locations 

including a government facility at the 

Hawthorne Army Depot near 

Hawthorne, Nevada, and seven 

commercial candidate locations: Waste 

Control Specialists, LLC (WCS) near 

Andrews, Texas; Bethlehem Apparatus 

Company in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; 

Perma-Fix Diversified Scientific 

Services, Inc., in Kingston, Tennessee; 

Veolia Environmental Services in Gum 

Springs, Arkansas; and Clean Harbors 

Environmental Services, with three 

alternative facilities in Pecatonica, 

Illinois; Greenbrier, Tennessee; and 

Tooele, Utah. This ROD announces 

DOE’s decision to select WCS from its 

preferred alternative of selecting one or 

more of the existing commercial 

facilities evaluated in the SEIS–II. DOE 

is also issuing this document to 

designate a facility of the DOE for the 

long-term management and storage of 

elemental mercury generated within the 

United States in accordance with 

MEBA. In addition to the analysis in the 

Mercury Storage SEIS–II, DOE based its 

MEBA facility designation decision on a 

combination of factors including 

schedule, permitting, policy and 

technical considerations, as well as cost 

information (including information 

gained during an independent and 

competitive procurement process). DOE 

designates WCS as that facility in 

accordance with MEBA. 

A. Background 

The Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 

(Pub. L. 110–414) and the 2016 Frank R. 

Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st 

Century Act (Pub. L. 114–182) (together 

referred to herein as MEBA), address, 

among other things, the export and longterm management and storage of 

elemental mercury. MEBA prohibits the 

export of elemental mercury from the 

United States (U.S.) (with certain 

essential use exemptions). MEBA also 

directs the Secretary of the U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE) to 

designate a facility or facilities of DOE 

for the long-term management and 

storage of elemental mercury generated 

within the U.S. (42 U.S.C. 6939f(a)(1)). 

MEBA further provides the Secretary of 

Energy with the authority to establish 

such terms, conditions, and procedures 

as are necessary to carry out this longterm management and storage function 

(42 U.S.C. 6939f(f)). Consistent with 

these statutory provisions, and based on 

longstanding authorities and practice, 

DOE construes the term ‘‘facility of 

DOE’’ to include a facility leased from 

a commercial entity or another Federal 

agency over which DOE provides an 

appropriate level of responsibility and 

control.1

The primary sources of elemental 

mercury in the United States include 

mercury generated as a byproduct of the 

gold-mining process and mercury 

reclaimed from recycling and wasterecovery activities. In addition, the DOE 

National Nuclear Security 

Administration (NNSA) stores at the 

Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee 

approximately 1,200 metric tons (1,300 

tons) of elemental mercury that was 

acquired in support of NNSA’s mission. 

As identified in the Mercury Storage 

SEIS–II, this NNSA elemental mercury 

is included in the SEIS–II (for analytical 

purposes), even though it is currently 

designated as a commodity and not 

waste. 

In 2011, DOE prepared the Final 

Long-Term Management and Storage of 

Elemental Mercury Environmental 

Impact Statement (DOE/EIS–0423) 

(2011 Mercury Storage EIS) to evaluate 

seven candidate locations for a facility 

for management and storage of 

elemental mercury, as well as a NoAction Alternative. The locations 

included use of existing facilities, new 

facility construction, or both. The 

candidate locations evaluated in 2011 

were the DOE Grand Junction Disposal 

site near Grand Junction, Colorado (new 

construction); DOE Hanford Site near 

Richland, Washington (new 

construction); Hawthorne Army Depot 

(HWAD) near Hawthorne, Nevada 

(modification of existing facilities); DOE 

Idaho National Laboratory near Idaho 

Falls, Idaho (new construction and 

modification of an existing facility); 

Kansas City Plant in Kansas City, 

Missouri (existing facility); DOE 

Savannah River Site near Aiken, South 

Carolina (new construction); and the 

Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) 

site near Andrews, Texas (new 

construction and an existing facility). 

In 2013, DOE prepared the Final 

Long-Term Management and Storage of 

Elemental Mercury Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/ 

EIS–0423–S1) (2013 Mercury Storage 

SEIS) to evaluate three additional 

alternative locations, all in the vicinity 

of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near 


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