21210 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 77 / Thursday, April 20, 2000 / Notices

proposes to prepare an environmental

document. The environmental

document is for the purpose of

evaluating the effects of Reclamation

providing approximately $7,000,000 of

Federal funds over a period of years,

along with monies from other entities,

to partially support the Newlands

Project Water Rights fund, a program for

the acquisition and retirement of 6,500

acres of surface water rights in

Reclamation’s Newlands Project. This

action is outlined in the State of Nevada

Assembly Bill Number 380 (A.B. 380).

At present it is not clear whether the

scope of the action and anticipated

project impacts will require preparation

of an environmental impact statement

(EIS) instead of an environmental

assessment (EA). However, to ensure the

timely and appropriate level of NEPA

compliance and to limit potential future

delays to the project schedule,

Reclamation is proceeding as if the

project impacts can be adequately

analyzed through preparation of an EA.

Reclamation will reevaluate the need for

an EIS after obtaining written and oral

comments on the project scope,

alternatives and environmental impacts,

and after Reclamation’s evaluation of

potential impacts of the proposed

project. Reclamation will publish a

notice of change if a decision is made

to prepare an EIS rather than an EA.

However, the scoping process to be

conducted will suffice for either course

of action.

There are no known environmental

justice issues associated with the

proposed action. The water acquisition

program supported by Reclamation

funds will avoid, where possible, any

adverse impacts to Indian Trust Assets.

If adverse impacts cannot be avoided,

appropriate mitigation or compensation

will be provided.

DATES: Four scoping meetings will be

held to solicit comments from interested

parties to assist in determining the

scope of the environmental analysis and

to identify the significant issues related

to this proposed action. The meeting

dates are:

• Monday, May 8, 2000, at 7:00 p.m.,

in Fallon, Nevada.

• Tuesday, May 9, 2000, at 7:00 p.m.,

in Fernley, Nevada.

• Wednesday, May 10, 2000, at 7:00

p.m., in Nixon, Nevada.

• Thursday, May 11, 2000, at 7:00

p.m., in Carson City, Nevada.

Written comments on the scope of the

environmental documents should be

submitted by May 25, 2000, to the

address listed below.

ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are as

follows:

• Fallon—Fallon Convention Center,

100 Campus Way, Fallon, NV 89406;

telephone: (775) 423–4556.

• Fernley—Fernley Town Complex,

595 Silver Lace Blvd., Suite 117,

Fernley, NV 89408; telephone: (775)

575–5455.

• Nixon—Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe

Council Chambers, 208 Capital Hill

(Highway 447) Nixon, NV 89424;

telephone: (775) 574–1000.

• Carson City—Nevada State Library,

100 N Stewart Street, Conference Room

A, Carson City, NV 89701; telephone:

(775) 684–3313.

Written comments on the scope of the

environmental documents should be

submitted to Caryn Huntt DeCarlo,

Environmental Specialist, Bureau of

Reclamation, Lahontan Basin Area

Office, Attention: LO–450, P.O. Box 640,

Carson City, NV 89702.

Our practice is to make comments,

including names and home addresses of

respondents, available for public

review. Individual respondents may

request that we withhold their home

address from public disclosure, which

we will honor to the extent allowable by

law. There also may be circumstances in

which we would withhold a

respondent’s’s identity from public

disclosure, as allowable by law. If you

wish us to withhold your name and/or

address, you must state this

prominently at the beginning of your

comment. We will make all submissions

from organizations or businesses, and

from individuals identifying themselves

as representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public disclosure in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Caryn Huntt DeCarlo at telephone and

TDD: (775) 882–3436, Lahontan Basin

Area Office, Attention: LO–450, P.O.

Box 640, Carson City, NV 89702.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of the Newlands Project Water

Rights Fund program is to provide a

mechanism for meeting some of the

goals outlined in A.B. 380 through

acquisition and retirement of 6,500

acres of surface water rights. The goals

of A.B. 380 include resolving certain

administrative and judicial proceedings

involving challenges to Newlands

Project and Truckee Meadows water

rights. These proceedings are time

consuming and costly for all parties

involved, and the need for resolution is

the purpose of A.B. 380 and the water

rights acquisition and retirement

program.

Special Services

Persons requiring any special services

should contact Caryn Huntt DeCarlo at

(775) 882–3436. Please notify Ms. Huntt

DeCarlo as far in advance of the

particular meeting as possible, but no

later than 3 working days prior to the

meeting to enable Reclamation to secure

the services. If a request cannot be

honored, the requester will be notified.

Dated: April 14, 2000.

Frank Michny,

Regional Environmental Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–9894 Filed 4–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–94–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Notice of Availability of a Draft Agency

Handbook on the National

Environmental Policy Act

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft

agency handbook on the National

Environmental Policy Act.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Council on

Environmental Quality’s Regulations for

Implementing the Procedural Provisions

of the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA), Section 1507.3, the Bureau

of Reclamation has prepared a

handbook to provide basic guidance to

its employees on NEPA issues.

Comments on the document will be

accepted.

DATES: A 60-day public review period

commences with the publication of this

notice. Comments must be submitted to

Reclamation at the addresses provided

below no later than June 19, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

NEPA Handbook should be addressed to

the Bureau of Reclamation, Office of

Policy, Attention: Dr. Darrell Cauley,

Manager—Environmental and Planning

Coordination, D–5100, Denver Federal

Center, PO Box 25007, Denver, CO

80225–0007.

Our practice is to make comments,

including names and home addresses of

respondents, available for public

review. Individual respondents may

request that we withhold their home

address from public disclosure, which

we will honor to the extent allowable by

law. There also may be circumstances in

which we would withhold a

respondent’s identity from public

disclosure, as allowable by law. If you

wish us to withhold your name and/or

address, you must state this

prominently at the beginning of your

comment. We will make all submissions

from organizations or businesses, and

from individuals identifying themselves

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 77 / Thursday, April 20, 2000 / Notices 21211

as representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public disclosure in their entirety.

The entire document is available at

http://www.usbr.gov/nepa on the

Internet. Copies of the NEPA Handbook

may also be requested from Theresa

Taylor at the above address or via the

INTERNET at nepa@do.usbr.gov or by

calling (303) 445–2826.

Copies of the NEPA Handbook are

available for public inspection and

review at the following locations:

• Bureau of Reclamation,

Reclamation Service Center Library,

Building 67, Room 167, Denver Federal

Center, 6th and Kipling, Denver,

Colorado 80225; telephone: (303) 445–

2072

• Natural Resources Library, U.S.

Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street

NW, Main Interior Building,

Washington, DC 20240–0001

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Theresa Taylor, Bureau of Reclamation,

Office of Policy, at (303) 445–2826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NEPA

Handbook was developed to assist

Reclamation employees who are

required to comply with the National

Environmental Policy Act and various

other environmental laws as part of

their daily work. The document was

first published in 1991. After

Reclamation was reorganized in 1994 to

reflect a decentralization of decision

making and authority, the NEPA

Handbook needed major revisions to

reflect the reorganization and to update

the content. The handbook was

extensively revised and has gone

through various stages of reviews both

internally and with the Council on

Environmental Quality. At the

commencement of the public review,

comments received will be considered

as part of a final revision of the

handbook.

Dated: April 13, 2000.

Elizabeth Cordova-Harrison,

Deputy Director, Office of Policy.

[FR Doc. 00–9893 Filed 4–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–94–M

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration

Proposed Information Collection

Request; Submitted for Public

Comment and Recommendations;

Safety Standards for Roof Bolts in

Metal and Nonmetal Mines and

Underground Coal Mines

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as

part of its continuing effort to reduce

paperwork and respondent burden

conducts a preclearance consultation

program to provide the general public

and Federal agencies with an

opportunity to comment on proposed

and/or continuing collections of

information in accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This

program helps to ensure that requested

data can be provided in the desired

format, reporting burden (time and

financial resources) is minimized,

collection instruments are clearly

understood, and the impact of collection

requirements on respondents can be

properly assessed.

DATES: Submit comments on or before

June 19, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Theresa

M. O’Malley, Program Analysis Officer,

Office of Program Evaluation and

Information Resources, 4015 Wilson

Boulevard, Room 715, Arlington, VA

22203–1984. Commenters are

encouraged to send their comments on

a computer disk, or via Internet E-mail

to tomalley@msha.gov, along with an

original printed copy. Ms. O’Malley can

be reached at (703) 235–1470 (voice), or

(703) 235–1563 (facsimile). Ms.

O’Malley can be reached at

tomalley@msha.gov (Internet E-mail),

(703) 235–1470 (voice), or (703) 235–

1563 (facsimile).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

30 CFR 56/57.3203 and 75.204

address the quality of rock fixtures and

their installation. Roof and rock bolts

and accessories are an integral part of

ground control systems and are used to

prevent the fall of roof, face, and ribs.

These standards require that metal and

nonmetal and coal mine operators

obtain a certification from the

manufacturer that rock bolts and

accessories are manufactured and tested

in accordance with the 1995 American

Society for Testing and Materials

(ASTM) publication ‘‘Standard

Specification for Roof and Rock Bolts

and Accessories’’ (ASTM F432–95).

II. Desired Focus of Comments

Currently, the Mine Safety and Health

Administration (MSHA) is soliciting

comments concerning the proposed

extension of the information collection

related to the Safety Standards for Roof

Bolts in Metal and Nonmetal Mines and

Underground Coal Mines. MSHA is

particularly interested in comments

which:

• Evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

• Evaluate the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information,

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used;

• Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

• Minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the

use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other

technological

• Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

• Minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the

use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other

technological collectin techniques or

other forms of information technology,

e.g., permitting electronic submissions

of responses.

A copy of the proposed information

collection request may be viewed on the

Internet by accessing the MSHA Home

Page (http://www.msha.gov) and then

choosing ‘‘Statutory and Regulatory

Information’’ and ‘‘Paperwork

Reduction Act Supporting Statements

(http://www.msha.gov/regspwork.htm)’’,

or contacting the employee listed above

in the For Further Information Contact

section of this notice.

III. Current Actions

MSHA is seeking to continue the

requirement for mine operators to obtain

certification from the manufacturer that

roof and rock bolts and accessories are

manufactured and tested in accordance

with the applicable American Society

for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

specifications and make that

certification available to an authorized

representative of the Secretary.

Type of Review:

Agency: Mine Safety and Health

Administration.

Title: Safety Standards for Roof Bolts

in Metal and Nonmetal Mines and

Underground Coal Mines (30 CFR

56.3203(a), 57.3203(a), and 75.204(a)).

OMB Number: 1219–0121.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit.