Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 87 / Thursday, May 4, 2000 / Notices 25903

proposals for funding, and to monitor

performance after grants have been

awarded. Failure to collect this

information could result in the

improper use of Federal funds.

Description of Respondents: Not-forprofit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal

Government.

Number of Respondents: 12.

Frequency of Responses:

Recordkeeping; Reporting: Quarterly;

Annually.

Total Burden Hours: 7,878.

Agency is requesting emergency

approval by May 12, 2000.

Rural Housing Service

Title: 7 CFR 1944–E, Rural Rental and

Cooperative Housing Loan Policies,

Procedures, and Authorizations.

OMB Control Number: 0575–0047.

Summary of Collection: The Rural

Housing Agency (RHS), an agency of the

U.S. Department of Agriculture is

authorized to make loans to finance

rural rental and cooperative housing

projects and related facilities under

Section 515 and 521 of Title V of the

Housing Act of 1949, as amended. The

intent of the program is to provide

affordable rental housing for elderly or

handicapped person or families, or

other persons and families of low or

moderate income in rural areas. RHS

will collect information using forms RD

1944–7, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, and 38.

Need and Use of the Information:

RHS will collect information to evaluate

the cost, benefits, feasibility and

financial performance of the proposed

project, as well as the eligibility of the

applicant. Failure to collect this

information would result in

unauthorized federal assistance being

granted.

Description of Respondents: Business

or other for-profit; Individuals or

households; Not-for-profit institutions;

State, Local, or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents: 425.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting:

On occasion.

Total Burden Hours: 28,246.

William McAndrew,

Departmental Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–11077 Filed 5–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Fanshaw Project Environmental Impact

Statement; Notice of Intent

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revision of Notice of Intent

(NOI).

SUMMARY: This document revises the

Notice of Intent to prepare and

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

for the Port Houghton/Cape Fanshaw

timber harvest as originally published in

the Federal Register on September 12,

1994 (Federal Register Vol. 59, No. 175,

pp. 46819–46820). A revised NOI was

published on August 14, 1995 (Federal

Register Vol. 60, No. 156, p. 41862)

stating that two decisions-makers will

sign the Record of Decision. A NOI to

prepare a Revised Draft EIS was

published on September 23, 1997

(Federal Register Vol. 62, No. 184, pp.

49665–49666). This revision to the NOI

is necessary because a new Record of

Decision (ROD) for the Tongass Land

and Resource Management Plan was

signed by Under-Secretary of

Agriculture Jim Lyons in April 1999,

which changed some of the existing

Forest Plan Land Use Designations

(LUD) within the project area. Most of

the Forest Plan LUDs within the Port

Houghton/Cape Fanshaw EIS were

changed to Non-Development LUDs.

This NOI revision includes changes in

the proposed action, the size of the

project area, the name of the project as

well as changes in the project schedule

to reflect the changes in the new Forest

Plan ROD.

The Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service, will prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) to provide a

supply of timber for the Tongass

National Forest timber sale program, to

identify recreational opportunities and

potential watershed project needs and to

develop a road management plan for the

project area. The Record of Decision

will disclose where, if any, the Forest

Service has decided to provide timber

harvest units, roads, associated timber

harvesting facilities, identify dispersed

recreation opportunities, and potential

watershed projects. The proposed action

is to harvest timber on a estimated 2100

acres and to provide multiple timber

sale opportunities for the total of

approximately 41 million board feet

(mmbf) of timber. Timber harvest will

be accomplished using a variety of

silvicultural prescriptions and harvest

methods that meet the standards and

guidelines of the Tongass Forest Plan.

This project would include the

construction of up to 33 miles of road

and one new log transfer facility (LTF)

within the project area. This project may

also include an analysis and decision

for a nonsignificant amendment to the

Forest Plan to revise the location of

small Old Growth Reserve(s) within the

study area. Recreational opportunities

for enhancement may include dispersed

sites for camping, and improved access

for hunting and subsistence users.

Potential watershed projects may

include existing land slide restoration

and fish enhancement. A range of

alternatives responsive to significant

issues will be developed and will

include a no-action alternative. The

Fanshaw project area is approximately

92,000 acres in size and is located on

parts of Value Comparison Units 820,

830, 840, 850, 860, 870, 880, 890, and

900 on the mainland on the Petersburg

and Juneau Ranger Districts of the

Tongass National Forest. Part of this

project area is within Inventoried

Roadless Areas Fanshaw #201,

Windham—Port Houghton #308 and

Spires #202 as identified by the Tongass

Land and Resource Management Plan.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of this project should be received by

June 15, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send written

comments to the Petersburg Ranger

District; Tongass National Forest; Attn:

Tom Parker; Fanshaw Project EIS; PO

Box 1328; Petersburg, AK 99833.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions about the proposal and EIS

should be directed to Patricia Grantham,

District Ranger, Petersburg Ranger

District, Tongass National Forest, PO

Box 1328, Petersburg, AK 99833;

telephone (907) 772–3871 or Tom

Parker, Interdisciplinary Team Leader,

Petersburg Ranger District, PO Box

1328, Petersburg, AK 99833; telephone

(907) 772–3871.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public

participation has been an integral

component of the study process and

will be especially important at several

points during the analysis. The

proposed activities were first identified

during the Port Houghton/Cape

Fanshaw EIS, which incorporated

aspects of collaborative stewardship.

During the last year, the Forest Service

has been seeking information,

comments, and assistance from Federal,

State, and local agencies, Federallyrecognized Indian tribes, and

individuals and organizations that may

be interested in, or affected by, the

proposed activities. Written scoping

comments have been solicited through a

scoping package that was sent to the

project mailing list and available at

open houses in Petersburg, Juneau and

Kake, Alaska. The scoping process

includes: (1) identification of potential

issues; (2) identification of issues to be

analyzed in depth; and, (3) elimination

of insignificant issues or those which

have been covered by a previous

environmental review. For the Forest

Service to best use the scoping input,

comments should be received by June

25904 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 87 / Thursday, May 4, 2000 / Notices

15, 2000 (30 days from expected

publication).

Based on results of scoping and the

resource capabilities within the project

area, alternatives, including a ‘‘no

action’’ alternatives, will be developed

for the Draft Environmental Impact

Statement. The Draft Environmental

Impact Statement is projected to be filed

with the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) in the summer 2000.

Subsistence hearings, as provided for in

Title VIII, Section 810 of the Alaska

National Interest Lands Conservation

Act (ANILCA), will occur, if necessary,

during the comment period on the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement. The

Final Environmental Impact Statement

and Record of Decision are anticipated

to be published in February 2001.

The comment period on the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement will be

45 days from the date the

Environmental Protection Agency

publishes the notice of availability in

the Federal Register.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, it is important to give

reviewers notice of several court rulings

related to public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of Draft Environmental

Impact Statements must structure their

participation in the environmental

review of the proposal so that it is

meaningful and alerts an agency to the

reviewer’s position and contentions.

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v.

NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553, (1978).

Environmental objections that could

have been raised at the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement stage

may be waived or dismissed by the

courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803

F.2nd 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and

Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490

F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980).

Because of these court rulings, it is very

important that those interested in this

proposed action participate by the close

of the 45-day comment period so that

substantive comments and objections

are made available to the Forest Service

at a time when it can meaningfully

consider them and respond to them in

the Final Environmental Impact

Statement.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns of the proposed action,

comments during scoping and

comments on the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement should be as specific

as possible. It is also helpful if

comments refer to specific pages or

chapters of the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement. Comments may also

address the adequacy of the Draft

Environmental Statement or the merits

of the alternatives formulated and

discussed in the statement. Reviewers

may wish to refer to the Council on

Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions

of the National Environmental Policy

Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing

these points. Comments received in

response to this solicitation, including

names and addresses of those who

comment, will be considered part of the

public record on this proposed action

and will be available for public

inspection. Comments submitted

anonymously will be accepted and

considered; however, those who submit

anonymous comments will not have

standing to appeal the subsequent

decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or 217.

Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d),

any person may request the agency to

withhold a submission from the public

record by showing how the Freedom of

Information Act (FOIA) permits such

confidentiality. Requesters should be

aware that, under FOIA, confidentiality

may be granted in only very limited

circumstances, such as to protect trade

secrets. The Forest Service will inform

the requester of the agency’s decision

regarding the request for confidentiality,

and where the request is denied, the

agency will return the submission and

notify the requester that the comments

may be resubmitted with or without

name and address within 7 days.

Permits which may be required for

implementation of the project include

the following:

1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

—Approval of discharge of dredged or

fill material into the waters of the

United States under Section 404 of the

Clean Water Act;

—Approval of the construction of

structures or work in navigable waters

of the United States under Section 10 of

the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899;

2. Environmental Protection Agency

—National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (402) Permit;

—Review Spill Prevention Control

and Countermeasure Plan;

3. State of Alaska, Department of

Natural Resources

—Tideland Permit and Lease or

Easement;

4. State of Alaska, Department of

Environmental Conservation

—Solid Waste Disposal Permit;

—Certification of Compliance with

Alaska Water Quality Standards (401

Certification)

Responsible Official

Carol Jorgensen, Assistant Forest

Supervisor, Tongass National Forest, PO

BOX 309, Petersburg, Alaska 99833, is

the responsible official. The responsible

official will consider the comments,

response, disclosure of environmental

consequences, and applicable laws,

regulations, and policies in making the

decision and stating the rationale in the

Record of Decision.

Dated: April 10, 2000.

Carol J. Jorgensen,

Assistant Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 00–9951 Filed 5–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Telephone Bank

Staff Briefing for the Board of

Directors

ACTION: Board of Directors Meeting.

TIME AND DATE: 2:00 p.m., Thursday,

May 11, 2000.

PLACE: Room 5030, South Building,

Department of Agriculture, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC.

STATUS: Open.

MATTERS TO BE DISCUSSED: 1. Current

telecommunications industry issues.

2. Status of PBO planning and

recommendations to accelerate

privatization of the Bank.

3. President’s proposed budget for FY

2001.

4. Office of the Inspector General’s

audit report on FY 1999 financial

statements.

5. FY 1999 annual report of the Board.

6. Administrative issues.

TIME AND DATE: 9:00 a.m., Friday, May

12, 2000.

PLACE: Room 104–A, The Williamsburg

Room, Department of Agriculture, 12th

& Jefferson Drive, SW, Washington, DC.

STATUS: Open.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The

following matters have been placed on

the agenda for the Board of Directors

meeting:

1. Call to order.

2. Action on Minutes of the February

11, 2000, board meeting.

3. Report on loans approved in the

second quarter of FY 2000.

4. Report on second quarter financial

activity for FY 2000.

5. Privatization Committee report.

6. Action on the Bank’s annual report

for FY 1999.

7. Adjournment.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Roberta D. Purcell, Assistant Governor,

Rural Telephone Bank, (202) 720–9554.