Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 5, 2005 / Notices 58207 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–

8339. 

[FR Doc. 05–19963 Filed 10–4–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Notice of Public Hearing 

AGENCY: National Assessment 

Governing Board; Education 

SUMMARY: The National Assessment 

Governing Board is announcing a public 

hearing on October 25, 2005 to obtain 

comment on the draft 2009 Science 

Framework for the National Assessment 

of Educational Progress (NAEP). Public 

and private parties and organizations 

are invited to present written and/or 

oral testimony. The forum will be held 

at the Phoenix Park Hotel, 520 North 

Capitol Street, NW., Washington, DC 

from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern 

Standard Time. 

Background: Under Public Law 107–

279, the Governing board is responsible 

for determining the content and 

methodology of NAEP assessments. The 

Board also has responsibility for 

developing ‘‘a process for review of the 

[NAEP] assessment, which includes the 

active participation of teachers, 

curriculum specialists, local school 

board administrators, parents, and 

concerned members of the public.’’ The 

draft framework is the result of a 

comprehensive process involving 

participants from all these groups. 

The framework, subject to approval by 

the Governing Board, describes the 

content and format for a new NAEP 

science assessment to be administered 

beginning in 2009 at grades 4, 8, and 12. 

The frame work covers a broad range 

of scientific content and practices in 

Physical, Life, and Earth/Space 

sciences. It was developed by panels of 

educators, scientists, and interested 

members of the public through a 

widely-inclusive process. 

The draft framework is available on 

the Web site of the Governing Board at 

http://www.nagb.org. Other related 

material on the Governing Board and 

the National Assessment may be found 

at this Web site and at http:// 

nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard. 

The Board is seeking comment from 

policymakers, science educators, 

researchers, state and local school 

administrators, assessment specialists, 

parents of children in elementary and 

secondary schools, and interested 

members of the public. Representatives 

of the National Assessment Governing 

Board will conduct the hearing to 

receive testimony, and may ask 

clarifying questions or respond to 

presentations. Oral presentations should 

not exceed ten minutes. Testimony will 

become part of the public record. 

All views will be considered by the 

Governing Board Committee when it 

takes final action on the NAEP 2009 

Science Framework, which is 

anticipated in November 2005. 

To register to present oral testimony 

on October 25, 2005 at the Phoenix Park 

Hotel, please call Tessa Regis, of the 

NAGB staff, at (202) 357–7500 or send 

an e-mail to tessa.regis@ed.gov by 

Friday, October 21. Written testimony 

should be sent by mail, fax or e-mail for 

receipt in the Board office by October 

26. 

Testimony should be sent to: 

National Assessment Governing Board, 

800 North Capitol Street, NW.—Suite 

825, Washington, DC 20002, Attn: 

Mary Crovo, Fax: (202) 357–6945, Email: mary.crovo@ed.gov. 

For further information, please 

contact Charles Smith or Mary Crovo at 

(202) 357–6938. 

This document is intended to notify 

the general public of their opportunity 

to attend. Individuals who will need 

accommodations for a disability in order 

to attend the meeting (i.e., interpreting 

services, assistive listening devices, 

materials in alternative format) should 

notify Munira Mwalimu at (202) 357–

6938 or at munira.mwalimu@ed.gov no 

later than October 17, 2005. We will 

attempt to meet requests after this date, 

but cannot guarantee availability of the 

requested accommodation. The meeting 

site is accessible to individuals with 

disabilities. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Assessment Governing Board 

is established under section 412 of the 

National Education Statistics Act of 

1994, as amended. 

The Board is established to set policy 

for the National Assessment of 

Educational Progress (NAEP). The 

Board’s responsibilities include 

selecting subject areas to be assessed, 

developing assessment objectives, 

developing appropriate student 

achievement levels for each grade and 

subject tested, planning and executing 

the initial public release of NAEP 

reports, and developing guidelines for 

reporting and disseminating results. 

Summaries of the forum, which are 

informative to the public and consistent 

with the policy of section 5 U.S.C. 

552b(c), will be available to the public 

within 14 days of the meeting. Records 

are kept of all Board proceedings and 

are available for public inspection at the 

U.S. Department of Education, National 

Assessment Governing Board, Suite 

#825, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., 

Washington, DC, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

eastern standard time. 

Dated: September 30, 2005. 

Munira Mwalimu, 

Operations Officer, National Assessment 

Governing Board. 

[FR Doc. 05–19957 Filed 10–4–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–M 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Notice of Proposed Floodplain and 

Wetlands Involvement for the Mesaba 

Energy Project Integrated Gasification 

Combined Cycle (IGCC) Demonstration 

Plant Northern Minnesota Iron Range, 

Itasca County, MN 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of intent and notice of 

proposed floodplain and wetlands 

involvement. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces its intent to 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Council on Environmental Quality 

NEPA regulations (40 Code of Federal 

Regulations [CFR] parts 1500–1508), 

and the DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR 

part 1021) to assess the potential 

environmental impacts of a project 

proposed by Excelsior Energy Inc. 

(Excelsior), to design, construct, and 

operate (potentially under an agreement 

with an operating company) a coalbased, Integrated Gasification Combined 

Cycle (IGCC) electric generating facility 

on the Iron Range of northern Minnesota 

(hereafter termed the ‘‘Mesaba Energy 

Project’’ or the ‘‘Project’’). The proposed 

Project, selected for further 

consideration under DOE’s Clean Coal 

Power Initiative competitive 

solicitation, would demonstrate 

advanced technologies to produce 

electricity via the IGCC process, 

including advanced gasification and air 

separation systems, feedstock flexibility, 

improved environmental performance, 

and improved thermal efficiency. The 

Project would represent the first phase 

of a proposed two-phase generating 

station, each phase of which would 

nominally generate 600 megawatts of 

electricity (MWe) for export to the 

electrical grid. The EIS will consider the 

impacts of both phases, even though 

DOE’s potential funding would only be 

provided in support of phase one. The 

EIS will evaluate the proposed Project 

and reasonable alternatives. Because the 

proposed Project may affect floodplains 

and wetlands on the Iron Range of