62102 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 208 / Friday, October 28, 2005 / Notices 

generated from the widening project; 

and 

f. Approximately 300,000 cubic yards 

of dredged material will be used 

beneficially for beach nourishment on 

Quintana Beach and the remainder of 

the dredged material will be placed 

offshore approximately 2.5 miles off 

Quintana in approximately 40 feet of 

water. 

2. Scoping and Public Involvement 

Process: A scoping meeting to gather 

information on the subjects to be 

studied in detail in the DEIS will be 

conducted on (see DATES). An informal 

open house, allowing for review of the 

proposed project and questions and 

answers, will be conducted between 5 

and 7 p.m., prior to the scoping meeting. 

3. Significant Issues: Issues associated 

with the proposed project to be given 

significant analysis in the DEIS are 

likely to include, but may not be limited 

to, the potential impacts of the proposed 

dredging, dredged material placement, 

the beneficial uses of dredged material, 

water quality, fish and wildlife values 

including threatened and endangered 

species; air quality; environmental 

justice; socioeconomic environment; 

archaeological and cultural resources; 

recreation and recreational resources; 

energy supply and natural resources; 

hazardous waste and materials; 

aesthetics; public health and safety; 

navigation; shoreline erosion and 

accretion; cumulative impacts, and the 

needs and welfare of the people. 

4. Technical Review and 

Consultation: Several State and Federal 

Agencies will be invited to provide 

technical review of the DEIS. Those 

agencies include: The Environmental 

Protection Agency, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, United States Fish 

and Wildlife Service, the United States 

Coast Guard, Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality, Texas General 

Land Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife 

Department and the Texas Department 

of Transportation. 

5. Additional Review and 

Consultation: Additional review and 

consultation that will be incorporated 

into the preparation of this DEIS will 

include: Compliance with the Texas 

Coastal Management Program; 

protection of cultural resources under 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act; protection of 

navigation under the Rivers and Harbors 

Act of 1899; protection of water quality 

under section 401 of the Clean Water 

Act; protection of air quality under the 

Clean Air Act; and protection of 

endangered and threatened species 

under section 7 of the Endangered 

Species Act. 

6. Availability of the DEIS: The Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

projected to be available in September 

2006. At this time the Galveston District 

plans to conduct a Public Hearing 

following the release of the DEIS. 

Brenda S. Bowen, 

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer. 

[FR Doc. 05–21521 Filed 10–27–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–52–M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Army, Corps of 

Engineers 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Final Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement for Mountaintop 

Mining and Valley Fills 

AGENCIES: U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Department of the Army, 

DOD; Environmental Protection Agency; 

Office of Surface Mining and Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Interior; and West 

Virginia Department of Environmental 

Protection. 

ACTION: Announcement of availability of 

Final Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement (FPEIS). 

SUMMARY: The above agencies announce 

the availability of the FPEIS that 

considers developing policies, guidance, 

and coordinated agency decisionmaking processes to minimize, to the 

maximum extent practicable, the 

adverse environmental effects to waters 

of the United States and to fish and 

wildlife resources affected by 

mountaintop mining operations, and to 

environmental resources that could be 

affected by the size and location of 

excess spoil-disposal sites in valley fills 

within the Appalachian study area in 

West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and 

Tennessee. This FPEIS was prepared as 

part of a settlement agreement that 

resolved the Federal claims brought in 

Bragg v. Robertson, Civ. No. 2:98–0636 

(S.D.W.Va.). 

This FPEIS was prepared consistent 

with the provision set forth in 40 CFR 

1503.4(c) of the Council on 

Environmental Quality regulations 

implementing NEPA, which allow the 

agencies to attach an errata sheet to the 

statement instead of rewriting the draft 

statement and to circulate the errata, 

comments, responses, and the changes, 

rather than the entire document. The 

agencies are filing the entire statement 

with a new cover sheet as the FPEIS. 

The FPEIS is being made available by 

mail and can be viewed on the Internet 

at http://www.epa.gov/region3/mtntop/ 

index.htm. The FPEIS can also be 

viewed at local offices of the above 

agencies and at selected local libraries. 

Copies of the FPEIS may be obtained by 

writing to the address listed below. 

ADDRESSES: Send written requests for 

copies of the FPEIS to John Forren, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(3EA30), 1650 Arch Street, 

Philadelphia, PA 19103. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Forren, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, at (215) 814–2705; Katherine 

Trott, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at 

(202) 761–5542; Mike Robinson, U.S. 

Office of Surface Mining, at (412) 937–

2882; Cindy Tibbott, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, at (814) 234–4090; or 

Russell Hunter, West Virginia 

Department of Environmental 

Protection, at (304) 926–0499. 

Dated: October 20, 2005. 

Gerald W. Barnes, 

Chief, Operations, Directorate of Civil Works. 

David Evans, 

Director, Wetlands Division, Environmental 

Protection Agency. 

Glenda H. Owens, 

Deputy Director, Office of Surface Mining. 

Marshall P. Jones, Jr. 

Deputy Director, Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–21474 Filed 10–27–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–92–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Department of the Navy 

Notice of Public Hearings for a Draft 

Overseas Environmental Impact 

Statement/Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Undersea Warfare 

Training Range 

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Executive Order 

12114, Environmental Effects Abroad of 

Major Federal Actions, and Section 

102(2) of the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as 

implemented by the Council on 

Environmental Quality regulations (40 

CFR Parts 1500–1508), the Department 

of the Navy (Navy) has prepared and 

filed with the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency a Draft Overseas 

Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Environmental Impact Statement (Draft