Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 237 / Monday, December 11, 1995 / Notices 63515

December 1, 1995.

The Honorable John T. Conway, Chairman,

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board,

Suite 700, 625 Indiana Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, DC 20004.

Dear Chairman Conway: This letter

acknowledges receipt of your

Recommendation 95–2 regarding Safety

Management. The issues identified in the

Recommendation are extensive and may have

significant impact on many of our existing

and developing programs and initiatives.

Accordingly, the Department will require

additional time to evaluate fully these crosscutting issues and their impact from both a

headquarters and field perspective.

In accordance with 42 U.S.C. 2286d, the

Department requests an additional 45 days to

respond to Recommendation 95–2. If a 45

day extension is granted, the Department will

respond to the Board by January 17, 1996.

Sincerely,

Hazel R. O’Leary

[FR Doc. 95–30084 Filed 12–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

Privatization of Isotope Activities;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice for Expressions of

Interest.

SUMMARY: Expressions of Interest are

sought concerning the possible

privatization of DOE isotope activities

such as selling or leasing existing DOE

facilities for commercial use; sale of

existing isotope inventory; isotope

marketing, distribution, or technical

services; and other innovative

arrangements for enhanced private

sector involvement in isotope

operations.

DATES: This notice is effective on the

date of publication and will remain

effective until February 23, 1996.

Responses may be submitted at any time

prior to February 23, 1996. An

information meeting addressing this

notice will be held at the DOE facility

in Germantown, Maryland, from 9:00

a.m. until noon on January 10, 1996.

Information packages distributed during

the January 10, 1996, meeting will be

made available to interested parties after

January 11, 1996. Submit requests to the

programmatic information contact listed

below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for programmatic information

should be directed to: Mr. Owen W.

Lowe, U.S. Department of Energy,

Isotope Production and Distribution,

NE–70 (GTN), 19901 Germantown Road,

Germantown, MD 20874, (301) 903–

5161.

Expressions of Interest (original plus

five copies), citing this notice, should be

postmarked by February 23, 1996, and

mailed to: U.S. Department of Energy,

Document Control Specialist, HR–562,

Headquarters Procurement Operations,

1615 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

20036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Purpose

II. Areas of DOE Interest

III. Expressions of Interest Format

I. Purpose

The DOE Isotope Program has a

twofold mission. First, the Isotope

Program produces and distributes

certain radioisotopes and enriched

stable isotopes for research or

development purposes. Prices for these

isotopes are set at a level designed to

balance cost recovery with the national

priority of meeting U.S. research needs

and supporting our health care system.

Second, other radioisotopes and

enriched stable isotopes are produced

and distributed for medical diagnostics

and therapeutics, industrial,

agricultural, and other useful

applications on a cost-recovery basis.

The DOE Isotope Program currently

produces isotopes at six locations in the

United States. The isotope products and

related services from these sites are

provided only where: a) there is no

existing domestic, private sector

capability; b) unique Government

facilities are needed to provide such a

capacity; or c) other productive capacity

is insufficient to meet pressing national

needs. While continuing to assure that

a reliable supply exists, DOE is

encouraging privatization of DOE

Isotope Program activities in order to

fulfill the DOE Isotope Program’s

missions at a reduced cost to isotope

customers and the Nation’s taxpayers by

greater involvement of the private

sector. This notice is not intended to be

a solicitation for proposals. Instead, it is

an attempt to obtain information and to

identify interested private sector

participants in the possible privatization

of some or all DOE isotope activities.

Activities that fall under the scope of

this notice include, but are not limited

to, selling or leasing existing DOE

facilities for commercial use; sale of

existing isotope inventory; isotope

marketing, distribution, or technical

services; and other innovative

arrangements for private sector isotope

operations. Depending on the nature of

the responses and subsequent

determinations by DOE, a formal

solicitation for competitive proposals

may be published in the future, and

awards may be made based upon an

evaluation of proposals received

pursuant to the evaluation criteria as

stated in the solicitation.

II. Areas of DOE Interest

DOE is seeking to encourage

innovative Expressions of Interest for

privatization. Expressions of Interest

should be structured to address:

1. The development or deployment of

isotope production, distribution, and

services in terms of:

a. A significant decrease over the cost

of current methods through a substantial

reduction in the cost of manufacturing

by use of more efficient methods or

technology.

b. Feasibility of approach consistent

with proposed cost. The Expression of

Interest must demonstrate a

knowledgeable approach and an

appreciation of risks.

2. Probability of success: Clarity of

objectives and quality of approach. The

approach should be based on welldefined objectives, milestones, and

deliverables. The approach should

contain a reasonable and practical plan

for providing the maximum private

sector participation on a financial and

managerial basis and at the least cost to

the Government.

3. The appropriateness of the facilities

and techniques. The need for (and

availability of) facilities, equipment,

design and manufacturing tools;

technical, financial, and administrative

resources; and the protection of

intellectual property.

III. Expression of Interest Format

The length of the Expression of

Interest should not be more than 15

pages (double spaced) using a 12-point

type font. It is left to the responder to

determine how best to use the 15 pages,

however, it would facilitate review if

the Expression of Interest was divided

into the following sections:

Section 1—Summary

Section 2—Comments on privatization

of some or all DOE isotope activities

Section 3—Additional comments and

recommendations

Proprietary Information

If the Expression of Interest contains

information that is privileged or

confidential and that the respondent

does not want disclosed to the public or

used by the Government for any

purpose other than this notice, the

respondent should place the following

notice on the Expression of Interest.

Notice: The data contained in pages

llll of this Expression of Interest

has been submitted in confidence and

contains trade secrets or commercial or

financial information that is

confidential or privileged, and such data

should be used or disclosed only for

purposes of consideration of this
63516 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 237 / Monday, December 11, 1995 / Notices

1 Viking Gas Transmission Company’s application

was filed with the Commission under Section 7 of

the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the

Commission’s regulations.

2The appendices referenced in this notice are not

being printed in the Federal Register. Copies are

available from the Commission’s Public Reference

and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street,

NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 208–1371.

Copies of the appendices were sent to all those

receiving this notice in the mail.

response. This restriction does not limit

the Government’s right to use or

disclose data obtained without

restriction from any source including

the respondent.

Submission

Each submittal should consist of six

copies, one original and five

photocopies. The original copy of the

Expression of Interest shall contain all

documents that bear original signatures.

DOE is under no obligation to pay for

any costs associated with the

preparation or submission of

Expressions of Interest in response to

this notice. DOE reserves the right to

respond or not respond to any portion,

all, or none of the Expressions of

Interest submitted in response to this

notice.

Issued in Washington, D.C., on November

21, 1995.

Terry R. Lash,

Director, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science

and Technology.

[FR Doc. 95–30086 Filed 12–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP96–32–000]

Viking Gas Transmission Company;

Notice of Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Assessment for the

Proposed VGT Expansion Project and

Request for Comments on

Environmental Issues

December 5, 1995.

The staff of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC or

Commission) will prepare an

environmental assessment (EA) that will

discuss the environmental impacts of

the construction and operation of the

facilities proposed in the VGT

Expansion Project.1 This EA will be

used by the Commission in its decisionmaking process to determine whether an

environmental impact statement is

necessary and whether to approve the

project.

Summary of the Proposed Project

Viking Gas Transmission Company

(VGT) wants to expand the capacity of

its facilities in Kittson and Norman

Counties, Minnesota, to transport an

additional 19,420 decatherms per day of

natural gas. VGT requests authorization

to construct and operate two 24-inchdiameter pipeline loops, totalling 13.51

miles in length, and appurtenant

facilities.

The general location of the project

facilities is shown in appendix 1.2

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the proposed facilities

would require about 179.3 acres of land,

including 81.9 acres of temporary rightof-way. Following construction, all of

the land would be restored and allowed

to revert to its former use. No new

permanent right-of-way is required for

the project.

The EA Process

The National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to

take into account the environmental

impacts that could result from an action

whenever it considers the issuance of a

Certificate of Public Convenience and

Necessity. NEPA also requires us to

discover and address concerns the

public may have about proposals. We

call this ‘‘scoping’’. The main goal of the

scoping process is to focus the analysis

in the EA on the important

environmental issues. By this Notice of

Intent, the Commission requests public

comments on the scope of the issues it

will address in the EA. All comments

received are considered during the

preparation of the EA. State and local

government representatives are

encouraged to notify their constituents

of this proposed action and encourage

them to comment on their areas of

concern.

The EA will discuss impacts that

could occur as a result of the

construction and operation of the

proposed project under these general

headings:

• geology and soils

• water resources, fisheries, and

wetlands

• vegetation and wildlife

• endangered and threatened species

• public safety

• land use

• cultural resources

• air quality and noise

• hazardous waste

We will also evaluate possible

alternatives to the proposed project or

portions of the project, and make

recommendations on how to lessen or

avoid impacts on the various resource

areas.

Our independent analysis of the

issues will be in the EA. Depending on

the comments received during the

scoping process, the EA may be

published and mailed to Federal, state,

and local agencies, public interest

groups, interested individuals, affected

landowners, newspapers, libraries, and

the Commission’s official service list for

this proceeding. A comment period will

be allotted for review if the EA is

published. We will consider all

comments on the EA before we

recommend that the Commission

approve or not approve the project.

Currently Identified Environmental

Issues

We have already identified issues that

we think deserve attention based on a

preliminary review of the proposed

facilities and the environmental

information provided by VGT.

• A total of 155 acres of agricultural

land, virtually all of it is prime farmland

soils, would be affected.

• One perennial stream (the North

Branch, Two Rivers) would be crossed.

Keep in mind that this is a

preliminary list. The list of issues may

be added to, subtracted from, or

changed based on your comments and

our analysis.

Public Participation

You can make a difference by sending

a letter addressing your specific

comments or concerns about the project.

you should focus on the potential

environmental effects of the proposal,

alternatives to the proposal, and

measures to avoid or lessen

environmental impact. The more

specific your comments, the more useful

they will be. Please follow the

instructions below to ensure that your

comments are received and properly

recorded:

• Address your letter to: Lois Cashell,

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First St., N.E.,

Washington, D.C. 20426;

• Reference Docket No. CP96–32–

000;

• Send a copy of your letter to: Mr.

Jeff Shenot, EA Project Manager, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First St., N.E., Room 7L–05,

Washington, D.C. 20426; and

• Mail your comments so that they

will be received in Washington, D.C. on

or before January 10, 1996.

If you wish to receive a copy of the EA,

you should request one from Mr. Shenot

at the above address.

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EA

scoping process, you may want to

become an official party to the

proceeding or become an ‘‘intervenor’’.