This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

65056

Vol. 60, No. 242

Monday, December 18, 1995

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Boulder River Watershed, Montana

AGENCY: Natural Resources conservation

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to deauthorize

Federal funding.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Watershed

Protection and Flood Prevention Act,

Public Law 83–566, and the Natural

Resources Conservation Service

Guidelines (7 CFR 622), the Natural

Resources Conservation Service gives

notice of the intent to deauthorize

Federal funding for the Boulder River

Watershed project in Jefferson County,

Montana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard J. Gooby, State Conservationist,

Natural Resource Conservation Service,

10 East Babcock Street Room 442,

Bozeman, Montana 59715, telephone:

406–587–6813.

Boulder River Watershed, Montana

Notice of Intent to Deauthorize Federal

Funding

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A

determination has been made by

Richard J. Gooby that the proposed

works of improvement for the Boulder

River Watershed project will not be

installed. The sponsoring local

organizations have concurred in this

determination and agree that Federal

funding should be deauthorized for the

project. Information regarding this

determination may be obtained from

Richard J. Gooby, State Conservationist,

at the above address and telephone

number.

No administrative action on

implementation of the proposed

deauthorization will be taken until 60

days after the date of this publication in

the Federal Register.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 10.904, Watershed Protection

and Flood Prevention. Office of management

and Budget Circular A–95 regarding State

and local clearinghouse review of Federal

and federally assisted programs and projects

is applicable.)

Dated: December 6, 1995.

Christine Peterson,

Acting State Conservationist.

[FR Doc. 95–30658 Filed 12–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

National Weather Service

Modernization and Associated

Restructuring

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: On October 27, 1995, the

Secretary of Commerce released a report

to Congress entitled, Secretary’s Report

to Congress on Adequacy of NEXRAD

Coverage and Degradation of Weather

Services under the National Weather

Service Modernization for 32 Areas of

Concern. This report was prepared by a

Departmental team with expertise in

radar meteorology, operational weather

services, employee relations, and

strategic planning. The Secretary’s

report applied the criteria developed in

the National Research Council’s (NRC)

study, Toward a New National Weather

Service—Assessment of NEXRAD

Coverage and Associated Weather

Services, which was delivered to the

Secretary in June, 1995. The

Modernization Transition Committee

(MTC), a Federal advisory committee

established by the Weather Service

Modernization Act (WSMA), 15 U.S.C.

313 note, P.L. 102–567, was consulted

on the Secretary’s Report on October 30,

1995.

The Secretary’s report assessed the

adequacy of Doppler weather

surveillance radar (WSR–88D), also

known as NEXRAD, coverage and

degradation of weather services under

the National Weather Service (NWS)

modernization plan for 32 geographical

areas of concern and identified

mitigation actions for areas where

degradation was indicated. Late last

year, comments from the public were

solicited to identify community

concerns about possible degradation of

weather services under the NWS

modernization plan (published

November 4, 1994, 59 FR 55254). Over

67,000 public comments were received

from 32 different geographical areas.

These 32 areas were then established as

areas of concern to receive in depth

analysis based on the NRC’s assessment

criteria (published February 23, 1995,

60 FR 10066).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie

Scanlon at 301–713–1413 or Nick

Scheller at 301–713–0454.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Mitigation

Recommendations: The mitigation

recommendations contained in the

report and the Secretary’s transmittal

letter are:

Additional WSR–88Ds and/or WFO—

The Secretary’s team recommends the

acquisition and siting of three

additional WSR–88Ds and one Weather

Forecast Office (WFO) to provide

coverage for:

‘‘(1) Northern Indiana and Northwest

Ohio. The Team recommends that the

National Weather Service install a

WSR–88D, along with a fully staffed

WFO, to provide forecast and warning

services to the citizens of northern

Indiana and northwestern Ohio. The

Team finds that this combined area

experiences a high frequency of

especially severe weather, and that the

present NEXRAD configuration will not

provide the low level surveillance

necessary for detecting reflectivity and

velocity signatures associated with

tornado formation and other severe

weather phenomena. It is the opinion of

the Team that the frequency of severe

weather, areal extent of radar coverage

degradation, increased work load

associated with a large spotter network,

argues for the establishment of a fullservice WFO. In addition, the Team

recommends that the NWS re-examine

the distribution of county warning

responsibility throughout northern

Indiana and northwestern Ohio

following placement of the WSR–88D.

The Team further recommends that the

Fort Wayne Weather Service Office and

WSR–74C remain in service until the

new WSR–88D and WFO are

operational.

(2) Northern Alabama and Southeast

Tennessee. The Team recommends the

addition of a WSR–88D optimized for

coverage of severe weather phenomena

(particularly mini-supercells and
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 242 / Monday, December 18, 1995 / Notices 65057

macrobursts) in the northern Alabama,

southeastern Tennessee, and

northwestern Georgia region. The

climatology of severe weather for this

area is such that there are a significant

number of tornadoes whose genesis is

observable only from low level radar

information. The recommended WSR–

88D may be operated as a remote radar

due to the accessibility of locations in

the region, and reliability of commercial

communications. The NWS should reevaluate the county warning area

distribution for future WFOs Nashville,

TN, Birmingham, AL, Atlanta, GA, and

Morristown, TN in order to determine

which WFOs are best positioned to

provide primary warning

responsibilities for counties assumed

from the Chattanooga and Huntsville

areas. The Team further recommends

that the Chattanooga and Huntsville

WSR–74C’s remain in service until the

NWS commissions the new WSR–88D

and achieves confirmation of services

with users.

(3) Northwest Arkansas/Eastern

Oklahoma. The Team recommends that

an additional WSR–88D be installed to

the southwest of Fort Smith and

operated with dedicated

communications to both WFO Tulsa and

WFO Little Rock. The Fort Smith area

experiences a very high frequency of

severe thunderstorms and flash floods.

The southern portion of the Fort Smith

county warning area, comprising the

counties of Le Flore, Scott and Polk, is

beyond the range of reliable detection of

the low, mid and upper altitude radar

features used to identify the severe

thunderstorms and weak to moderate

tornadoes associated with squall lines

and intersecting outflow boundaries.

Many of the storms move into the area

from the southwest of these counties—

an area also too far from surrounding

WSR–88Ds for reliable severe weather

identification. The Team further

recommends that the Fort Smith WSR–

74C remain in service until the NWS

commissions the new WSR–88 and

achieves confirmation of services with

users.’’

Continuation of Office Operations—

The Secretary’s team recommends the

continuation of office operations at the

following sites:

(1) Caribou, Maine. The Team

recommends continued operations at

Caribou, Maine, until the NWS can: (a)

Validate reliable communications and

maintenance for the Hodgdon WSR–88D

site; and (b) certify that other distanceand time-sensitive service

considerations have been reconciled,

including maintenance of equipment

and the coordination of northern Maine

emergency management requirements

and community outreach. If solutions to

remote radar (and other equipment)

communications and maintenance

reliability concerns cannot be found,

and if adequate community

coordination and outreach cannot be

assured, the Team recommends that a

nearby WFO be established. The office

should incorporate, at a minimum,

adequate staffing for maintaining and

operating the radar for severe weather

observations and the dissemination of

warnings, and for coordinating outreach

activities with northern Maine

communities.

(2) Key West, Florida. The Team

recommends continued operations at

Key West, Florida, until the NWS can

validate reliable communications and

maintenance between the Key West

WSR–88D site and WFO Miami. If

solutions to remote radar

communications and maintenance

reliability concerns cannot be found, the

Team recommends a continued NWS

presence at Key West, with, at a

minimum, adequate staffing for

maintaining and operating the radar for

severe weather observations and the

dissemination of warnings.’’

Continuation of Radar Operations—

The Secretary’s team recommends

continued radar operations at the

following sites, in addition to those

listed above:

‘‘(1) Erie, Pennsylvania. As a result of

the degraded radar coverage for certain

lake-effect snow events, the Team

recommends the continued operation of

WSO Erie’s WRS–74C pending the

results of ‘‘The Lake Effect Snow

Study.’’ This assessment should

compare the adequacy of existing WSR–

88D information, and other data sources

(the composite system) with the local

warning radar to determine capabilities

for lake effect snow identification. The

Team recommends that the NWS remote

the WSR–74C data to WFO Cleveland in

order to facilitate the schedule

spindown of WSO Erie.

(2) South Bend, Indiana. As a result

of the degraded radar coverage for

certain lake-effect snow events, the

Team recommends continued radar

operations at WSO South Bend pending

the results of the lake effect snow study.

This assessment should compare the

adequacy of existing WSR–88D

information, and other data sources (the

composite system) with the local

warning radar to determine capabilities

for lake effect snow identification.’’

Continuation of Office and Radar

Operations—The Secretary decided to

continue office and radar operations in

the Williston, North Dakota, area. The

following was extracted from the

Secretary’s transmittal letter:

‘‘However, I remain concerned about

the team’s finding of significant

degradation of radar coverage at the

lower levels for the Williston, North

Dakota, area. In this location, the team

concluded that weather services should

not be degraded, although their

assessment included the finding that

low-altitude radar coverage would be

degraded over portions of all eight

counties of the county warning area for

certain weather phenomena. The

geographic area which would

experience some level of degradation of

radar information is far more extensive

than for any of the other areas

examined. Therefore, I have decided

that the NWS will maintain the

operations of the Williston Weather

Service Office and its associated radar

for a period of two years before

implementing the team’s

recommendation to proceed with

planned radar decommissioning and

weather office closure. During this time,

the NWS will conduct an operational

evaluation to assess whether mid- and

upper-altitude NEXRAD data and

information from composite system

sources provide adequate information to

detect, and warn for, all weather

phenomena of concern. The team

concurs with my decision.’’

Funding for Mitigation

Recommendations: There are no

resources (dollars or work force

positions) in the current NWS budget

for additional radars or offices beyond

those already identified in the strategic

plan for NWS modernization.

Additional radars and offices identified

in the Secretary’s report will require

additional funding authority and

appropriations. Recommended

mitigation actions, identified in the

Secretary’s report, will be reflected in

the normal budget process beginning in

fiscal year 1997.

Release of Remaining Areas of

Concern: Actions to close, consolidate,

relocate, or automate any field office or

decommission any NWS radar in an

area of concern were prohibited until

the Secretary had reported to Congress

that he believed that such actions would

not result in a degradation of service

and a 30-day grace period had elapsed.

The Secretary’s report was submitted to

Congress on October 27, 1995, and the

30-day grace period elapsed on

November 27, 1995. Thus the

prohibition on actions to close,

consolidate, relocate, or automate any

field office or decommission any NWS

radar in an area of concern is removed

for the following areas of concern where

the Secretary’s report found no

degradation of service:
65058 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 242 / Monday, December 18, 1995 / Notices

WSO Asheville, NC

WSO Astoria, OR

WSO Athens, GA

WSO Baton Rouge, LA

WSO Cape Hatteras, NC

WSO Charlotte, NC

WSO Colorado Springs, CO

WSO Del Rio, TX

WSO Elkins, WV

WSO Evansville, IN

WSO Grand Island, NE

WSO Greensboro, NC

WSO Harrisburg, PA

WSO International Falls, MN

WSO Kalispell, MT

WSO Lexington, KY

WSO Montgomery, AL

WSO Redding, CA

WSO Toledo, OH

WSO Wichita Falls, TX

WSO Wilmington, DE

WSO Hondo, TX

Central Oregon/Central Washington

The Secretary is still required to

satisfy the requirement of sec. 706(b) of

the WSMA to certify no degradation of

service when she/he restructures a filed

office. If the field office is located in an

area of concern, the Secretary is

required to provide all public comments

relating to that area of concern to the

Modernization Transition Committee

during the certification process.

Obtaining Copies of the Secretary’s

Report: The Secretary’s report consists

of two volumes. Volume 1 provides the

overall report and includes the

methodology used by the Secretary’s

team and a summary of assessment

results for each of the 32 areas of

concern. Volume 2 consists of an

individual package of information for

each of the 32 areas of concern. Each

package includes all the detailed

information considered by the team in

making its assessment of potential

degradation of service. The report has

been submitted to the U.S. Government

Printing Office for printing. Copies

should be available in February 1996.

Distribution of Volume 1 is planned

throughout NWS and to Congress and

people who submitted the public

comments that established the areas of

concern. Volume 2 will be available by

request only. If you would like a copy

of Volume 1 and/or Volume 2 mailed to

you, please specify which area(s) of

concern you want and send your name

and address to: National Weather

Service, 1325 East-West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910–3283, Attn: Wx21–

Patricia Daenecke.

In the interim, copies of the report are

available to the public at centrally

located libraries in each of the 32 areas

of concern. A list of these libraries is

attached to this notice.

Dated: December 7, 1995.

Louis J. Boezi,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for

Modernization.

List of Libraries

Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood Street,

Asheville, NC 28801

Astoria Public Library, 459 Tenth Street,

Astoria, OR 97103

Athens/Clark County Library, 2025 Baxter

Street, Athens, GA 30606

East Baton Rouge Parish, Main Library, 7711

Goodwood Boulevard, Baton Rouge, LA

70806

Dare County Library Hatteras Branch,

Hatteras Community Center, P.O. Box 309,

Hatteras, NC 27943

Caribou Public Library, 30 High Street,

Caribou, ME 04736

Deschutes County Library, 507 NW Wall

Street, Bend, OR 97701

Yakima Valley Regional Library, 102 North

3rd Street, Yakima, WA 98901

The Public Library of Charlotte and

Mecklenburg County, 310 North Tryon

Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

Chattanooga/Hamilton County Bicentennial

Library, 1001 Broad Street, Chattanooga,

TN 37402

Pikes Peak Library District, 5550 North

Union Boulevard, Colorado Springs, CO

80901

Val Verde County Public Library, 300 Spring

Street, Del Rio, TX 78840

Elkins-Randolph Public Library, 416 Davis

Avenue, Elkins, WV 26241

Erie County Library, 27 South Park Row,

Erie, PA 16501–1102

Evansville-Vanderburgh County Public

Library, 22 Southeast Fifth Street,

Evansville, IN 47708–1604

Fort Smith Public Library, 61 South 8th

Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901

Allen County Public Library, P.O. Box 2270,

Fort Wayne, IN 46801

Edith Abbott Memorial Library, 211 North

Washington, Grand Island, NE 68801–5855

Greensboro Public Library, 201 North Greene

Street, P.O. Box 3178, Greensboro, NC

27402

Dauphin County Library System, 101 Walnut

Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101, 717–234–

4961

Hondo Public Library, 1011 19th Street,

Hondo, TX 78861

Huntsville/Madison County Public Library,

915 Monroe Street, Huntsville, AL 35801

International Falls Public Library, 750 Fourth

Street, International Falls, MN 56649

Flathead County Library, 247 1st Avenue

East, Kalispell, MT 59901

Monroe County Library, 700 Fleming Street,

Key West, FL 33040–6897

Lexington Public Library, 140 East Main,

Lexington, KY 40507–1376

Montgomery City/County Library, 245 High

Street, Montgomery, AL 36104

Shasta County Public Library, 1855 Shasta

Street, Redding, CA 96001

Saint Joseph County Public Library, 304

South Main, South Bend, IN 46601–2125

Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, 325

North Michigan Street, Toledo, Ohio 43624

Wichita Falls Public Library, 1300 Lamar,

Wichita Falls, TX 76301

Williston Community Library, 1302 Davidson

Drive, Williston, ND 58801

Wilmington Institute Library, 10th and

Market Street, Wilmington, DE 19801

FR Doc. 95–30627 Filed 12–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–12–M

COMMITTEE FOR THE

IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE

AGREEMENTS

New Export Visa Stamp for Certain

Cotton, Wool and Man-Made Fiber

Textile Products Produced or

Manufactured in Singapore

December 13, 1995.

AGENCY: Committee for the

Implementation of Textile Agreements

(CITA).

ACTION: Issuing a directive to the

Commissioner of Customs providing for

the use of a new export visa stamp.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet Heinzen, International Trade

Specialist, Office of Textiles and

Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce,

(202) 482–4212.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority: Executive Order 11651 of March

3, 1972, as amended; section 204 of the

Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7

U.S.C. 1854).

Beginning on January 1, 1996, the

Government of the Republic of

Singapore will begin issuing a new

export visa stamp for shipments of

textile products, produced or

manufactured in Singapore and

exported from Singapore on and after

January 1, 1996. There will be a onemonth grace period from December 1,

1995 through December 31, 1995,

during which goods exported from

Singapore may be accompanied by

either the old or the new export visa

stamp. Goods exported from Singapore

on or after January 1, 1996 must be

accompanied by the new export visa

stamp.

A facsimile of the new visa stamp is

on file at the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Office of Textiles and

Apparel, 14th and Constitution Avenue,

NW., room 3104, Washington, DC.

See 47 FR 6683, published on

February 16, 1982; 47 FR 53446,

published on November 26, 1982; and