7766 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 1995 / Notices

available for public inspection in the

Public Reference Room.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–3198 Filed 2–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5150–7]

Public Water Supply Supervision

Program; Program Revision for the

States of Arkansas, Louisiana, New

Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the States of Arkansas, Louisiana, New

Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas are

revising their approved State Public

Water Supply Supervision Primacy

Program. These States have adopted

drinking water regulations for (1)

synthetic organic chemicals, volatile

organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals,

and monitoring for unregulated

contaminants that correspond to the

National Primary and Secondary

Drinking Water Regulations for

synthetic organic chemicals, volatile

organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals,

monitoring for unregulated

contaminants, and National Primary

Drinking Water Regulations

Implementation promulgated by EPA on

January 30, 1991 (56 FR 3526), July 1,

1991 (56 FR 30266), and July 17, 1992

(57 FR 31776). EPA has determined that

these State program revisions are no less

stringent than the corresponding

Federal regulations. Therefore, EPA has

tentatively decided to approve these

State program revisions.

All interested parties are invited to

request a public hearing. A request for

a public hearing must be submitted by

March 13, 1995 to the Regional

Administrator at the address shown

below. Frivolous or insubstantial

requests for a hearing may be denied by

the Regional Administrator. However, if

a substantial request for a public hearing

is made by March 13, 1995, a public

hearing will be held. If no timely and

appropriate request for a hearing is

received and the Regional Administrator

does not elect to hold a hearing on his

own motion, this determination shall

become effective on March 13, 1995.

A request for a public hearing shall

include the following: (1) The name,

address, and telephone number of the

individual, organization, or other entity

requesting a hearing. (2) A brief

statement of the requesting person’s

interest in the Regional Administrator’s

determination and of information that

the requesting person intends to submit

at such hearing. (3) The signature of the

individual making the request; or, if the

request is made on behalf of an

organization or other entity, the

signature of a responsible official of the

organization or other entity.

ADDRESSES: All documents relating to

this determination are available for

inspection between the hours of 9:00

a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through

Friday, at the following offices:

Arkansas Department of Health,

Engineering Division, 4815 West

Markham Street, Little Rock, AR

75205

Louisiana Department of Health and

Hospitals, Office of Public Health—

Engineering, 325 Loyola Avenue, New

Orleans, LA 70112

New Mexico Environment Department,

Drinking Water Bureau, 2052 Galisteo,

Suite B, Santa Fe, NM 87501

Oklahoma Department of Environmental

Quality, Water Quality Division, 1000

N.E. 10th Street, Oklahoma City, OK

73117

Texas Natural Resource Conservation

Commission, Water Utilities Division,

12015 Park 35 Circle, Bldg F, Suite

3202, Austin, TX 78753

Regional Administrator, Environmental

Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445

Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202–

2733

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: O.

Thomas Love, Jr., EPA, Region 6, Water

Supply Branch, at the Dallas address

given above; telephone (214) 665–7150.

(Sec. 1413 of the Safe Drinking Water Act, as

amended, (1986) and 40 CFR 142.10 of the

National Primary Drinking Water

Regulations)

Dated: January 26, 1995.

Allyn M. Davis,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95–3293 Filed 2–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

[FRL–5150–8]

Office of Research and Development

Office of Exploratory Research;

Reducing Uncertainty in Risk

Assessment and Improving Risk

Reduction Approaches

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: 1995 Grants for Research.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) invites

research grant applications in four areas

of special interest to its mission:

• Human health risk assessment.

• Indoor air quality in large office

buildings.

• Air pollutants (particulate matter,

tropospheric ozone, and toxics).

• Regional hydrologic vulnerability to

global climate change.

This invitation provides relevant

background information, summarizes

EPA interests in the four topic areas,

and describes the application and

review process.

Background

EPA has increased funding for its

investigator-initiated research grants in

fiscal year 1995. EPA therefore is

issuing two additional Requests for

Applications (RFAs), of which this is

one. The other is a joint solicitation

with the National Science Foundation

(NSF) that identifies three areas of

interest to both agencies—water and

watersheds; valuation and

environmental policy; and technology

for a sustainable environment (pollution

prevention).

Information on the NSF/EPA

solicitation can be obtained by

contacting Dr. Penny Firth at NSF, (703)

306–1480, or Dr. Melinda McClanahan

at EPA, (202) 260–7473.

EPA Mission and R&D Strategy

The mission of EPA—and its unique

role—is the joint protection of

environmental quality and human

health through effective regulations and

other policy decisions. Achievement of

this mission requires the application of

sound science to the assessment of

environmental problems and evaluation

of solutions. Moreover, a significant

challenge is to support long-term

research that anticipates future

environmental problems and strives to

fill significant gaps in knowledge

relevant to meeting regulatory goals.

This Request for Applications and the

joint EPA/NSF solicitation are

important steps toward ensuring that

EPA is positioned to provide national

leadership as the country enters a new

generation of environmental protection.

EPA recently reorganized its research

programs to focus on major areas of

uncertainty associated with assessment

and reduction of risks to human health

and ecosystems. Through its

laboratories and through grants to

universities and other not-for-profit

institutions, EPA will conduct and

support research in the subject matter

areas where regulatory officials face the

most significant gaps in knowledge

about environmental risks. Because risk

is a function of both hazard and

exposure, EPA will promote research in

both domains—according highest
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 1995 / Notices 7767

priority to those areas where risk

assessors are most in need of new

concepts, data, and methods. At the

same time, EPA will foster the

development and evaluation of new risk

reduction technologies across a

spectrum, from pollution prevention

through end-of-pipe controls, to

remediation and monitoring.

Research Topics of Interest

1. Human Health Risk Assessment

As described in the recent NRC report

entitled ‘‘Science and Judgement in Risk

Assessment,’’ EPA uses health risk

assessments to establish exposure limits

and set priorities for regulatory

activities. However, EPA is hampered

by gaps in methods, models, and data

needed to support risk assessments. In

many cases default assumptions are

used to extrapolate from animals to

humans, from high to low doses, from

acute to chronic exposures, and from

lowest effect levels to no-effect levels.

One of EPA’s Office of Research and

Development’s major research goals is to

reduce reliance on such assumptions.

For example, EPA needs biologically

and physiologically-based predictive

models that will provide new concepts,

data, and methods that can replace

default assumptions.

Research is needed on the following

areas.

• Methods for estimating dose from

cumulative human exposure (e.g., via

air, water, soil, and food) to significant

and persistent environmental

contaminants. This research is intended

to support evaluation of cumulative

exposure and dose apportionment and

to demonstrate the application of the

methods developed to estimate human

health risks.

• Principles governing age-dependent

responses to environmental

contaminants and to improve

capabilities for animal-to-human

extrapolation of health risks.

Neurotoxicity is a priority response to

be evaluated, but other end points will

be considered.

• Quantitative toxicokinetic and

toxicodynamic interactions among

chemicals in environmental mixtures of

members of chemical classes that are

significant environmental contaminants

(e.g., PAHs, halogenated solvents,

metals, chlorinated dioxins and furans,

PCBs, and pesticides).

• Toxicological interactions such as

additivity, synergism, and antagonism

in such mixtures. To improve the ability

to estimate risks from environmental

exposures, a priority is research that is

focused on realistic exposures to

environmental contaminants.

• Methods for quantifying non-cancer

risks, such as reproductive or

developmental disorders. Of special

interest are methods that are based on

validated correlations between

biochemical or physiological markers

and clinical end-points.

• Inter-individual and intraindividual variability in factors that

affect susceptibility to toxicity from

environmental contaminants. Further,

research is needed to elucidate

relationships between such variability

and disease outcome.

• Human and animal reproductive

processes vulnerable to environmental

contamination. This research is needed

to identify keystone or sentinel species

whose reproduction can be monitored to

signal potential risk to other species,

including humans.

• Major uncertainties in risk

assessment for microbial pathogens in

surface and drinking waters. For

example, critical gaps in knowledge

exist with respect to occurrence and

levels of microbial waterborne

pathogens, infectious dose, survival in

the environment, and susceptibility to

treatment processes.

• Other research areas as defined by

proposers that contribute to the overall

goals of this research topic.

Approximately $3.0 million will be

available from fiscal year 1995 funds. A

typical project will be supported for a

period of up to 3 years at $150,000 per

year.

2. Indoor Air Quality in Large Office

Buildings

The 1986 Superfund Amendments

and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Title

IV directs EPA to conduct and support

research on indoor air quality. An

important aspect of this research is

improving the scientific understanding

of, and reducing the uncertainties

surrounding, the relationships among

indoor air quality, human exposures,

and large building design and operation.

Of interest are cross-sectional and/or

longitudinal studies of large office

buildings in relatively large

geographical regions across the United

States that characterize the relationships

among:

• The physical, mechanical and

environmental factors that influence

indoor air quality;

• Relevant human exposures to

aerosols, micro-organisms, volatile

organic compounds, and other

parameters such as air exchange rate

and pesticides;

• The pathways through which these

exposures occur;

• Occupant perceptions of indoor air

quality and occupant productivity;

• The extent to which human activity

patterns, building system operating

practices or design, and indoor or

outdoor air quality affect these

exposures; and

• Other research areas as defined by

proposers that contribute to the overall

goals of this research topic.

To provide high quality data

necessary for intra- and inter-building

comparisons, minimum data

requirements and analytical protocols

must be the same or equivalent to those

recommended in the following two

documents: ‘‘A Standardized EPA

Protocol for Characterizing Indoor Air

Quality in Large Office Buildings,’’ (6/

1/94) and ‘‘The United States

Environmental Protection Agency’s

Large Building Studies Quality

Assurance Overview Document,’’ (11/1/

94). Copies of these two documents can

be obtained by contacting Ross

Highsmith at (919) 541–3121, or

pahl.dale@epamail.epa.gov.

Approximately $1.5 million will be

available from fiscal year 1995 funds. A

typical project will be supported for a

period of up to 3 years at $150,000 per

year.

3. Air Pollutants (Particulate Matter,

Tropospheric Ozone, and Toxics)

Certain widespread (criteria) air

pollutants, such as ozone and

particulate matter (PM), continue to

pose serious public health risks for

susceptible members of the U.S.

population or risks to sensitive

ecosystems. The Clean Air Act requires

that EPA establish and periodically

review and revise, as appropriate,

criteria and National Ambient Air

Quality Standards (NAAQS) for such

pollutants. The Act also requires State

Implementation Plans (SIPs) to be

prepared, which describe control

strategies that States and local

authorities will employ to bring nonattainment areas into compliance with

the NAAQS.

The EPA is seeking investigatorinitiated grant proposals aimed at

generating new knowledge to:

(1) Improve the scientific basis for

future reassessment of the PM NAAQS;

(2) Reduce uncertainties in SIP

modeling projections for tropospheric

ozone and measurement of the

effectiveness of SIPs in meeting the

ozone NAAQS;

(3) Increase the understanding of

transport and deposition of volatile and

semi-volatile toxic pollutants, and the

ultimate exposure of humans and

ecosystems to them; and

(4) Other research areas as defined by

proposers that contribute to the overall

goals of this research topic.
7768 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 1995 / Notices

Of particular interest in relation to the

first area are projects that will provide

information useful in resolving

controversies regarding epidemiologic

analyses that suggest associations

between increased mortality and

morbidity, and particulate matter

concentrations markedly below the

current particulate matter NAAQS,

including:

• Improving quantitative estimates of

particulate matter exposure;

• Employment of epidemiologic

analyses that more directly estimate

potential effects; and

• Evaluation of potential confounding

variables (e.g., weather).

Possible approaches may involve, but

are not restricted to, alternative

biostatistical models, coupling existing

or refined epidemiologic analyses to

improved exposure data, case-control or

cross-sectional studies of mortality,

indices of morbidity, and/or biomarkers

of effects. The relative roles of fine

versus coarse particles and of chemical

composition are of particular interest.

Of interest in the second area is

fundamental research in the

atmospheric chemistry, modeling,

emissions, and ambient measurement of

tropospheric ozone contributing to

strengthened control strategy

development and improved assessment

of SIP effectiveness, including:

• Kinetic and mechanistic studies of

gas-phase reactions involving aromatic

volatile organic compounds (VOCs),

biogenic VOCs, long-chain alkenes and

alkanes that participate in ambient

photochemistry, and studies on the link

between ozone and heterogeneous or

aqueous-phase reactions;

• Studies to explore boundary layer

turbulence and mixing, and their

interaction with atmospheric chemistry,

and studies of quantitative techniques

for assessing the errors or uncertainties

inherent in concentration estimates

from ozone air quality modeling

systems;

• Studies of large-scale fluxes of

biogenic emissions of VOCs and NOX

for different landscapes;

• Studies that may lead to new

techniques for ambient measurement,

on short time scales, of chemicallysignificant trace gases participating in

the photochemistry of ozone; and

• Both in-situ and remotely-sensed

studies of innovative methods for using

ambient concentration and

meteorological measurements in

assessing the potential ozone response

to local changes in precursor emissions/

concentrations.

Of interest in the third area are

projects that address compounds,

including aerosols, semi-volatile

pollutants, and/or trace metals that

travel through the air pathway,

especially those that are persistent,

mobile, or bioaccumulative. Also of

interest are projects that investigate

major uncertainties in:

• Transport and atmospheric phase

equilibria;

• Composition versus particle size;

• Deposition to surfaces;

• Food chain uptake from

atmospheric deposition; and/or

• Dermal exposure from atmospheric

deposition.

Projects are encouraged that result in

new or improved databases, algorithms,

models, or modules for pre-existing

models that can be used by the scientific

community in the analysis of transport

and fate of air toxics; the quantification

of air and air-deposition pathways; and

the assessment of risks for air toxics.

Approximately $2.5 million will be

available from fiscal year 1995 funds. A

typical project will be supported for a

period of up to 3 years at $150,000 per

year.

4. Regional Hydrologic Vulnerability to

Global Climate Change

Vulnerability research is a major

responsibility of EPA’s Global Climate

Change Research Program.

Understanding regional vulnerability to

climate change is critically dependent

on understanding how projected widespread climate change affects the

hydrologic watershed at scales where

water resources and related ecologic,

economic, and socio-political impacts

are manifested. In order to make

informed decisions concerning the risks

of global change, the public and

policymakers need a better

understanding of the hydrologic

vulnerabilities of regional systems. This,

in turn, requires improved

methodologies that identify and

quantify physical and economic

regional vulnerabilities to competing

hydrologic demands, under current

climate patterns and under projected

climate-change scenarios.

Attempts to quantify these types of

vulnerabilities have been hampered by

the absence of techniques for

performing regional analyses using

projected climate change. These

regional analyses should include both

direct hydrologic response (e.g., soil

moisture, streamflow, stream

temperature) as well as secondary

impacts upon regional ecology and

economics. Major sources of uncertainty

in conducting regional hydrologic

analyses are the sensitivities of regional

hydrologic systems to changing climate

and future demands for water.

Accordingly, as part of EPA’s interest in

watershed research, this solicitation

invites proposals that address climate

change aspects of watershed hydrology

in the following areas:

• Translation of climatic information

into water availability (e.g., soil

moisture and streamflow) and other

ecologic variables as required by water

resource and natural resource modelers.

• Linkage of water availability with

water and natural resource response

prediction.

• Linkage with economic activities in

various sectors (e.g., agriculture and

forestry) competing for the water

resources, and associated feedbacks.

• Other research areas as defined by

proposers that contribute to the overall

goals of this research topic.

This solicitation seeks proposals that

may include a range of innovative

research approaches, from modeling to

data analysis and observational and

experimental approaches, singly or in

combination. Proposals are encouraged

without regard to specific location of

any proposed hydrologic regional

setting but should reflect the goal to

reduce uncertainties in watershed

hydrology as influenced by concerns

about vulnerabilities to climate change.

Approximately $1.0 million will be

available from fiscal year 1995 funds. A

typical project will be supported for a

period of up to 3 years at $150,000 per

year.

The Application

Proposed projects must be research

designed to advance the state of

knowledge in the indicated areas of

environmental science and technology.

Applications will not be accepted for

routine monitoring, state-of-the-art or

market surveys, literature reviews,

development or commercialization of

proven concepts, or for the preparation

of materials and documents, including

process designs or instruction manuals.

Application forms and instructions

are available in the EPA Research Grants

Application Kit. Interested investigators

should review the materials in this kit

before preparing an application for

assistance. The kits can be obtained at

the following address: U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Office of Research and Development,

Office of Exploratory Research (8703),

401 M Street SW., Washington, DC

20460, (202) 260–7474.

Each application for assistance must

consist of the Application for Federal

Assistance Forms (Standard Forms—SF

424 and 424A), separate sheets that

provide the budget breakdown for each

year of the project, the resumes for the

principal investigator and co-workers,

the abstract of the proposed project, and
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 1995 / Notices 7769

a project narrative that includes a

quality assurance narrative. All

certification forms (e.g., lobbying

certification) must be signed and

included with the application.

The closing date for application

submission is April 17, 1995 at 4:00

p.m. est.

To be considered, the original and

eight copies of the fully developed

research grant application, prepared in

accordance with instructions in the

Application for Federal Assistance

Forms, must be received by the EPA

Office of Exploratory Research no later

than the above closing date. Informal,

incomplete, or unsigned proposals will

not be considered. Completed

applications should be sent via regular

or express mail to: U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Office of Research

and Development, Office of Exploratory

Research (8703), 401 M Street SW.,

Washington, DC 20460.

Applications sent via express mail

should have the following telephone

number listed on the express mail label:

(202) 260–7445.

Special Instructions

The following special instructions

apply to all applicants responding to

this Request for Application.

• Applications must be unbound and

clipped or stapled. The SF–424 must be

the first page of the application. Budget

information should immediately follow

the SF–424. All certification forms

should be placed at the end of the

application.

• Applicants must be identified by

printing ‘‘OER–95’’ in block 10 of the

SF–424. This will facilitate proper

assignment and review of the

application.

• A one-page abstract must be

included with the application.

• The ‘‘project narrative’’ section of

the application must not exceed 25,

consecutively-numbered, 81⁄2 × 11 inch

pages of standard type (i.e., 12 point),

including tables, graphs, and figures.

For purposes of this limitation, the

‘‘project narrative’’ section of the

application consists of the following six

items:

1. Description of Project

2. Objectives

3. Results or Benefits Expected

4. Approach

5. General Project Information

6. Quality Assurance

Any attachments, appendices, and

other references for the narrative section

may be included but must remain

within the 25-page limitation.

Appendices will not be considered an

integral part of the narrative.

Items not included under the 25-page

limitation are the SF–424 and other

forms, budgets, resumes, and the

abstract. Resumes must not exceed two

consecutively-numbered pages for each

investigator and should focus on

education, positions held, and most

recent or related publications.

Applications not meeting these

requirements will be returned to the

applicant without review.

Quality Assurance

Data sets resulting from EPA-funded

environmental research often are used

directly by regulatory officials when

establishing standards or when making

other policy decisions. Explicit

indicators of data quality are essential

for determining whether a particular

data set is appropriate for use in a

specific context. To that end, EPA

regulations require that grant-funded

projects address quality assurance.

The application must include a

quality assurance narrative statement,

not to exceed two pages, which for each

item listed below, either presents the

required information or provides

justification as to why the item does not

apply to the proposed research.

• The intended use of the data and

the associated acceptance criteria for

data quality (i.e., precision, accuracy,

representativeness, completeness, and

comparability).

• Project requirements for precision,

accuracy, representativeness,

completeness, and comparability, and

how these will be determined.

• Procedures for selection of samples

or sampling sites, and collection or

preparation of samples.

• Procedures for sample handling,

identification, preservation,

transportation, and storage.

• Description of measurement

methods or test procedures, with a

statement of performance characteristics

if methods are non-standard.

• Standard quality assurance/quality

control procedures (e.g., American

Society for Testing Materials, American

Public Health Association, etc.) to be

followed. Non-standard procedures

must be documented.

• Data reduction and reporting

procedures, including description of

statistical analyses to be used.

Guidelines and Limitations

All recipients are required to provide

a minimum of 1% of the total project

cost, which may not be taken from

Federal sources. Subcontracts for

research to be conducted under the

grant should not exceed 40% of the total

direct cost of the grant for each year in

which the subcontract is awarded.

Eligibility

Academic and not-for-profit

institutions located in the U.S., and

state or local governments are eligible

under all existing authorizations. Profitmaking firms are eligible only under

certain laws, and then under restrictive

conditions, including the absence of any

profit from the project. Federal agencies

and federal employees are not eligible to

participate in this program. Potential

applicants who are uncertain of their

eligibility should contact EPA’s Grants

Operations Branch at (202) 260–9266.

Review and Selection

All grant applications are initially

reviewed by EPA to determine their

legal and administrative acceptability

and responsiveness to this solicitation.

Acceptable applications are then

reviewed by an appropriate technical

peer review group. This review is

designed to evaluate and rank each

proposal according to its scientific

merit. Each review group is composed

primarily of non-EPA scientists,

engineers, social scientists, and/or

economists who are experts in their

respective disciplines. All reviewers are

proficient in the technical areas that

they are reviewing. The reviewers use

the following criteria in their reviews:

• Quality of the research plan

(including theoretical and/or

experimental design, originality, and

creativity);

• Qualifications of the principal

investigator and staff, including

knowledge of relevant subject areas;

• Potential contribution of the

research to advancing scientific

knowledge in the environmental area;

• Availability and adequacy of

facilities and equipment; and

• Budget justification—justification

for equipment will receive special

attention.

A summary statement of the scientific

review of the panel is provided to each

applicant.

Funding decisions are the sole

responsibility of EPA. Grants are

selected on the basis of technical merit,

relevancy to the research priorities

outlined, program balance, and budget.

Proprietary Information

By submitting an application in

response to this solicitation, the

applicant grants EPA permission to

share the application with technical

reviewers both within and outside of the

Agency.

Applications containing proprietary

or other types of confidential

information will be immediately

returned to the applicant without

review.
7770 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 1995 / Notices

Funding Mechanism

The funding mechanism for all

awards issued under this solicitation

will consist of a grant agreement

between EPA and the recipient.

In accordance with Public Law 95–

224, a grant is used to accomplish a

public purpose of support or

stimulation authorized by Federal

statute rather than acquisition for the

direct benefit of the Agency. In using a

grant instrument rather than a

cooperative agreement, EPA anticipates

that there will be no substantial

involvement during the course of the

grant, between the recipient and the

Agency.

Minority Institution Assistance

Pre-application assistance is available

upon request for potential investigators

representing institutions identified by

the Secretary, Department of Education,

as Historically Black Colleges or

Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic

Association of Colleges and Universities

(HACUs), or Native American or Tribal

Colleges. For further information on

minority assistance, contact Charles

Mitchell by telephone at (202) 260–

7473, by faxing a written request to

(202) 260–0211, or by mailing it to the

above-listed address for EPA’s Office of

Exploratory Research.

Contacts

Additional general information on the

grants program may be obtained by

contacting: U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Office of Exploratory

Research (8703), 401 M Street SW.,

Washington, DC 20460, Phone: (202)

260–7474, Fax: (202) 260–0211.

Applicants with technical questions

may contact the appropriate individual

identified below.

Contacts for Research Topics of Interest

Human Health Risk Assessment

• Kevin Garrahan (202) 260–2588.

Indoor Air Quality in Large Office

Buildings

• Ross V. Highsmith (919) 541–7828.

• Kevin Y. Teichman (202) 260–7669.

Air Pollutants (particulates, ozone, &

toxics)

• Ila L. Cote (919) 541–3644

(particulates).

• James S. Vickery (919) 541–2184

(ozone).

• Larry T. Cupitt (919) 541–2454

(toxics).

Regional Hydrologic Vulnerability to

Global Climate Change

• Barbara M. Levinson, (202) 260–

5983.

• Joel D. Scheraga, (202) 260–4029.

Dated: February 1, 1995.

Approved:

Robert J. Huggett,

Assistant Administrator for Research and

Development.

[FR Doc. 95–3292 Filed 2–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

F & M National Corporation, et al.;

Formations of; Acquisitions by; and

Mergers of Bank Holding Companies

The companies listed in this notice

have applied for the Board’s approval

under section 3 of the Bank Holding

Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1842) and §

225.14 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12

CFR 225.14) to become a bank holding

company or to acquire a bank or bank

holding company. The factors that are

considered in acting on the applications

are set forth in section 3(c) of the Act

(12 U.S.C. 1842(c)).

Each application is available for

immediate inspection at the Federal

Reserve Bank indicated. Once the

application has been accepted for

processing, it will also be available for

inspection at the offices of the Board of

Governors. Interested persons may

express their views in writing to the

Reserve Bank or to the offices of the

Board of Governors. Any comment on

an application that requests a hearing

must include a statement of why a

written presentation would not suffice

in lieu of a hearing, identifying

specifically any questions of fact that

are in dispute and summarizing the

evidence that would be presented at a

hearing.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding each of these applications

must be received not later than March

6, 1995.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of

Richmond (Lloyd W. Bostian, Jr., Senior

Vice President) 701 East Byrd Street,

Richmond, Virginia 23261:

1. F & M National Corporation,

Winchester, Virginia; to acquire 100

percent of the voting shares of Bank of

the Potomac, Inc., Herndon, Virginia.

B. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

(Zane R. Kelley, Vice President) 104

Marietta Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia

30303:

1. Community Group, Inc.,

Chattanooga, Tennessee; to acquire 100

percent of the voting shares of Etowah

Bancing Company, Etowah, Tennessee,

and thereby acquire Southern United

Bank of McMinn County, Etowah,

Tennessee.

2. Greater Rome Bancshares, Inc.,

Rome, Georgia; to become a bank

holding company by acquiring 100

percent of the voting shares of Greater

Rome Bank, Rome Georgia, a de novo

bank.

C. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

(James A. Bluemle, Vice President) 230

South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois

60690:

1. AMCORE Financial, Inc., Rockford,

Illinois; to acquire 100 percent of the

voting shares of NBM Bancorp, Inc.,

Mendota, Illinois, and thereby indirectly

acquire First National Bank of Peru,

Peru, Illinois, and National Bank of

Mendota, Mendota, Illinois.

D. Federal Reserve Bank of

Minneapolis (James M. Lyon, Vice

President) 250 Marquette Avenue,

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55480:

1. Otto Bremer Foundation and

Bremer Financial Corporation, both of

St. Paul, Minnesota; to merge with

Morris State Bancorporation, Morris,

Minnesota, and thereby indirectly

acquire Morris State Bank, Morris,

Minnesota.

E. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas

City (John E. Yorke, Senior Vice

President) 925 Grand Avenue, Kansas

City, Missouri 64198:

1. American State Bank ESOP, Broken

Bow, Oklahoma; to become a bank

holding company by acquiring 37.04

percent of the voting shares of American

State Bancshares, Inc., Broken Bow,

Oklahoma, and thereby indirectly

acquire American State Bank, Broken

Bow, Oklahoma.

2. Overland Bancorp, Inc., Belton,

Missouri; to become a bank holding

company by acquiring 80 percent of the

voting shares of Bank of Belton, Belton,

Missouri.

F. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

(Genie D. Short, Vice President) 2200

North Pearl Street, Dallas, Texas 75201-

2272:

1. Gulf Southwest Nevada Bancorp,

Inc., Reno, Nevada; and Gulf Southwest

Bancorp, Inc., Houston, Texas to acquire

100 percent of the voting shares of

Texas Gulf Coast Bancorp, Inc.,

Houston, Texas, and thereby indirectly

acquire First Bank Mainland, LaMarque,

Texas; First Bank Pearland, Pearland,

Texas; and Texas City Bank, Texas City,

Texas.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, February 3, 1995.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 95–3236 Filed 2–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F