Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 1995 / Proposed Rules 13651

The regulation is proposed to be

revised to clarify this section by

changing the unit of measurement from

gallons per day, to an equivalent

population served. This will eliminate

the confusion, and should not result in

a change to the threshold as the present

threshold of 50,000 gallons per day for

a new withdrawal is based on EPA’s

definition of Very Small Water Systems,

‘‘systems serving up to 500 people.’’

Based on an average daily demand of

100 gallons per day per capita, the

average daily withdrawal for very small

systems will be 50,000 gallons per day.

To be consistent, the equivalent

population will also be used for

discharges.

Section 1940.311(b)(1)(v) will also be

revised to remove the apparent conflict

created by the revision to

§ 1940.311(b)(1)(ii).

In § 1940.311(b)(2) there has been

confusion about the number of beds

which may be added to an existing

facility. This confusion has resulted in

the unnecessary completion of Class II

environmental assessments for some

essential community facility projects.

The regulation is proposed to be

revised to clarify this section by

separately specifying the number of

beds for new and existing projects.

In § 1940.311(b)(3)(iii) there has been

confusion about whether medical waste

is considered to be a hazardous waste.

This confusion has resulted in the

unnecessary completion of Class II

environmental assessments for some

essential community facility projects.

The regulation is proposed to be

revised to clarify this section by adding

a new section that will deal specifically

with medical wastes.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1940

Endangered and threatened wildlife,

Environmental protection, Floodplains,

National wild and scenic river system,

Natural resources, Recreation, Water

supply.

Accordingly, the Agencies propose to

amend Chapter XVIII, Title 7, Code of

Federal Regulations as follows.

PART 1940—GENERAL

1. The authority citation for part 1940

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1989; 42 U.S.C. 1480;

5 U.S.C. 301; 7 CFR 2.23 and 2.70.

Subpart G—Environmental Program

2. Section 1940.311 is amended by

redesignating paragraph (b)(3)(iii) as

(b)(3)(iv); revising paragraphs (b)(1)(i),

(b)(1)(ii), (b))(1)(v), and (b)(2); and

adding a new paragraph (b)(3)(iii) to

read as follows:

§ 1940.311 Environmental assessments for

Class I actions.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(i) For existing Systems, there will not

be either:

(A) A substantial increase in the

volume of an existing discharge or the

loading of pollutants from an existing or

expanded sewage treatment facilities, or

(B) A substantial increase in an

existing withdrawal from surface or

ground waters.

(C) The existence of a substantial

increase will depend on the particulars

of the situation under consideration.

Each proposal should be examined for

the possibility of a substantial increase

in discharge or withdrawal. A

substantial increase may or may not be

determined by such factors as: evidence

of a large increase in pump or pipe size,

other evidence of a large increase in

hydraulic capacity, or the need for a

new or amended discharge or

withdrawal permit. Whatever factors are

considered, the rationale behind the

decision should be documented as part

of the Class I assessment.

(ii) For all systems (existing and new),

there will not be either:

(A) A new discharge to surface or

ground waters, such that the additional

design capacity of the facility exceeds

the average daily discharge of an

equivalent population of 500 persons, or

(B) A new withdrawal from surface or

ground waters such that the additional

design capacity of the facility exceeds

the demand needed to serve an

equivalent population of 500 persons,

and

(C) The potential water quality

impacts are analyzed and documented

in the manner required for a Class II

assessment and attached as an exhibit to

the Class I assessment.

(D) A new well solely to provide

‘‘backup’’ capacity, required by a State

regulatory agency or standard

engineering practice, is not considered a

new withdrawal.

* * * * *

(v) For a proposed expansion of a

sewage treatment or water supply

facility, such expansion would serve an

equivalent population that is no more

than 20 percent or 500 persons

(whichever is the larger) greater than the

existing population.

* * * * *

(2) Financial assistance for existing

group homes, detention facilities,

nursing homes, or hospitals that add no

more than 25 beds or increase the

number of beds by no more than 25

percent, whichever is greater, or new

facilities of not more than 25 beds.

(3) * * *

(iii) Do not produce infectious,

medical, biological, or special medical

wastes (including radiological waste of

medical origin) that would exceed small

quantity generator limits as established

by the appropriate regulatory agency,

and provided the facility’s management

plan is reviewed to ensure compliance

with the regulatory agency

requirements. The management plan

should include standard operating

procedures for notification, permitting,

and recordkeeping requirements as well

as handling, storage, packaging, and

disposal of infectious waste materials.

Documentation of the compliance

review must be attached as an exhibit to

the Class I assessment.

* * * * *

Dated: February 27, 1995.

Michael V. Dunn

Acting Under Secretary for Rural Economic

and Community Development.

[FR Doc. 95–6228 Filed 3–13–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–17–U

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

18 CFR Part 154, 158, 201, 250, and 284

[Docket No. RM95–3–000; Rm95–4–000]

Filing and Reporting Requirements for

Interstate Natural Gas Company Rate

Schedules and Tariffs; Revisions to

Uniform System of Accounts Forms,

Statements, and Reporting

Requirements for Natural Gas

Companies; Notice of Informal

Technical Conference

March 8, 1995.

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of

informal technical conference.

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission will hold an

informal technical conference pursuant

to the Notices of Proposed Rulemaking

issued on December 16, 1994, in Docket

Nos. RM95–3–000 and RM95–4–000.

The conference is a preliminary step in

the process of modifying the electronic

filing requirements to complement the

proposed revisions to the regulations set

forth in the December 16, 1994 notices.

DATES: Tuesday and Wednesday, April

4 and 5, 1995: 9:00 a.m.

ADDRESSES: Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 810 First Street, NE.,

Washington, DC 20426.
13652 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 1995 / Proposed Rules

1Published in the Federal Register on January 13,

1995 at 60 FR 3111 and 3141, respectively.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard A. White, Office of the General

Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 825 North Capitol Street,

NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208–

0491.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

addition to publishing the full text of

this document in the Federal Register,

the Commission also provides all

interested persons an opportunity to

inspect or copy the contents of this

document during normal business hours

in Room 3104, 941 North Capitol Street,

NE., Washington, DC 20426.

The Commission Issuance Posting

System (CIPS), an electronic bulletin

board service, provides access to the

texts of formal documents issued by the

Commission. CIPS is available at no

charge to the user and may be accessed

using a personal computer with a

modem by dialing (202) 208–1397. To

access CIPS, set your communications

software to 19200, 14400, 12000, 9600,

7200, 4800, 2400, 1200, or 300 bps, full

duplex, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop

bit. The full text of this rule will be

available on CIPS for 60 days from the

date of issuance in ASCII and

WordPerfect 5.1 formats. After 60 days,

the rule will be archived, but still

accessible. The complete text on

diskette in Wordperfect format may also

be purchased from the Commission’s

copy contractor, La Dorn Systems

Corporation, also located in Room 3104,

941 North Capitol Street, NE.,

Washington, DC 20426.

Take notice that on Tuesday, April 4,

1995 and, if necessary, Wednesday,

April 5, 1995, an informal technical

conference will be convened to begin

designing modifications to the

electronic filing requirements

necessitated by proposed Rulemaking

issued on December 16, 1994, in Docket

Nos. RM95–3–000 and RM95–4–000,1

the Commission directed its Staff to

convene a technical conference to

obtain the participation of the industry

and others for this purpose.

The conference is a preliminary step

in the process of modifying the

Commission’s electronic filing

requirements to complement the

proposed revisions to the regulations set

forth in the December 16, 1994 notices.

Objectives to be achieved by

modifying the electronic filing

requirements include:

• To employ user-friendly form fill, word

processing, or spreadsheet applications as

much as possible.

• To minimize the burden of the reporting

requirements for regulated entites.

• To eliminate unnecessary processing

steps by the Commission and the companies.

• To facilitate access to the information by

the public.

• To the greatest extent possible, electronic

data should be capable of being linked to

related data in other filings.

• To ensure that electronically submitted

data contains the same information as the

paper copy of the filing.

• To ensure that electronic data can be

easily correlated with the data in the paper

filing.

• To ensure that all spreadsheets contain

the underlying formulae and links.

The specific objectives of this conference

are:

• To provide a form within which Staff

can gain a better understanding of how the

industry stores and processes the data

required in the Commission’s forms and

filings.

• To determine the most efficient

electronic means for the preparation and

submittal of data.

• To determine the most efficient

electronic means for the dissemination of

data to the public.

• To determine whether additional

conferences are desirable; and, if so, the

format, agenda, and dates.

In light of these objectives,

Commission Staff anticipates

considering the following topics at the

conference:

• An appropriate filing format for each

type of submittal.

• How companies store data (mainframe,

PCs, paper only) that the Commission

proposes to be filed electronically.

• How companies prepare Form 2, Form

11, discount rate reports, index of customers,

and section 4 rate cases (using commercial

software, proprietary software, spreadsheets,

databases, wordprocessing software).

Whether companies use different hardware

and software for different parts of the

submittal. What spreadsheet, database, and

wordprocessing software is used

predominantly.

• Those aspects of the Commission’s

current electronic filing requirements that

should not be changed.

• The use of form fill software for

submitting each filing.

• Whether the Commission’s form fill

software for submitting FERC Form No. 1

would be useful for submitting other filings.

(The Commission’s form fill software for

submitting FERC Form No. 1 is available on

the Commission Issuance Posting System

(CIPS) under option ‘‘FERC Form No. 1

Forum.’’ The bulletin board number is (202)

208–1397.)

• What information from electronic filings

should be accessible to the public. In what

form would such data be most useful

(spreadsheet, database, wordprocessing,

ASCII).

• Transmission of electronic data to the

Commission through telecommunication.

• Any special concerns of state

commissions, small businesses, customers,

consumer groups, and nonindustry users of

electronically filed data.

• Participants should also be prepared to

discuss any other relevant matter.

Commission Staff is currently

preparing an agenda for the conference.

In order that the conference be as

productive as possible, Staff invites

comments on the goals, issues, and

topics of discussion. Such comments

should be addressed to Richard A.

White, Office of the General Counsel,

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

825 North Capitol Street, NE.,

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208–0491.

Comments should be received by March

28, 1995. Commenters are encouraged to

submit comments on a 31⁄2 inch diskette

in ASCII format.

The conference will begin at 9:00 a.m.

on April 4, 1995, in a hearing or

conference room of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 810 First

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. The

conference room will be designated in a

subsequent notice. All interested

persons are invited to attend.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–6168 Filed 3–13–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

30 CFR Part 254

Response Plans for Facilities Seaward

of the Coast Line

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension of public

comment period.

SUMMARY: This notice extends, by 62

days, the comment period for a notice

of proposed rulemaking (NPR) that the

Minerals Management Service

published in the Federal Register on

January 13, 1995. The NPR is concerned

with requirements for spill-response

plans for oil handling facilities located

seaward of the coast line.

DATES: The comment period is extended

to May 15, 1995. Comments should be

received or postmarked by that date.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed or hand delivered to the

Department of the Interior, Minerals

Management Service, Mail Stop 4700;

381 Elden Street; Herndon, Virginia

22070–4817; Attention: Chief,

Engineering and Standards Branch.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John Mirabella or Lawrence Ake,

Engineering and Standards Branch,

telephone (703) 787–1600.