45218 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 150 / Monday, August 4, 2008 / Notices 

calves three to six months of age may 

also be biopsy sampled. The original 

application submitted by the WCNE 

included a request to conduct research 

on North Atlantic right whales 

(Eubalaena glacialis). At the time of 

permit issuance, takes for right whales 

were not authorized. NMFS is now 

reviewing the right whale portion of the 

request as an amendment to Permit No. 

605–1904. The WCNE requests 

authorization to harass up to 75 North 

Atlantic right whales annually during 

close vessel approaches for photoidentification, behavioral observation, 

and prey sampling. This work would 

continue long-term population 

monitoring to determine status and 

trends of this species in the North 

Atlantic. The amendment would be 

valid until the permit expires on 

February 15, 2013. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of this 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: July 29, 2008. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–17813 Filed 8–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

[OE Docket No. PP–334] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment and To 

Conduct Public Scoping Meetings; 

Baja Wind U.S. Transmission, LLC 

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery 

and Energy Reliability, DOE. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment (EA) and To 

Conduct Public Scoping Meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) will prepare an EA and hold 

public scoping meetings on the 

proposed Federal action of granting a 

Presidential permit to Baja Wind U.S. 

Transmission, LLC (Baja Wind) to 

construct a new electric transmission 

line at the U.S.-Mexico border in San 

Diego County, California, near the 

community of Jacumba. The proposed 

international transmission line would 

originate at a wind generation facility to 

be located in northern Baja California, 

Mexico, cross the U.S.-Mexico 

international border, and extend one 

mile into the U.S. where it would 

terminate at a substation to be 

constructed by San Diego Gas & Electric 

Company (SDG&E) adjacent to the 

existing Southwest Powerlink (SWPL) 

500–kV transmission line, located in 

San Diego County, California. Baja Wind 

has applied to DOE’s Office of 

Electricity Delivery and Energy 

Reliability (OE) for a Presidential permit 

to construct either a double-circuit 230- 

kilovolt (kV) or a single-circuit 500-kV 

electric transmission line across the U.S. 

border with Mexico. 

The EA, entitled Baja Wind U.S. 

Transmission Environmental 

Assessment (DOE/EA–399) will address 

potential environmental impacts from 

the proposed action and the range of 

reasonable alternatives. The EA will be 

prepared in compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA) and applicable regulations, 

including Council on Environmental 

Quality NEPA Implementing 

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508) 

and DOE NEPA implementing 

regulations at 10 CFR Part 1021. It will 

help DOE determinie whether to 

prepare an EIS. Given that the proposed 

transmission line is short, and that the 

imports into the U.S. appear to be small, 

DOE believes an EA is appropriate. 

DOE invites the public to participate 

in determining the scope of the EA by 

suggesting alternatives and pointing out 

potential environmental impacts. If at 

any time during preparation of the EA 

DOE determines that an environmental 

impact statement (EIS) is needed, DOE 

will issue a Notice of Intent to prepare 

an EIS in the Federal Register. In that 

case, this scoping process will serve as 

the scoping process that normally 

would follow a Notice of Intent to 

prepare an EIS. Accordingly, DOE will 

consider any comments on the scope of 

the EA received during this scoping 

process in preparing such an EIS. 

DATES: DOE invites interested agencies, 

organizations, Native American tribes, 

and members of the public to submit 

comments or suggestions to assist in 

identifying any potentially significant 

environmental issues and in 

determining the scope of the EA. The 

public scoping period starts with the 

publication of this Notice in the Federal 

Register and will continue until 

September 3, 2008. DOE will consider 

all comments received or postmarked by 

September 3, 2008 in defining the scope 

of the EA. Comments received or 

postmarked after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

Public scoping meetings will be held 

on August 26, 2008, from 1 p.m. to 3 

p.m., and again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., 

at the Jacumba Highland Center, 44681 

Old Highway 80, Jacumba, California. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments or 

suggestions on the scope of the EA 

should be addressed to: Mrs. Ellen 

Russell, Office of Electricity Delivery 

and Energy Reliability (OE–20), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0350; phone 

202–586–9624, facsimile at 202–586–

8008, or electronic mail at 

Ellen.Russell@hq.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further 

information on the proposed project, on 

the Presidential permit process, or to 

receive a copy of the pre-approval EA 

when it is issued for state and public 

review, contact Ellen Russell at the 

address listed in the ADDRESSES section 

of this notice. The Baja Wind 

Presidential permit application, 

including associated maps and 

drawings, can be downloaded in its 

entirety from the OE program Web site 

http://www.oe.energy.gov/permits.htm. 

For general information on the DOE 

NEPA process, please contact: Carol M. 

Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA 

Policy and Compliance (GC–20), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0103; phone 

202–586–4600, leave a message at 800–

472–2756, or facsimile to 202–586–

7031. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive 

Order (EO) 10485, as amended by EO 

12038, requires that a Presidential 

permit be issued by DOE before electric 

transmission facilities may be 

constructed, operated, maintained, or 

connected at the U.S. international 

border. The EO provides that a 

Presidential permit may be issued after 

a finding that the proposed project is 

consistent with the public interest and 

after favorable recommendations from 

the U.S. Departments of State and 

Defense. In determining consistency 

with the public interest, DOE considers 

the environmental impacts of the 

proposed project under NEPA, 

determines the project’s impact on 

electric reliability (including whether 

the proposed project would adversely 

affect the operation of the U.S. electric 

power supply system under normal and 

contingency conditions), and considers 

any other factors that DOE may find 

relevant to the public interest. The 

regulations implementing the EO have 

been codified at 10 CFR 205.320–

205.329. DOE’s issuance of a 

Presidential permit indicates that there 

is no Federal objection to the project, 

but does not mandate that the project be 

undertaken. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 150 / Monday, August 4, 2008 / Notices 45219 

Agency Purpose and Need, Proposed 

Action, and Alternatives 

The purpose and need for DOE’s 

action is to decide whether to grant Baja 

Wind’s application for a Presidential 

permit for the proposed international 

electric transmission line. DOE’s 

proposed action is to issue a 

Presidential permit for the construction, 

operation, maintenance, and connection 

of the proposed international electric 

transmission line. If granted, the 

Presidential permit would authorize 

only the one-mile portion of the 

applicant’s proposal that would be 

constructed and operated wholly within 

the United States. 

Both of Baja Wind’s alternatives 

would cross the U.S.-Mexican border at 

the same location. However, the 

alternative identified as A1 in the 

Presidential permit application would 

be constructed at 500-kV and would be 

the eastern alternative; the alternative 

identified as A2 would be constructed at 

230-kV and be located to the west of the 

A1 alternative. Both alternatives would 

be located wholly within private 

property in eastern San Diego County 

near the unincorporated community of 

Jacumba. In addition to the alternatives 

proposed by Baja Wind, DOE will 

consider reasonable alternatives that are 

identified during scoping. The EA will 

also consider the environmental impacts 

of a ‘‘No Action’’ alternative. 

Baja Wind’s proposed transmission 

line would connect wind turbines (the 

La Rumorosa Project) to be located in 

the vicinity of La Rumorosa, Baja 

California, Mexico, to San Diego Gas & 

Electric’s existing Southwest Powerlink 

transmission line. The proposed 

transmission line would consist of 

either a double-circuit 230-kV or a 

single-circuit 500-kV transmission line 

installed on either lattice towers or steel 

monopoles. The La Rumorosa Project 

and the two-mile portion of 

transmission facilities located in Mexico 

would be constructed, owned, operated, 

and maintained by a subsidiary of 

Sempra Energy Mexico and would be 

subject to the permitting requirements 

of the Mexican Government. The 

proposed one-mile long transmission 

line within the United States would be 

on private land and constructed, owned, 

operated, and maintained by Baja Wind. 

The entire electrical output of the La 

Rumorosa Project (1250 megawatts, 

approximately 260 to 300 turbines) 

would be dedicated to the U.S. market 

and delivered using the proposed 

international transmission line. The EA 

will only consider impacts that occur 

inside the United States. 

Baja Wind’s proposed transmission 

line would connect to a new substation 

to be constructed by SDG&E in response 

to requests by power suppliers to 

connect to the SWPL. The proposed 

substation would be located just south 

of the SWPL right-of-way and would 

contain equipment for accepting 

interconnections at both the 230-kV and 

the 500-kV level. The 230-kV 

connection equipment would be located 

just to the west of the 500-kV 

connection equipment, both within the 

confines of the substation boundary. 

Accordingly, Baja Wind has identified 

two routing/voltage alternatives to 

coincide with interconnection at 230-kV 

or the 500kV level. 

Identification of Environmental Issues 

In the EA, DOE will examine public 

health and safety effects and 

environmental impacts in the United 

States from the proposed transmission 

facilities and from the wind farm to the 

extent that any impacts from it occur 

within the United States. DOE invites 

Tribal governments, Federal, State and 

local agencies, and those entities with 

jurisdiction by law or special expertise 

with respect to environmental issues to 

be cooperating agencies in the 

preparation of the EA, as defined at 40 

CFR 1501.6. 

This notice is to inform the public of 

the proposed project and to solicit 

comments and suggestions for 

consideration in the preparation of the 

EA. To help the public frame its 

comments, this notice contains a 

preliminary list of potential 

environmental issues that DOE has 

tentatively identified for analysis. These 

issues include: 

1. Impacts on protected, threatened, 

endangered, or sensitive species of 

animals or plants, or their critical 

habitats, e.g., the quino checkerspot 

butterfly and migratory birds; 

2. Impacts on cultural or historic 

resources; 

3. Impacts on human health and 

safety; 

4. Impacts on air, soil, and water; 

5. Visual impacts; 

6. Socioeconomic impacts; 

7. Disproportionately high and 

adverse impacts on minority and lowincome populations; 

8. Impacts that would accrue to the 

U.S. as a result of related activities 

occurring inside Mexico (e.g., dust from 

the construction process inside Mexico 

or location of wind generators within 

view of the U.S.); and 

9. Cumulative impacts. 

On February 22, 2008, DOE published 

a notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 

9782) announcing receipt of the Baja 

Wind Presidential permit application 

and soliciting public comments. 

Comments received on that notice 

identified potential environmental 

impacts that may be associated with this 

proposed project, for example, impacts 

on threatened or endangered species, 

critical habitat, and migratory birds. 

Several commenters in this 

proceeding have asked DOE to evaluate 

the impacts associated with activities 

that will occur inside Mexico (e.g., from 

the construction and operation in 

Mexico of the wind generators). NEPA 

does not require an analysis of 

environmental impacts that occur 

within another sovereign nation that 

result from approved actions by that 

sovereign nation. The EA will evaluate 

all relevant environmental impacts 

within the U.S. related to the proposed 

action. 

Scoping Process 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in the scoping process both 

to refine the environmental issues to be 

analyzed and to identify the reasonable 

range of alternatives. Both oral and 

written comments will be considered 

and given equal weight by DOE. 

Public scoping meetings will be held 

at the location, date, and times 

indicated above under the DATES

section. The scoping meetings will 

provide interested parties the 

opportunity to view proposed project 

exhibits, ask questions, and comment on 

the EA scope. The DOE presiding officer 

will establish only those procedures 

needed to ensure that everyone who 

wishes to speak has a chance to do so 

and that DOE understands all issues and 

comments. Speakers will be allocated 

approximately 10 minutes for their oral 

statements. Persons who have not 

submitted a request to speak in advance 

may register to speak at the scoping 

meetings, but advance requests are 

encouraged. Should any speaker desire 

to provide further information that 

cannot be presented within the 

designated time, such additional 

information may be submitted in 

writing by the date listed in the DATES

section. Both oral and written comments 

will be considered and given equal 

weight by DOE. 

The pre-approval EA is planned to be 

issued for state and public review by the 

spring of 2009. Persons submitting 

comments during the scoping process 

will receive a copy. Persons who do not 

wish to submit comments or suggestions 

at this time but who would like to 

receive a copy of the document for 

review when it is issued should notify 

Ellen Russell at the address provided 

above. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
45220 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 150 / Monday, August 4, 2008 / Notices 

Issued in Washington, DC, on July 30, 

2008. 

Kevin M. Kolevar, 

Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity 

Delivery and Energy Reliability. 

[FR Doc. E8–17840 Filed 8–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–8700–5] 

Underground Injection Control 

Program; Hazardous Waste Injection 

Restrictions; Petition for Exemption—

Class I Hazardous Waste Injection; 

Solutia, Inc. 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of Final Decisions on No 

Migration Petition Reissuances. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

exemptions to the land disposal 

restrictions under the 1984 Hazardous 

and Solid Waste Amendments to the 

Resource Conservation and Recovery 

Act have been granted to Solutia, Inc, 

Chocolate Bayou Facility (Solutia) for 

two Class I injection wells located at 

Alvin, Texas. As required by 40 CFR 

Part 148, the company has adequately 

demonstrated to the satisfaction of the 

Environmental Protection Agency by the 

petitions and supporting documentation 

that, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 

there will be no migration of hazardous 

constituents from the injection zone for 

as long as the waste remains hazardous. 

These final decisions allow the 

underground injection by Solutia, of the 

specific restricted hazardous wastes 

identified in these exemptions, into 

Class I hazardous waste injection wells 

Nos. WDW–224 and WDW–326 at the 

Chocolate Bayou, Alvin, Texas facility, 

until December 31, 2026, unless EPA 

moves to terminate these exemptions 

under provisions of 40 CFR 148.24. 

Additional conditions included in these 

final decisions may be reviewed by 

contacting the Region 6 Ground Water/ 

UIC Section. As required by 40 CFR 

148.22(b) and 124.10, a public notice 

was issued June 5, 2008. The public 

comment period closed on July 21, 

2008. No comments were received. 

These decisions constitute final Agency 

action and there is no Administrative 

appeal. These decisions may be 

reviewed/appealed in compliance with 

the Administrative Procedure Act. 

DATES: These actions are effective as of 

July 28, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the petitions and 

all pertinent information relating thereto 

are on file at the following location: 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 6, Water Quality Protection 

Division, Source Water Protection 

Branch (6WQ–S), 1445 Ross Avenue, 

Dallas, Texas 75202–2733. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Philip Dellinger, Chief Ground Water/ 

UIC Section, EPA—Region 6, telephone 

(214) 665–7150. 

Dated: July 28, 2008. 

Miguel I. Flores, 

Division Director, Water Quality Protection 

Division. 

[FR Doc. E8–17815 Filed 8–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

Notice of Public Information 

Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the 

Federal Communications Commission, 

Comments Requested 

July 29, 2008. 

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork burden and as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–

3520), the Federal Communications 

Commission invites the general public 

and other Federal agencies to comment 

on the following information 

collection(s). Comments are requested 

concerning (a) whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the Commission, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

Commission’s burden estimate; (c) ways 

to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information collected; and 

(d) ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on the 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

An agency may not conduct or sponsor 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. No person shall be subject to 

any penalty for failing to comply with 

a collection of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act that does not 

display a valid OMB control number. 

DATES: Written PRA comments should 

be submitted on or before October 3, 

2008. If you anticipate that you will be 

submitting comments, but find it 

difficult to do so within the period of 

time allowed by this notice, you should 

advise the contact listed below as soon 

as possible. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments by 

e-mail to PRA@fcc.gov. Include in the email the OMB control number of the 

collection or, if there is no OMB control 

number, the Title shown in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. If you are unable to submit your 

comments by e-mail contact the person 

listed below to make alternate 

arrangements. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information about the 

information collection(s) or to obtain a 

copy of the collection send an e-mail to 

PRA@fcc.gov and include the 

collection’s OMB control number as 

shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section below (or the title 

of the collection if there is no OMB 

control number), or call Jerry Cowden at 

202–418–0447. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–0204. 

Title: Special Eligibility Showings for 

Authorizations in the Public Safety Pool 

(47 CFR 90.20(a)(2)(v) and 

90.20(a)(2)(xi)). 

Form Number: Not applicable. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents: Individuals and 

businesses. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 220 respondents; 220 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 0.686 

hour (range of 3 minutes to 45 minutes). 

Frequency of Response: One-time 

reporting requirement. 

Obligation to Respond: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. 

Total Annual Burden: 151 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: None. 

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: The 

information collection in 47 CFR 

90.20(a)(2)(v) affects individuals, and 

there is a system of records that covers 

it (FCC/WTB–1, Wireless Services 

Licensing Records). 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

Requests to withhold information 

submitted to the Commission from 

public inspection will be treated in 

accordance with section 0.459 of the 

Commission’s rules. 

Needs and Uses: The Commission 

collects this information to ensure that 

certain non-governmental applicants 

applying for the use of frequencies in 

the Public Safety Pool meet the 

eligibility criteria set forth in the 

Commission’s rules. The collection is 

being revised to consolidate under one 

OMB control number two information 

collections that were previously under 

separate OMB control numbers. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES