Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 27, 2008 / Notices 50603 

Proposed Action 

The Secretary proposes to continue to 

use certain priorities for discretionary 

grant competitions in FY 2009, as 

appropriate. The Secretary intends that 

these priorities, which were originally 

established for use in FY 2007 and FY 

2008, will allow the Department to 

continue to focus limited Federal 

resources on areas of greatest 

educational need in FY 2009. The 

Secretary recognizes that some of the 

priorities will not be appropriate for 

particular programs. 

The priorities the Secretary proposes 

to make available for use by the 

Department in discretionary grant 

competitions in FY 2009 are as follows: 

Priority 1—Mathematics. Projects that 

support activities to enable students to 

achieve proficiency or advanced 

proficiency in mathematics. 

Priority 2—Science. Projects that 

support activities to enable students to 

achieve proficiency or advanced 

proficiency in science. 

Priority 3—Critical-Need Languages. 

Projects that support activities to enable 

students to achieve proficiency or 

advanced proficiency in one or more of 

the following less commonly taught 

languages: Arabic, Chinese, Korean, 

Japanese, Russian, and languages in the 

Indic, Iranian, and Turkic language 

families. 

Priority 4—Secondary Schools. 

Projects that support activities and 

interventions aimed at improving the 

academic achievement of secondary 

school students who are at greatest risk 

of not meeting challenging State 

academic standards and not completing 

high school. 

Priority 5—Professional Development 

for Secondary School Teachers. Projects 

that support high-quality professional 

development for secondary school 

teachers to help these teachers improve 

student academic achievement. 

Priority 6—School Districts with 

Schools in Need of Improvement, 

Corrective Action, or Restructuring. 

Projects that help school districts 

implement academic and structural 

interventions in schools that have been 

identified for improvement, corrective 

action, or restructuring under the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965, as amended by the No 

Child Left Behind Act of 2001. 

Priority 7—Student Achievement 

Data. Projects that collect pre- and postintervention test data to assess the effect 

of the projects on the academic 

achievement of student participants 

relative to appropriate comparison or 

control groups. 

Priority 8—State Data Systems. 

Projects that help educators use 

information from State data systems to 

improve student achievement or other 

appropriate outcomes. 

Executive Order 12866 

This notice has been reviewed in 

accordance with Executive Order 12866. 

Under the terms of the order, we have 

assessed the potential costs and benefits 

of this regulatory action. 

The potential costs associated with 

this notice are those resulting from 

statutory requirements and those we 

have determined as necessary for 

administering the Department’s 

discretionary grant programs effectively 

and efficiently. 

In assessing the potential costs and 

benefits—both quantitative and 

qualitative—of this notice we have 

determined that the benefits of the 

proposed action justify the costs. 

We have also determined that this 

regulatory action does not unduly 

interfere with State, local, and tribal 

governments in the exercise of their 

governmental functions. 

Executive Order 12372 

Some of the programs affected by this 

notice are subject to Executive Order 

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 79. One of the objectives of the 

Executive order is to foster an 

intergovernmental partnership and a 

strengthened federalism. The Executive 

order relies on processes developed by 

State and local governments for 

coordination and review of proposed 

Federal financial assistance. 

This document provides early 

notification of our specific plans and 

actions for these programs. 

Electronic Access to This Document 

You may view this document, as well 

as all other Department of Education 

documents published in the Federal 

Register, in text or Adobe Portable 

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet 

at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/ 

news/fedregister. 

To use PDF you must have Adobe 

Acrobat Reader, which is available free 

at this site. If you have questions about 

using PDF, call the U.S. Government 

Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1–

888–293–6498; or in the Washington, 

DC, area at (202) 512–1530. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Number does not apply.) 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e–3; 20 

U.S.C. 6301 et seq. 

Dated: August 22, 2008. 

Margaret Spellings, 

Secretary of Education. 

[FR Doc. E8–19893 Filed 8–26–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional 

Natural Gas and Other Petroleum 

Resources Research and Development 

Program 2008 Annual Plan 

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, 

Department of Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice of Report Availability. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Fossil Energy 

announces the availability of the 2008 

Annual Plan for the Ultra-Deepwater 

and Unconventional Natural Gas and 

Other Petroleum Resources Research 

and Development Program on the DOE 

Web site at http:// 

management.energy.gov/FOIA/1480.htm 

or in print form (see ‘‘CONTACT’’

below). The 2008 Annual Plan is in 

compliance with the Energy Policy Act 

of 2005, Subtitle J, Section 999B(e)(3) 

which requires the publication of this 

plan and all written comments in the 

Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elena Melchert, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, 

Mail Stop FE–30, 1000 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585 or 

phone: 202–586–5600 or e-mail to 

UltraDeepwater@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary [excerpted from 

the 2008 Annual Plan p.3 ] 

This document is the 2008 Annual 

Plan for the Ultra-Deepwater and 

Unconventional Natural Gas and Other 

Petroleum Resources Research and 

Development Program (Program), 

established pursuant to Subtitle J, 

Sections 999A through 999H, of the 

Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). 

The Department of Energy (DOE) 

contracted with a consortium 

(Consortium) to administer three 

program elements, as identified in 

EPAct, pursuant to an annual plan. The 

three program elements administered by 

the Consortium include: ultradeepwater architecture and technology, 

unconventional natural gas and other 

petroleum resources exploration and 

production technology, and technology 

challenges of small producers. 

A fourth program element identified 

in EPAct for complementary research is 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
50604 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 27, 2008 / Notices 

being performed by the National Energy 

Technology Laboratory (NETL). NETL is 

also tasked with primary review and 

oversight of the Consortium. 

In 2006, NETL awarded a contract to 

the Research Partnership to Secure 

Energy for America (RPSEA) to function 

as the Consortium. NETL worked 

closely with RPSEA in the development 

of its first Draft Annual Plan (DAP), 

which framed the Consortium’s goals for 

the first two years of the program. 

RPSEA gathered extensive input 

through industry workshops, road 

mapping sessions, and expert opinion to 

develop its first DAP, and identified 

priority areas for the investment of $32 

million per year on Consortium 

awarded research and development 

(R&D). 

Pursuant to Section 999B(e)(2)(A) of 

EPAct, the Consortium provided its 

recommendations for the 2008 Annual 

Plan in the form of a ‘‘draft annual 

plan’’. These recommendations were the 

basis for the Draft 2008 Annual Plan 

which was presented to the UltraDeepwater Advisory Committee (UDAC) 

and the Unconventional Resources 

Technology Advisory Committee 

(URTAC) for review and comments. 

These comments were considered in the 

final development of the 2008 Annual 

Plan. 

In order to accommodate a Section 

999B(e)(3) requirement to publish all 

written comments, the Advisory 

Committee reports are appended to the 

2008 Annual Plan. No other written 

comments were received. 

The first solicitations under the 

Consortium Program were released in 

mid-October 2007, with proposals 

received in early December 2007 for a 

Small Producer Program and an 

Unconventional Natural Gas and Other 

Petroleum Resource Program. 

Additional solicitations were released in 

November 2007, December 2007, and 

February 2008. 

In the 2008 Annual Plan, the UltraDeepwater Program Element is divided 

into theme areas based on four generic 

field types that represent the most 

challenging field development scenarios 

facing deepwater operators. In 2008, the 

Consortium will solicit R&D projects 

that seek to develop technologies that 

will facilitate development of these field 

types. Additionally, there are eight 

crosscutting challenges that represent 

the areas where new technologies are 

needed to advance the pace of ultradeepwater development for all fields. 

The Consortium will also solicit projects 

that seek to advance technologies in 

each of these areas as components of an 

integrated system. Seventeen projects 

were selected for award from thirteen 

UDW RFPs. The selected projects are 

listed in Table 2.5. 

The Unconventional Natural Gas and 

Other Petroleum Resource Program 

Element is divided into three theme 

areas that target gas shales, water 

management for both coalbed methane 

and gas shales, and tight sands. As in 

the 2007 Annual Plan, the 2008 Annual 

Plan focuses on unconventional natural 

gas rather than ‘‘other petroleum 

resources’’ (e.g. , shale oil, oil sands, 

deep gas). This focus on natural gas 

resources is consistent with a 

recommendation of the Unconventional 

Resources Technology Advisory 

Committee. Unconventional oil 

resources may become an additional 

focus of Consortium R&D in the future; 

however, they are currently being 

addressed within NETL’s R&D portfolio. 

To date, nineteen projects have been 

selected for award under the 

Unconventional Resources Program. 

The selected projects are listed in Table 

2.9. 

The Small Producers Program 

Element targets advancing technologies 

for mature fields, which primarily 

covers the technology challenges of 

managing water production, improving 

recovery, and reducing costs. Mature 

fields are the domain of small 

producers, and they face challenges in 

these three areas on a daily basis. To 

date, seven projects have been selected 

for award under the Small Producers 

Program. The selected projects 

mentioned above are listed in Table 

2.11. 

For each of the program elements, a 

number of ‘‘themes’’ have been 

developed to help guide the Consortium 

through the solicitation process. These 

themes and the prioritization process 

are described in greater detail in 

Sections 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 of the 2008 

Annual Plan. 

The solicitation process that is being 

followed to generate the portfolio of 

R&D projects to address these themes is 

described in Section 2.4. 

Frequent communication between 

NETL and RPSEA ensures that research 

being conducted at the NETL remains 

complementary and supportive of the 

Consortium-administered program 

elements, and that duplication of effort 

is avoided. The technical committee 

established pursuant to EPAct 2005 

Section 999H(d)(4) to further ensure that 

the R&D efforts remain complementary, 

conducted its first assessment on June 

11, 2008 and determined that the 

complementary R&D program being 

carried out by NETL was not duplicative 

of the consortium-based program and is 

in fact complementary in nature. 

The 2008 Annual Plan focuses 

primarily upon the release of 

solicitations and the establishment of 

R&D projects. The R&D projects selected 

to date are expected to be awarded 

beginning in May 2008, with all awards 

anticipated completed by September 

2008. Technology transfer is also a key 

focus for 2008 as it is an important 

aspect of successful R&D and will be 

carried out in a manner such that R&D 

results are disseminated to the widest 

possible audience. 

Technology transfer for this program 

is a continually evolving function. 

Section 999C(d) of EPAct 2005 requires 

that 2.5% of the amount of each award 

is to be designated for technology 

transfer. The funds will target 

technology transfer at both the project 

and the program level. Expenditures of 

these funds will initially be proposed by 

the awardees. 

RPSEA and the awardees will then 

coordinate to develop an appropriate 

approach which fulfills both the project 

and program technology transfer 

requirements. In the broader context, 

NETL and RPSEA are continuing to 

coordinate in the development of a 

technology transfer plan that provides a 

systematic approach for development of 

an integrated technology transfer 

program with the understanding that 

this will be a continually evolving 

function. 

Section 999 H (a) of EPAct provides 

that the Ultra-Deepwater and 

Unconventional Natural Gas and Other 

Petroleum Research Fund will be 

funded at $50-million-per-year, with 

funds generated from Federal lease 

royalties, rents, and bonuses paid by oil 

and gas companies. The Consortium 

receives 75 percent of those funds. After 

allocations for program management by 

NETL and R&D administration by 

RPSEA, the amounts to be invested in 

Consortium R&D total $32.06 million 

per year. 

Under the Stage/Gate approach, 

described below in Section 2.5, all 

projects will be fully funded to the 

completion of the appropriate decision 

point identified in each contract, which 

may include multiple stages. If a 

decision is made to move to the next 

stage or decision point or to gather 

additional data, additional funding will 

be provided from available funds. 

The NETL Strategic Center for Natural 

Gas and Oil is responsible for primary 

review and oversight of the Consortium. 

Complementary R&D is being carried 

out by NETL’s Office of Research and 

Development. Planning and analysis 

related to the program, including 

benefits assessment and technology 

impacts analysis, is being carried out by 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 27, 2008 / Notices 50605 

NETL’s Office of Systems, Analysis, and 

Planning. 

Section 999F of EPAct contains a 

general sunset provision for Subtitle J of 

September 30, 2014. 

Dated: August 7, 2008. 

Guido DeHoratiis, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of 

Oil and Natural Gas, Office of Fossil Energy. 

[FR Doc. E8–19846 Filed 8–26–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 13247–000] 

Natural Currents Energy Services, 

LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit 

Application Accepted for Filing and 

Soliciting Comments, Motions to 

Intervene, and Competing Applications 

August 20, 2008. 

On June 27, 2008 and supplemented 

on August 12, 2008, Natural Currents 

Energy Services, LLC filed an 

application, pursuant to section 4(f) of 

the Federal Power Act, proposing to 

study the feasibility of the Kingsbridge 

Marina Tidal Energy Project, located on 

the Manasquan River in Ocean County, 

New Jersey. The project uses no dam or 

impoundment. 

The proposed project would consist 

of: (1) 2 Tidal In-Stream Energy 

Conversion (TISEC) generating units, 

with a total installed capacity of 40- 

kilowatts, (2) an underwater cable 

approximately 100 foot in length, and 

(3) appurtenant facilities. The project is 

estimated to have an annual generation 

of 300-megawatt-hours, which would be 

sold to the Kingsbridge Financial Group, 

Inc. 

Applicant Contact: Mr. Roger Bason, 

Natural Currents Energy Services, LLC, 

24 Roxanne Boulevard, Highland, New 

York 12561, (845) 691–4009. 

FERC Contact: Kelly Houff (202) 502–

6393. 

Deadline for filing comments, motions 

to intervene, competing applications 

(without notices of intent), or notices of 

intent to file competing applications: 60 

days from the issuance of this notice. 

Comments, motions to intervene, 

notices of intent, and competing 

applications may be filed electronically 

via the Internet. See 18 CFR 

385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions 

on the Commission’s Web site under the 

‘‘e-Filing’’ link. If unable to be filed 

electronically, documents may be paperfiled. To paper-file, an original and eight 

copies should be mailed to: Kimberly D. 

Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. For 

more information on how to submit 

these types of filings please go to the 

Commission’s Web site located at http:// 

www.ferc.gov/filing-comments.asp. 

More information about this project can 

be viewed or printed on the ‘‘eLibrary’’

link of Commission’s Web site at http:// 

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. 

Enter the docket number (P–13247) in 

the docket number field to access the 

document. For assistance, call toll-free 

1–866–208–3372. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–19810 Filed 8–26–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 13246–000] 

Natural Currents Energy Services, 

LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit 

Application Accepted for Filing and 

Soliciting Comments, Motions To 

Intervene, and Competing Applications 

August 20, 2008. 

On June 23, 2008 and supplemented 

on August 12, 2008, Natural Currents 

Energy Services, LLC filed an 

application, pursuant to section 4(f) of 

the Federal Power Act, proposing to 

study the feasibility of the Wiscasset 

Tidal Energy Project, located on the 

Sheepscot River in Lincoln County, 

Maine. The project uses no dam or 

impoundment. 

The proposed project would consist 

of: (1) 6 Tidal In-Stream Energy 

Conversion (TISEC) generating units, 

with a total installed capacity of 10- 

megawatts, (2) an underwater cable 

approximately 0.5 to 1 km in length, 

and (3) appurtenant facilities. The 

project is estimated to have an annual 

generation of 4.38-gigawatt-hours, 

which would be sold to a local utility. 

Applicant Contact: Mr. Roger Bason, 

Natural Currents Energy Services, LLC, 

24 Roxanne Boulevard, Highland, New 

York 12561, (845) 691–4009. 

FERC Contact: Kelly Houff (202) 502–

6393. 

Deadline for filing comments, motions 

to intervene, competing applications 

(without notices of intent), or notices of 

intent to file competing applications: 60 

days from the issuance of this notice. 

Comments, motions to intervene, 

notices of intent, and competing 

applications may be filed electronically 

via the Internet. See 18 CFR 

385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions 

on the Commission’s Web site under the 

‘‘e-Filing’’ link. If unable to be filed 

electronically, documents may be paperfiled. To paper-file, an original and eight 

copies should be mailed to: Kimberly D. 

Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. For 

more information on how to submit 

these types of filings please go to the 

Commission’s Web site located at 

http://www.ferc.gov/filingcomments.asp. More information about 

this project can be viewed or printed on 

the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link of Commission’s 

Web site at http://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/elibrary.asp. Enter the docket 

number (P–13246) in the docket number 

field to access the document. For 

assistance, call toll-free 1–866–208–

3372. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–19813 Filed 8–26–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

Combined Notice of Filings # 1 

August 19, 2008. 

Take notice that the Commission 

received the following electric rate 

filings: 

Docket Numbers: ER01–989–006. 

Applicants: Green Mountain Power 

Corporation. 

Description: Green Mountain Power 

Corporation submits Change-in-Status 

Report resulting from the merger of Gas 

de France, which holds an indirect 

12.78% interest in GMP, and SUEZ SA 

to form GDF SUEZ. 

Filed Date: 08/12/2008. 

Accession Number: 20080813–0298. 

Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern Time 

on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. 

Docket Numbers: ER02–553–010. 

Applicants: Rolling Hills Generating 

L.L.C. 

Description: Updated Market Power 

Analysis re Rolling Hills Generating, 

LLC. 

Filed Date: 08/18/2008. 

Accession Number: 20080818–5139. 

Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern Time 

on Monday, September 8, 2008. 

Docket Numbers: ER02–1947–009. 

Applicants: Occidental Power 

Services, Inc. 

Description: Occidental Power 

Marketing, LP et. al. submits an updated 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES