Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 177 / Thursday, September 11, 2008 / Notices 52813 

application must be on 8.5- by 11-inch 

plain white paper only (no colored 

paper, over-sized paper, or special 

covers) with a minimum font size of 11 

letters per inch. Top, bottom, and side 

margins must be no less than threequarters of an inch. All pages must be 

clearly numbered. The paper copies of 

the application package should be 

stapled with a single staple at the upper 

left-hand corner. Do not staple the 

original. Other bindings will not be 

accepted. 

b. Full Application Content. Project 

Summary Table, SF 424, and 424A shall 

be submitted with the application for 

acceptance. Assemble information in 

the following order: Project Summary 

Table, SF 424, SF424A, project 

narrative, budget justification narrative, 

budget, financial feasibility, and 

appendices. Forms for the Project 

Summary, SF424, and SF424A can be 

found at http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/tmu 

(under Woody Biomass Grants). The 

project narrative consists of statement of 

need, project coordinator(s) and 

partner(s), goals and objectives, 

technical approach work plan, impact 

on National Forest System forest 

restoration activities, environmental 

documentation, project work plan and 

timeline, social impacts, evaluation and 

monitoring plan, and equipment 

description. The project narrative shall 

provide a clear description of the work 

to be performed, how it will be 

accomplished, and its impact on 

National Forest System lands. It shall 

address the technical approach work 

plan under criteria b listed in section 5. 

The project narrative is limited to a total 

of 10 pages and excludes Project 

Summary Table, budget justification, 

budget, appendices and financial 

documentation. 

c. Detailed Financial Information. 

Detailed financial information is 

requested to assess the potential and the 

capability of the applicant. All financial 

information remains confidential and is 

not accessible under the Freedom of 

Information Act. If the applicant has 

questions about how confidential 

information is handled they should 

contact Patricia Brumm at 

pbrumm@fs.fed.us. The financial 

information should provide a general 

overview of historical and projected 

(pro forma) financial performance. 

Standard accounting principles should 

be used for developing the required 

financial information. Strong 

applications have benefited from the use 

of a certified accountant to develop this 

information. Applicants should refer to 

the Technology Marketing Unit’s Web 

site at http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/tmu 

(under Woody Biomass Grants) or at 

http://www.grants.gov for the financial 

information requirements, as well as 

Web sites for standard financial 

templates. 

d. Full Application Delivery. Full 

applications must be postmarked by 

February 13, 2009, and received no later 

than 5 p.m. Central Standard Time on 

February 20, 2009, by Patricia Brumm at 

the Forest Products Laboratory. Handdelivered or fax applications will not be 

accepted. E-mail applications should be 

submitted through http:// 

www.grants.gov. No exceptions allowed. 

Please send full applications to the 

address listed in the ADDRESSES section 

of this notice. 

8. Appendices 

The following information must be 

included in the appendix of the preapplication and the full application 

package: 

a. Letter of Support and Biomass 

Availability from Local USDA Forest 

Service District Ranger or Forest 

Supervisor Is Required: This letter must 

describe the status of National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 

acres, timeframes, available volumes, 

and opportunities for applicant to 

access these volumes. These letters shall 

be submitted with both the preapplication and full application. 

b. Letters of Support from Partners, 

Individuals, or Organizations: Letters of 

support should be included in an 

appendix and are intended to display 

the degree of collaboration occurring 

between the different entities engaged in 

the project. These letters must include 

commitments of cash or in-kind services 

from all partners and must support the 

amounts listed in the budget. Each letter 

of support is limited to one page in 

length. 

c. Key Personnel Qualifications: 

Qualifications of the project manager 

and key personnel should be included 

in an appendix. Qualifications are 

limited to two pages in length and 

should contain the following: resume, 

biographical sketch, references, and 

demonstrated ability to manage the 

grant. 

Dated: September 5, 2008. 

James Hubbard, 

Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry. 

[FR Doc. E8–21112 Filed 9–10–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc.: 

Notice of Extension of Public 

Comment Period for Public Scoping in 

Preparation of an Environmental 

Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Extend 

Public Comment Period for Public 

Scoping for Preparation of an 

Environmental Impact Statement 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS), an agency delivering the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s Rural 

Development Utilities Programs, 

hereinafter referred to as Rural 

Development and/or the Agency, is 

extending the public comment period 

for the public scoping in preparation of 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) for the proposed action by 

Minnkota Power Cooperative (Minnkota 

Power), Otter Tail Power Company, and 

Minnesota Power to construct a 230 kV 

electric transmission line from Bemidji 

to Grand Rapids, Minnesota. 

Rural Development and the State of 

Minnesota Office of Energy Security 

(OES) are jointly preparing an EIS to 

evaluate the potential impacts of the 

proposed transmission line pursuant to 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) in 

accordance with the Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

regulations for implementing the 

procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 

1500–1508), 36 CFR 800.2(a); section 

106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act 16 U.S.C. 470f and its 

implementing regulations, ‘‘Protection 

of Historic Properties’’ (36 CFR Part 

800); the Minnesota Environmental 

Policy Act (MEPA), Minnesota Statute, 

Chapter 116D.04; the Minnesota Power 

Plant Siting Act (MPPSA); Minnesota 

Statute, Chapter 216 E.03 and 

Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4400. The 

U.S. Forest Service-Chippewa National 

Forest, the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Indian 

Affairs, and the Leech Lake Band of 

Ojibwe are participating as Cooperating 

Agencies in development of the EIS. 

Two public scoping documents, an 

Alternatives Evaluation Study (AES) 

and a Macrocorridor Study (MCS), were 

prepared to provide public information 

on the proposed project. Using 

information from the AES and the MCS 

and considering input provided by 

government agencies, private 

organizations, and the public, Rural 

Development and OES, in consultation 


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52814 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 177 / Thursday, September 11, 2008 / Notices 

with the Cooperating Agencies, will 

determine the scope of the EIS. 

The MCS Study included maps of 

only three of the four transmission line 

corridor alternatives. This report has 

been updated to include the map of four 

transmission line macrocorridor options 

that are currently part of the study area. 

Notices distributed in local areas to 

notify the public of the proposed project 

included only one macrocorridor option 

with two route alternatives the 

applicants proposed in the State of 

Minnesota Route Permit Application. To 

ensure that interested parties located 

within the any of the four transmission 

line macrocorridor alternatives are 

provided adequate opportunity for 

comment, notices are being reissued and 

the public comment period is being 

extended for one month. 

DATES: A Notice of Intent To Hold 

Public Scoping Meetings and Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

proposed project was published in the 

Federal Register on July 18, 2008. The 

public comment period has been 

extended and written comments relating 

to the proposed project will be accepted 

until 5 p.m. Eastern Time on September 

30, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: To send comments or for 

further information, contact Barbara 

Britton, Environmental Protection 

Specialist, USDA Rural Development 

Utilities Programs, at 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., Stop 1571, 

Washington, DC 20250–1571, telephone 

(202) 720–1414, fax: (202) 690–0629, email Barbara.Britton@wdc.usda.gov or 

Suzanne Steinhauer, Project Manager, 

Minnesota Department of Commerce, 

Office of Energy Security, at 85 Seventh 

Place, Suite 500, Saint Paul, Minnesota 

55010, telephone (651) 296–2888, e-mail 

Suzanne.Steinhauer@state.mn.us. A 

copy of the AES and MCS can be 

obtained from the Agency Web site at 

http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/ees/ 

eis.htm, by contacting Bob Lindholm of 

Minnesota Power at (888) 373–4113, 

bemidjiinfo@capx2020.com, and at the 

public libraries listed below: 

Bemidji Public Library, 509 America 

Avenue, NW., Bemidji, MN 56601. 

Cass Lake Community Library, 223 

Cedar Avenue, NW., P.O. Box 836, 

Cass Lake, MN 56633. 

Grand Rapids Area Library, 140 NE. 2nd 

Street, Grand Rapids, MN 55744. 

Blackduck Community Library, 72 First 

Street, SE., P.O. Box 326, Blackduck, 

MN 56630. 

Margaret Welch Memorial Library, P.O. 

Box 106, 5051 State 84, Longville, MN 

56655. 

Walker Public Library, 207 4th Street, 

P.O. Box 550, Walker, MN 56484. 

Bovey Public Library, Village Hall, 402 

2nd Street, P.O. Box 130, Bovey, MN 

55709–0130. 

Coleraine Public Library, Independent 

Building, 203 Cole Avenue, P.O. Box 

225, Coleraine, MN 55722–0225. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Minnkota 

Power, Otter Tail Power, and Minnesota 

Power propose to construct a new 

transmission line from Bemidji to Grand 

Rapids, Minnesota. The proposal is 

designed to correct a local load serving 

inadequacy for the Bemidji area and the 

northern Red River Valley in West 

Central Minnesota. The line would 

originate from Minnkota’s 230 kV 

Wilton Substation located just west of 

Bemidji, Minnesota, to Minnesota 

Power’s 230 kV Boswell Substation in 

Cohasset, Minnesota, northwest of 

Grand Rapids, Minnesota. It is part of 

the CapX2020 long-range planning effort 

that has identified a comprehensive 

framework for new transmission 

infrastructure that will be needed to 

maintain reliability of the transmission 

system throughout Minnesota and the 

surrounding region. Minnkota Power, 

Otter Tail Power, and Minnesota Power 

are partners in this investment, and 

Minnkota Power is seeking financing 

from Rural Development Utilities 

Programs for its portion of the 

investment. 

The proposed project may require 

permits from the United States 

Department of the Army Corps of 

Engineers (COE) under section 10 of the 

Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33 

U.S.C. 403, for the project’s overhead 

wires to cross the Mississippi River, and 

under section 404 of the Clean Water 

Act, 33 U.S.C. 1344, to place 

transmission line structures and 

associated backfill into waters of the 

United States. The proposed project 

may require a Special Use Permit to 

cross the Chippewa National Forest 

from the United States Forest Service 

under the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act pursuant to 36 CFR 

251.58, if it traverses the Chippewa 

National Forest. The proposed project 

may require a permit to cross Federal 

Aid Highways under the Department of 

Transportation Act 23 CFR 1.23 and 

1.27; 23 U.S.C. 116, 123, and 315; 23 

CFR 645; and 23 CFR 771. The proposed 

project may require a certification from 

the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency under section 401 of the Clean 

Water Act if it traverses tribal lands. The 

proposed project must be considered by 

the United States Fish and Wildlife 

Service for compliance with the 

Endangered Species Act 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq., the Migratory Bird Act U.S.C. 

703–712, 50 CFR Ch 1, and the Bald and 

Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1972 16 

U.S.C. 668. The proposed project may 

require a right of way permit from the 

United States Bureau for Indian Affairs 

to cross American Indian trust lands 

pursuant to 25 CFR 169. The Leech Lake 

Band of Ojibwe may be a signatory to 

any agreement prepared under section 

106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act addressing resolution 

of adverse effects of the proposed 

project, if identified, pursuant to 36 CFR 

800 6, particularly if the proposed 

project traverses the Leech Lake Band 

Reservation. 

Dated: September 5, 2008. 

Mark S. Plank, 

Director, Engineering and Environmental 

Staff, USDA/Rural Development/Utilities 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. E8–21178 Filed 9–10–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the emergency 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

Agency: International Trade 

Administration. 

Title: Market Research to Broaden and 

Deepen U.S. Exporter Base. 

OMB Control Number: None. 

Form Number(s): ITA–8710; ITA–

8711; ITA–8712; and ITA–8713. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Burden Hours: 1,800. 

Number of Respondents: 4,000. 

Average Hours per Response: 15 

minutes, ITA–8710 and ITA–8713; and 

30 minutes, ITA 8711 and ITA–8712. 

Needs and Uses: Expanding U.S. 

exports is a national priority essential to 

improving U.S. trade performance. The 

Department of Commerce (DOC), 

International Trade Administration 

(ITA), U.S. Commercial Service (CS) 

serves as the key U.S. government 

agency responsible for promoting 

exports of goods and services from the 

United States, particularly by small and 

medium-sized enterprises, and assisting 

U.S. exporters in their dealings with 

foreign governments. 

Section 4721 of 15 U.S. Code contains 

several provisions that direct the CS to, 

‘‘identify United States businesses with 

the potential to export goods and 

services and provide such businesses 

with advice and information on 

establishing export businesses.’’ As 


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