22510 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 13, 2009 / Notices 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of methodology 

and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including the use of 

appropriate, automated, electronic, 

mechanical or other technology. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Summary of 2004 Comments 

A previous notice requesting 

comments on this information 

collection request was published in the 

Federal Register on June 23, 2004 (69 

FR 34990–34991). The 60-day comment 

period for the notice closed on August 

23, 2004; 6 comments were received. 

The scope of the request for information 

collection approval has been narrowed 

to initially focus on information 

collected by the three service center 

agencies, the Farm Service Agency 

(FSA), the National Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS), and Rural 

Development (RD). None of the 

comments addressed any issues related 

to information collection by FSA, NRCS, 

or RD. 

Signed at Washington, DC on May 7, 2009. 

Joe Leonard, Jr., 

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. 

[FR Doc. E9–11109 Filed 5–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–98–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Amended Notice of Intent To Prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Biomass Crop Assistance Program 

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC) intends to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Biomass Crop Assistance 

Program (BCAP). BCAP is a new 

program authorized by the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

(the 2008 Farm Bill). The EIS will assess 

the potential environmental impacts of 

alternatives for administration and 

implementation of BCAP. Through this 

notice and public meetings, CCC is 

requesting the public to provide 

comments and inputs on the 

preliminary proposed program 

alternatives and environmental 

concerns associated with the 

implementation of BCAP. 

DATES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section for dates of the six 

public meetings. 

Comments: We will consider 

comments that we receive by June 12, 

2009. We will consider comments 

submitted after that date, to the extent 

possible. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments and to participate in public 

meetings on the proposed alternatives 

related to BCAP. If you e-mail, fax, or 

mail your comments, include the 

volume, date, and page number of this 

issue of the Federal Register. You may 

submit comments by any of the 

following methods: 

• Go through the established public 

comments Web site located at http:// 

public.geo-marine.com. 

• E-Mail: bcapeis@geo-marine.com. 

• Fax: (757) 873–3703. 

• Mail: BCAP EIS c/o Geo-Marine, 

Inc., 2713 Magruder Boulevard, Suite D, 

Hampton, Virginia 23666. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver 

comments to the above address. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Comments may be inspected in the 

Office of the Director, CEPD, FSA, 

USDA, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., 

Room 4709 South Building, 

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except holidays. 

See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section for addresses for the six public 

meetings. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew T. Ponish, FSA National 

Environmental Compliance Manager at 

(202) 720–6853 or 

matthew.ponish@wdc.usda.gov. Persons 

with disabilities who require alternative 

means for communication (Braille, large 

print, audio tape, etc.) should contact 

the USDA Target Center at (202) 720– 

2600 (voice and TDD). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BCAP is 

authorized by Title IX of the 2008 Farm 

Bill (Pub. L. 110–246). The 2008 Farm 

Bill amends Title IX of the Farm 

Security and Rural Investment Act of 

2002 (Pub. L. 107–171); specifically, for 

BCAP, the 2008 Farm Bill adds section 

9011 (7 U.S.C. 8111) to Title IX. BCAP 

is intended to support the establishment 

and production of crops for conversion 

to bio-energy in project areas (locations) 

and to assist with collection, harvest, 

storage, and transportation of eligible 

material for use in a biomass conversion 

facility. 

As a new energy program, BCAP 

presents an opportunity to encourage 

landowners and operators to produce 

biomass for commercial energy 

production in ways that both are 

economically and environmentally 

sound. CCC plans to implement BCAP 

by approving the best-qualifying project 

proposals from project sponsors 

(producers or facilities) and then 

entering into contracts with individual 

producers in the approved project 

locations. BCAP is a CCC program 

administered by the Farm Service 

Agency (FSA) with the support of other 

Federal and local agencies. 

Under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA), the EIS process 

provides a means for the public to 

provide input on program 

implementation alternatives and on 

environmental concerns. This notice 

informs the public of CCC’s intention to 

prepare an EIS for BCAP. CCC initially 

solicited public input and comments on 

the proposed EIS for BCAP from the 

notice published in the Federal Register 

on October 1, 2008 (72 FR 5704–57047). 

When we received comments and 

inputs from the public and through 

internal agency scoping, CCC developed 

the following alternatives for the BCAP 

analysis to be considered as part of the 

regulatory requirements under NEPA 

process: 

(1) No Action Alternative—addresses 

the potential effects from not 

implementing BCAP. 

(2) Action Alternative 1—addresses a 

targeted implementation of BCAP to 

specific areas or regions of the United 

States. 

(3) Action Alternative 2—addresses a 

broad national implementation of 

BCAP. 

The public meetings will be scoping 

meetings and will provide public input 

for the development of the alternatives. 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 13, 2009 / Notices 22511 

Date Time Location information 

May 28, 2009 .................................. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time .. Red Lion Hotel, 2300 Evergreen Park Drive, Olympia, Washington 

98501, Ph: 360–252–0972, Fax: 360–753–9651. 

June 2, 2009 ................................... 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time .. Hilton Garden Inn, 9000 Interstate 40 West, Amarillo, Texas 79124, 

Ph: 806–355–4400, Fax: 806–355–4411. 

June 4, 2009 ................................... 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time .. Alexander Fulton Hotel & Convention Center, 701 4th Street, Alexandria, Louisiana 71301, Ph 318–442–9000. 

June 8, 2009 ................................... 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time .. Renaissance Savery Hotel, 401 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa 

50309, Ph: 515–365–7232, Fax: 515–244–1228. 

June 10, 2009 ................................. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time .. Hilton Garden Inn, 101 S. Front Street, Albany, Georgia 31701, 

Phone: 229–518–5003, Fax: 229–878–4862. 

June 11, 2009 ................................. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time .. Hilton Garden Inn Syracuse, 6004 Fair Lakes Road, Syracuse, New 

York 13057, Ph: 315–431–4800, Fax: 315–431–4999. 

Signed in Washington, DC on May 7, 2009. 

Doug Caruso, 

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. E9–11094 Filed 5–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Cibola National Forest, Mount Taylor 

Ranger District, NM, La Jara Mesa Mine 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: Laramide Resources (USA) 

Inc. has submitted a Plan of Operations 

(the Plan) proposing to develop and 

conduct underground uranium mining 

operations on their mining claims on La 

Jara Mesa on the Mount Taylor Ranger 

District of the Cibola National Forest. La 

Jara Mesa is located approximately 10 

miles northeast of the town of Grants in 

Cibola County, New Mexico. The mine 

portal facilities would be located on 

claims controlled by the applicant on 

national forest lands at the base of the 

La Jara Mesa at an elevation of 7,300 feet 

in the NE1⁄4, Section 15, T12N, R9W, 

NMPM. The mineralized zones that 

would be accessed from the portal are 

located in portions of Sections 1, 2, 11, 

12, 13, and 14, T12N, R9W, NMPM. The 

escape shaft would be located on Forest 

Service administered lands on top of La 

Jara Mesa in Section 11, T12N, R9W, 

NMPM. The Cibola National Forest will 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement to assess the development of 

a uranium exploration and mining 

operation on the Mount Taylor Ranger 

District. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 30 

days after the publication of the NOI. 

Public scoping open houses will be held 

during the scoping period in Grants and 

Gallup New Mexico. The schedule for 

the open houses is as follows: 

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 in Grants, 

New Mexico, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 

the Cibola County Convention Center 

and Thursday, May 21, 2009 in Gallup, 

New Mexico from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the 

Gallup Community Service Center. 

Times and locations of these meetings 

will be announced by public notice and 

will be available on the Cibola National 

Forest Web site. The draft 

environmental impact statement is 

expected before the end of 2009 and the 

final environmental impact statement 

and Record of Decision (ROD) is 

expected in spring/summer, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Rodney Byers, Minerals Program 

Manager, Cibola National Forest, 2113 

Osuna Road, NE., Albuquerque, NM 

87113. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, mail 

correspondence to Rodney Byers, 

Minerals Program Manager, Cibola 

National Forest, 2113 Osuna Road, NE., 

Albuquerque, NM 87113. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 

Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action 

Laramide Resources (USA), Inc. has 

submitted a Plan of Operations for 

development of a uranium mine at the 

La Jara Mesa property. The purpose of 

the EIS is to evaluate the environmental 

impacts of the proposed Plan of 

Operations and determine whether to 

approve the Plan as proposed or to 

require additional mitigation measures 

to protect the environment (in 

accordance with Forest Service 

regulations for locatable minerals). 

The need for action is to allow 

Laramide Resources (USA), Inc. to 

exercise their rights under U.S. mining 

laws. Laramide Resources (USA), Inc. 

has a right to develop and remove the 

mineral resources as set forth by the 

General Mining Law of 1872 as 

amended. These laws provide that the 

public has a statutory right to conduct 

prospecting, exploration, development 

and production activities (1872 Mining 

Law and 1897 Organic Act), provided 

they are reasonably incident (1955 

Multiple Use Mining Act and case law) 

to mining and comply with other 

Federal laws. 

The Forest Service has the 

responsibility to protect surface 

resources. Mining regulations state that 

‘‘operations shall be conducted so as, 

where feasible, to minimize adverse 

environmental effects on National 

Forest System surface resources (36 CFR 

228.8)’’ provided such regulation does 

not endanger or materially interfere 

with prospecting, mining, or processing 

operations or reasonably incidental uses 

(1955 Multiple Use Mining Act and case 

law). 

Laramide Resources (USA), Inc.’s 

need is to provide uranium ore for 

processing to meet national and 

international market demands for 

uranium on the open market. Such 

demand is created by a current need for 

uranium for nuclear power plant fuel to 

generate electricity or for commercial 

and other uses. The Forest Service has 

concluded that the underlying need for 

this mining activity is to provide 

uranium for U.S. and world markets. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action is an 

underground uranium mine consisting 

of a 15–16 acre footprint on the surface 

which will be comprised of waste rock, 

temporary ore storage, a new water line 

and electrical transmission line 

following the existing private and Forest 

roads to the site. The mine will include 

two audit portals and, after active 

mining is initiated, a vertical escape 

shaft to the top of the mesa to provide 

air circulation and an escape route in 

the event of an accident. The shaft 

opening and supporting power and 

equipment will lie inside a fenced area 

of approximately 0.1 acre. Additional