Notices. Notice; request for public comment

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BILLING CODE 4140-01-M DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard [USCG-2005-23339] National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice; request for public comment. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Minerals Management Service, in concert with representatives from various State governments, industry, environmental interest groups, and the general public, developed the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program

(PREP)Guidelines to reflect the consensus agreement of the entire oil spill response community. This notice announces the PREP triennial exercise cycle for 2006 through 2008, requests comments from the public, and requests industry participants to volunteer for scheduled PREP Area exercises. Additionally, this notice requests comments on the design and delivery of Government-led PREP exercises. DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before March 6, 2006. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number USCG-2005-23339 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one of the following methods:

(1)*Web Site:* *http://dms.dot.gov* .

(2)*Mail:* Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.

(3)*Fax:* 202-493-2251.

(4)*Delivery:* Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, or need general information regarding the PREP or the triennial exercise schedule, contact Lieutenant Commander Mark Cunningham, Office of Response, Plans and Preparedness Division (G-MOR-2), U.S. Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-2877, fax 202-267-4065, or e-mail *MCunningham@comdt.uscg.mil* . If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-493-0402. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Participation and Request for Comments We encourage you to respond to this notice by submitting comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted, without change, to *http://dms.dot.gov* and will include any personal information you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation

(DOT)to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's “Privacy Act” paragraph below. *Submitting comments:* If you submit a comment, please include your name and address, identify the docket number for this notice (USCG-2005-23339), indicate the specific section of this document to which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You may submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES ; but please submit your comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during the comment period. We may change this triennial exercise schedule as well as other elements of the PREP in view of them. *Viewing comments and documents:* To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, go to *http://dms.dot.gov* at any time and conduct a simple search using the last five digits of the docket number. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. *Privacy Act:* Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the **Federal Register** published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit *http://dms.dot.gov* . Background and Purpose In 1994, the United States Coast Guard

(USCG)and the Research and Special Programs Administration

(RSPA)of the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Minerals Management Service

(MMS)of the Department of the Interior, coordinated the development of the PREP Guidelines to provide guidelines for compliance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) pollution response exercise requirements (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)). The guiding principles for PREP distinguish between internal and external exercises. Internal exercises are conducted within the planholder's organization. External exercises extend beyond the planholder's organization to involve other members of the response community. External exercises are separated into two categories: area exercises, and Government-initiated, unannounced exercises. External exercises are designed to evaluate the entire pollution response mechanism in a given geographic area to ensure adequate response preparedness. A National Schedule Coordination Committee

(NSCC)was established for scheduling Area exercises. The NSCC is comprised of personnel representing the four Federal regulating agencies—the USCG, EPA, MMS, and PHMSA's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS). Since 1994, the NSCC has published a triennial schedule of area exercises. Area exercises involve the entire response community including Federal, State, local, tribal, and non-government organizations, and industry participants; therefore, these area exercises require more extensive planning than other oil spill response exercises. The PREP Guidelines describe all of these exercises in more detail. Source for PREP Documents The Preparedness for Response Exercise Program

(PREP)Area exercise schedule and exercise design manuals are available on the Internet at *http://www.uscg.mil/hq/nsfweb/nsfcc/prep/federalregister.html* . To obtain a hard copy of the exercise design manual, contact Ms. Melanie Barber at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety at 202-366-4560. The 2002 PREP Guidelines booklet is available at no cost on the Internet at *http://www.uscg.mil/hq/nsfweb/nsfcc/prep/federalregister.html* or by writing or faxing the TASC DEPT Warehouse, 33141Q 75th Avenue, Landover, MD 20785, facsimile: 301-386-5394. The stock number of the manual is USCG-X0241. Please indicate the quantity when ordering. Quantities are limited to 10 per order. PREP Schedule Table 1 below lists the dates and **Federal Register** cites of past PREP exercise notices. Table 1.—PAST PREP EXERCISE NOTICES Date published Federal Register cite Notice September 21, 2004 69 FR 56445 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 2005, 2006, and 2007. February 5, 2004 69 FR 5562 Revision to PREP triennial exercise schedule for 2004, 2005, and 2006. October 16, 2003 68 FR 59627 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 2004, 2005, and 2006. October 30, 2002 67 FR 66189 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 2003, 2004, and 2005. January 22, 2002 67 FR 2944 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 2002, 2003, and 2004. February 9, 2001 66 FR 9744 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 2001, 2002, and 2003. March 7, 2000 65 FR 12049 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 2000, 2001, and 2002. June 15, 1999 64 FR 32090 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 1999, 2000, and 2001. January 8, 1998 63 FR 1141 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 1998, 1999, and 2000. March 26, 1997 62 FR 14494 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 1997, 1998, and 1999. January 26, 1996 61 FR 2568 Correction to PREP triennial exercise schedule for 1996, 1997, and 1998. November 13, 1995 60 FR 57050 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 1996, 1997, and 1998. October 26, 1994 59 FR 53858 Revision to PREP triennial exercise schedule for 1995, 1996, and 1997. March 25, 1994 59 FR 14254 PREP triennial exercise schedule for 1995, 1996, and 1997. This notice announces the next triennial schedule of area exercises. The PREP schedule for calendar years 2006, 2007, and 2008 for Government-led and Industry-led Area exercises is available on the Internet at *http://www.uscg.mil/hq/nsfweb/nsfcc/prep/PREP%20CY2006-2008%20DRAFT.xls.* If a company wants to volunteer for an Area exercise, a company representative may call either the Coast Guard or EPA on-scene coordinator where the exercise is scheduled. Design and Delivery of Government-Led PREP exercises The National Strike Force Coordination Center (NSFCC) designs and coordinates the delivery of Government-led PREP exercises. If you have concerns or recommended improvements to the Government-led PREP exercises, please submit those using the procedures described under the ADDRESSES section of this notice. If sufficient interest exists, the NSFCC, in coordination with the NSCC, may hold a public workshop to determine improvements to the method in which they develop and deliver Government-led PREP exercises. Dated: December 28, 2005. Craig E. Bone, Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection. [FR Doc. E5-8203 Filed 12-30-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-15-P DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard [USCG-1998-3417] RIN 1625-AA19 (Formerly RIN 2115-AF60) Salvage and Marine Firefighting Requirements; Vessel Response Plans for Oil AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of a draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment

(PEA)on its proposal to clarify, and set new response time requirements for salvage and marine firefighting requirements in the vessel response plans for oil. We request your comments on the draft PEA. DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before February 17, 2006. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number USCG-1998-3417 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one of the following methods:

(1)*Web site: http://dms.dot.gov.*

(2)*Mail:* Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.

(3)*Fax:* 202-493-2251.

(4)*Delivery:* Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, the proposed project, or the associated draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment, call Mr. Frank Esposito, Office of Environmental Law (G-LEL), Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-0053, or e-mail *fesposito@comdt.uscg.mil.* If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-493-0402. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Participation and Request for Comments We encourage you to submit comments and related material on the draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment. All comments received will be posted, without change, to *http://dms.dot.gov* and will include any personal information you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation

(DOT)to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's “Privacy Act” paragraph below. *Submitting comments:* If you submit a comment, please include your name and address, identify the docket number for this notice (USCG-1998-3417), and give the reason for each comment. You may submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES , but please submit your comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during the comment period. *Viewing the comments and draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment:* To view the comments and draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment, go to *http://dms.dot.gov* at any time, click on “Simple Search,” enter the last four digits of the docket number for this notice, and click on “Search.” You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. *Privacy Act:* Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement as published in the **Federal Register** on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit *http://dms.dot.gov.* Proposed Action The Coast Guard published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for “Salvage and Marine Firefighting Requirements; Vessel Response Plans for Oil” in the **Federal Register** on May 10, 2002 (67 FR 31868). Please refer to this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for a summary of the regulatory history behind that Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is available in the DOT docket. During the comment period on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, we received comments both in the docket and at public meetings challenging our reliance upon an environmental analysis done in 1992 to support the publication of the original vessel response plan requirements. These comments argued that it was old and out of date, and missing pieces that would be required of an Environmental Assessment done today. We reviewed those comments, as well as the old Environmental assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact, and determined that while the original study remains valid for the non-salvage portion of the vessel response plan we should conduct a new Environmental Analysis before finalizing the salvage and marine firefighting rulemaking. Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment We have prepared a draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment. See “Viewing the comments and draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment” above. The draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment identifies and examines the reasonable alternatives and assesses their potential environmental impact. We are requesting your comments on environmental concerns that you may have related to the Programmatic Environmental Assessment. This includes suggesting analyses and methodologies for use in the Programmatic Environmental Assessment or possible sources of data or information not included in the draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment. Your comments will be considered in preparing the final Programmatic Environmental Assessment. Dated: December 27, 2005. Craig E. Bone, Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection. [FR Doc. E5-8200 Filed 12-30-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-15-P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Indian Affairs Proposed Collection of Information; Comment Request AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Office of Indian Education Programs is seeking comments on the renewal of the Information Collection Request for the Tribal Colleges and Universities Application for Grants, OMB No. 1076-0018, and the Annual Report Form, OMB No. 1076-0105, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Submit comments on or before March 6, 2006. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent directly to Edward Parisian, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Indian Education Programs, 1849 C Street, NW., Mail Stop 3609-MIB Washington, DC 20240-0001. You may also send comments via facsimile to 202-208-3271. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may request further information or obtain copies of the proposed information collection request from James C. Redman

(202)208-4397 or Keith Neves at

(202)208-3601. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each Tribal College and University requesting financial assistance and receiving financial assistance is statutorily required to provide information to assess an accounting of amounts and purposes of financial assistance for the preceding academic year as provided for in 25 CFR part 41. The information collection is needed to collect an assessment of performance accountability of Federal funds as required by the Government Performance and Result Act of 1993. Request for Comments The Office of Indian Education Programs requests your comments on this collection concerning:

(a)The necessity of this information collection for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(b)The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (hours and cost) of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(c)Ways we could enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(d)Ways we could minimize the burden of the collection of the information on the respondents, such as through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Please note that an agency may not sponsor or request, and an individual need not respond to, a collection of information unless it has a valid OMB Control Number. It is our policy to make all comments available to the public for review at the location listed in the ADDRESSES section, room 3609, during the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., EST Monday through Friday except for legal holidays. If you wish to have your name and/or address withheld, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comments. We will honor your request according to the requirements of the law. All comments from organizations or representatives will be available for review. We may withhold comments from review for other reasons. Information Collection Abstract *OMB Control Number:* 1076-0105. *Type of review:* Renewal. *Title:* Tribal Colleges and Universities Annual Report Form. *Brief Description of collection:* The information is mandatory by Public Law 95-471 for the respondent to receive or maintain a benefit, specifically grants for students. *Respondents:* Tribal College and University administrators. *Number of Respondents:* 26. *Estimated Time per Response:* 3 hours. *Frequency of Response:* Annually. *Total Annual Burden to Respondents:* 78. Information Collection Abstract *OMB Control Number:* 1076-0105. *Type of review:* Renewal. *Title:* Tribal Colleges and Universities Application for Grants Form. *Brief Description of collection:* The information is mandatory by Public Law 95-471 for the respondent to receive or maintain a benefit, *i.e.* , grants for students. *Respondents:* Tribal College and University administrators. *Number of Respondents:* 26. *Estimated Time per Response:* 1 hour. *Frequency of Response:* Annually. *Total Annual Burden to Respondents:* 26. Dated: December 22, 2005. Michael D. Olsen Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. [FR Doc. E5-8198 Filed 12-30-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-6W-P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Minerals Management Service Federal Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS)Administrative Boundaries Extending from the Submerged Lands Act Boundary seaward to the Limit of the United States Outer Continental Shelf AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior. ACTION: Setting Federal OCS offshore administrative boundaries beyond State submerged lands for Department of the Interior planning, coordination, and administrative purposes. SUMMARY: This notice informs the public that the MMS has developed offshore administrative lines from each adjoining coastal state as described below. Having these lines in place provides various benefits, including: 1. Enhancing the Secretary's ability to ensure that the “4-C's”—communication, consultation and cooperation, all in support of conservation—are considered as she engages in efforts to identify which State has the most interest in the extended area offshore from its coastline because of the increasing number of commercial activities on the Federal OCS, such as permits for liquefied natural gas facilities, wind power, and wave energy; 2. Providing the basis for more accurate delineation of OCS planning areas; 3. Assisting in “affected State” status under the Coastal Zone Management Act and the OCS Lands Act. For example, section 18 of the OCS Lands Act requires the Secretary to consider the “laws, goals, and policies of affected States.” Similarly, section 19 analysis requires the Secretary to balance national interests with the “well-being of the citizens of the affected State”; 4. Providing a more accurate basis for the Secretary to consider support for, or objections to, a State's request to analyze leasing off its shores. Without such administrative lines, it is difficult to define these areas accurately; 5. Assisting in the section 18 comparative analysis to determine “an equitable sharing of developmental benefits and environmental risks among regions.” Such lines will more accurately define the necessary assumptions of what are “regions”; and 6. Helping define appropriate consultation and information sharing with States. For example, section 19(e) authorizes cooperative agreement with affected States for such activities as information sharing, joint planning, review of plans, and environmental monitoring. This is even more important with the recent passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which gave the MMS the authority to permit alternative and renewable energy projects on the OCS. Many of these projects will be located in areas in which the MMS has not recently been active. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Renee Orr, Chief, Leasing Division, telephone 703-787-1215. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The MMS undertook this task in light of the increasing number and type of both traditional and non-traditional energy, alternative energy-related, and other activities on the OCS. Such activities include sand and gravel dredging; liquefied natural gas handling facilities; wind, wave, and current energy generation projects; and mariculture, as well as other innovative uses of the sea, seabed, existing oil and gas operations, and OCS oil and gas infrastructure that may be pursued in the future. Therefore, the MMS believes that it is appropriate to delineate offshore administrative lines at this time. Methodology Over the past two years, the MMS, National Ocean Service, and Department of State have been updating the National Baseline which provides the basis for developing international jurisdictions, such as the Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, and Exclusive Economic Zone, as well as a basis for the proposed boundaries seaward of the Submerged Lands Act state waters. We have used, to the extent practicable, the updated National Baseline to derive offshore administrative boundaries in compliance with accepted cartographic practice. The MMS has used the computational software known as CARIS LOTS “ *Limits and Boundaries.* ” One of the many features of this software is that it takes a predetermined baseline and determines boundaries for states with an equidistant line for states that are adjacent or a median line for opposite states, based on geodetic calculations. This software was specifically designed to meet international standards for calculating marine boundaries, including United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) requirements. For this purpose, we applied the widely accepted and long standing principle of equidistance. An equidistance line is one for which every point on the line is equidistant from the nearest points on the baselines being used. The equidistance principle is a methodology that has been endorsed by the UNCLOS treaty, but predates the treaty and has been used by the Supreme Court of the United States, states, and nations to equitably establish boundaries. Early in its history, the U.S. used equidistance in the Act of 11 February 1805, 2 Stat. 313, that divided public lands by measurements as close as possible to “equidistant from those two corners which stand on the same line.” International law often refers to equidistance. Article 6 of the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, ratified by the U.S. Senate on December 4, 1961, states: Where the same continental shelf is adjacent to the territories of two or more States whose coasts are opposite each other, the boundary of the continental shelf appertaining to such States shall be determined by agreement between them. In the absence of agreement, and unless another boundary line is justified by special circumstances, the boundary is the median line, every point of which is equidistant from the nearest points of the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of each State is measured. Following U.S. ratification of the 1958 Geneva Convention, the Supreme Court has used equidistance to resolve disputes between states. In *Texas* v. *Louisiana,* the Court established a lateral boundary between Texas and Louisiana through the adoption of an equidistant line. More recently, Congress has recognized the equidistance principle in ratifying a maritime boundary between the U.S. and Mexico for an area in the Gulf of Mexico over 200 miles from each country known as the Western Gap. This was the third treaty between these countries based on the equidistance principle. The U.S. Baseline Committee has firmly established equidistance as the principle for domestic and international boundaries. The President formed the Committee in 1970 to resolve Federal baseline points from which to establish various jurisdictional and boundary issues, such as Federal/State boundary points and the extent of the territorial sea. The Committee has directed the Department of the Interior and all other agencies to apply this standard in dealings with coastal states and for international purposes. The utilization of the equidistance principle to draw administrative boundaries within areas that are in purely Federal waters is the best means of achieving accurate, fair, and equitable boundary lines extending from states. These lines will help the Secretary and MMS in a variety of internal planning and extended (4C's) coordination purposes. The extended equidistant lines extending from adjoining State baselines are depicted on the three maps that follow. More detailed information is available at the following Web site: *www.mms.gov/ld/lateral.htm.* Dated: December 22, 2005. Johnnie Burton, Director, Minerals Management Service. BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P EN03JA06.002 EN03JA06.003 EN03JA06.004 [FR Doc. 05-24659 Filed 12-30-05; 8:45 am]

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