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Code · REGISTER · 2006-03-21 · Department of Education · Notices

Notices. Notice of meeting

30,125 words·~137 min read·/register/2006/03/21/06-2691

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BILLING CODE 5001-06-M DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request AGENCY: Department of Education. SUMMARY: The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before April 20, 2006. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention:
Rachel Potter, Desk Officer, Department of Education, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 or faxed to
(202)395-6974. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. OMB may amend or waive the requirement for public consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's ability to perform its statutory obligations. The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, publishes that notice containing proposed information collection requests prior to submission of these requests to OMB. Each proposed information collection, grouped by office, contains the following:
(1)Type of review requested, *e.g.* new, revision, extension, existing or reinstatement;
(2)Title;
(3)Summary of the collection;
(4)Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information;
(5)Respondents and frequency of collection; and
(6)Reporting and/or Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites public comment. Dated: March 13, 2006. Angela C. Arrington, IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management. Federal Student Aid *Type of Review:* Revision. *Title:* Fiscal Operations Report for 2005-2006 and Application to Participate for 2007-2008 (FISAP) and Reallocation Form E40-4P. *Frequency:* Annually. *Affected Public:* Not-for-profit institutions; Businesses or other for-profit; State, Local, or Tribal Gov't, SEAs or LEAs. *Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:* *Responses:* 6,172. *Burden Hours:* 26,939. *Abstract:* This application data will be used to compute the amount of funds needed by each school for the 2007-2008 award year. The Fiscal Operations Report data will be used to assess program effectiveness, account for funds expended during the 2005-2006 award year, and as part of the school funding process. The Reallocation form is part of the FISAP on the Web. Schools will use it in the summer to return unexpended funds for 2005-2006 and request supplemental FWS funds for 2006-2007. Requests for copies of the information collection submission for OMB review may be accessed from *http://edicsweb.ed.gov* , by selecting the “Browse Pending Collections” link and by clicking on link number 2970. When you access the information collection, click on “Download Attachments” to view. Written requests for information should be addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Potomac Center, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20202-4700. Requests may also be electronically mailed to *ICDocketMgr@ed.gov* or faxed to 202-245-6623. Please specify the complete title of the information collection when making your request. Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be electronically mailed to *ICDocketMgr@ed.gov* . Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD)may call the Federal Information Relay Service
(FIRS)at 1-800-877-8339. [FR Doc. E6-4005 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RP05-559-003] Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Compliance Filing March 14, 2006. Take notice that on March 8, 2006, Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC (Algonquin) tendered for filing as part of its FERC Gas Tariff, Fifth Revised Volume No. 1, Second Sub First Revised Sheet No. 518 to become effective on September 12, 2005. Algonquin states that it is making this filing in compliance with an order issued by the Commission in the captioned docket on February 16, 2006. Algonquin states that copies of its filing have been served upon all affected customers of Algonquin and interested state commissions, and all parties on the Commission's official service list in this proceeding. Any person desiring to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rule 211 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211). Protests to this filing will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Such protests must be filed in accordance with the provisions of § 154.210 of the Commission's regulations (18 CFR 154.210). Anyone filing a protest must serve a copy of that document on all the parties to the proceeding. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4044 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket Nos. CP05-15-001; CP05-16-001; CP05-17-001] Freebird Gas Storage, LLC; Caledonia Energy Partners, L.L.C.; Notice of Application March 14, 2006. On March 3, 2006, Caledonia Energy Partners, L.L.C. (Caledonia) filed an application pursuant to section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 and 284 of the Commission's regulations requesting to amend its certificate of public convenience and necessity issued on April 19, 2005. Caledonia requests authorization for minor storage area modifications to certain storage facilities in Lowndes and Monroe Counties, Mississippi. These modifications include drilling of an additional well within a previously studied and approved well pad, enlargement of the North Drilling pad, modifying certain pipe and fittings, and changing surface casing setting and horizontal open holes. This filing is available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at *http://www.ferc.gov* using the “eLibrary” link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC at *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov* or call toll-free,
(886)208-3676 or TYY,
(202)502-8659. Any questions regarding this application should be directed to Jim Goetz, Caledonia Energy Partners, L.L.C., 2001 Timber Creek Road, Flower Mound, Texas 75028, phone:
(972)691-3332, Fax:
(972)874-8743, or Kevin J. Lipson and Christopher A. Schindler, Hogan & Hartson L.L.P., 555 Thirteenth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20004, phone:
(202)637-7159, Fax:
(202)637-5910. There are two ways to become involved in the Commission's review of this project. First, any person wishing to obtain legal status by becoming a party to the proceedings for this project should, on or before the comment date stated below file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the Regulations under the NGA (18 CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party status will be placed on the service list maintained by the Secretary of the Commission and will receive copies of all documents filed by the applicant and by all other parties. A party must submit 14 copies of filings made in the proceeding with the Commission and must mail a copy to the applicant and to every other party. Only parties to the proceeding can ask for court review of Commission orders in the proceeding. However, a person does not have to intervene in order to have comments considered. The second way to participate is by filing with the Secretary of the Commission, as soon as possible, an original and two copies of comments in support of or in opposition to this project. The Commission will consider these comments in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but the filing of a comment alone will not serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. The Commission's rules require that persons filing comments in opposition to the project provide copies of their protests only to the party or parties directly involved in the protest. Persons who wish to comment only on the environmental review of this project should submit an original and two copies of their comments to the Secretary of the Commission. Environmental commenters will be placed on the Commission's environmental mailing list, will receive copies of the environmental documents, and will be notified of meetings associated with the Commission's environmental review process. Environmental commenters will not be required to serve copies of filed documents on all other parties. However, the non-party commenters will not receive copies of all documents filed by other parties or issued by the Commission (except for the mailing of environmental documents issued by the Commission) and will not have the right to seek court review of the Commission's final order. Protests and interventions may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper; see, 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site under the “e-Filing” link. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings. *Comment Date:* April 4, 2006. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4047 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PH06-21-000] Consolidated Energy Holdings LLC; Notice of Petition for Exemption From the Requirements of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 March 13, 2006. Take notice that on March 2, 2006, Consolidated Energy Holdings LLC filed a Petition for Exemption of the Requirements of The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, pursuant to 18 CFR 366.3(a), 366.4(b)(1) of the Commission's regulations. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the comment date. On or before the comment date, it is not necessary to serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 23, 2006. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4030 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. CP06-83-000] Dominion Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Application March 14, 2006. Take notice that on March 6, 2006, Dominion Transmission, Inc. (DTI), 120 Tredegar Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, filed in Docket No. CP06-83-000 an application pursuant to section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 the Commission's Rules and Regulations. DTI requests all the necessary authorizations to reclassify as gathering certain facilities located in West Virginia, all as more fully set forth in the application which is on file with the Commission and open to public inspection. This filing may be also viewed on the Web at *http://www.ferc.gov* using the “eLibrary” link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, call
(866)208-3676 or TTY,
(202)502-8659. Questions regarding this application should be directed to Margaret H. Peters, Senior Counsel, Dominion Resource Services, Inc., 120 Tredegar Street, Richmond, Virginia 23289, telephone
(804)819-2277; FAX (804)819-2183; e-mail *margaret_h_peters@dopm.com.* There are two ways to become involved in the Commission's review of this project. First, any person wishing to obtain legal status by becoming a party to the proceedings for this project should, before the comment date of this notice, file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the Regulations under the NGA (18 CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party status will be placed on the service list maintained by the Secretary of the Commission and will receive copies of all documents filed by the applicant and by all other parties. A party must submit 14 copies of filings made with the Commission and must mail a copy to the applicant and to every other party in the proceeding. Only parties to the proceeding can ask for court review of Commission orders in the proceeding. However, a person does not have to intervene in order to have comments considered. The second way to participate is by filing with the Secretary of the Commission, as soon as possible, an original and two copies of comments in support of or in opposition to this project. The Commission will consider these comments in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but the filing of a comment alone will not serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. The Commission's rules require that persons filing comments in opposition to the project provide copies of their protests only to the party or parties directly involved in the protest. Comments, protests and interventions may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's web site under the “e-Filing” link. *Comment Date:* April 4, 2006. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4037 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PH06-20-000] DTE Energy Company; Notice of Petition for Exemption From the Requirements of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 March 13, 2006. Take notice that on March 7, 2006, DTE Energy Company filed a Petition for Exemption of the Requirements of The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, pursuant to 18 CFR 366.3(b)(4) 366.4(b)(1) of the Commission's regulations. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the comment date. On or before the comment date, it is not necessary to serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 28, 2006. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4029 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RP06-221-000] Duke Energy Marketing America, LLC, Gas Transmission Northwest Corporation, El Paso Natural Gas Company, Northwest Pipeline Corporation, Questar Southern Trails Pipeline Company and Transwestern Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of Joint Petition for Expedited Grant of Limited Waivers March 14, 2006. Take notice that on February 15, 2006, as clarified March 10, 2006, pursuant to Rule 207 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, Duke Energy Marketing America, LLC (DEMA), Gas Transmission Northwest Corporation (GTN), El Paso Natural Gas Company (El Paso), Northwest Pipeline Corporation (Northwest), Questar Southern Trails Pipeline Company (Questar Southern Trails), and Transwestern Pipeline Company, LLC (Transwestern) (collectively, Petitioners) tendered for filing a Joint Petition for Expedited Grant of Limited Waivers. DEMA, GTN, El Paso, Northwest, and Transwestern jointly petition the Commission for a grant of a limited waiver, to the extent required, of
(i)the Commission's Order No. 636-A policy regarding the “tying” of non-jurisdictional gas transmission and gas commodity contracts to released transportation capacity,
(ii)the applicable capacity release tariff provisions of the Petitioners, and
(iii)any and all other waivers deemed necessary by the Commission. The Petitioners state that the requested waivers will enable DEMA to effectuate the permanent transfer of two portfolios of DEMA assets consisting of Commission-regulated transportation capacity, associated upstream Canadian pipeline capacity, and various related gas supply and delivery contracts to DEMA's Prearranged Replacement Shipper or to some other third-party replacement shipper who may prevail in the capacity release bidding process. Petitioners further request expedited action on the requested waivers, so that the transportation releases may be made effective no later than May 1, 2006. The Petitioners state that copies of their filings have been served on their jurisdictional customers and upon affected state regulatory commissions. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the date as indicated below. Anyone filing an intervention or protest must serve a copy of that document on the Applicant. Anyone filing an intervention or protest on or before the intervention or protest date need not serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov* , using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov* , or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 20, 2006. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4046 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RP97-13-024] East Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC; Notice of Compliance Filing March 13, 2006. Take notice that on February 22, 2006, East Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC (East Tennessee) tendered for filing a negotiated rate agreement that reflects the renegotiation of a negotiated rate transaction approved with conditions by the Commission on August 16, 2005. Any person desiring to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rule 211 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211). Protests to this filing will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Such protests must be filed in accordance with the provisions of Section 154.210 of the Commission's regulations (18 CFR 154.210). Anyone filing a protest must serve a copy of that document on all the parties to the proceeding. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4026 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RP05-552-003] East Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC; Notice of Compliance Filing March 14, 2006. Take notice that on March 8, 2006, East Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC (East Tennessee) tendered for filing as part of its FERC Gas Tariff, Third Revised Volume No. 1, Second Sub Original Sheet No. 316A, to become effective on September 12, 2005. East Tennessee states that it is making this filing in compliance with an order issued by the Commission in the captioned docket on February 16, 2006. East Tennessee states that copies of its filing have been served upon all affected customers of East Tennessee and interested state commissions, and all parties on the Commission's official service list in this proceeding. Any person desiring to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rule 211 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211). Protests to this filing will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Such protests must be filed in accordance with the provisions of § 154.210 of the Commission's regulations (18 CFR 154.210). Anyone filing a protest must serve a copy of that document on all the parties to the proceeding. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at * http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at * http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov* , or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4042 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RP05-553-003] Egan Hub Storage, LLC; Notice of Compliance Filing March 14, 2006. Take notice that on March 8, 2006, Egan Hub Storage, LLC (Egan Hub) tendered for filing as part of its FERC Gas Tariff, First Revised Volume No. 1, Sub Second Revised Sheet No. 107 and Second Sub First Revised Sheet No. 108, to become effective on September 12, 2005. Egan Hub states that it is making this filing in compliance with an order issued by the Commission in the captioned docket on February 16, 2006. Egan Hub states that copies of its filing have been served upon all affected customers of Egan Hub and interested state commissions, and all parties on the Commission's official service list in this proceeding. Any person desiring to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rule 211 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211). Protests to this filing will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Such protests must be filed in accordance with the provisions of Section 154.210 of the Commission's regulations (18 CFR 154.210). Anyone filing a protest must serve a copy of that document on all the parties to the proceeding. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov* , using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov* , or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4043 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ES06-28-000] NewCorp Resources Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Notice of Filing March 14, 2006. Take notice that on March 6, 2006, NewCorp Resources Electric Cooperative, Inc. filed an application, pursuant to section 204 of the Federal Power Act, for authority to enter into a $15 million five-year, secured revolving credit facility from RBC Capital Markets and Royal Bank of Canada. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the comment date. On or before the comment date, it is not necessary to serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 27, 2006. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4038 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RP06-268-000] Northwest Pipeline Corporation; Notice of Proposed Changes in FERC Gas Tariff March 14, 2006. Take notice that on March 8, 2006, Northwest Pipeline Corporation (Northwest) tendered for filing as part of its FERC Gas Tariff, the following tariff sheets, to be effective April 8, 2006: Third Revised Volume No. 1 Ninth Revised Sheet No. 1 Eleventh Revised Sheet No. 231 Original Volume No. 2 Fifteenth Revised Sheet No. 1 Sixteenth Revised Sheet No. 1 Eighth Revised Sheet No. 1-B Fourteenth Revised Sheet No. 1-C Twenty-Sixth Revised Sheet No. 2 Fourth Revised Sheet No. 105 Second Revised Sheet No. 191 Sixth Revised Sheet No. 209 Second Revised Sheet No. 434 Second Revised Sheet No. 1134 Northwest states that a copy of this filing has been served upon Northwest's customers and interested state regulatory commissions. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed in accordance with the provisions of § 154.210 of the Commission's regulations (18 CFR 154.210). Anyone filing an intervention or protest must serve a copy of that document on the Applicant. Anyone filing an intervention or protest on or before the intervention or protest date need not serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4035 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ES06-29-000] NorthWestern Corporation; Notice of Filing March 14, 2006. Take notice that on March 6, 2006, NorthWestern Corporation (NorthWestern) submitted an application pursuant to section 204 of the Federal Power Act seeking authorization to:
(1)Borrow proceeds from the sale by the City of Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana, not to exceed $170,205,000 principal amount of the Pollution Control Revenue Refunding Bonds Series 2006 (Series 2006 PCRRBs);
(2)provide for the repayment thereof; and
(3)issue and deliver to the Trustee a like principal amount of a new series of its First Mortgage Bonds to secure payment of the Series 2006 PCRRBs. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the comment date. Anyone filing a motion to intervene or protest must serve a copy of that document on the Applicant. On or before the comment date, it is not necessary to serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 24, 2006. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4039 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PH06-17-000] RGC Resources, Inc.; Notice of Petition for Exemption From the Requirements of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 March 13, 2006. Take notice that on March 6, 2006, RGC Resources, Inc. filed a Petition for Exemption of the Requirements of The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, pursuant to 18 CFR 366.3(b), 366.4(b)(1) of the Commission's regulations. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the comment date. On or before the comment date, it is not necessary to serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 27, 2006. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4028 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RP06-188-001] Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc.; Notice of Compliance Filing March 14, 2006. Take notice that on March 8, 2006, Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc., (Southern Star) tendered for filing as part of its FERC Gas Tariff, Original Volume No. 1, the following tariff sheets, to become effective March 1, 2006. Substitute First Revised Sheet No. 270 Substitute First Revised Sheet No. 430 Substitute First Revised Sheet No. 476 Southern Star states that copies of the filing were served on parties on the official service list. Any person desiring to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rule 211 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211). Protests to this filing will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Such protests must be filed in accordance with the provisions of § 154.210 of the Commission's regulations (18 CFR 154.210). Anyone filing a protest must serve a copy of that document on all the parties to the proceeding. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4045 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RP06-231-000] Norstar Operating, LLC; Complainant v. Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Respondent; Notice of Complaint February 27, 2006. Take notice that on February 22, 2006, Norstar Operating, LLC (Norstar) filed a Complaint against Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation (Columbia) pursuant to Rule 206 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures, 18 CFR 385.206 (2005). Norstar alleges that Columbia violated the Natural Gas Act and Columbia's Tariff by refusing to accept deliveries of natural gas based upon a gas quality specification not set forth in Columbia's Tariff. Norstar states that copies of the complaint were served on Columbia's counsel and on the contacts for Columbia listed on the Commission's list of Corporate Officials. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. The Respondent's answer and all interventions, or protests must be filed on or before the comment date. The Respondent's answer, motions to intervene, and protests must be served on the Complainants. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at *http://www.ferc.gov* , using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an “eSubscription” link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov* , or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 9, 2006. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4033 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Combined Notice of Filings #1 March 13, 2006. Take notice that the Commission received the following electric rate filings *Docket Numbers:* ER01-1305-011 *Applicants:* Westar Generating, Inc. *Description:* Westar Generating, Inc submits corrections to two previously submitted informational filings and a refund report. *Filed Date:* 03/07/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060309-0018 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 28, 2006. *Docket Numbers: ER03-775-004;* ER00-136-003 *Applicants:* FortisOntario, Inc; FortisUS Energy Corporation. *Description:* FortisOntario Inc & FortisUs Energy Corp submit a response to the informal request for information received by FERC Staff re the acquisition by Fortis Inc of Princeton Light & Power Co Limited. *Filed Date:* 03/07/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060309-0038 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 28, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER05-1475-004 *Applicants:* Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. *Description:* Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator Inc submits a revised Attachment X—Large Generator Interconnection Procedures and Large Generator Interconnection Agreement of its OATT and EMT. *Filed Date:* 03/08/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060310-0193 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER06-189-001 *Applicants:* Electric Energy, Inc. *Description:* Electric Energy, Inc submits an amended and restated copy of the Power Supply Agreement which incorporates all changes after September 1987 which remained in effect as of 1/1/03. *Filed Date:* 03/08/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060310-0188 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER06-301-001 *Applicants:* Xcel Energy Services Inc. *Description:* Xcel Energy Services, Inc on behalf of itself and the Xcel Energy Operating Companies responds to FERC's 2/6/06 letter re its Joint Operating Agreement. *Filed Date:* 03/08/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060310-0184 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER06-306-001 *Applicants:* Pennsylvania Electric Company; Jersey Central Power & Light Company; Metropolitan Edison Company. *Description:* Jersey Central Power & Light Co, Metropolitan Edison Co and Pennsylvania Electric Co submit a compliance filing pursuant to FERC's 2/6/06 Order. *Filed Date:* 03/08/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060310-0189 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER06-486-001 *Applicants:* Central Illinois Public Service Company; Illinois Power Company; Union Electric Company. *Description:* Ameren Services Co on behalf of Central Illinois Public Service Co et al submit revisions to the designation of the two modified Facility Use Agreements pursuant to FERC's 3/2/06 letter order. *Filed Date:* 03/07/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060309-0015 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 28, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER06-515-001 *Applicants:* Mirant Peaker, LLC. *Description:* Mirant Peaker, LLC amends the Notice of Cancellation of its FERC Electric Tariff, First Revised Volume 1. *Filed Date:* 03/07/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060309-0017 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, March 17, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER06-700-000 *Applicants:* California Independent System Operator Corporation. *Description:* California Independent System Operator Corp submits an amendment to their Simplified and Reorganized Tariff. *Filed Date:* 03/07/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060309-0032 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 28, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER06-706-000 *Applicants:* Entergy Services, Inc. *Description:* Entergy Services, Inc on behalf of Entergy Arkansas, Inc submits the 2006 Wholesale Formula Rate Update in accordance with the Power Coordination, Interchange and Transmission Service Agreements. *Filed Date:* 03/08/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060310-0192 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER06-707-000 *Applicants:* Entergy Services, Inc. *Description:* Entergy Services, Inc on behalf of Entergy Arkansas, Inc submits the 2006 Wholesale Formula Rate update. *Filed Date:* 03/08/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060310-0191 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER06-708-000 *Applicants:* Midwest Independent Transmission System. *Description:* Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc submits a Large Generator Interconnection Agreement with Northern States Power Co dba Xcel Energy-Generation Function et al. *Filed Date:* 03/08/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060310-0190 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. *Docket Numbers:* ER94-1188-039; ER99-1623-008; EL05-99-003; ER98-4540-008; ER98-1279-010 *Applicants:* LG&E Energy Marketing Inc.; Kentucky Utilities Company; Louisville Gas & Electric Company; Western Kentucky Energy Corporation. *Description:* LG&E Marketing Inc, Louisville Gas & Electric Co et al submit a compliance filing pursuant to FERC's 2/15/06 Letter Order. *Filed Date:* 03/08/2006. *Accession Number:* 20060310-0187 *Comment Date:* 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest in any of the above proceedings must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214) on or before 5 p.m. Eastern time on the specified comment date. It is not necessary to separately intervene again in a subdocket related to a compliance filing if you have previously intervened in the same docket. Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Anyone filing a motion to intervene or protest must serve a copy of that document on the Applicant. In reference to filings initiating a new proceeding, interventions or protests submitted on or before the comment deadline need not be served on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper, using the FERC Online links at *http://www.ferc.gov.* To facilitate electronic service, persons with Internet access who will eFile a document and/or be listed as a contact for an intervenor must create and validate an eRegistration account using the eRegistration link. Select the eFiling link to log on and submit the intervention or protests. Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the intervention or protest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St. NE., Washington, DC 20426. The filings in the above proceedings are accessible in the Commission's eLibrary system by clicking on the appropriate link in the above list. They are also available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an eSubscription link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added to a subscribed dockets(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov.* or call
(866)208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call
(202)502-8659. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4032 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PF06-13-000] Downeast LNG, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Downeast LNG Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues and Notice of a Joint Public Meeting March 13, 2006. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) are in the process of evaluating the Downeast Liquefied Natural Gas
(LNG)Project planned by Downeast LNG, Inc. (Downeast). The project would consist of an onshore LNG import and storage terminal, located on the south side of Mill Cove in the Town of Robbinston, near the confluence of Passamaquoddy Bay and the St. Croix River, in Washington County, Maine; and an approximately 31-mile-long natural gas sendout pipeline, extending from the terminal to the existing Maritimes & Northeast (M&NE) pipeline system at the Baileyville, Maine, compressor station. As a part of this evaluation, FERC staff will prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS)that will address the environmental impacts of the project and the Coast Guard will assess the maritime safety and security of the project. As described below, the FERC and the Coast Guard will hold a joint public meeting to allow the public to provide input to these assessments. The Commission will use the EIS in its decision-making process to determine whether or not to authorize the project. This Notice of Intent
(NOI)explains the scoping process we 1 will use to gather information on the project from the public and interested agencies and summarizes the process that the Coast Guard will use. Your input will help identify the issues that need to be evaluated in the EIS and in the Coast Guard's maritime safety and security assessment. Please note that scoping comments are requested by April 17, 2006. 1 “We,” “us,” and “our” refer to the environmental staff of the FERC's Office of Energy Projects. Comments on the project may be submitted in written form or verbally. Further details on how to submit written comments are provided in the Public Participation section of this NOI. In lieu of sending written comments, we invite you to attend the public scoping meeting scheduled as follows: Tuesday, March 28, 2006, 6:30 p.m. Robbinston Grade School, 904 U.S. Route 1, Robbinston, ME 04671. 207-454-3694. The public scoping meeting listed above will be combined with the Coast Guard's public meeting regarding the maritime safety and security of the project. At the meeting, the Coast Guard will discuss:
(1)The waterway safety assessment that it will conduct to determine whether or not the waterway can safely accommodate the LNG carrier traffic and operation of the planned LNG marine terminal; and
(2)the security assessment it will conduct in accordance with the requirements of the Maritime Transportation Security Act. The Coast Guard will not be issuing a separate meeting notice for the maritime safety and security aspects of the project. The Coast Guard is responsible for matters related to navigation safety, vessel engineering and safety standards, and all matters pertaining to the safety of facilities or equipment located in or adjacent to navigable waters up to the last valve immediately before the receiving tanks. The Coast Guard also has authority for LNG facility security plan review, approval, and compliance verification as provided in Title 33 CFR part 105, and recommendation for siting as it pertains to the management of vessel traffic in and around the LNG facility. Upon receipt of a letter of intent from an owner or operator intending to build a new LNG facility, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port
(COTP)conducts an analysis that results in a letter of recommendation issued to the owner or operator and to the state and local governments having jurisdiction, addressing the suitability of the waterway to accommodate LNG vessels. Specifically the letter of recommendation addresses the suitability of the waterway based on: • The physical location and layout of the facility and its berthing and mooring arrangements. • The LNG vessels' characteristics and the frequency of LNG shipments to the facility. • Commercial, industrial, environmentally sensitive, and residential area in and adjacent to the waterway used by the LNG vessels en route to the facility. • Density and character of the marine traffic on the waterway. • Bridges or other manmade obstructions in the waterway. • Depth of water. • Tidal range. • Natural hazards, including rocks and sandbars. • Underwater pipelines and cables. • Distance of berthed LNG vessels from the channel, and the width of the channel. In addition, the Coast Guard will review and approve the facility's operations manual and emergency response plan (33 CFR 127.019), as well as the facility's security plan (33 CFR 105.410). The Coast Guard will also provide input to other Federal, state, and local government agencies reviewing the project. In order to complete a thorough analysis and fulfill the regulatory mandates cited above, the COTP Sector Northern New England will be conducting a formal risk assessment evaluating the various safety and security aspects associated with the Downeast LNG proposed project. This risk assessment will be accomplished through a series of workshops focusing on the areas of waterways safety, port security, and consequence management, with involvement from a broad cross- section of government and port stakeholders with expertise in each of the respective areas. The workshops will be by invitation only. However, comments received during the public comment period will be considered as input in the risk assessment process. This NOI is being sent to Federal, state, and local government agencies; elected officials; affected landowners; environmental and public interest groups; Indian tribes and regional Native American organizations; commentors and other interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. We encourage government representatives to notify their constituents of this planned project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern. 2 2 The appendices referenced in this notice are not being printed in the **Federal Register** . Copies are available on the Commission's Web site (excluding maps) at the “e-Library” link or from the Commission's Public Reference Room or call
(202)502-8371. For instructions on connecting to e-Library refer to the end of this notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail. Summary of the Proposed Project Downeast proposes to construct and operate an LNG import terminal and storage facility, and associated natural gas sendout pipeline with a nominal capacity of about 500 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day (mmscfd) with peak deliveries up to 625 mmscfd. More specifically, Downeast's facilities would consist of: • A marine LNG terminal, including a single berth, 3,862-foot-long pier, capable of handling about 50 LNG tankers per year, ranging in size from 70,000 to 220,000 cubic meters (m 3 ) per ship; • Three 16-inch-diameter unloading arms and one vapor return line on the unloading platform, with an unloading capacity rate of 14,000 m 3 of LNG per hour; • One insulated LNG storage tank, with a capacity of 160,000 m 3 ; • Boil-off gas management system, and sendout pumps; • Submerged combustion vaporizers to re-vaporize LNG to natural gas; • Electrical power distribution, including power substations and transformers; • Ancillary terminal facilities, including control room, maintenance shop, warehouse, office, security, and safety systems; • Measurement controls and natural gas metering facilities; • A 31-mile-long, 20 or 24-inch-diameter natural gas sendout pipeline, extending from the LNG terminal to the existing M&NE pipeline system at the Baileyville, Maine, compressor station; and • Comprehensive hazard monitoring system incorporating flammable gas detectors, high and low temperature detectors, smoke detectors, and local emergency shut-down controls. A location map depicting Downeast's proposed facilities, including its preferred pipeline route and two pipeline options, is attached to this NOI as Appendix 1. 2 2 The appendices referenced in this notice are not being printed in the **Federal Register** . Copies are available on the Commission's Web site (excluding maps) at the “e-Library” link or from the Commission's Public Reference Room or call
(202)502-8371. For instructions on connecting to e-Library refer to the end of this notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail. The EIS Process The NEPA requires the Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could result from an action when it considers whether or not an LNG import terminal or an interstate natural gas pipeline should be approved. The FERC will use the EIS to consider the environmental impacts that could result if it issues project authorizations to Downeast under sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act. The NEPA also requires us to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals. This process is referred to as “scoping.” The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EIS on the important environmental issues. With this NOI, the Commission staff is requesting public comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed in the EIS. All comments received will be considered during preparation of the EIS. In the EIS we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the construction, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of the proposed project under these general headings: • Geology and Soils. • Water Resources. • Aquatic Resources. • Vegetation and Wildlife. • Threatened and Endangered Species. • Land Use, Recreation, and Visual Resources. • Cultural Resources. • Socioeconomics. • Marine Transportation. • Air Quality and Noise. • Reliability and Safety. • Cumulative Impacts. In the EIS, we will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on affected resources. Our independent analysis of the issues will be included in a draft EIS. The draft EIS will be mailed to Federal, state, and local government agencies; elected officials; affected landowners; environmental and public interest groups; Indian tribes and regional Native American organizations; commentors; other interested parties; local libraries and newspapers; and the FERC's official service list for this proceeding. A 45-day comment period will be allotted for review of the draft EIS. We will consider all comments on the draft EIS and revise the document, as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. We will consider all comments on the final EIS before we make our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure that your comments are considered, please follow the instructions in the Public Participation section of this NOI. Although no formal application has been filed, the FERC staff has already initiated its NEPA review under its pre-filing process. The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early involvement of interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve issues before an application is filed with the FERC. In addition, the Coast Guard, which would be responsible for reviewing the maritime safety and security aspects of the planned project and regulating maritime safety and security if the project is approved, has initiated its review of the project as well. With this NOI, we are asking Federal, state, and local agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to environmental issues, especially those identified in Appendix 2, to express their interest in becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EIS. These agencies may choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments provided in Appendix 2. Currently Identified Environmental Issues We have already identified issues that we think deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the project area and the planned facility information provided by Downeast. This preliminary list of issues, which is presented below, may be revised based on your comments and our continuing analyses. • Impact of LNG ship traffic on other Passamaquoddy Bay and St. Croix River users, including fishing and recreational boaters. • Safety issues relating to LNG ship traffic, including transit through Head Harbor Passage and Western Passage, and along the St. Croix River. • Potential impacts on residents in the project area, including safety issues at the import and storage facility, noise, air quality, and visual resources. • Project impacts on threatened and endangered species and the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. • Project impacts on wetlands, vegetation, and wildlife habitat. • Project impacts on cultural resources. Public Participation You can make a difference by providing us with your specific comments or concerns about the planned project. By becoming a commentor, your concerns will be addressed in the EIS and considered by the Commission. Your comments should focus on the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives (including alternative facility sites and pipeline routes), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your comments are timely and properly recorded, please follow these instructions: • Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. • Label one copy of your comments for the attention of OEP/DG2E/Gas Branch 3, DG2E. • Reference Docket No. PF06-13-000 on the original and both copies. • Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before April 17, 2006. Appropriate copies will be provided to the Coast Guard. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments in response to this NOI. For information on electronically filing comments, please see the instructions on the Commission's Web site at *http://www.ferc.gov* under the “e-Filing” link and the link to the User's Guide as well as information in 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii). Before you can file comments you will need to create a free account, which can be accomplished on-line. The public scoping meeting (date, time, and location listed above) is designed to provide another opportunity to offer comments on the proposed project. Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend the meeting and to present comments on the environmental issues that they believe should be addressed in the EIS. A transcript of the meeting will be generated so that your comments will be accurately recorded. Once Downeast formally files its application with the Commission, you may want to become an “intervenor,” which is an official party to the proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. An intervenor formally participates in a Commission proceeding by filing a request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are included in the User's Guide under the “e-Filing” link on the Commission's Web site. Please note that you may *not* request intervenor status at this time. You must wait until a formal application is filed with the Commission. Environmental Mailing List If you wish to remain on the environmental mailing list, please return the attached Mailing List Retention Form (Appendix 3 of this NOI). Also, indicate on the form your preference for receiving a paper version in lieu of an electronic version of the EIS on CD-ROM. If you do not return this form, we will remove your name from our mailing list. Additional Information Additional information about the project is available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC
(3372)or on the FERC Internet Web site ( *http://www.ferc.gov* ) using the “eLibrary link.” Click on the eLibrary link, select “General Search” and enter the project docket number excluding the last three digits ( *i.e.* , PF06-13) in the “Docket Number” field. Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance with eLibrary, the eLibrary helpline can be reached at 1-866-208-3676, TTY
(202)502-8659, or by e-mail at *FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov.* The eLibrary link on the FERC Internet Web site also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings. In addition, the FERC now offers a free service called eSubscription that allows you to keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to the documents. To register for this service, go to *http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.* Public meetings or site visits will be posted on the Commission's calendar located at *http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx* along with other related information. Finally, Downeast has established an Internet Web site for this project at *http://www.downeastlng.com/index.htm.* The Web site includes a project overview, status, potential impacts and mitigation, and answers to frequently asked questions. You can also request additional information by calling Downeast directly at 207-214-5926. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4027 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. CP06-60-000] Enbridge Pipelines L.L.C. (Midla); Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed T-1 Mainline Segment Abandonment and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues March 14, 2006. The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment
(EA)that will discuss the environmental impacts of Enbridge Pipelines L.L.C.'s (Midla) T-1 Mainline Segment Abandonment involving abandonment of natural gas pipeline facilities and associated surface appurtenances. 1 The T-1 Mainline segment that would be abandoned originates at the Desiard Compressor Station in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana and extends in a southeasterly direction to the intersection of Holdiness Road, approximately 1.9 miles northeast of Alto, Richland Parish, Louisiana. This EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether the proposed abandonment is in the public convenience and necessity. 1 Midla's application was filed with the Commission under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the Commission's regulations. Summary of the Proposed Abandonment Midla requests to:
(1)Abandon in place 21.6 miles of 22-inch-diameter pipeline, that includes the grouting of the pipe or casing under 22 parish or private roads, seven state maintained roads, three railroads and one interstate highway;
(2)remove 3,899 feet of 22-inch-diameter pipeline at the request of six private landowners, 180 feet of pipeline from six surface exposures and valves at nine locations;
(3)remove surface appurtenances including out-of-service risers and one out-of-service meter; and
(4)relinquish the easement to the current landowners. The general location of the facilities that would be abandoned is shown in Appendix 1. 2 If you are interested in obtaining detailed maps of a specific portion of the proposed abandoned facilities, send in your request using the form in Appendix 3. 2 The appendices referenced in this notice are not being printed in the **Federal Register.** Copies of all appendices, other than Appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's Web site at the “eLibrary” link or from the Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call
(202)502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary refer to the last page of this notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail. The EA Process The National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)requires the Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals. This process is referred to as “scoping”. The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important environmental issues. By this Notice of Intent, the Commission staff requests public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All comments received are considered during the preparation of the EA. State and local government representatives are encouraged to notify their constituents of this proposed action and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern. In the EA we 3 will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the proposed abandonment of the pipeline facilities under general headings which may include the following: 3 “We”, “us”, and “our” refer to the environmental staff of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP). • Geology and soils. • Land use. • Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands. • Cultural resources. • Vegetation and wildlife. • Air quality and noise. • Endangered and threatened species. • Hazardous waste. • Public safety. We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed abandonment or portions of the abandonment, and make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas. Our independent analysis of the issues will be in the EA. Depending on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA may be published and mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, public interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners, newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the public participation section below. Public Participation You can make a difference by providing us with your specific comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your concerns will be addressed in the EA/EIS and considered by the Commission. You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the proposal, alternatives to the proposal, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments are received in time and properly recorded: • Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. • Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas Branch 3. • Reference Docket No. CP06-60-000. • Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before April 14, 2006. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments or interventions or protests to this proceeding. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site at *http://www.ferc.gov* under the “e-Filing” link and the link to the User's Guide. Before you can file comments you will need to create a free account which can be created on-line. Becoming an Intervenor In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want to become an official party to the proceeding, or “intervenor”. To become an intervenor you must file a motion to intervene according to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214). Intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision. Motions to Intervene should be electronically submitted using the Commission's eFiling system at *http://www.ferc.gov.* Persons without Internet access should send an original and 14 copies of their motion to the Secretary of the Commission at the address indicated previously. Persons filing Motions to Intervene on or before the comment deadline indicated above must send a copy of the motion to the Applicant. All filings, including late interventions, submitted after the comment deadline must be served on the Applicant and all other intervenors identified on the Commission's service list for this proceeding. Persons on the service list with email addresses may be served electronically; others must be served a hard copy of the filing. Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor status to have your environmental comments considered. Environmental Mailing List An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals, organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the proposed abandonment. This includes all landowners who are potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily for abandonment purposes, or who own homes within distances defined in the Commission's regulations of certain aboveground facilities. By this notice we are also asking governmental agencies, especially those in Appendix 2, to express their interest in becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EA. Additional Information Additional information about the project is available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the FERC Internet Web site ( *http://www.ferc.gov* ) using the eLibrary link. Click on the eLibrary link, click on “General Search” and enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field. Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at *FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov* or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, contact
(202)502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings. In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with notification of these filings, document summaries and direct links to the documents. Go to *http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.* Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4036 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PF06-11-000] Quoddy Bay, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Quoddy Bay LNG Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings March 14, 2006. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) are in the process of evaluating the Quoddy Bay L.L.C. (Quoddy Bay) Liquefied Natural Gas
(LNG)Import and Regasification Terminal project (the Project) which involves the construction and operation of facilities by Quoddy Bay on the western shore of Passamaquoddy Bay in Washington County, Maine. The Project would consist of an onshore LNG import terminal located in Pleasant Point, ME with an approximate eight-mile-long pipeline connecting to a storage facility located in Perry, Maine., and 35-mile-long natural gas sendout pipeline interconnecting with the Maritimes and Northeast (M&NE) Pipeline system. As part of this evaluation, FERC staff will prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS)that will address the environmental impacts of the project and the Coast Guard will assess the maritime safety and security of the Project. As explained further in the Public Participation Section of this notice, the FERC and Coast Guard will hold joint public scoping meetings to allow the public and interested agencies the opportunity to provide input to these assessments. This notice explains the scoping process that will help us 1 determine which issues/impacts need to be evaluated in the EIS. This EIS will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether the Project is in the public convenience and necessity. Please note that the scoping period for the Project will close on April 28, 2006. 1 “We,”, “us”, and “our” refer to the environmental staff of the Office of Energy Projects. The FERC will be the lead Federal agency in the preparation of an EIS that will satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Coast Guard; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs will serve as cooperating agencies during preparation of the EIS. In addition, we have invited the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service; the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Natural Resources Conservation Service; the Maine Department of Environmental Protection; the Maine Department of Marine Resources; and the Maine Division of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Comments may be submitted in written form or verbally. In lieu of or in addition to sending written comments, you are invited to attend the public scoping meetings that have been scheduled in the Project area. Further instructions on how to submit written comments and additional details of the public scoping meetings are provided in the public participation section of this NOI. The Coast Guard is responsible for matters related to navigation safety, vessel engineering and safety standards, and all matters pertaining to the safety of facilities or equipment located in or adjacent to navigable waters up to the last valve immediately before the receiving tanks. The Coast Guard also has authority for LNG facility security plan review, approval, and compliance verification as provided in Title 33 CFR 105, and recommendation for siting as it pertains to the management of vessel traffic in and around the LNG facility. Upon receipt of a letter of intent from an owner or operator intending to build a new LNG facility, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port
(COTP)conducts an analysis that results in a letter of recommendation issued to the owner or operator and to the state and local governments having jurisdiction, addressing the suitability of the waterway to accommodate LNG vessels. Specifically the letter of recommendation addresses the suitability of the waterway based on: • The physical location and layout of the facility and its berthing and mooring arrangements. • The LNG vessels' characteristics and the frequency of LNG shipments to the facility. • Commercial, industrial, environmentally sensitive, and residential area in and adjacent to the waterway used by the LNG vessels en route to the facility. • Density and character of the marine traffic on the waterway. • Bridges or other manmade obstructions in the waterway. • Depth of water. • Tidal range. • Natural hazards, including rocks and sandbars. • Underwater pipelines and cables. • Distance of berthed LNG vessels from the channel, and the width of the channel. In addition, the Coast Guard will review and approve the facility's operations manual and emergency response plan (33 CFR 127.019), as well as the facility's security plan (33 CFR 105.410). The Coast Guard will also provide input to other Federal, state, and local government agencies reviewing the project. In order to complete a thorough analysis and fulfill the regulatory mandates cited above, the COTP Sector Northern New England will be conducting a formal risk assessment evaluating the various safety and security aspects associated with the Quoddy Bay's LNG proposed project. This risk assessment will be accomplished through a series of workshops focusing on the areas of waterways safety, port security, and consequence management, with involvement from a broad cross-section of government and port stakeholders with expertise in each of the respective areas. The workshops will be by invitation only. However, comments received during the public comment period will be considered as input in the risk assessment process. This notice is being sent to affected landowners within 0.5 mile of the proposed LNG Terminal; landowners within 200 feet of the pipeline route under consideration; Federal, state, and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; and local libraries and newspapers; and other interested parties. Some affected landowners may be contacted by a project representative about the acquisition of an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. If so, Quoddy Bay and the affected landowners should seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement. In the event that the Project is certificated by the Commission, that approval conveys the right of eminent domain for securing easements for the facilities. Therefore, if easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, Quoddy Bay could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with state law. A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled “An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?” addresses a number of typically asked questions, including the use of eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings. It is available for viewing on the FERC Internet Web site ( *http://www.ferc.gov* ). Summary of the Proposed Project Quoddy Bay proposes to site, construct, and operate an LNG terminal and storage facility, and associated natural gas sendout pipeline with a capacity of 2.0 billion cubic feet per day. More specifically, Quoddy Bay's facilities would consist of: • An LNG import and marine LNG terminal, including a double, staggered berth, 1,700-foot-long pier, capable of handling about 90 LNG tankers per year, ranging in size from 135,000 to 200,000 cubic meters (m 3 ) per ship; • An onshore storage and regasification facility which includes three full-containment insulated storage tanks with a capacity of 160,000 m 3 each. • LNG being unloaded from either of two berths. Each berth has four identical unloading arms, three in liquid service and one in vapor service. Each arm is provided with an emergency release system. Tankers can be unloaded at 4,000 to 12,000 cubic meters per hour; • The platform on the unloading pier will be equipped with submerged combustion vaporizers which can vaporize the LNG on site and send gas directly to the sendout line bypassing the shore side storage facility; • The electrical power distribution, including power substations, transformers, switchgear, multiple voltage distribution, emergency and UPS power systems; • Ancillary terminal facilities being located on the pier, including enclosed control rooms, and platform firefighting capability; • A computer-based distributed control system, measurement controls and natural gas metering facilities; • LNG being pumped via a cryogenic transfer line approximately 6,000 ft., crossing under a state highway, across a small inlet bay to the storage facility. • A comprehensive hazard monitoring system incorporating flammable gas detectors, high and low temperature detectors, smoke detectors, and local emergency shut-down controls. • The proposed sendout pipeline would consist of a 35.1 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline that would extend from the Import Facility through the Storage Facility and interconnect with the M&NE Pipeline in Princeton, Maine. A map depicting the general location of the Project facilities and pipeline is shown in Appendix 1. 2 2 The appendices referenced in this notice are not being printed in the **Federal Register** . Copies are available from the Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, at
(202)502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary refer to the last page of this Notice. Quoddy Bay is requesting approval such that the pier facilities are completed and placed into service in 2009 with the storage facilities being placed into service in 2010. Land Requirements for Construction Construction of the project would disturb about 993 acres of land. Following construction, about 337 to 340 acres of the total would be retained for the operation of the LNG Terminal and Sendout Pipeline. As proposed, the Import Facility would be constructed on submerged lands that extend from mean low water at Split Rock eastward towards the United States shore between Pleasant Point, Maine and Deer Island in New Brunswick Canada. Construction of this facility would require approximately 431 acres of land, of this amount, 30 acres consists of submerged lands that would be permanently impacted by the operation of the facility. The Support Facility would be located on Split Rock within the Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation in Pleasant Point, Maine. About 4 acres of land would be temporarily impacted by the construction of the Support Facility, of which about 2.5 acres of land would be permanently impacted by the operation of the proposed facility. Construction of the LNG Transfer System would temporarily impact about 8 acres of land and would including a segment of submerged land in Half Moon Cove. About 6 acres would be required for operation of the LNG Transfer System. The Storage Facility would be located in the town of Perry, Maine and affect about 100 acres of land. About 88 acres would be affected by operation. The 35.1-mile-long, 36-inch-diameter sendout pipeline in Washington County, Maine would temporarily affect about 430 to 450 acres of land during construction. About 210 to 213 acres would be required for operations. Quoddy Bay would use a maximum 100-wide right-of-way for construction, of this amount 50 feet would consist of permanent right-of-way and 50 feet would consist of temporary workspace. The construction right-of-way near wetlands and water bodies would be limited to 75 feet and in residential areas to 50 feet. The EIS Process The Project is currently in the preliminary stages of design, and at this time a formal application has not been filed with the Commission. For this proposal, the Commission is initiating the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)review prior to receiving the application. This allows interested stakeholders to become involved early in project planning and to identify and resolve issues before an application is filed with the FERC. A docket number (PF06-11-000) has been established to locate in the public record information filed by Quoddy Bay and related documents issued by the Commission. 3 Once a formal application is filed with the FERC, a new docket number will be established. 3 To view information in the docket, follow the instructions for using the eLibrary link at the end of this notice. NEPA requires the Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act. NEPA also requires us to identify and address concerns the public would have about proposals. This process is referred to as “scoping.” The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EIS on important environmental issues and reasonable alternatives. By this Notice of Intent, the Commission staff requests agency and public comments on the scope of the issues to be addressed in the EIS. All comments received are considered during the preparation of the EIS. In the EIS we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the construction, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of the proposed project under these general headings: • Geology and Soils, • Water Resources, • Fish, Wildlife, and Vegetation, • Endangered and Threatened Species, • Cultural Resources, • Land Use, Recreation and Special Interest Areas, and Visual Resources, • Socioeconomics, • Marine Transportation, • Air Quality and Noise, • Reliability and Safety, and • Alternatives. Our independent analysis of the issues will be included in the draft EIS. The draft EIS will be published and mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, Native American tribes, public interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners, newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review of the draft EIS. We will consider all timely comments on the draft EIS and revise the document, as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. We have already started to meet with Quoddy Bay, agencies, and other interested stakeholders to discuss the Project and identify issues/impacts and concerns. Between February 13 and 17, 2006, representatives of FERC staff participated in public open houses sponsored by Quoddy Bay in the Project area to explain the NEPA environmental review process to interested stakeholders and take comments about the Project. In addition, the Coast Guard, which would be responsible for reviewing the safety and security aspects of the planned project and regulating safety and security if the project is approved, has initiated its review of the project as well. With this notice, we are asking other Federal, state, and local agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to environmental issues in the project area to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the EIS. These agencies may choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating status should follow the instructions for filing comments described later in this notice. We encourage government representatives to notify their constituents of this planned project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern. To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the public participation section below. Currently Identified Environmental Issues We have identified several issues that we think deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and the information provided by Quoddy Bay. This preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis. • Impact of LNG ship traffic on other water-body users, including recreational boaters, tour-boats, and commercial fishing vessels. • Potential impacts on regional aquaculture and commercial fishing activities. • Safety and security issues relating to LNG ship traffic, including transits through Head Harbor Passage. • Potential impacts on the residents of neighboring communities, including safety issues at the import and storage facility, noise, air quality, and visual resources. • Project impacts on threatened and endangered species and nearby National Wildlife Refuges. • Project impacts on cultural resources. We will make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas and evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed Project or portions of the Project. Public Participation You are encouraged to become involved in this process and provide your specific comments or concerns about Quoddy Bay's proposal. Your comments should focus on the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments are received in time and properly recorded: • Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St. NE.; Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. • Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas Branch 1. • Reference Docket No. PF06-11-000 on the original and both copies. • Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before April 28, 2006 (Applicable copies will be provided to the Coast Guard). Please note that the Commission encourages electronic filing of comments. See 18 Code of Federal Regulations 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Internet Web site at *http://www.ferc.gov* under the “eFiling” link and the link to the User's Guide. Prepare your submission in the same manner as you would if filing on paper and save it to a file on your hard drive. Before you can file comments you will need to create an account by clicking on “Login to File” and then “New User Account.” You will be asked to select the type of filing you are making. This filing is considered a “Comment on Filing.” In addition to or in lieu of sending written comments, we invite you to attend the public scoping meetings we will conduct in the Project area. 4 The locations for these meetings are listed below. All meetings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.: 4 The Quoddy Bay scoping meetings were originally scheduled for March 28 and 29, 2006. However, due to scheduling conflicts for the FERC staff, the meetings were moved as noted above. Wednesday, April 5, 2006, 7 p.m. Pleasant Point Recreational Dept./Sipayik Boy's and Girl's Club, Passamaquoddy Drive, Perry, ME 04667, 207-853-6161. Thursday, April 6, 2006, 7 p.m. Perry School, 1587 U.S. Route 1, Perry, ME 04667, 207-853-2522. The scoping meetings listed above will be combined with the Coast Guard's public meeting regarding the safety and security of the project. At the meetings, the Coast Guard will discuss
(1)the waterway safety assessment that it will conduct to determine whether or not the waterway can safely accommodate the LNG carrier traffic and operation of the planned LNG marine terminal, and
(2)the security assessment it will conduct in accordance with the requirements of the Maritime Transportation Security Act. The Coast Guard will not be issuing a separate meeting notice for the maritime safety and security aspects of the project. The joint public scoping meetings are designed to provide state and local agencies, interested groups, affected landowners, and the general public with another opportunity to offer your comments on the Project. Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend the meetings and to present comments on the environmental issues they believe should be addressed in the EIS and LNG vessel transit safety concerns for consideration by the Coast Guard. A transcript of each meeting will be made so that your comments will be accurately recorded. All public meetings will be posted on the Commission's calendar located at *http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx* along with other related information. When Quoddy Bay submits its application for authorization to construct and operate the project, the Commission will publish a Notice of Application in the **Federal Register** and will establish a deadline for interested persons to intervene in the proceeding. Because the Commission's Pre-Filing Process occurs before an application to begin a proceeding is officially filed, petitions to intervene during this process are premature and will not be accepted by the Commission. Environmental Mailing List If you received this notice, you are on the environmental mailing list for this Project and will continue to receive Project updates including the draft and final EISs. If you want your contact information corrected or you do not want to remain on our mailing list, please return the Correct or Remove From Mailing List Form included as Appendix 3. To reduce printing and mailing costs, the draft and final EISs will be issued in both CD-ROM and hard copy formats. The FERC strongly encourages the use of the CD-ROM format in its publication of large documents. If you wish to receive a paper copy of the draft EIS instead of a CD-ROM, you must indicate that choice on the return postcard (Appendix 3). Additional Information Additional information about the Project is available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the FERC Internet Web site ( *http://www.ferc.gov* ) using the eLibrary link. Click on the eLibrary link, click on “General Search” and enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field. Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at *FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov* or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, contact
(202)502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings. In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with notification of these filings, document summaries and direct links to the documents. Go to *http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm* . Finally, Quoddy Bay L.L.C. LNG has established an Internet Web site for this project at *http://www.quoddylng.com* . The website includes a project overview, status, and answers to frequently asked questions. You can also request additional information by calling Quoddy Bay LNG at 207-853-6631, or by e-mail at *ABarstow@quoddylng.com* . Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4041 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Notice of Application for Non-Project Use of Project Lands and Waters and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Protests March 13, 2006. Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection. a. *Type of Application:* Non-Project Use of Project Lands and Waters. b. *Project No.:* 516-418. c. *Date filed:* February 21, 2006. d. *Applicant:* South Carolina Electric and Gas Company. e. *Name of Project:* Saluda Hydroelectric Project. f. *Location:* On the Saluda River, near the Town of Delmar, Saluda County, South Carolina. g. *Filed Pursuant to:* Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791
(a)825(r) and sections 799 and 801. h. *Applicant Contact:* Beth Trump, South Carolina Gas and Electric Co., Land Management (MZ6), Columbia, SC 29218, telephone
(803)217-7912, fax
(803)933-7520, e-mail *btrump@scana.com.* i. *FERC Contact:* Brandi Sangunett; telephone
(202)502-8393, e-mail *brandi.sangunett@ferc.gov.* j. *Deadline for filing comments and or motions:* April 14, 2006. k. *Description of Proposal:* South Carolina Electric and Gas Company is requesting Commission approval to authorize the use by Saluda County Water and Sewer Authority (SCWSA) of project lands for the withdrawal of up to 15 million gallons per day of water from the project reservoir for public drinking water, and to convey 0.23 acres of project property along with a 40-foot wide ingress and egress easement for the purpose of constructing a raw water pumping station and associated facilities. The water withdrawal would involve an inter-basin transfer from the Saluda River basin for use and discharge into the Lower Savannah River basin and the Edisto River basin. No lands presently reserved for public recreation will affected. l. *Locations of the Application:* A copy of the application is available for inspection and reproduction at the Commission's Public Reference Room, located at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, or by calling
(202)502-8371. This filing may also be viewed on the Commission's Web site at *http://www.ferc.gov* using the “eLibrary” link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field (p-516) to access the document. You may also register online at *http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp* to be notified via e-mail of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, call 1-866-208-3676 or e-mail *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,* for TTY, call
(202)502-8659. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at the address in item
(h)above. m. Individuals desiring to be included on the Commission's mailing list should so indicate by writing to the Secretary of the Commission. n. *Comments, Protests, or Motions to Intervene* —Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, .211, .214. In determining the appropriate action to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or before the specified comment date for the particular application. o. *Filing and Service of Responsive Documents* —Any filings must bear in all capital letters the title “COMMENTS”, “RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS”, “PROTEST”, OR “MOTION TO INTERVENE”, as applicable, and the Project Number of the particular application to which the filing refers (p-516-418). All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington DC 20426. A copy of any motion to intervene must also be served upon each representative of the Applicant specified in the particular application. p. A *gency Comments* —Federal, state, and local agencies are invited to file comments on the described application. A copy of the application may be obtained by agencies directly from the Applicant. If an agency does not file comments within the time specified for filing comments, it will be presumed to have no comments. One copy of an agency's comments must also be sent to the Applicant's representatives. q. Comments, protests and interventions may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site at *http://www.ferc.gov* under the “e-Filing” link. Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4031 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting Scoping Comments for an Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment Using the Alternative Licensing Process March 14, 2006. a. *Subject:* Alternative Licensing Process for a New Major License. b. *Project No.:* 12478-000. c. *Applicant:* Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Company, LLC. d. *Name of Project:* Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Project. e. *Location:* The proposed hydroelectric generating facility would be located at Gibson dam on the Sun River approximately 18 miles northwest of Augusta, MT in Teton and Lewis and Clark counties. The project power generating facilities would be constructed at or near the base of Gibson dam on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation lands. Gibson dam lies within the Lewis and Clark National Forest, administered by the U.S. Forest Service. f. *The application would be filed pursuant to:* Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r). g. *Applicant Contact:* Steven C. Marmon, Project Manager, Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Company, LLC, 3633 Alderwood Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98225, *smarmon@tollhouseenergy.com,* 360.738.9999 X 122. h. *FERC Contact:* David Turner, *david.turner@ferc.gov,* 202.502.6091. i. *Deadline for filing scoping comments:* May 12, 2006. All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all interveners filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an intervener files comments or documents with the Commission relating to the merits of an issue that may affect the responsibilities of a particular resource agency, they must also serve a copy of the document on that resource agency. Comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site ( *http://www.ferc.gov* ) under the “e-Filing” link. j. The hydroelectric project would be located at or near Gibson dam on the Sun River approximately 18 miles northwest of Augusta, MT. Gibson dam is an existing water storage and supply facility owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation through a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Forest Service. The project power generating facilities would be constructed at or near the base of Gibson dam on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation lands, and would consist of a powerhouse, a 5-35 kilovolt
(kV)transformer located near the powerhouse, a 35kV transmission line extending from the transformer to a 35-69kV substation, and a 69kV overhead transmission line extending from the substation to the existing South Augusta substation. Three alternative powerhouse configurations are currently under consideration. All three designs would involve an approximately 60 foot
(ft)by 160 ft powerhouse, which would house two 6-megawatt
(MW)and two 1.5-MW horizontal shaft Francis-type turbine/generators. Specifically, the alternatives are:
(1)Upstream Alternative, with the powerhouse located just downstream of and parallel to the Gibson dam;
(2)Upstream Alternative, with the powerhouse located just downstream of and perpendicular to the Gibson dam; and
(3)Downstream Alternative, with the powerhouse located adjacent to the access road approximately 250 ft downstream from the base of the dam. k. Scoping Process. Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Company, LLC
(GDHC)intends to utilize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) alternative licensing process (ALP). Under the ALP, GDHC will prepare an applicant prepared Environmental Assessment
(EA)and license application for the Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Project. GDHC expects to file with the Commission, the applicant prepared EA and the license application for the Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Project by March 2007. Although GDHC's intent is to prepare an EA, there is the possibility that an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS)would be necessary to complete the NEPA process. Nevertheless, this meeting will satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of whether an EA or EIS is issued by the Commission. The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the opportunity to participate in the upcoming scoping meetings identified below, and to solicit your scoping comments. Scoping Meetings GDHC and the Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings—one in the evening and one in the morning—to help us identify the scope of issues to be addressed in the applicant prepared EA. The evening scoping meeting will be oriented primarily for the public, while the morning scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and non-governmental organization concerns. All interested individuals, organizations, tribes, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist the Commission staff in identifying the environmental issues that should be analyzed in the applicant prepared EA. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows: Evening Meeting Tuesday, April 11, 2006, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (MST), Fairfield Community Center, Fairfield, MT. Morning Meeting Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (MST), Montana Association of Counties Building, 2715 Skyway Drive, Helena, MT. To help focus discussions, copies of SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the applicant prepared EA were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 also will be available at the scoping meetings. SD1 is available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at *http://www.ferc.gov* using the “eLibrary” link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov* or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY,
(202)502-8659. You may also register online at *http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp* to be notified via e-mail of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support. Based on all comments received, a Scoping Document 2
(SD2)may be issued. SD2 will include a revised list of issues, based on the scoping sessions. Objectives At the scoping meetings, the staff will:
(1)Summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the applicant prepared EA;
(2)solicit from the meeting participants all available information, especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue;
(3)encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that should be analyzed in the applicant prepared EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in support of, the staffs preliminary views;
(4)determine the resource issues to be addressed in the applicant prepared EA; and,
(5)identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not require a detailed analysis. Procedures The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project. Individuals, organizations, tribes, and agencies with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to assist GDHC in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the applicant prepared EA. Site Visit Commission staff and GDHC will conduct a site visit to the Gibson dam at 9 a.m. on April 11, 2006. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to attend. Any person interested in attending the site visit should contact Steve Marmon no later than Friday April 7, 2006, at: Steven C. Marmon, Project Manager, Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Company, LLC, 3633 Alderwood Avenue Bellingham, WA 98225, 360-738-9999 X 122, *smarmon@tollhouseenergy.com.* Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4040 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER02-2001-000] Electric Quarterly Reports; Notice of Electric Quarterly Reports Users Group Meeting March 7, 2006. On April 25, 2002, the Commission issued Order No. 2001, 1 a final rule which requires public utilities to file Electric Quarterly Reports. Order 2001-C, issued December 18, 2002, instructs all public utilities to file these reports using Electric Quarterly Report Submission Software. This notice announces a meeting for the EQR Users Group to be held Wednesday, March 29, 2006, at FERC headquarters, 888 First Street, NW., Washington, DC. The meeting will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 1 Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements, Order No. 2001, 67 FR 31043, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,127 (April 25, 2002); *reh'g denied,* Order No. 2001-A, 100 FERC ¶ 61,074, *reconsideration and clarification denied,* Order No. 2001-B, 100 FERC ¶ 61,342 (2002). At the workshop, Commission staff and EQR users will review and update the technical compliance process and review clarifications and additions to the EQR Requirements Guide. A detailed agenda and other relevant documents will be provided at *http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/eqr/groups-workshops.asp* prior to the meeting. All interested parties are invited to attend. For those unable to attend in person, limited access to the workshop will be available by teleconference. Those interested in participating are asked to register on the FERC Web site at *https://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/registration/eqr-03-29-form.asp.* There is no registration fee. Interested parties wishing to file comments may do so under the above-captioned Docket Number. Those filings will be available for review at the Commission or may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at *http://www.ferc.gov,* using the “eLibrary” link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov* or via phone at
(866)208-3676 (toll-free). For TTY, contact
(202)502-8659. For additional information, please contact Brenda Devine of FERC's Office of Market Oversight & Investigations at
(202)502-8522 or by e-mail at *eqr@ferc.gov.* Magalie R. Salas, Secretary. [FR Doc. E6-4034 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-ORD-2005-0504; FRL-8047-8] Notice of Expert Peer Review Meeting on the Nanotechnology White Paper External Review Draft AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)is announcing that Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor for external peer review, will convene a panel of experts and will organize and conduct an independent expert external peer review meeting to review the draft document entitled “Nanotechnology White Paper External Review Draft.” The draft document was prepared by the Nanotechnology Workgroup of EPA's Science Policy Council and has recently undergone public review and comment. Versar, Inc. invites the public to register to attend this meeting as observers. In addition, Versar, Inc. invites the public to give oral comments or provide written comments at the external peer review meeting regarding the draft document under review. The panel will review the draft document and consider public comments received in the official public docket for this activity under docket ID number EPA-HQ-ORD-2005-0504 as well as comments made by the public at the meeting. The draft document and peer review charge are available through EPA's Science Inventory at *http://cfpub.epa.gov/si/* and at *http://www.epa.gov/osa/nanotech.htm.* In preparing a final document, EPA will consider Versar, Inc.'s report of the comments and recommendations from the external peer-review meeting, as well as public comments. EPA plans to issue a final white paper on nanotechnology in mid-2006. This notice announces the independent expert external peer review meeting location and dates, and how to participate in the meeting. DATES: Versar, Inc. will hold the independent expert external peer review meeting from April 19, 2006 to April 20, 2006. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., Eastern Time, on both days. The public may attend the expert external peer review meeting. Members of the public in attendance will be allowed to make brief (no longer than 5 minutes) oral statements during the meeting's public comment period. ADDRESSES: The independent expert external peer review meeting will be held at the Marriott at Metro Center, located at 775 12th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005; telephone 202-737-2200. How Can I Request To Participate in This Meeting? Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor, is organizing, convening, and conducting the expert peer review meeting. To attend the meeting, register by April 15, 2006, by visiting *http://epa.versar.com/nanotech.* You may also contact Mr. Andrew Oravetz of Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, Springfield, VA, 22151, at 703-642-6832 or via e-mail at *Aoravetz@versar.com,* or by sending a facsimile to 703-642-6954 to his attention. You will be asked for your name, contact information, whom you represent, and your title. Please indicate if you intend to make an oral statement during the public comment period at the meeting. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding logistics for the external peer review meeting should be directed to Mr. Andrew Oravetz, Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, Springfield, VA, 22151; telephone: 703-642-6832; facsimile: 703-642-6954; or via e-mail at *Aoravetz@versar.com.* If you have questions about the draft document, please contact Dr. Kathryn Gallagher, Office of the Science Advisor, Mail Code 8105-R, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number:
(202)564-1398; fax number:
(202)564-2070, e-mail: *Gallagher.kathryn@epa.gov.* SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA is submitting the Nanotechnology White Paper External Review Draft for independent, external peer review. On December 21, 2006, the draft document was announced in the **Federal Register** (70 FR 75812) and made available for a public comment period that ended January 31, 2006. The comment period was subsequently extended to March 1, 2006 (71 FR 6774, February 9, 2006). Public comments received in the docket will be shared with the external peer review panel for their consideration. Although EPA is under no obligation to do so, EPA may consider comments received after the close of the comment period. The public release of this draft document is solely for the purpose of seeking public comment and peer review. This draft white paper does not represent and should not be construed to represent any EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination. The Nanotechnology White Paper External Review Draft identifies data gaps that need to be filled and recommends research for both environmental applications and implications of nanotechnology that would inform the appropriate regulatory safeguards for nanotechnology. The draft white paper describes the technology and provides a discussion of potential environmental benefits of nanotechnology. Risk management issues and the Agency's statutory mandates are outlined, following an extensive discussion of risk assessment issues. The draft white paper concludes with recommendations on next steps for addressing science policy issues and research needs. Supplemental information is provided in a number of appendices. Following the expert external peer review, EPA plans to issue a final white paper on nanotechnology in mid-2006. Dated: March 15, 2006. William H. Farland, Chief Scientist, Office of the Science Advisor. [FR Doc. E6-4066 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0031; FRL-8047-4] Board of Scientific Counselors, Executive Committee Meeting—April 2006 AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development (ORD), gives notice of one meeting (via conference call) of the Board of Scientific Counselors
(BOSC)Executive Committee. DATES: The conference call will be held on Thursday, April 6, 2006 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. eastern time, and may adjourn early if all business is finished. Requests for the draft agenda or for making oral presentations during the call will be accepted up to 1 business day before the conference call. ADDRESSES: Participation in the conference call will be by teleconference only—meeting rooms will not be used. Members of the public may obtain the call-in number and access code for the calls from Lorelei Kowalski, whose contact information is listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0031, by one of the following methods: • *www.regulations.gov:* Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments. • *E-mail:* Send comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to: *ORD.Docket@epa.gov,* Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0031. • *Fax:* Fax comments to:
(202)566-0224, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0031. • *Mail:* Send comments by mail to: Board of Scientific Counselors, Executive Committee Meeting—February 2006 Docket, Mailcode: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0031. • *Hand Delivery or Courier* . Deliver comments to: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Room B102, EPA West Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0031. Note: This is not a mailing address. Such deliveries are only accepted during the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. *Instructions:* Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0031. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at *www.regulations.gov* , including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information
(CBI)or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through *www.regulations.gov* or email. The *www.regulations.gov* website is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through *www.regulations.gov,* your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at *http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm* . *Docket:* All documents in the docket are listed in the *www.regulations.gov* index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in *www.regulations.gov* or in hard copy at the Board of Scientific Counselors, Executive Committee—February 2006 Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is
(202)566-1744, and the telephone number for the ORD Docket is
(202)566-1752. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Designated Federal Officer via mail at: Lorelei Kowalski, Mail Code 8104-R, Office of Science Policy, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via phone/voice mail at:
(202)564-3408; via fax at:
(202)565-2911; or via email at: *kowalski.lorelei@epa.gov* . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: General Information Any member of the public interested in receiving a draft BOSC agenda or making a presentation during the conference call may contact Lorelei Kowalski, the Designated Federal Officer, via any of the contact methods listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above. In general, each individual making an oral presentation will be limited to a total of three minutes. The purpose of this conference call is to review, discuss, and potentially approve a draft report prepared by the BOSC Water Quality Subcommittee. Proposed agenda items for the conference call include, but are not limited to: Discussion of the Subcommittee's draft responses to the charge questions, and general report content. The conference call is open to the public. Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: For information on access or services for individuals with disabilities, please contact Lorelei Kowalski at
(202)564-3408 or *kowalski.lorelei@epa.gov* . To request accommodation of a disability, please contact Lorelei Kowalski, preferably at least 10 days prior to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request. Dated: March 14, 2006. Kevin Y. Teichman, Director, Office of Science Policy. [FR Doc. E6-4067 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-8007-3] Title VI Public Involvement Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Recipient Guidance) AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Final Guidance. SUMMARY: EPA's Office of Civil Rights is publishing the *Title VI Public Involvement Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Recipient Guidance)* as final. This guidance revises the previous *Draft Final Title VI Public Involvement Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Draft Final Recipient Guidance)* issued for public comment in March 2005. The revisions made in this document reflect and include public involvement considerations suggested in written comments the Office of Civil Rights
(OCR)received on the *Draft Final Recipient Guidance.* This guidance has been developed for recipients of EPA assistance that implement environmental permitting programs. It discusses various approaches and suggests tools recipients may use to help enhance the public involvement aspects of their current permitting programs and address potential issues related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) and EPA's regulations implementing Title VI. DATES: *Effective Date:* March 21, 2006. ADDRESSES: Copies of the written comments received on the Draft Final Recipient Guidance as well as EPA's responses to the written comments may be obtained by contacting the Office of Civil Rights at: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Civil Rights (1201A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460-1000. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Randolph, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Civil Rights (1201A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460-1000, telephone
(202)343-9679. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents A. Preamble B. Review of Public Comments and Revisions to the Draft Guidance C. Title VI Public Involvement Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Recipient Guidance) A. Preamble Today's **Federal Register** document contains the guidance document entitled, the *Title VI Public Involvement Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Recipient Guidance).* It offers recipients of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assistance, suggestions on public involvement approaches they may use to help enhance their current environmental permitting programs to better address potential issues related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, (Title VI) and EPA's Title VI implementing regulations. 1 The *Recipient Guidance* addresses and incorporates public involvement suggestions EPA's Office of Civil Rights
(OCR)received on the *Draft Final Title VI Public Involvement Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Draft Final Recipient Guidance).* This Recipient Guidance will replace the *Draft Final Recipient Guidance* which was issued in March 2005. 2 Much of the information in this Recipient Guidance is based on EPA's commitment to early and meaningful public involvement throughout the entire permitting process. 1 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Public Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 252 (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000-7); 40 CFR part 7. 2 70 FR 10625 (2005). *The Draft Final Recipient Guidance* was developed to revise the *Draft Title VI Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Draft Recipient Guidance)* published in June 2000. Prior to issuing the *Draft Recipient Guidance* , EPA considered public input, the work of the Title VI Implementation Advisory Committee of EPA's National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) 3 , the work of the Environmental Council of States
(ECOS)4 , particularly its October 9, 1998 draft *Proposed Elements of State Environmental Justice Programs* , and input from available state environmental justice programs. The *Draft Recipient Guidance* discussed approaches to complaints alleging discrimination during the public participation portion of the permitting process, as well as complaints alleging discriminatory human health effects, environmental effects and adverse disparate impacts resulting from the issuance of permits. The *Draft Recipient Guidance* also discussed how these approaches could be used to address concerns before the filing of complaints. 3 NACEPT consists of a representative cross-section of EPA's partners and principle constituents who provide advice and recommendations to the Administrator of EPA on a broad range of environmental policy, technology, and management issues regarding new strategies that the Agency is developing. The Council is a proactive, strategic panel of experts that identifies emerging challenges facing EPA and responds to specific charges requested by the Administrator and the program office managers. 4 The mission of ECOS involves championing the role of the States in environmental protection and articulating state positions to Congress, Federal agencies and the public on environmental issues. This mission is often advanced by writing letters, making presentations, and working in coalition with other groups to advocate on behalf of the states on environmental matters. EPA also published the Draft Revised Guidance for Investigating Title VI Administrative Complaints Challenging Permits ( *Draft Revised Investigative Guidance* ) in June 2000. The *Draft Revised Investigation Guidance* discussed how OCR would process complaints alleging adverse disparate health impacts from the issuance of environmental permits. To avoid redundancy, OCR decided that the *Recipient Guidance* would only focus on approaches recipients can use to enhance the public involvement portion of their permitting programs. Discussions on disparate and other adverse impacts may be included in guidance to be published at a later date. Today, EPA is issuing the *Recipient Guidance* as final. B. Review of Public Comments and Revisions to the Draft Guidance EPA received few comments regarding the *Draft Final Recipient Guidance.* Some of the comments received pertained to the public involvement practices suggested in the *Draft Final Recipient Guidance.* Other comments focused on how OCR should interpret and implement EPA's Title VI regulations. OCR only addressed comments that pertained to the focus of this guidance, which is suggested public involvement practices recipients can use to help ensure that federal funding is used in compliance with the provisions of Title VI and EPA's Title VI implementing regulations. As a result of some of the comments received, OCR revised the document to include a discussion on the need and importance of ensuring a level playing field for all stakeholders before coming to the table to negotiate issues in the Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR)process, further explanations regarding some of the suggested approaches to help address potential siting issues, revisions on how OCR intends to conduct their “due weight” analysis, and an additional section on The Interface Between Public Involvement and The Rehabilitation Act. OCR has decided to address the comments by revising and incorporating new language into the final version of this guidance. C. Title VI Public Involvement Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Recipient Guidance) I. Introduction A. Purpose of This Guidance B. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 C. EPA's Guiding Principles for Title VI and the Recipient Guidance D. The Interface Between Public Involvement and Title VI E. The Interface Between Public Involvement and the Rehabilitation Act F. Scope and Flexibility II. Approaches to Meaningful Public Involvement A. Developing and Implementing an Effective Public Involvement Plan B. Training Staff C. Involving the Public Early and Often Throughout the Permitting Process D. Encouraging Stakeholder and Intergovernmental Involvement E. Equipping Communities With Tools to Help Ensure Effective Public Involvement F. Making Assistance/Grants Available to the Public G. Using Alternative Dispute Resolution Techniques III. Suggested Approaches for Reducing Some Common Title VI Complaints A. Language B. Siting C. Insufficient Public Notices D. Information Repository IV. Evaluating Approaches for Meaningful Public Involvement V. Due Weight VI. Conclusion VII. Bibliography I. Introduction A. Purpose of This Guidance This guidance is written for recipients 5 of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assistance 6 that administer environmental permitting programs. It offers suggestions on approaches and ways to address public involvement situations to ensure that federal funding is used in compliance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (Title VI) 7 and EPA's Title VI implementing regulations. 8 The approaches discussed in this guidance may be used to create new public involvement activities or to enhance existing public involvement activities to address allegations of discriminatory public participation practices during the permitting process. 5 “Recipient” is defined as “any State or its political subdivision, any instrumentality of a State or its political subdivision, any public or private agency, institution, organization, other entity, any person to which Federal financial assistance is extended directly or through another recipient, including any successor, assignee, or transferee of a recipient, but excluding the ultimate beneficiary of the assistance.” 40 CFR 7.25. 6 EPA assistance is defined as “any grant or cooperative agreement, loan, contract (other than a procurement contract or a contract of insurance or guaranty), or any other arrangement by which EPA provides or otherwise makes available assistance in the form of:
(1)Funds;
(2)Services of personnel; or
(3)Real or personal property or any interest in or use of such property, including
(i)Transfers or leases of such property for less than fair market value or for reduced consideration; and
(ii)Proceeds for a subsequent transfer or lease of such property if EPA's share of its fair market value is not returned to EPA.” 7 Public Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 252 (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-7). 8 40 CFR part 7, Nondiscrimination in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency. This is a guidance document, not a regulation. This document offers suggestions to recipients about enhancing public involvement processes in environmental permitting, and addressing potential Title VI issues before complaints arise. Recipients remain free to use approaches other than the ones suggested here. In addition, EPA recipients may consider other approaches and ideas, either on their own or at the suggestion of interested parties. Interested parties are free to raise questions and objections regarding this guidance and the appropriateness of using these recommendations in a particular situation. EPA will take into consideration whether the recommendations are appropriate in that situation. This document does not change or act as a substitute for any legal requirements. Rather, the sources of authority and requirements for Title VI programs are the relevant statutory and regulatory provisions. B. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin under any program or activity of a Federal financial assistance recipient. Title VI itself prohibits intentional discrimination. However Congress directed that its policy against discrimination by recipients of Federal assistance be implemented, in part, through administrative rulemaking. Since 1964, regulations promulgated by Federal agencies implementing Title VI have uniformly prohibited conduct or actions by a recipient which have the effect of discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. Title VI “delegated to the agencies in the first instance the complex determination of what sorts of disparate impacts upon minorities constituted sufficiently significant social problems, and were readily enough remediable, to warrant altering the practices of the Federal grantees that had produced those impacts.” 9 9 *Alexander* v. *Choate* , 469 U.S. 287, 293-294 (1985). EPA initially issued Title VI regulations in 1973 and revised them in 1984. 10 Entities applying for EPA financial assistance submit assurances with their applications stating that they will comply with the requirements of EPA's regulations implementing Title VI with respect to their programs or activities. 11 When the recipient receives EPA assistance, they accept the obligation to comply with EPA's Title VI implementing regulations. Recipients must also adopt grievance procedures that assure the prompt and fair resolution of complaints which allege violations of EPA's Title VI regulations. 12 When an applicant receives EPA assistance, they may not issue permits that are intentionally discriminatory, or use “criteria or methods of administering its program or activity which have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination because of their race, color, or national origin.” 13 Persons, or their authorized representatives, who believe Federal financial assistance recipients are not administering their programs in a nondiscriminatory manner may file administrative complaints with EPA or other relevant Federal agencies. The complaint must be filed within 180 calendar days of a particular action taken by the recipient (for example, the issuance of an environmental permit) that allegedly has a discriminatory purpose or effect. 14 The filing or acceptance for investigation of a Title VI complaint does not suspend an issued permit. Title VI complaints concern the programs and activities being implemented by Federal financial assistance recipients, and any EPA investigations of such a complaint primarily concerns the actions of recipients rather than permittees. While a particular permitting decision may act as a trigger for a complaint, allegations may involve a wider range of issues or alleged adverse disparate impacts within the legal authority of recipients. The primary means of enforcing compliance with Title VI is through voluntary compliance agreements. Suspension or termination of funding is a means of last resort. 10 See memo dated October 26, 2001 from Ralph F. Boyd Jr., Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, to the “Heads of Departments and Agencies General Counsels and Civil Rights Directors” which states the Department of Justice's position that the Sandoval decision at 532 U.S. 286 does not alter the validity of enforcing Title VI regulations or limit the authority and responsibility of Federal grant agencies to enforce their own implementing regulations. 11 40 CFR 7.80, EPA Form 4700-4 and Standard Form 424. 12 40 CFR 7.90. 13 40 CFR 7.35(b). 14 40 CFR 7.120(b)(2). Executive Order 12250 directs Federal agencies to issue appropriate Title VI implementing directives, either in the form of policy guidance or regulations consistent with requirements prescribed by the Department of Justice's Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. 15 This guidance was developed as a result of the nature of Title VI complaints received in EPA's Office of Civil Rights coupled with requests for guidance from state and local agencies. This guidance focuses on public involvement approaches recipients may use to ensure that federal funding is used in compliance with the provisions of Title VI and EPA's Title VI implementing regulations. 15 Executive Order 12250, 45 FR 72995
(1980)(section 1-402). C. EPA's Guiding Principles for Title VI and the Recipient Guidance To ensure stakeholder involvement in the development of the *Draft Recipient Guidance* , EPA established a Title VI Implementation Advisory Committee (Title VI Advisory Committee) under the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) in March 1998. The Title VI Advisory Committee was comprised of representatives from communities, environmental justice groups, state and local governments, industry, and other interested stakeholders. EPA asked the committee to review and evaluate existing techniques that EPA funding recipients could use to administer environmental permitting programs in compliance with Title VI. Techniques evaluated could include tools for assessing potential Title VI concerns and mitigating impacts where they occur. Core components of the Recipient Guidance are based on several threshold principles NACEPT included in their April 1999, *Report of the Title VI Implementation Advisory Committee: Next Steps for EPA, State, and Local Environmental Justice Programs* . 16 EPA established guiding principles for implementing Title VI and developing the *Draft Recipient Guidance* . In implementing Title VI and developing this final guidance, EPA is reaffirming its commitment to the following principles: 16 For a copy of this report, see: *http://www.epa.gov/civilrights/t6faca.htm.* • All persons regardless of race, color or national origin are entitled to a safe and healthful environment. • Strong civil rights enforcement is essential in preventing Title VI violations and complaints. • Enforcement of civil rights laws and environmental laws are complementary, and can be achieved in a manner consistent with sustainable economic development. • Early, preventive steps, whether under the auspices of state and local governments, in the context of voluntary initiatives by industry, or at the initiative of community advocates, are strongly encouraged to prevent potential Title VI violations and complaints. • Meaningful outreach and public participation early and throughout the decision-making process is critical to identify and resolve issues, and to also assure proper consideration of public concerns. • Intergovernmental and innovative problem-solving provide the most comprehensive response to many concerns raised in Title VI complaints. D. The Interface Between Public Involvement and Title VI Public involvement should be an integral part of the permit decision-making process to help the public understand and assess how issues affect their communities. The degree of public involvement in the permitting process can directly affect the likelihood of the filing of complaints alleging discrimination. Meaningful public involvement consists of informing, consulting, and working with potentially affected and affected communities at various stages of the permitting process to address their concerns. Appropriate collaboration during the permitting process can foster trust, and help establish credible, solid relationships between permitting agencies and communities. Such collaboration may serve to ensure that concerns are identified and addressed in a timely manner to possibly reduce the filing of some Title VI complaints. The fundamental premise of EPA's 2003 Public Involvement Policy is that “EPA should continue to provide for meaningful public involvement in all its programs, and consistently look for new ways to enhance public input. EPA staff and managers should seek input reflecting all points of view and should carefully consider this input when making decisions. EPA also should work to ensure that decision-making processes are open and accessible to all interested groups, including those with limited financial and technical resources, English proficiency, and/or past experience participating in environmental decision-making. Such openness to the public increases EPA's credibility, improves the Agency's decision-making processes, and can impact final decision outcomes. At the same time, EPA should not accept any recommendation or proposal without careful, critical examination.” 17 OCR suggests that EPA recipients consider using a similar approach when implementing their environmental permit programs. 17 For a copy of this report, *see:* *http://www.epa.gov/publicinvolvement/policy2003/finalpolicy.pdf* The interface between public involvement and Title VI often arises when racial or ethnic communities believe that they've been discriminated against as a result of a decision made in the permitting process. OCR believes that many of these assertions of discrimination arise from a failure to adequately involve the public in the pre-decisional process prior to permit issuance. Violations of Title VI or EPA's Title VI regulations can be based solely on discriminatory actions in the procedural aspects of the permitting process. Many Title VI complaints center around allegations of discrimination that may have been prevented, mitigated, or resolved if certain public involvement practices had been implemented by recipient agencies. OCR believes that having recipients focus on early, inclusive and meaningful public involvement throughout the entire permitting process will help ensure that Federal funding is used in compliance with the provisions of Title VI and EPA's Title VI implementing regulations. In 1999 the Office of Solid Waste conducted a series of seven case studies to determine if the redevelopment of EPA Brownfields 18 Pilots had been impeded by Title VI complaints, and to address concerns of whether these complaints may deter businesses from redeveloping Brownfields sites. The study, “Brownfields Title VI Case Studies,” 19 indicated that community residents are not likely to file Title VI complaints when the redevelopment process provides for early and meaningful community involvement, and creates a benefit for the local community. In several of the case study Pilots, communities were involved in identifying and helping to resolve issues during the early stages of the process which helped build trust between stakeholders and a sense of ownership for community members. According to those interviewed, community outreach and involvement served to prevent the filing of Title VI complaints and other opposition to development projects. 18 EPA defines Brownfields as real property that is expanded, redeveloped, or reused which may contain or potentially contain a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. Cleaning and reinvesting these properties takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land which help to improve and protect the environment. For more information on Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment, *see: http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/index.html* 19 For a copy of this report, *see:* *http://www.epa.gov/oswer/ej/ejndx.htm#titlevi* or call the hotline at 1-800-424-9346. E. The Interface Between Public Involvement and the Rehabilitation Act It is important that recipients provide access and accommodation to individuals with disabilities who wish to take part in public involvement activities. Recipients may consult Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794, and EPA's implementing regulations, 40 CFR Part 7. Additional documents which list information to assist recipients in providing access and accommodation are included in Section VII of this guidance, “Bibliography.” Many of the documents listed in the bibliography refer to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12131 *et seq.* , but also have applicability to Section 504. F. Scope and Flexibility This guidance was written at the request of the states and is intended to offer suggestions to help EPA state and local recipients develop and enhance the public involvement portion of their existing permitting programs. This guidance offers a flexible framework of public involvement approaches. The information and tools discussed in this guidance include proactive approaches to enhance the public involvement aspects of their current permitting program and to help ensure that federal funding is used in compliance with the provisions of Title VI and EPA's Title VI implementing regulations. EPA knows that because recipients may have different Title VI concerns in communities within their jurisdiction, different levels of resources, and different organizational structures, a “one-size-fits-all” Title VI public involvement approach will not adequately address every program's needs. Recipients are therefore encouraged to use the activities or approaches in this guidance that will be most beneficial in addressing each situation accordingly. While this guidance is intended to focus on issues related to public involvement in environmental permitting, recipients may also consider developing proactive approaches to promote equitable compliance assurance and enforcement of environmental laws within individual jurisdictions. However, compliance with environmental laws does not ensure compliance with Title VI. Even though recipients are not required to implement the Title VI public involvement approaches described in this guidance, they are required to operate their programs in compliance with the non-discrimination requirements of Title VI and EPA's implementing regulations. 20 20 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-7, 40 CFR 7.30 and 7.35. II. Approaches to Meaningful Public Involvement This guidance suggests a number of public involvement approaches recipients may want to adopt and implement to help address Title VI related concerns in their permitting programs. The approaches described here are not intended to be mutually exclusive. The objective of these approaches is to have recipients fully engage as many members of the affected community as possible in the discussions and decisions made regarding issues in their community. Because of differences in culture, levels of experience, knowledge, and financial resources, recipients are encouraged to combine portions of several, or use as many approaches to the extent appropriate to satisfy their program needs. Recipients may couple these approaches with practices already in use to better implement their Title VI programs. Recipients are also encouraged to develop and implement additional approaches not mentioned in this guidance. OCR may consider the outcomes of any approaches in the analysis of a Title VI complaint that relate to programs, activities or methods of administration. 21 Suggested approaches are listed below. 21 For further discussion of the concept of giving “due weight” to a recipient's compliance efforts in the context of a Title VI complaint, see Section V. A. Developing and Implementing an Effective Public Involvement Plan A Public Involvement Plan
(PIP)is a document that serves as the basic foundation of any good public involvement program. PIPs serve as early involvement tools to identify community concerns and lay out approaches recipients plan to take to address those concerns through various outreach activities. An effective PIP includes discussions of what recipients plan to do to ensure that the needs and concerns of the affected community are addressed. In addition, an effective PIP strives to keep the community informed of the public involvement opportunities available to them during the decision-making process. An effective PIP expedites the flow of information for unexpected events, answers basic questions on issues related to the community's concerns, and helps ensure better decision outcomes to benefit the affected community. Equally important, an effective PIP provides members of the affected communities with a sense of partnership in the decision-making process underlying the permitting process. For these reasons, communities and other affected groups should be included in the development of the PIP. Recipients may decide to take the lead in contacting the necessary groups and developing their PIP as an agency, or may use a neutral third party to convene the relevant groups and facilitate the process. Either way, communities and all those affected by the decision outcome should be involved in developing the PIP, as well as ensuring that the planning efforts of the recipient agency address those issues that are important to them. 22 An effective PIP includes the following information: 22 For suggestions on how to develop a Public Involvement Plan, *see: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/permit/pubpart/manual.htm, http://www.epa.gov/superfund/tools/cag/ci_handbook.pdf,* and *http://web.em.doe.gov/ftplink/public/doeguide.pdf.*
(1)An overview of the recipient's plan of action for addressing the community's needs and concerns,
(2)A description of the community (including demographics, history, and background),
(3)A contact list of agency officials with phone numbers and email addresses to allow the public to communicate via phone or internet,
(4)A list of past and present community concerns (including any Title VI complaints),
(5)A detailed plan of action (outreach activities) recipient will take to address concerns,
(6)A contingency plan for unexpected events,
(7)Location(s) where public meetings will be held (consider the availability and schedules of public transportation),
(8)Contact names for obtaining translation of documents and/or interpreters for meetings,
(9)Appropriate local media contacts (based on the culture of the community), and
(10)Location of the information repository. A PIP may change from one affected community group to another or for the same community group over time depending on the types of facilities in the community and the environmental issues faced by the community. PIPs are public documents that should always be available for public viewing. PIPs should be living documents that can easily be revised at any time to effectively address the needs and concerns of the affected community. Hard copies of PIPs should be made available for the public in areas that would be easily accessible to the community ( *e.g.* , libraries, community centers, etc.). Because of the informative/exchange age in which we live, PIPs should also be made available for the public electronically by way of the internet. B. Training Staff To understand the importance of building relationships with communities, recipients may need to make internal commitments to tailor their programs so that public involvement becomes a part of the culture of how staff are trained and programs operate. A successful public involvement program should consist of a team of knowledgeable agency staff (possibly from different program offices within the recipient agency *e.g.* , Permitting, Environmental Justice, etc.) who are committed to, and have the ability to reach out and engage the community early in the permitting process. Because the public may sometimes harbor frustration towards public agency officials who may not be certain about how to properly address an issue within the scope of a public meeting, it is critical for those on the public involvement team to have broad-based skills. Such skills include knowing how to communicate, understand, and address concerns of the general public. In addition, the team should be able to work well together and make sure that everyone thoroughly understands and is able to articulate agency policy, perspectives, and operating procedures of their program in a manner which the public can understand. To be most effective, the public involvement team should include at a minimum, staff capable of serving in permitting and community liaison roles. Although some staff may not have readily acquired public involvement understanding or outreach skills to communicate and work out disputes between their agency and the public in a polished manner, through training, many can acquire them. Training should include ensuring that there is a thorough knowledge of all of the applicable requirements as well as how to engage the public throughout the entire permitting process. Team members or program staff should know and be able to explain ‘what to do, how to do it, and when to do it’ for the programs they work in. In addition, training should include sessions on how to actively listen to the public's concerns, the importance of seriously considering the public's opinions, and addressing the public's questions in an understandable, prompt and respectful manner. Training that emphasizes these points among others may reduce the likelihood of controversy, permitting delays and the filing of Title VI complaints. While training alone does not guarantee that delays in the permitting process or the filing of Title VI complaints will no longer occur, it is a helpful adjunct to any dispute avoidance and resolution process. Basic elements for an effective public involvement training program that will help ensure that federal funding is used in compliance with the provisions of Title VI and EPA's Title VI implementing regulations include: • Step by step training on how to explain the applicable environmental program regulations to the public in a clear and concise manner; • Cultural and community relations sensitization; • How to engage in a dialogue and collaboration, as well as how to build and maintain trust and mutual respect with communities; • Skills and techniques to enable staff to effectively address community concerns in a clear and concise manner; • A basic use of available technological communication tools such as the internet, databases, GIS tools and site maps, etc. to help identify and address potential issues in affected communities that may give rise to Title VI concerns; and • Alternative dispute resolution techniques to enable staff to design and carry out a collaborative and informal process that can help resolve Title VI concerns. 23 23 See section II. G, “Using Alternative Dispute Resolution Techniques”. C. Involving the Public Early and Often Throughout the Permitting Process Public involvement done early and often, is essential for the success of any permitting program. Public input is a valuable element which can influence decisions made in communities hosting proposed and permitted facilities. Early involvement is not only helpful to communities, but to recipients as well, because it encourages information exchange and gives time for both parties to consider and better understand the others viewpoints before actual decisions are made. Some regulations require permitting programs to include public involvement opportunities during certain stages of the permitting process. 24 While such requirements are designed to ensure that community input is obtained at critical stages of the process, the public may sometimes feel as though these opportunities do not include them as active, ongoing partners. Consider tailoring and integrating public involvement practices that engage communities into as many stages of the process as appropriate, so that public involvement becomes more of a “culture” of how agencies think and operate, as opposed to a list of measures to check off as they are completed. Examples of ways to encourage early public involvement include: 24 See 40 CFR part 25 and part 124, Subpart A. • When soliciting community input regarding upcoming decisions, take steps to get feedback from as many members of the affected community as possible, prior to the meeting. This may mean finding out from community members, who will and will not attend the meeting. Based on that information, provide communities with alternate means of participating for those who would not be able to attend the meeting. For example, some members may want to, and have the time to attend every meeting to hear discussions of the issues every step of the way; while others, due to time constraints, would be satisfied submitting written comments or completing agency questionnaires regarding the issues, while trusting that their opinions and concerns will be considered during discussions and when decisions are made. • Requiring facilities to hold pre-application meetings with the public prior to submitting their application to the permitting agency. Such an activity, which is required in the RCRA program, 25 can open the dialogue between the permit applicant and the community in the very early stages of the process. This gives the facility an opportunity to share information with the community and hear and respond to their concerns with greater sensitivity prior to submitting the permit application. Involving the public in identifying potential issues upfront and in discussions regarding possible solutions may help promote “ownership” of decisions and policies made affecting their community. This practice can help maintain community support over the life of the permit. Even though some decisions may not always fully reflect the community's views, if communities are involved early and throughout the process, they may be more willing to accept the decisions made and continue to participate in discussions to help prevent future issues. Such community involvement may help reduce the likelihood of communities challenging permit decisions toward the end of the permitting process, or filing Title VI complaints alleging discrimination. 25 See 40 CFR 124.31(b). D. Encouraging Stakeholder and Intergovernmental Involvement Stakeholder involvement is the process of bringing together those people or groups who may be affected by decisions made regarding concerns in a community. Stakeholder groups identify, discuss and work toward resolving concerns in a collaborative manner. Groups may include but are not limited to communities, businesses, environmental justice groups, Federal, state and local governments, tribes, academia, and environmental and trade organizations. Stakeholder involvement is vital in establishing and maintaining a successful public involvement program. Effective stakeholder involvement ensures that diverse interests are considered and gives community members from various backgrounds and cultures opportunities to take active roles to effectively contribute and possibly influence decisions affecting them and their community. As stakeholders continue to work together, they become more familiar with the character of the community and are better able to collaboratively mitigate or resolve issues as they arise. Depending on the scope of authority, resources and expertise, the representatives in stakeholder groups can be very broad. It is important to plan and carefully consider beforehand, which stakeholders to include in the meetings, and to seek out the groups and individuals who will be most affected by the proposed action. Contacting some groups and individuals may be difficult because of their cultural or economic lifestyles, while locating and including other groups will be easier due to their known interest in the decision outcome. For instance, some Title VI concerns may involve zoning or traffic patterns. Collaborating with the governmental units responsible for regulating zoning and traffic patterns, along with the communities that will be affected by any new potential driving routes, may increase the likelihood of achieving more effective solutions to concerns raised in the Title VI context. The earlier all appropriate parties are identified, and brought into the process, including other governmental agencies, the greater the likelihood of reaching effective solutions E. Equipping Communities With Tools To Help Ensure Effective Public Involvement Often the public does not get involved in decision-making because of their lack of understanding or knowledge of issues affecting their community. Alternatively, the public may not articulate or formulate their concerns in a manner that clearly fits into the decision-making process underlying the issuance of a permit. As a result, the public may feel as if their views were not valued or seriously considered when final permit decisions were made. It is important that the public be equipped with necessary tools to allow them to effectively participate in the permit decision-making process. Consider offering training to educate the public on process and basic technical issues that are relevant in making permitting decisions. Training that emphasizes the procedures, options and available information, may encourage community members to assume a more active role when participating in permitting discussions affecting them and their community. Doing so can affect how issues are resolved at the local and state levels. For instance, the benefits of holding educational workshops that clarify public involvement opportunities in the permitting process would create a greater understanding of the permitting process by the public and may increase the level of public involvement; which could lead to a reduction in the number of Title VI complaints filed. An effective training/information program for communities may include the following: • An information packet with useful information or fact sheets regarding applicable environmental regulations, the public involvement opportunities in the different environmental permitting programs, and the important role community involvement plays in helping to address community concerns early in the permit decision-making process, as opposed to later in a Title VI complaint. • Targeted or one-day training sessions on different subject matters relating to public involvement and permitting. These sessions could include presentations/discussions on the importance of public involvement or a walk through of steps included in the permit review stage, while focusing on public involvement options and opportunities in the permitting process. For example, such a session could consist of discussions on the types of information needed to review a pending permit and points on how to prepare effective technical and legal comments. • Specific “how to” sessions for the public that illustrate through role playing how they can effectively participate and influence decisions during the public involvement process. F. Making Assistance/Grants Available to the Public The complex and technical nature of many permitting programs may sometimes impede effective public involvement during the permitting process. To help bridge the gap in capacity between community groups and other stakeholders, several agencies have begun to provide resources in the form of grants and free technical assistance. These types of educational resources serve to help empower communities to better equip them to actively participate in discussions and offer solutions to help address potential Title VI issues in their community. Grants such as Technical Assistance Grants
(TAGs)26 and assistance through programs such as Technical Outreach Services for Communities
(TOSC)27 have been very successful in educating communities on technical and process issues. In addition to grants, local colleges and universities within the communities can also serve as a major resource because of their technical expertise, research capabilities and historical knowledge of issues faced by the affected communities in the past. 26 A TAG provides money for activities that help communities participate in decision making at eligible Superfund sites. An initial grant up to $50,000 is available to qualified community groups so they can hire independent technical advisors to interpret and help them understand technical information about their site. TAGs may also be used to attend approved training and obtain relevant supplies and equipment. For more information, *see:* *http://www.epa.gov/superfund/tools/tag/index.htm* . 27 The TOSC program provides free, independent, non-advocate, technical assistance to communities living near hazardous waste contaminated sites. The goal of the TOSC program is to help communities understand the underlying technical issues associated with contaminated sites in their neighborhoods so that they may be able to substantively participate in the decision-making process regarding issues in their community. For more information on TOSC, *see: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/tools/tosc/index.htm* . G. Using Alternative Dispute Resolution Techniques The ability to address potential impacts in a timely and collaborative fashion is critical to resolving problems that may form the basis for a Title VI complaint. The handling of Title VI concerns through the formal administrative process can consume a substantial amount of time and resources for all parties involved. Therefore, EPA strongly encourages recipients to consider and use Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR)28 techniques where appropriate to prevent and address concerns regarding public involvement in the permitting process. ADR refers to voluntary procedures used to prevent and settle controversial issues by developing and implementing an outcome agreeable to all parties. The goal of ADR is for stakeholders to collaborate and resolve issues acceptable to everyone involved. 28 For more information on ADR techniques, contact EPA's Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center at *http://www.epa.gov/adr* . ADR includes using a wide range of processes to resolve controversial issues. All ADR techniques involve a neutral third party who assists others in designing and conducting a process for reaching possible agreement. The neutral third party should not have a stake in the substantive outcome of the process and is equally accountable to all participants in the ADR process. Often the use of ADR includes dialogue between parties to reach acceptable solutions. Effective ADR can result in new understandings of and innovative ideas to address issues of concern. It is also particularly helpful in building better relationships that may be important for future interactions between the parties. Typically, all aspects of ADR are voluntary, including the decision to participate, the type of process used, and the content of any final agreement. For actual or potential Title VI matters, ADR can provide parties with a forum to discuss a full range of issues that may not be possible to address through formal administrative processes. Examples of ADR approaches that may be particularly relevant for Title VI concerns include: • Facilitation—Facilitation is a process used to help parties constructively discuss complex or potentially controversial issues. Facilitators are often used to guide meetings, design approaches for discussing issues, improve communication between parties, create options, keep the parties focused on the issues at hand, and help avoid and overcome contentious situations. • Mediation—Mediation is a process in which a neutral third party (the mediator) assists the parties in conflict, in reaching a mutually satisfying settlement of their differences. Mediators are very useful in guiding the dynamics of a negotiation especially when discussions are not productive enough to reach a mutual agreement. Good mediators are skillful at assisting parties in constructively expressing emotions, encouraging information exchange, providing new perspectives on the issues at hand, and helping to redefine issues in ways that may lead to mutual gains. Mediators often provide facilitation as well as mediation services. • Joint Fact-Finding—Joint fact-finding is a process in which parties commit to building a mutual understanding of disputed scientific, technical, legal or other information. A neutral third party assists the group in identifying a mutually agreeable set of questions and selecting one or more substantive experts to provide information concerning the questions. A number of factors can contribute to a successful ADR process in the Title VI context and help provide all parties with confidence to maximize their opportunity to reach resolution. These factors include: • Designing a process for selecting a neutral third party who will be able to meet the needs of all parties. For example, parties may need to engage a neutral third party who is bilingual or who has past experience successfully assisting in the resolution of Title VI complaints. • Using a neutral third party to conduct a confidential situation assessment; including interviewing all parties to identify the issues and making recommendations for the ADR process prior to beginning any dialogue. • Using a neutral third party's assistance to develop and agree on a set of guidelines or ground rules for the process to ensure that expectations of all the participants are clear from the beginning. • Considering participants' needs for information and expertise, before coming to the table and during the process, to enhance their dialogue. For example, design a process that will allow all parties to provide necessary information in good faith and in some cases secure independent technical expertise to assist some of the parties prior to any negotiations. Incorporating ADR early in the process when developing a Public Involvement Plan, may prevent the need to use ADR at a later stage of the process when conflicts may have escalated. Involving all affected parties in the ADR process can help ensure that the agreements reached provide solutions to reduce or eliminate:
(1)Discriminatory effects resulting from the issuance of permits; and/or
(2)discrimination during the public involvement process associated with the permitting process. III. Suggested Approaches for Reducing Some Common Title VI Complaints Listed below are four common issues often seen as part of Title VI complaints received in EPA's Office of Civil Rights. A brief statement is included explaining each allegation, along with suggestions for approaches recipients may take to reduce future complaints of a similar nature. In offering these suggestions, EPA is not addressing the merits of any specific complaint or any overarching issue. Rather, EPA is suggesting ways to improve public involvement. A. Language Issue: Complaints frequently note a failure to provide printed information in other languages or appropriate interpreters at meetings for non-English speaking community members to ensure their full participation in the public involvement process. Using written translation and oral interpreters in communities with non-English speaking members help ensure broader participation from the affected community. In June 2004, EPA published the *Guidance to Environmental Protection Agency's Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons (LEP Guidance)* . 29 According to the LEP Guidance, individuals who do not speak English as their primary language and who have a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English can be Limited English Proficient, or “LEP” and may be entitled to language assistance with respect to a particular type of service, benefit or encounter. The intent of this guidance is to suggest a balance that ensures meaningful linguistic access to LEP persons to critical services while not imposing an undue burden on small businesses, small local governments, or small nonprofit organizations. The guidance suggests four factors recipients may consider to determine if different language assistance measures are sufficient for the different types of programs and activities administered by the recipient. The use of this guidance would be helpful to recipients when determining what level of measures are needed to accommodate the LEP persons in affected communities to ensure maximum participation in the permitting process. The guidance encourages recipients to develop an implementation plan to address the identified needs of the LEP populations they serve. 29 For more information regarding improving access to services for persons with limited English proficiency, see Executive Order 13166, 65 FR 50121 (2000), and *Guidance to Environmental Protection Agency Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons* , 69 FR 35602 (2004). Recipients, Federal agencies and community organizations may also find information at: * http://www.LEP.gov* . Additional suggestions on approaches recipients may use to reduce and possibly avoid complaints regarding language issues include: • While preparing your Public Involvement Plan, work with the community and consult EPA's LEP guidance to determine if translation and/or interpretation services may be needed to ensure meaningful participation. Examples of populations to consider when planning language services include, but are not limited to, persons near a plant or facility that is permitted or regulated by an EPA recipient, persons subject to or affected by environmental protection, clean-up, and enforcement actions of an EPA recipient, or persons who seek to enforce or exercise their rights under Title VI or environmental statues and regulations. Consider whether the affected community's ability to participate in the process may be limited by the ability of their community members to speak or understand English. • Plan and budget in advance for translation and interpreter services. If resources are limited, consider the sharing of language assistance materials and services among and between recipients, advocacy groups, Federal grant agencies, and business organizations. Where appropriate, train and/or test the competency of bilingual staff to act as limited or ad hoc interpreters and translators. • If in-house or local resources are not available, contact nearby colleges or universities for possible assistance for translation of interpreter services and identifying other competent but cost effective resources. • Use multilingual fact sheets, notices, signs, maps, etc. regularly to provide meaningful access by LEP persons to information in as many aspects of the permitting process as appropriate. B. Siting Issue: Complaints frequently refer to the siting of facilities in neighborhoods that already host similar and often more facilities than neighborhoods in nearby communities. Complainants believe that many of these siting decisions are based on zoning regulations that are in need of revision. Local zoning and planning authorities typically make land use zoning decisions and approve development plans to ensure they conform with existing zoning regulations. Some of the zoning regulations were enacted several decades ago. State and local environmental permitting agencies are responsible for minimizing the environmental impacts to local communities and ensuring that their practices and policies are implemented in a nondiscriminatory manner. However, some of the environmental permitting agencies may not be involved in local zoning decisions. To improve the relationship between communities and state/local governments, some permitting agencies have begun working with their local land use and planning boards to try to integrate the environmental, social and economic needs of communities early in the process, beginning in the site planning stage. 30 30 For examples on how some state and local agencies are working together to address community concerns regarding siting, see the National Academy of Public Administration's July 2003 report entitled “Addressing Community Concerns: How Environmental Justice Relates to Land Use Planning and Zoning” at *http://www.napawash.org* . Some approaches that may be considered to help address potential siting issues include: • Acknowledging concerns communities have with existing facilities near residential areas and working with those communities to develop outreach strategies to address their concerns. • Working with the appropriate authorities to ensure that data regarding the demographics and location of existing facilities in communities are considered before making local land-use and planning decisions. Understanding the existing environmental and health impacts as well as the demographics, in the areas under consideration for the siting of new facilities, may help recipients ensure they do not issue permits in a discriminatory manner. • Revising or developing state level regulations or policies that list land-use objectives and practices to guide local zoning agencies when making siting decisions. • Working with appropriate authorities to identify locations for new facilities that avoid net increases of pollution in communities with disproportionately high exposures or that already host a number of facilities. Title VI and EPA's implementing regulations do not expressly prohibit the siting of facilities in facility-dense areas. Recipients may choose to consider making facility density one criterion in their siting and permitting analysis to help identify communities where the potential environmental and health impacts could be significant. • Working with local land-use and planning boards to review current land use practices in heavily populated areas, and begin developing strategies to reduce future impacts on those affected communities. • Having state environmental agencies provide outreach and technical assistance (through training workshops) to local governments on how to engage communities in siting decisions made. • Sharing environmental data with local governments to help them project and evaluate future impacts of proposed land use plans on existing communities before decisions are finalized. C. Insufficient Public Notices Issue: Complaints frequently allege the lack of meaningful opportunities for communities to participate in the public involvement process because notices are not publicized broadly enough to reach all communities. Community input plays an integral role in any successful permitting program. Public notices serve as a means to inform the public and ensure community input. Inadequate public notices can result in a lack of trust between communities and state/local agencies, permitting delays, and the filing of Title VI complaints. Suggested approaches for reducing future complaints regarding insufficient public notices include: • Seeking community input to find the most effective ways of getting information out to particular communities. • Choosing outlets that are most widely used by members of the affected community ( *e.g.* , community-based church bulletins, culturally-based community newspapers, grocery stores, libraries, foreign-language radio for reaching non-English-speaking communities, the internet and other places frequently visited by members of the affected community). • Notifying communities multiple times prior to the event ( *e.g.* , 10 to 14 days before, one week before and one day before the event is held via radio, phone, email, newspaper, etc.) to ensure the greatest level of participation. • Announcing times, dates and locations of events clearly in the appropriate languages. • Providing sufficient information on the purpose and scope of the meeting by listing the types of information to be discussed, along with the type of feedback/input the agency is seeking from the public. • Providing names, addresses (including email addresses), and telephone numbers of agency contact persons. D. Information Repository Issue: Complaints frequently discuss the lack of an information repository or insufficient notice regarding the location and/or hours for reviewing permit information in the repository, or selection of an inconvenient location for the repository. Information repositories should provide the public with access to accurate, detailed, and current data about facilities in their community. 31 Although states have the authority to require that facilities establish information repositories, many states do not include it as a mandatory activity in their regulations. The existence of an information repository in a community shows a responsiveness and commitment to the community's needs for comprehensive information regarding a facility. Information repositories greatly improve public participation by making important information readily accessible to communities interested in participating in the permitting process or merely wanting to keep abreast of activities at facilities in their neighborhoods. Suggestions on approaches recipients may use to reduce complaints regarding information repositories include: 31 Federal, state and local government officials may access risk management plans
(RMP)(describing potential accidental releases) and Off-site Consequence Analysis
(OCA)information for official use by contacting their Implementing Agency or EPA's contractor-operated RMP Reporting Center at 301-429-5018 (e-mail: userrmp.usersupport@csc.com). OCA information is available to the public at Federal reading rooms located throughout the United States and its territories. EPA also makes available RMPs without the OCA data elements that might significantly assist someone in targeting a chemical facility. State Emergency Response Commissions and Local Emergency Planning Committees may also provide the public with read-only access to OCA information for local facilities. Private individuals can find contact information for a local committee or get a list of facilities that have opted to make their OCA information available to the public without restriction at *http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/lepclist.htm* or by calling the EPA hotline at
(800)424-9346. • Establishing, or requiring that facilities establish information repositories, especially in cases where a significant amount of public concern is expected or has surfaced, or when the community has unique information needs; • Choosing locations for information repositories in places most convenient and accessible to the public ( *e.g.* local public libraries, community centers, churches, etc.); • Establishing an online information repository for public access; • Ensuring that the existence of the information repository is well publicized; • Ensuring that repositories are placed in well lit and secure locations; • Ensuring that the hours for reviewing information in the repository are convenient to the public; • If a permitting activity is controversial or is expected to raise a lot of community interest, suggesting that the facility consider providing several copies of key documents in the repository so many people can review the information at the same time; and • Ensuring that the repository is updated as new information is generated regarding the facility. IV. Evaluating Approaches for Meaningful Public Involvement It is important to periodically evaluate any implemented public involvement approach from the beginning stages of the process to identify and address areas in need of improvement. The evaluation process is a fundamental part of any public involvement process. Evaluating the public involvement program on an ongoing basis gives the recipient a sense of where things are, and an indication of where things are going. Evaluating the program can also help the recipient determine whether set goals were met, make sure that the process stays on track, and allow for changes as the process moves forward. Tools used for evaluating public involvement programs may include: • *Informal Feedback* —Informal feedback is unstructured communication on a routine basis between the recipient agency, the community, and facilities to give everyone a chance to express how the process went, is going, and how it can be improved. • *Questionnaires* —Questionnaires are very useful and usually consist of short to-the-point questions to determine whether the participants felt the activity was useful. Questionnaires are often used at the end of an event such as a public meeting. • *Interviews* —Interviews are usually done under a more formal setting when feedback is needed from a larger group. Feedback obtained from interviews may be used to help construct additional and more defined tools ( *e.g.* , PIPs). • *Debriefs* —Debriefs are very useful methods for receiving internal feedback from staff members on a process. Debriefs are most successful when done shortly after the process concludes to ensure that all major issues are addressed, and suggestions for improvements can be implemented into future activities. • *Surveys* —Surveys are very useful to obtain data or statistical information. V. Due Weight Many recipients, have asked OCR to provide “incentives” to help them develop proactive Title VI related approaches. Some recipients have asked OCR to recognize, and to the maximum extent possible, rely on the results of any such approaches in assessing Title VI complaints filed with EPA. While EPA encourages efforts to develop proactive Title VI-related approaches, under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Federal government is charged with assuring compliance with Title VI. Consequently, OCR cannot completely defer to a recipient's own assessment of whether Title VI or EPA's Title VI implementing regulations have been violated. In addition, OCR cannot rely entirely on an assertion that a Title VI approach has been followed or delegate its responsibility to enforce Title VI to its recipients. 32 Thus, regarding the processing of Title VI complaints, EPA retains the ability to: 32 See 28 CFR 50.3(b) (“Primary responsibility for prompt and vigorous enforcement of Title VI rests with the head of each department and agency administering programs of Federal financial assistance.”); Memorandum from Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, to Executive Agency Civil Rights Directors (Jan. 28, 1999) (titled *Policy Guidance Document: Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Related Statutes in Block Grant-Type Programs* ) (“It is important to remember that Federal agencies are responsible for enforcing the nondiscrimination requirements that apply to recipients of assistance under their programs.”). • Decide whether to investigate the complaint using the recipient's analysis as supplemental information; • Investigate a complaint or initiate a compliance review notwithstanding any informal resolution reached by the recipient and complainant; and • Initiate its own enforcement actions as a general matter. Nevertheless, EPA believes that it can, under certain circumstances, recognize the results of information submitted by recipients and give it appropriate due weight. For example, if during the course of an investigation, results of adopted approaches are submitted as evidence that EPA's Title VI regulations have not been violated, EPA will review the approach and results to determine how much weight to give the submission in its investigation. 33 33 In addition to the analyses and procedures described in this section, OCR also intends to consider other available and relevant evidence from both the recipient and complainant, such as meeting minutes, correspondence, empirical data, interviews, etc., as appropriate. Some recipients may develop procedures for their permitting programs that meet certain criteria designed to ensure a nondiscriminatory public involvement process. The weight given any evidence related to the public involvement process and the extent to which OCR may rely on it in its decision will likely vary depending upon: • Whether the criteria that formed the basis for the program were sufficient to ensure a nondiscriminatory process; • If the overall permitting process met those criteria; and • The relevance of the recipients' public involvement programs to the allegation(s) and the thoroughness of documentation of how the recipient's process addresses the allegations. The value that OCR expects to give public involvement approaches will likely range from no weight for procedures that have significant deficiencies, to significant weight for procedures depending on the outcome of OCR's review. Some weight would likely be given to procedures that fall between these two extremes, such as recipient efforts to resolve specific allegations before the complaint was filed with EPA. If OCR finds that a recipient's public involvement process warrants the greatest weight, then OCR would consider the recipient's input in subsequent decisions. However, OCR reserves the right to investigate future allegations regarding complaints against recipients with comprehensive public involvement programs, without relying exclusively on input from those recipients when making subsequent decisions. In addition, OCR may conduct an investigation in cases where there is an allegation or information reveals that the public involvement process used was inadequate or improperly implemented. VI. Conclusion This guidance suggests approaches that recipients of EPA financial assistance may use to help enhance the public involvement aspects of their current permitting program and ensure that federal funding is used in compliance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and EPA's Title VI regulations. It emphasizes community involvement early and often in the permitting process. It examines four common allegations in Title VI complaints and offers suggestions on how to reduce the likelihood of future complaints of a similar nature. EPA believes that the approaches suggested in this guidance will help improve relations between EPA recipients and communities, enable communities to better participate in the public involvement portion of the permitting process, and give direction to EPA recipients and local decision-makers on possible ways to ensure that EPA funding is used in compliance with the provisions of Title VI and EPA's Title VI implementing regulations. Dated: March 13, 2006. Karen D. Higginbotham, Director, Office of Civil Rights. VII. Bibliography EPA, 2003, Public Involvement Policy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation, Washington, DC, EPA 223-B-03-002, *http://www.epa.gov/publicinvolvement/policy2003/finalpolicy.pdf.* EPA, 1999, Report of the Title VI Implementation Advisory Committee: Next Steps for EPA, State and Local Environmental Justice Programs, Office of Environmental Cooperative Management, Washington, DC 20460, *http://www.epa.gov/ocem/nacept/titleVI/titlerpt.html.* EPA, 1999, Brownfields Title VI Case Studies: Summary Report, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, DC, EPA 500-R-99-003, *http://www.epa.gov/oswer/ej/ejndx.htm#titlevi.* EPA, 2002, Superfund Community Involvement Toolkit, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, DC, EPA 540-K-01-004, *http://www.epa.gov/superfund/tools/index.htm.* EPA, 2004, Guidance to Environmental Protection Agency Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficiency Persons, *http://www.epa.gov/civilrights/lepaccess.htm.* EPA, 1996, RCRA Expanded Public Participation Rule, Office of Solid Waste, Washington, DC, 40 CFR parts 9, 124 & 270, *http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/permit/pubpart.htm.* EPA, 1996, RCRA Public Participation Manual, Office of Solid Waste, Washington, DC *http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/permit/pubpart/manual.htm.* EPA, 2002, Enhancing Facility-Community Relations, Office of Solid Waste, Washington, DC, EPA/530/F-02-037, *http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/tsds/site/f02037.pdf).* EPA, 2000, Social Aspects of Siting RCRA Hazardous Waste Facilities, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, DC, EPA530-K-00-005, *http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/tsds/site/k00005.pdf.* DOE, 1999, How to Design a Public Participation Program, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Accountability (EM-22) Washington DC, *http://web.em.doe.gov/ftplink/public/doeguide.pdf.* EPA, 2000, Engaging the American People: A Review of EPA's Public Participation Policy and Regulations with Recommendations for Action, Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation, Washington, DC, EPA 240-R-00-005, *http://www.epa.gov/stakeholders/pdf/eap_report.pdf.* EPA, 2001, Community Involvement Policy Directive 9230.0-99: Early and Meaningful Community Involvement, Office of Solid Waste and Community Response, Washington, DC, *http://www.epa.gov/superfund/resources/early.pdf.* EPA, 1990, Community Involvement Policy Directive 9230.0-08: Planning for Sufficient Community Relations, Office of Solid Waste and Community Response, Washington, DC, *http://www.epa.gov/superfund/tools/cag/directives/planning.pdf.* EPA, 2003, Moving Towards Collaborative Problem-Solving: Business and Industry Perspectives and Practices on Environmental Justice, Office of Environmental Justice, Washington, DC, EPA/300-R-03-003, *http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/ej/ej_annual_project_reports.html.* NAPA, 2002, Models for Change: Efforts by Four States to Address Environmental Justice, National Academy of Public Administration, Washington, DC. EPA, 1990, Sites for Our Solid Waste: A Guidebook for Effective Public Involvement, Office of Solid Waste, Washington, DC, *http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/sites/toc.pdf.* IAP2, 2003, Planning for Effective Public Participation, International Association for Public Participation, The Perspectives Group, Alexandria, VA., *http://www.theperspectivesgroup.com.* EPA, 1995, The Decision Maker's Guide to Solid Waste Management, Volume II, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, DC, EPA530-R-95-023, *http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/dmg2.htm.* EPA, 2000, Public Involvement in Environmental Permits: A Reference Guide, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, DC, EPA-500-R-00-007, *http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/permit/epmt/publicguide.pdf.* EPA, 2003, 2001-2002 Biennial Report: Constructive Engagement and Collaborative Problem-Solving, Office of Environmental Justice, Washington, DC, EPA 300-R-03-001, *http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/ej/ej_annual_project_reports.html.* ELI, 2001, Opportunities for Advancing Environmental Justice: An Analysis of U.S. EPA Statutory Authorities, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC, ISBN No. 1-58576-031-5. ELI Project No. 981623, *http://www.eli.org.* State and Environmental Dispute Resolution Programs, *http://www.policyconsensus.org.* U.S. Department of Justice ADA Home Page, *http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahome1.htm.* U.S. Department of Justice ADA Title II Technical Assistance Manual Covering State and Local Government Programs and Services, *http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/taman2.htm.* U.S. Department of Education Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers, *http://www.adata.org.* U.S. Department of Labor Job Accommodation Network, *http://www.jan.wvu.edu* (“State and Local Government Employers”). U.S. Access Board, *http://www.access-board.gov.* The New Freedom Initiative's Online Resource for Americans with Disabilities, *http://www.DisabilityInfo.gov* , (“Community Life-Accessibility and State and Local Governments”). [FR Doc. 06-2691 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am]
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  • 33 CFR 105
  • Pub. L. 92-463
  • Pub. L. 88-352
  • 78 Stat. 252
  • 40 CFR 7
  • 469 U.S. 287
  • 532 U.S. 286
  • 40 CFR 25
  • 40 CFR 124.31(b)
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Cite33 CFR 105
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