Notices. Notice of availability; request for comments
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BILLING CODE 4410-10-P DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard [USCG-2006-26298) Homeporting of Four National Security Cutters at Alameda, CA; Environmental Assessment AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard
(USCG)announces the availability of the draft Environmental Assessment
(EA)for the homeporting of four National Security Cutters
(NSCs)at Coast Guard Island (CGI), Alameda, California, and requests public comments. The draft EA tiers from the USCG's 2002 Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
(PEIS)for the Integrated Deepwater System
(IDS)program. The purpose of the proposed action is to replace the four existing 378-foot High Endurance Cutters (WHECs) currently homeported at CGI with the NSCs. The USCG proposes to replace the WHECs on a one for one replacement schedule starting in 2007/2008 and continuing one per year until 2010/2011. DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before January 8, 2007. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number USCG-2006-26298 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one of the following methods:
(1)*Web site: http://dms.dot.gov.*
(2)*Mail:* Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3)*Fax:* 202-493-2251.
(4)*Delivery:* Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329. Copies of the draft EA are also available at the Alameda Main Library, 2200-A Central Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501; and at the Oakland Public Library, 125 14th Street, Oakland, CA 94612. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, the proposed action, or the associated draft EA, contact CDR Paul Boinay, Coast Guard, telephone 571-218-3382 or e-mail *Paul.Boinay@dwicgs.com.* If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-493-0402. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Participation and Request for Comments We encourage you to submit comments and related material on the draft EA. All comments received will be posted, without change, to *http://dms.dot.gov* and will include any personal information you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation
(DOT)to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's “Privacy Act” paragraph below. *Submitting comments:* If you submit a comment, please include your name and address, identify the docket number for this notice (USCG-2006-26298), and give the reason for each comment. You may submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES ; but please submit your comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during the comment period. *Viewing the comments and draft EA:* To view the comments and draft EA, go to *http://dms.dot.gov* at any time, click on “Simple Search,” enter the last five digits of the docket number for this notice, and click on “Search.” You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Copies of the draft EA are also available at the Alameda Main Library, 2200-A Central Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501; and at the Oakland Public Library, 125 14th Street, Oakland, CA 94612. *Privacy Act:* Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the **Federal Register** published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit *http://dms.dot.gov.* Proposed Action To continue to meet America's 21st century maritime threats and challenges, the Coast Guard initiated the Integrated Deepwater System program, the largest and most innovative acquisition in the Coast Guard's history. The IDS will contribute to the Coast Guard's maritime domain awareness, as well as the improved ability to intercept, engage, and deter those activities that pose a direct challenge/threat to U.S. sovereignty and security. IDS will provide the means to extend our layered maritime defenses from our ports and coastal areas to hundreds of miles out to sea. As part of the IDS program, the Coast Guard proposes a NSC homeporting plan that entails homeporting four NSCs, some pier improvements and a new administrative building at CGI in Alameda, California. The four NSCs would replace, on a one-for-one basis, the four aging 378-foot High-Endurance Cutters (WHECs) currently stationed in Alameda. To accommodate the vessels and crew, in addition to the proposed homeporting, improvements to the existing waterfront pier and construction of a new administration building would be required at the existing base to provide adequate shore-side support. Draft Environmental Assessment We have prepared a draft EA. The draft EA identifies and examines the reasonable alternatives and assesses their potential environmental impact. The draft EA evaluates the potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts associated with the NSC homeporting plan. The draft EA tiers from the USCG's Final PEIS for the IDS Program (see notice of availability, 67 FR 15275, Mar. 29, 2002). Our preferred alternative is to homeport the four NSCs into an area where the necessary shore side infrastructure and port environment already exists to support this class and number of vessels. The existing base on CGI provides the shore support necessary to meet the logistical requirements of the four NSCs. This existing support includes secure facilities, easy access for Coast Guard personnel, administrative and support buildings and services, and required shore ties to service in-port cutters. We are requesting your comments on the draft EA including environmental impacts and resources analyzed in the draft EA or possible sources of data or information not included in the draft EA. Your comments will be considered in preparing the final EA. Dated: December 5, 2006. Joseph E. Mihelic, Chief of Deepwater Transition Management. [FR Doc. E6-20935 Filed 12-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-15-P DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard [USCG-2006-26416] Voyage Data Recorder Study AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice; request for information. SUMMARY: This notice solicits public input as part of a study on the feasibility, cost and associated concerns or benefits with the installation of voyage data recorders on passenger vessels. In the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006, the Congress directed the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct a study of the carriage of voyage data recorders
(VDR)by certain passenger vessels. As part of this study, the Coast Guard is to look at the standards, the methods for approval of models, and the procedures for the annual testing of the VDR. DATES: Information and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before February 6, 2007. ADDRESSES: You may submit information identified by Coast Guard docket number USCG-2006-26416 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one of the following methods:
(1)Web site: *http://dms.dot.gov.*
(2)Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3)Fax: 202-493-2251.
(4)Delivery: Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
(5)Federal eRulemaking Portal: *http://www.regulations.gov.* Follow the instructions on the Web site. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, call or e-mail Ms. Dolores Mercier, U.S. Coast Guard Office of Design and Engineering Standards, telephone 202-372-1381, e-mail *dolores.mercier@uscg.mil.* If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-493-0402. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Request for Information All comments and information received will be posted, without change, to *http://dms.dot.gov* and will include any personal information you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation
(DOT)to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's “Privacy Act” paragraph below. *Submitting comments and information:* If you submit information, please include your name and address, identify the docket number for this notice (USCG-2006-26416) and give the reason for each comment or for bringing information to our attention. You may submit your information by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES ; but please submit your information by only one means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and information received during the comment period. *Viewing comments and documents:* To view comments, go to *http://dms.dot.gov* at any time and conduct a simple search using the docket number. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. *Privacy Act:* Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments and information received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the **Federal Register** published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit *http://dms.dot.gov.* Background and Purpose In the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006, section 420, Congress directed the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct a study of the carriage of voyage data recorders
(VDR)by passenger vessels described in section 2101(22)(D) of title 46, United States Code, carrying more than 399 passengers. The study is to include the standards, the methods for approval of models, and the procedures for the annual testing of the VDR's. The vessels that this study involves are ferries of at least 100 gross tons as measured under title 46 U.S.C. section 14502 or an alternative tonnage measured under title 46 U.S.C. 14302, providing transportation only between places that are not more than 300 miles apart carrying more than 399 passengers. This study will review the history of VDR's, their current regulation and carriage requirements, the cost of the equipment, and the potential benefits. Consultation from both VDR manufacturer's and the operators of the affected ferries will be included. Through this notice, the Coast Guard asks for comments and information related to the carriage of VDR's. The most helpful comments will be those that include details about: • Installation; • Equipment costs; • Operational requirements; • VDR equipment standards and approval methods; and • Training requirements. In submitting comments on these issues, the Coast Guard recognizes and encourages input from all parties that will be affected if the carriage requirement becomes mandatory. The following questions should assist you in submitting your comments. • What are the potential benefits from the installation of a VDR? • For passenger vessels subject to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 2000 amendments, the Coast Guard has implemented standards for VDR's as well as methods of approval and procedures for the annual performance testing. Should the Coast Guard use these established standards and procedures for the purposes of this study? • What would be the potential cost of equipment and installation? • What types of equipment inputs would be required vs. the equipment inputs that are actually available? • Would the crew need to change operational practices? • What additional training, if any would be required? • In what type of marine incidents ( *e.g.* , grounding, collisions, etc) would VDR's prove the most useful? • Should the Coast Guard consider the use of a Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR) in lieu of a VDR? • What is the operational feasibility of recovering the VDR data box? • What would be the guidelines for the ownership and or rights to access the data? • If carriage of the VDR becomes mandatory, what would be a reasonable timeline for implementation? • Would the carriage of VDR's on other domestic vessels be beneficial? If so, which vessels and why? • Is the current threshold of 399 passengers or more appropriate? Should other thresholds be considered? The voyage data recorder study report will be available to the public, and comments submitted in response to this notice will be addressed in the report. Dated: December 4, 2006. Howard L. Hime, Acting Director of National and International Standards, Assistant Commandant for Prevention, U.S. Coast Guard. [FR Doc. E6-20801 Filed 12-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-15-P DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR-5045-N-49] Federal Property Suitable as Facilities To Assist the Homeless AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, HUD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 8, 2006. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy Ezzell, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Room 7262, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410; telephone
(202)708-1234; TTY number for the hearing- and speech-impaired
(202)708-2565, (these telephone numbers are not toll-free), or call the toll-free Title V information line at 1-800-927-7588. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the December 12, 1988 court order in *National Coalition for the Homeless* v. *Veterans Administration,* No. 88-2503-OG (D.D.C.), HUD publishes a Notice, on a weekly basis, identifying unutilized, underutilized, excess and surplus Federal buildings and real property that HUD has reviewed for suitability for use to assist the homeless. Today's Notice is for the purpose of announcing that no additional properties have been determined suitable or unsuitable this week. Dated: November 30, 2006. Mark R. Johnston, Acting Deputy Assistant, Secretary for Special Needs. [FR Doc. 06-9533 Filed 12-07-06; 8:45am]
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