Engineered High Energy Crop Programs Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, Southeastern United States, 2404 [2015-00601]
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Dated: January 12, 2015.
Michael K. Yudin,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2015–00605 Filed 1–15–15; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Engineered High Energy Crop
Programs Draft Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement,
Southeastern United States
Department of Energy.
Notice of availability and public
hearings.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) Advanced Research
Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA–E)
announces the availability of the
Engineered High Energy Crop (EHEC)
Programs Draft Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (or
Draft PEIS) (DOE/EIS–0481). DOE also
announces one in-person public hearing
to be held in Washington, DC, and two
Web-based public hearings, to receive
comments on the Draft PEIS. The Draft
PEIS evaluates the potential
environmental impacts associated with
DOE’s Proposed Action to implement
one or more programs to catalyze the
development and demonstration of
crops specifically engineered for
increased energy production. A main
component of the proposed programs
would be providing financial assistance
to conduct field trials to test the
effectiveness of EHECs in the
Southeastern United States, specifically
in Alabama, Florida (excluding the
Everglades/Southern Florida coastal
plain ecoregion), Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
DATES: Comments on the Draft PEIS
Notice of Availability (NOA) will be
accepted until March 17, 2015. During
the public comment period, DOE will
host one in-person public hearing and
two Web-based public hearings to
receive comments on the Draft PEIS.
Comments submitted during this public
comment period will be considered in
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:36 Jan 15, 2015
Jkt 235001
preparation of a Final PEIS and used by
DOE in its decision-making process for
the Proposed Action. DOE will consider
late comments to the extent practicable.
DOE will conduct public hearings:
• February 17, 2015, from 5:00–7:00
p.m., at the Holiday Inn Washington
Capitol, 550 C Street Southwest,
Washington, DC 20024.
• February 24, 2015, from 2:00–4:00
p.m., Web-based.
• February 26, 2015, from 2:00–4:00
p.m., Web-based.
Information on how to register for the
Web-based public hearings will be
available on the DOE EHEC PEIS project
Web site (See ADDRESSES section).
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the
Draft PEIS may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
• EHEC Web site: https://
engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com
• Email: comments@
engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com
• Mail: Dr. Jonathan Burbaum,
Program Director, ARPA–E, U.S.
Department of Energy, ATTN: EHEC
PEIS, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Mailstop-950–8043, Washington, DC
20585. Note: Comments submitted by
U.S. Postal Service may be delayed by
mail screening.
This NOA, the EPA NOA, and the
Draft PEIS will be posted on the DOE
NEPA Web site at https://energy.gov/
nepa. These documents, and additional
materials relating to this Draft PEIS, will
also be available on the EHEC PEIS
project Web site at: https://
engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com.
The Draft PEIS evaluates the potential
environmental impacts of the Proposed
Action and alternatives to develop and
implement one or more programs to
catalyze the research, development, and
demonstration of EHECs in the
Southeastern United States. EHECs are
agriculturally-viable photosynthetic
species containing genetic material that
has been intentionally introduced
through biotechnology, interspecific
hybridization, or other engineering
processes (excluding processes that
occur in nature without human
intervention), specifically engineered to
increase the amount of energy produced
per acre (e.g., improving the
photosynthetic process), without
increasing the amount of biomass. These
approaches are referred to in this PEIS
as approaches ‘‘independent of
increasing the amount of biomass.’’ A
main component of the proposed EHEC
Programs would be DOE or other
Federal or state agencies providing
financial assistance for confined field
trials to evaluate the performance of
EHECs that could facilitate the
commercial development and
deployment of biofuels. The field trials
would demonstrate the EHEC’s
biological and economic viability and
further DOE ARPA–E’s mission.
Confined field trials may range in size
and could include development scale
(up to 5 acres), pilot scale (up to 250
acres), or demonstration scale (up to
15,000 acres). The Draft PEIS evaluates
the potential environmental impacts of
these scaled alternatives, which reflect
the range of reasonable alternatives.
For
more information on the PEIS, contact
Dr. Jonathan Burbaum, Program
Director, by one of the methods
described in the ADDRESSES section, or
by telephone at (202) 287–5453. For
general information on the DOE NEPA
process, contact Carol Borgstrom,
Director, Office of NEPA Policy and
Compliance (GC–54), U.S. Department
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20585, or
telephone at (202) 586–4600, voicemail
at (800) 472–2756, or email at
askNEPA@hq.doe.gov. Persons with
disabilities who require alternative
means for communication (Braille, large
print, audio tape, etc.) should contact
(800) 877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EHEC
PEIS (DOE/EIS–0481) is being prepared
in accordance with NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) requirements, the Council
on Environmental Quality’s NEPA
regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508),
and DOE’s NEPA Implementing
Procedures (10 CFR part 1021).
Signed in Washington, DC, this 12th day of
January, 2015.
Jonathan Burbaum,
Program Director, Advanced Research
Projects Agency-Energy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
PO 00000
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[FR Doc. 2015–00601 Filed 1–15–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy
Agency Information Collection
Extension
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable, Energy Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice and Request for OMB
Review and Comment.
AGENCY:
The Department of Energy
(DOE) has submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
clearance, pursuant to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, a three-year
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\16JAN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 2404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00601]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Engineered High Energy Crop Programs Draft Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement, Southeastern United States
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects
Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announces the availability of the Engineered
High Energy Crop (EHEC) Programs Draft Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement (or Draft PEIS) (DOE/EIS-0481). DOE also announces one
in-person public hearing to be held in Washington, DC, and two Web-
based public hearings, to receive comments on the Draft PEIS. The Draft
PEIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts associated with
DOE's Proposed Action to implement one or more programs to catalyze the
development and demonstration of crops specifically engineered for
increased energy production. A main component of the proposed programs
would be providing financial assistance to conduct field trials to test
the effectiveness of EHECs in the Southeastern United States,
specifically in Alabama, Florida (excluding the Everglades/Southern
Florida coastal plain ecoregion), Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
DATES: Comments on the Draft PEIS Notice of Availability (NOA) will be
accepted until March 17, 2015. During the public comment period, DOE
will host one in-person public hearing and two Web-based public
hearings to receive comments on the Draft PEIS. Comments submitted
during this public comment period will be considered in preparation of
a Final PEIS and used by DOE in its decision-making process for the
Proposed Action. DOE will consider late comments to the extent
practicable. DOE will conduct public hearings:
February 17, 2015, from 5:00-7:00 p.m., at the Holiday Inn
Washington Capitol, 550 C Street Southwest, Washington, DC 20024.
February 24, 2015, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., Web-based.
February 26, 2015, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., Web-based.
Information on how to register for the Web-based public hearings
will be available on the DOE EHEC PEIS project Web site (See ADDRESSES
section).
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Draft PEIS may be submitted by any
of the following methods:
EHEC Web site: https://engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com
Email: comments@engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com
Mail: Dr. Jonathan Burbaum, Program Director, ARPA-E, U.S.
Department of Energy, ATTN: EHEC PEIS, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Mailstop-950-8043, Washington, DC 20585. Note: Comments submitted by
U.S. Postal Service may be delayed by mail screening.
This NOA, the EPA NOA, and the Draft PEIS will be posted on the DOE
NEPA Web site at https://energy.gov/nepa. These documents, and
additional materials relating to this Draft PEIS, will also be
available on the EHEC PEIS project Web site at: https://engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the PEIS,
contact Dr. Jonathan Burbaum, Program Director, by one of the methods
described in the ADDRESSES section, or by telephone at (202) 287-5453.
For general information on the DOE NEPA process, contact Carol
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-54), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20585, or telephone at (202) 586-4600, voicemail at (800) 472-2756, or
email at askNEPA@hq.doe.gov. Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication (Braille, large print, audio tape,
etc.) should contact (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EHEC PEIS (DOE/EIS-0481) is being
prepared in accordance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requirements,
the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts
1500-1508), and DOE's NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 1021).
The Draft PEIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the
Proposed Action and alternatives to develop and implement one or more
programs to catalyze the research, development, and demonstration of
EHECs in the Southeastern United States. EHECs are agriculturally-
viable photosynthetic species containing genetic material that has been
intentionally introduced through biotechnology, interspecific
hybridization, or other engineering processes (excluding processes that
occur in nature without human intervention), specifically engineered to
increase the amount of energy produced per acre (e.g., improving the
photosynthetic process), without increasing the amount of biomass.
These approaches are referred to in this PEIS as approaches
``independent of increasing the amount of biomass.'' A main component
of the proposed EHEC Programs would be DOE or other Federal or state
agencies providing financial assistance for confined field trials to
evaluate the performance of EHECs that could facilitate the commercial
development and deployment of biofuels. The field trials would
demonstrate the EHEC's biological and economic viability and further
DOE ARPA-E's mission. Confined field trials may range in size and could
include development scale (up to 5 acres), pilot scale (up to 250
acres), or demonstration scale (up to 15,000 acres). The Draft PEIS
evaluates the potential environmental impacts of these scaled
alternatives, which reflect the range of reasonable alternatives.
Signed in Washington, DC, this 12th day of January, 2015.
Jonathan Burbaum,
Program Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.
[FR Doc. 2015-00601 Filed 1-15-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P