Upper Columbia Alternative Flood Control and Fish Operations, Libby and Hungry Horse Dams, MT, 68409-68411 [05-22406]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 217 / Thursday, November 10, 2005 / Notices contain name, address, or any other reasonable identifying particulars about the subject in question.’’ RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: Delete ‘‘Director of Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Headquarter, U.S. Air Force’’ and replace with: ‘‘Secretary of the Air Force, Legislative Liaison, 1160 Air Force Pentagon.’’ Add the following paragraph: ‘‘Requests from individuals must contain name, address, or any other reasonable identifying particulars about the subject in question.’’ * * * * * SYSTEM NAME: Congressional/Executive Inquiries. SYSTEM LOCATION: Secretary of the Air Force, Office of Legislative Liaison (SAF/LL), Washington, DC 20330–1160. CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM: Air Force active duty and retired military personnel, present and former civilian employee, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard personnel, Air Force Academy nominees/applicants and cadets, Senior and Junior Air Force Reserve Officers, dependents of military personnel, and anyone who has written to the President or a Member of Congress regarding an Air Force issue. CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: Copies of applicable Congressional/ Executive correspondence and Air Force replies. AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM: 10 U.S.C. 8013, Secretary of the Air Force; 10 U.S.C. 8032, The Air Staff: general duties; and Air Force Regulation 11–7, Air Force Relations with Congress. PURPOSE(S): Information is used as a reference base in the case of similar inquiries from other Members of Congress, in behalf of the same Air Force issue and/or followup by the same Member. Information may also be used by appropriate Air Force offices as a basis for corrective action and for statistical purposes. ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES: In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the 19:02 Nov 09, 2005 STORAGE: Maintained in file folders and electronic media. CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: The Air Force rules for accessing records, and for contesting contents and appealing initial agency determinations are published in Air Force Instruction 37–132; 32 CFR part 806b; or may be obtained from the system manager. RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES: Congressional and Executive inquiries and information from Air Force offices and organizations. EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM: None. RETRIEVABILITY: [FR Doc. 05–22411 Filed 11–9–05; 8:45 am] Retrieved by name. BILLING CODE 5001–06–M SAFEGUARDS: F033 SAFLL A VerDate Aug<31>2005 DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows: The ‘Blanket Routine Uses’ published at the beginning of the Air Force’s compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system. Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system. 68409 Jkt 208001 Records are accessed by custodian of the record system and by person(s) responsible for servicing the record system in performance of their official duties who are properly screened and cleared for need-to-know. Electronic media records are stored in a secure facility and protected by computer system software; paper records are stored in a secure facility in security file containers/cabinets. RETENTION AND DISPOSAL: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Upper Columbia Alternative Flood Control and Fish Operations, Libby and Hungry Horse Dams, MT Records will be retained for two years and maintained, retained, and disposed of in accordance with the Air Force Records Disposition Schedule, Table 36–29, Rule 04.01. AGENCIES: SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS: SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Seattle District, and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Pacific Northwest Region, have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to evaluate the effects of alternative flood control at Libby Dam on the Kootenai River and at Hungry Horse Dam on the South Fork Flathead River in western Montana. USACE and Reclamation are making the document available to the public for review and comment through a Notice of Availability published in the Federal Register. The overall goal of the DEIS is to evaluate effects of alternative dam operations that are intended to provide reservoir and flow conditions at and below Libby and Hungry Horse Dams for anadromous and resident fish listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), consistent with authorized project purposes, including maintaining the current level of flood control benefits. DATES: To ensure consideration in final EIS development, we must receive comments on or before December 27, Secretary of the Air Force, Legislative Liaison, Congressional inquiries Office, 1160 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330–1160. NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE: Individuals seeking to determine whether information about themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries to or visit the Secretary of the Air Force, Legislative Liaison, 1160 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330–1160. Requests from individuals must contain name, address, or any other reasonable identifying particulars about the subject in question. RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: Individuals seeking access to information about themselves contained in this system should address written inquiries to or visit the Secretary of the Air Force, Legislative Liaison, 1150 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330– 1160. Requests from individuals must contain name, address, or any other reasonable identifying particulars about the subject in question. PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Corps of Engineers, DoD, and Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of Availability Of Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Public Hearings. E:\FR\FM\10NON1.SGM 10NON1 68410 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 217 / Thursday, November 10, 2005 / Notices 2005 (45 days from the November 10, 2005, Federal Register publication date of the EPA weekly notice of EIS availability). See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting dates. ADDRESSES: Please send written comments concerning this proposed project to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, Attn: Mr. Evan Lewis, PM–PL–ER, P.O. Box 3755, Seattle, WA 98124–3755 or Bureau of Reclamation, Attn: Mr. Dan Lechefsky, 1150 N. Curtis Rd., Suite 100, Boise, ID 83706–1234. Please submit electronic comments to uceis@usace.army.mil. For electronic comments, include your name and address in your message and place your comments in the body of your message; please do not send attached files. Reclamation’s practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address from public disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent’s identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organization or business, available for public disclosure in their entirety. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Evan Lewis, Environmental Coordinator, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, Environmental Resources Section, (206) 764–6922, evan.r.lewis@usace.army.mil; or Mr. Dan Lechefsky, NEPA Coordinator, Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation, (208) 378–5039, dlechefsky@pn.usbr.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Multiplepurpose project operations (including flood control, hydropower, fish and wildlife, recreation, navigation, irrigation, water supply, and water quality) at Libby, Hungry Horse, and other dams have altered the natural river hydrology of the Columbia River and some of its major tributaries. These dams store the spring snowmelt runoff to control floods and release water for multiple uses. Populations of threatened and endangered fish in the Columbia River Basin (Kootenai River white sturgeon, Columbia Basin bull trout, and several Columbia River salmon and steelhead stocks) benefit from certain high-flow periods, which historically VerDate Aug<31>2005 19:02 Nov 09, 2005 Jkt 208001 were determined by natural runoff patterns driven by snowmelt and rainfall. While the status of bull trout populations in the Kootenai and Flathead rivers is generally better than some others in the Columbia Basin, Kootenai River white sturgeon numbers are estimated at fewer than 500 (down from numbers of 5,000–6,000 in the 1980’s) and are declining at approximately 9% per year. Several salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia Basin are listed as threatened or endangered. Pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, the 2000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion on the operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) included a recommendation to implement variable discharge flood control (VARQ), with Q representing engineering shorthand for discharge, at Libby and Hungry Horse dams. NOAA Fisheries considered the Updated Proposed Action (UPA) and issued the 2004 NOAA Fisheries FCRPS Biological Opinion on November 30, 2004. The 2004 UPA generally reflects, with certain modifications, the hydropower, habitat, hatchery, and harvest measures implemented under the 2000 biological opinion Reasonable and Prudent Alternative including implementation of VARQ flood control at Libby Dam and Hungry Horse Dam. Implementation of VARQ flood control and various flow augmentation operations would modify dam operations and riverflows to avoid jeopardizing the continued existence of endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon, threatened Columbia Basin bull trout, and several populations of threatened and endangered Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead. This DEIS focuses on those environmental conditions that would be modified by implementation of the proposed Federal Action or several alternatives. The proposed Federal action consists of: (1) Implementation of alternative flood control at Libby Dam on the Kootenai River and Hungry Horse Dam on the South Fork Flathead River. Called variable discharge flood control, this alternative action is known as ‘‘VARQ’’ flood control, with Q representing engineering shorthand for discharge. (2) Flow augmentation that such alternative flood control would facilitate in the Kootenai River, the Flathead River, and main stem Columbia River for fish populations listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA. Flow augmentation (i.e., fish flows) includes release of water for bull trout, salmon, and, at Libby Dam, white sturgeon. PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 We are making the DEIS available to the public for a 45-day review and comment period. Seven public meetings are planned for the DEIS in order to provide an opportunity for the public to present oral and/or written comments. USACE will host the meetings at Eureka, MT; Bonners Ferry, ID; and Nelson, BC. Reclamation will host the meetings at Kalispell, MT; Kettle Falls, WA; and Grand Coulee, WA. Both agencies will co-host the meeting in Newport, WA. All meetings will begin at 6 pm, local time. For the first hour, resource specialists will be available to answer questions. At 7 p.m., there will be an opportunity to provide verbal and written comments for the record. The meeting dates and locations follow: November 28, 2005: Best Western Hotel, Nelson, British Columbia; West Coast Kalispell Center Hotel, Kalispell, MT November 29, 2005: Elementary School Cafeteria, Newport, WA November 30, 2005: High School Auditorium, Eureka, MT; KC Diner, Kettle Falls, WA December 1, 2005: Kootenai River Inn, Bonners Ferry, ID; Grand Coulee City Hall, Grand Coulee, WA Copies of the DEIS are available for public review at libraries throughout the potentially affected portions of the Kootenai, Flathead, Clark Fork, Pend Oreille, and upper Columbia Basins in the U.S. and Canada. The USACE and Reclamation have distributed electronic and hard copies of the DEIS to appropriate members of Congress; State, local, and tribal government officials; Federal agencies; and other interested parties. You may view the DEIS and related information on our Web page at: https://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/ VARQ. After the public comment period ends on December 27, 2005, USACE and Reclamation will consider all comments received. The DEIS will be revised as appropriate and a final EIS will be issued. The DEIS has been prepared in accordance with (1) The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) USACE regulations implementing NEPA (ER–200–2–2), and (4) Reclamation regulations for implementing NEPA (Reclamation Manual, Policy PO3). Colonel Debra M. Lewis, District Engineer, Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 3755, Seattle, WA 98124–3755. E:\FR\FM\10NON1.SGM 10NON1 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 217 / Thursday, November 10, 2005 / Notices J. William McDonald, Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation, 1150 North Curtis Road, Suite 100, Boise, ID 83706– 1234. Dated: November 3, 2005. Debra M. Lewis, District Engineer. J. William McDonald, Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation. [FR Doc. 05–22406 Filed 11–9–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3710–92–P Dated: November 4, 2005. Angela C. Arrington, Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests Department of Education. SUMMARY: The Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January 9, 2006. 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 Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 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 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. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment AGENCY: VerDate Aug<31>2005 19:02 Nov 09, 2005 Jkt 208001 addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Office of Postsecondary Education Type of Review: New Collection. Title: 34 CFR Part 602 The Secretary Recognition of Accrediting Agencies. Frequency: Annually Other: every 5 years. Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions (primary). Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: Responses: 75. Burden Hours: 1071. Abstract: This information is needed to determine if an accrediting agency complies with the Criteria for Recognition and should be recognized. Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request may be accessed from https://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending Collections’’ link and by clicking on link number 2933. 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 the Internet address OCIO_RIMG@ed.gov or faxed to 202–245–6621. Please specify the complete title of the information collection when making your request. Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be directed to Joe Schubart at Joe.Schubart@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. 05–22405 Filed 11–9–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000–01–M PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 68411 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests AGENCY: Department of Education. The Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. SUMMARY: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January 9, 2006. DATES: 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 Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 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. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\10NON1.SGM 10NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68409-68411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22406]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers

Department of the Interior

Bureau of Reclamation


Upper Columbia Alternative Flood Control and Fish Operations, 
Libby and Hungry Horse Dams, MT

AGENCIES: Corps of Engineers, DoD, and Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability Of Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
and Notice of Public Hearings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), 
Seattle District, and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Pacific 
Northwest Region, have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) to evaluate the effects of alternative flood control at Libby 
Dam on the Kootenai River and at Hungry Horse Dam on the South Fork 
Flathead River in western Montana. USACE and Reclamation are making the 
document available to the public for review and comment through a 
Notice of Availability published in the Federal Register. The overall 
goal of the DEIS is to evaluate effects of alternative dam operations 
that are intended to provide reservoir and flow conditions at and below 
Libby and Hungry Horse Dams for anadromous and resident fish listed as 
threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 
consistent with authorized project purposes, including maintaining the 
current level of flood control benefits.

DATES: To ensure consideration in final EIS development, we must 
receive comments on or before December 27,

[[Page 68410]]

2005 (45 days from the November 10, 2005, Federal Register publication 
date of the EPA weekly notice of EIS availability). See the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting dates.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments concerning this proposed 
project to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, Attn: Mr. 
Evan Lewis, PM-PL-ER, P.O. Box 3755, Seattle, WA 98124-3755 or Bureau 
of Reclamation, Attn: Mr. Dan Lechefsky, 1150 N. Curtis Rd., Suite 100, 
Boise, ID 83706-1234. Please submit electronic comments to 
uceis@usace.army.mil. For electronic comments, include your name and 
address in your message and place your comments in the body of your 
message; please do not send attached files. Reclamation's practice is 
to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, 
available for public review. Individual respondents may request that we 
withhold their home address from public disclosure, which we will honor 
to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in 
which we would withhold a respondent's identity from public disclosure, 
as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or 
address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your 
comment. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, 
and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or 
officials of organization or business, available for public disclosure 
in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Evan Lewis, Environmental 
Coordinator, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, 
Environmental Resources Section, (206) 764-6922, 
evan.r.lewis@usace.army.mil; or Mr. Dan Lechefsky, NEPA Coordinator, 
Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation, (208) 378-5039, 
dlechefsky@pn.usbr.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Multiple-purpose project operations 
(including flood control, hydropower, fish and wildlife, recreation, 
navigation, irrigation, water supply, and water quality) at Libby, 
Hungry Horse, and other dams have altered the natural river hydrology 
of the Columbia River and some of its major tributaries. These dams 
store the spring snowmelt runoff to control floods and release water 
for multiple uses. Populations of threatened and endangered fish in the 
Columbia River Basin (Kootenai River white sturgeon, Columbia Basin 
bull trout, and several Columbia River salmon and steelhead stocks) 
benefit from certain high-flow periods, which historically were 
determined by natural runoff patterns driven by snowmelt and rainfall. 
While the status of bull trout populations in the Kootenai and Flathead 
rivers is generally better than some others in the Columbia Basin, 
Kootenai River white sturgeon numbers are estimated at fewer than 500 
(down from numbers of 5,000-6,000 in the 1980's) and are declining at 
approximately 9% per year. Several salmon and steelhead populations in 
the Columbia Basin are listed as threatened or endangered. Pursuant to 
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, the 2000 U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service Biological Opinion on the operation of the Federal 
Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) included a recommendation to 
implement variable discharge flood control (VARQ), with Q representing 
engineering shorthand for discharge, at Libby and Hungry Horse dams. 
NOAA Fisheries considered the Updated Proposed Action (UPA) and issued 
the 2004 NOAA Fisheries FCRPS Biological Opinion on November 30, 2004. 
The 2004 UPA generally reflects, with certain modifications, the 
hydropower, habitat, hatchery, and harvest measures implemented under 
the 2000 biological opinion Reasonable and Prudent Alternative 
including implementation of VARQ flood control at Libby Dam and Hungry 
Horse Dam.
    Implementation of VARQ flood control and various flow augmentation 
operations would modify dam operations and riverflows to avoid 
jeopardizing the continued existence of endangered Kootenai River white 
sturgeon, threatened Columbia Basin bull trout, and several populations 
of threatened and endangered Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead. This 
DEIS focuses on those environmental conditions that would be modified 
by implementation of the proposed Federal Action or several 
alternatives.
    The proposed Federal action consists of:
    (1) Implementation of alternative flood control at Libby Dam on the 
Kootenai River and Hungry Horse Dam on the South Fork Flathead River. 
Called variable discharge flood control, this alternative action is 
known as ``VARQ'' flood control, with Q representing engineering 
shorthand for discharge.
    (2) Flow augmentation that such alternative flood control would 
facilitate in the Kootenai River, the Flathead River, and main stem 
Columbia River for fish populations listed as threatened or endangered 
under the ESA. Flow augmentation (i.e., fish flows) includes release of 
water for bull trout, salmon, and, at Libby Dam, white sturgeon.
    We are making the DEIS available to the public for a 45-day review 
and comment period.
    Seven public meetings are planned for the DEIS in order to provide 
an opportunity for the public to present oral and/or written comments. 
USACE will host the meetings at Eureka, MT; Bonners Ferry, ID; and 
Nelson, BC. Reclamation will host the meetings at Kalispell, MT; Kettle 
Falls, WA; and Grand Coulee, WA. Both agencies will co-host the meeting 
in Newport, WA. All meetings will begin at 6 pm, local time. For the 
first hour, resource specialists will be available to answer questions. 
At 7 p.m., there will be an opportunity to provide verbal and written 
comments for the record.
    The meeting dates and locations follow:

November 28, 2005: Best Western Hotel, Nelson, British Columbia; West 
Coast Kalispell Center Hotel, Kalispell, MT
November 29, 2005: Elementary School Cafeteria, Newport, WA
November 30, 2005: High School Auditorium, Eureka, MT; KC Diner, Kettle 
Falls, WA
December 1, 2005: Kootenai River Inn, Bonners Ferry, ID; Grand Coulee 
City Hall, Grand Coulee, WA

    Copies of the DEIS are available for public review at libraries 
throughout the potentially affected portions of the Kootenai, Flathead, 
Clark Fork, Pend Oreille, and upper Columbia Basins in the U.S. and 
Canada. The USACE and Reclamation have distributed electronic and hard 
copies of the DEIS to appropriate members of Congress; State, local, 
and tribal government officials; Federal agencies; and other interested 
parties. You may view the DEIS and related information on our Web page 
at: https://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/VARQ.
    After the public comment period ends on December 27, 2005, USACE 
and Reclamation will consider all comments received. The DEIS will be 
revised as appropriate and a final EIS will be issued. The DEIS has 
been prepared in accordance with (1) The National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) 
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing 
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USACE 
regulations implementing NEPA (ER-200-2-2), and (4) Reclamation 
regulations for implementing NEPA (Reclamation Manual, Policy PO3).
    Colonel Debra M. Lewis, District Engineer, Seattle District, U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 3755, Seattle, WA 98124-3755.

[[Page 68411]]

    J. William McDonald, Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, 
Bureau of Reclamation, 1150 North Curtis Road, Suite 100, Boise, ID 
83706-1234.

    Dated: November 3, 2005.
Debra M. Lewis,
District Engineer.
J. William McDonald,
Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 05-22406 Filed 11-9-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-92-P

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