Great River Energy, Notice of Finding of No Significant Impact, 3049-3050 [E6-509]

Download as PDF 3049 Notices Federal Register Vol. 71, No. 12 Thursday, January 19, 2006 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Research Service Notice of Federal Invention Available for Licensing and Intent to Grant Exclusive License AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of availability and intent. Notice is hereby given that U.S. Patent No. 6,018,063, ‘‘Biodegradable Oleic Estolide Ester Base Stocks and Lubricants’’, issued on January 25, 2000, is available for licensing and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to Peaks and Prairies, L.L.C. of Malta, Montana, an exclusive license to this invention. Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to Peaks and Prairies, L.L.C. of Malta, Montana, an exclusive license to U.S. Patent No. 6,316,649, ‘‘Biodegradable Oleic Estolide Ester Having Saturated Fatty Acid End Group Useful as Lubricant Base Stock’’, issued on November 13, 2001. Notice of Availability of this invention for licensing was published in the Federal Register on March 13, 2001. DATES: Comments must be received within ninety (90) calendar days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Federal Register. ADDRESSES: Send comments to: USDA, ARS, Office of Technology Transfer, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Room 4–1174, Beltsville, Maryland 20705–5131. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: June Blalock of the Office of Technology Transfer at the Beltsville address given above; telephone: 301–504–5989. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Government’s patent rights to these inventions are assigned to the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture. It is in the public interest to so license these inventions as Peaks and Prairies, L.L.C. of Malta, Montana has submitted a complete and sufficient application for a license. The prospective exclusive license will be royalty-bearing and will comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7. The prospective exclusive license may be granted unless, within ninety (90) days from the date of this published Notice, the Agricultural Research Service receives written evidence and argument which establishes that the grant of the license would not be consistent with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7. Richard J. Brenner, Assistant Administrator. [FR Doc. E6–510 Filed 1–18–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–03–P sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:38 Jan 18, 2006 Jkt 208001 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Utilities Service Great River Energy, Notice of Finding of No Significant Impact AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. Notice of finding of no significant impact. ACTION: SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has made a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) in connection with potential impacts related to the construction and operation of a natural gas-fired simple cycle, combustion turbine power generation facility in Cambridge Township in Isanti County, Minnesota. The electrical output from the facility is expected to range from 170 megawatts (MW) to 190 MW depending upon operating conditions. RUS may provide financial assistance for this project. Nurul Islam, Environmental Protection Specialist, Engineering and Environmental Staff, Rural Development, Utilities Programs, Stop 1571, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250–1571, telephone: (202) 720–1414, FAX: (202) 720–0820; or e-mail: nurul.islam@wdc.usda.gov.; or Mark Strohfus, Environmental Project Leader, GRE, 17845 East Highway 10, P.O. Box 800, Elk River, Minnesota 55330–0800, telephone (763) 241–2491, FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 FAX: (763) 241–6033, e-mail: MStrohfus@grenergy.com. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Great River Energy (GRE) is proposing to construct a simple-cycle combustion turbine generation plant in Cambridge Township in Isanti County, Minnesota. Total electrical output is expected to range from 170 MW to 190 MW depending on operating conditions. An alternative site for the plant is also being proposed for the project. The alternative site location is at GRE’s Elk River headquarters in Sherburne County, Minnesota. The Elk River site presently has a 40 MW facility fueled with refuse derived fuel and it would remain if the proposed plant were to be constructed at this alternative site. No additional land would be purchased if the plant were to be constructed at this location. Due to constraints on natural gas availability, a combustion turbine at the Elk River site would be equipped to fire fuel oil as a backup fuel. The generator would be connected to the Elk River Substation. Construction of the project at the proposed Cambridge site would necessitate upgrading approximately 47 miles of existing 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines. Construction at the alternative Elk River site would necessitate upgrading approximately 27 miles of existing 69-kV transmission lines to allow the electricity from the new generator to be reliably delivered from the site. A fuel oil-fired combustion turbine rated at approximately 20 MW exists at the proposed Cambridge site and will remain in operation at the site after construction of the proposed combustion turbine. Additional land would be acquired to facilitate the proposed construction activities. The proposal at the Cambridge site would include upgrades to the existing substation at the Cambridge plant site. A 10-inch high pressure gas lateral pipeline approximately one-half mile long would be constructed to provide a natural gas fuel supply for the proposal. GRE prepared an environmental analysis for RUS that describes the proposal and assesses the proposal’s environmental impacts. RUS has conducted an independent evaluation of the environmental analysis and believes that it accurately assesses the impacts of the proposal. This environmental analysis will serve as RUS’ environmental assessment (EA) of the E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM 19JAN1 sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES 3050 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2006 / Notices project. The EA was distributed for public and agency review. Comments were received from two entities: the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5. The MNDOT commented that the project would not impact the local trunk highway system. The EPA commented that: (1) The natural gas pipeline to be installed, owned and operated by a third party was not adequately addressed in the EA, and (2) there should be stronger protective measures, including the consideration of third party oversight/inspection, where the proposal’s transmission lines involve environmentally sensitive areas identified by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR). Construction of the natural gas pipeline must follow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) National Environmental Policy Act requirements. RUS believes that adequate protective measures for the construction of the pipeline will be implemented through the FERC requirements. GRE has agreed to follow the recommendations of the MNDNR; therefore, RUS believes that adequate protective measures will be implemented in the environmentally sensitive areas. Since the MNDNR recommendations are being followed and the MNDNR did not suggest that third party oversight was necessary, RUS believes that third party oversight is not warranted. GRE published notices of the availability of the EA and solicited public comments per 7 CFR 1794.42. The 30-day comment period on the EA for the proposal ended January 6, 2006. Based on the EA, RUS has concluded that the proposal will not have a significant effect to various resources, including important farmland, floodplains, wetlands, cultural resources, threatened and endangered species and their critical habitat, air, water quality and noise. RUS has also determined that there would be no negative impacts of the proposal on minority communities and low-income communities as a result of the proposal’s construction. Any final action by RUS related to the proposal will be subject to, and contingent upon, compliance with all relevant Federal environmental laws and regulations and completion of environmental review procedures as prescribed by the 7 CFR part 1794, Environmental Policies and Procedures. VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:38 Jan 18, 2006 Jkt 208001 Dated: January 11, 2006. James R. Newby, Assistant Administrator, Electric Program, Rural Utilities Service. [FR Doc. E6–509 Filed 1–18–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–15–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. Title: 2004 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, Wave 8 Topical Module. Form Number(s): SIPP/CAPI Automated Instrument; SIPP 24805(L) Director’s Letter; SIPP 24003 Reminder Card. Agency Approval Number: 0607– 0905. Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection. Burden: 148,028 hours. Number of Respondents: 97,650. Avg Hours per Response: 30 Minutes. Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct the Wave 8 topical module interview for the 2004 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). We also request approval for a few replacement questions in the reinterview instrument. The core SIPP and reinterview instruments were cleared under Authorization No. 0607–0905. The SIPP is designed as a continuing series of national panels of interviewed households that are introduced every few years, with each panel having durations of 3 to 5 years. The 2004 Panel is scheduled for five years and will include fifteen waves of interviewing. All household members 15 years old or over are interviewed a total of fifteen times (fifteen waves), at 4-month intervals, making the SIPP a longitudinal survey. The survey is molded around a central ‘‘core’’ of labor force and income questions that remain fixed throughout the life of a panel. The core is supplemented with questions designed to answer specific needs. These supplemental questions are included with the core and are referred to as ‘‘topical modules.’’ The topical module for the 2004 Panel Wave 8 is Welfare Reform. The Welfare Reform topical PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 module was last conducted in the SIPP 2001 Panel Wave 8 instrument. Wave 8 interviews will be conducted from June 2006 through September 2006. Data provided by the SIPP are being used by economic policymakers, the Congress, State and local governments, and Federal agencies that administer social welfare or transfer payment programs, such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. The SIPP represents a source of information for a wide variety of topics and allows information for separate topics to be integrated to form a single and unified database so that the interaction between tax, transfer, and other government and private policies can be examined. Government domestic policy formulators depend heavily upon the SIPP information concerning the distribution of income received directly as money or indirectly as in-kind benefits and the effect of tax and transfer programs on this distribution. They also need improved and expanded data on the income and general economic and financial situation of the U.S. population. The SIPP has provided these kinds of data on a continuing basis since 1983, permitting levels of economic well-being and changes in these levels to be measured over time. Monetary incentives to encourage nonrespondents to participate is planned for all waves of the 2004 SIPP Panel. Affected Public: Individuals or households. Frequency: Every 4 months. Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 182. OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395–5103. Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, (202) 482–0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at dhynek@doc.gov). Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202–395–7245) or e-mail (susan_schechter@omb.eop.gov). Dated: January 12, 2006. Madeleine Clayton, Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. E6–526 Filed 1–18–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–07–P E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM 19JAN1

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[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3049-3050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-509]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Great River Energy, Notice of Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of finding of no significant impact.

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

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) 
has made a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) in connection with 
potential impacts related to the construction and operation of a 
natural gas-fired simple cycle, combustion turbine power generation 
facility in Cambridge Township in Isanti County, Minnesota. The 
electrical output from the facility is expected to range from 170 
megawatts (MW) to 190 MW depending upon operating conditions. RUS may 
provide financial assistance for this project.

FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nurul Islam, Environmental Protection 
Specialist, Engineering and Environmental Staff, Rural Development, 
Utilities Programs, Stop 1571, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20250-1571, telephone: (202) 720-1414, FAX: (202) 720-
0820; or e-mail: nurul.islam@wdc.usda.gov.; or Mark Strohfus, 
Environmental Project Leader, GRE, 17845 East Highway 10, P.O. Box 800, 
Elk River, Minnesota 55330-0800, telephone (763) 241-2491, FAX: (763) 
241-6033, e-mail: MStrohfus@grenergy.com.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Great River Energy (GRE) is proposing to 
construct a simple-cycle combustion turbine generation plant in 
Cambridge Township in Isanti County, Minnesota. Total electrical output 
is expected to range from 170 MW to 190 MW depending on operating 
conditions. An alternative site for the plant is also being proposed 
for the project. The alternative site location is at GRE's Elk River 
headquarters in Sherburne County, Minnesota. The Elk River site 
presently has a 40 MW facility fueled with refuse derived fuel and it 
would remain if the proposed plant were to be constructed at this 
alternative site. No additional land would be purchased if the plant 
were to be constructed at this location. Due to constraints on natural 
gas availability, a combustion turbine at the Elk River site would be 
equipped to fire fuel oil as a backup fuel. The generator would be 
connected to the Elk River Substation. Construction of the project at 
the proposed Cambridge site would necessitate upgrading approximately 
47 miles of existing 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines. Construction 
at the alternative Elk River site would necessitate upgrading 
approximately 27 miles of existing 69-kV transmission lines to allow 
the electricity from the new generator to be reliably delivered from 
the site. A fuel oil-fired combustion turbine rated at approximately 20 
MW exists at the proposed Cambridge site and will remain in operation 
at the site after construction of the proposed combustion turbine. 
Additional land would be acquired to facilitate the proposed 
construction activities. The proposal at the Cambridge site would 
include upgrades to the existing substation at the Cambridge plant 
site. A 10-inch high pressure gas lateral pipeline approximately one-
half mile long would be constructed to provide a natural gas fuel 
supply for the proposal.
    GRE prepared an environmental analysis for RUS that describes the 
proposal and assesses the proposal's environmental impacts. RUS has 
conducted an independent evaluation of the environmental analysis and 
believes that it accurately assesses the impacts of the proposal. This 
environmental analysis will serve as RUS' environmental assessment (EA) 
of the

[[Page 3050]]

project. The EA was distributed for public and agency review. Comments 
were received from two entities: the Minnesota Department of 
Transportation (MNDOT) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) Region 5. The MNDOT commented that the project would not impact 
the local trunk highway system. The EPA commented that: (1) The natural 
gas pipeline to be installed, owned and operated by a third party was 
not adequately addressed in the EA, and (2) there should be stronger 
protective measures, including the consideration of third party 
oversight/inspection, where the proposal's transmission lines involve 
environmentally sensitive areas identified by the Minnesota Department 
of Natural Resources (MNDNR). Construction of the natural gas pipeline 
must follow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) National 
Environmental Policy Act requirements. RUS believes that adequate 
protective measures for the construction of the pipeline will be 
implemented through the FERC requirements. GRE has agreed to follow the 
recommendations of the MNDNR; therefore, RUS believes that adequate 
protective measures will be implemented in the environmentally 
sensitive areas. Since the MNDNR recommendations are being followed and 
the MNDNR did not suggest that third party oversight was necessary, RUS 
believes that third party oversight is not warranted.
    GRE published notices of the availability of the EA and solicited 
public comments per 7 CFR 1794.42. The 30-day comment period on the EA 
for the proposal ended January 6, 2006.
    Based on the EA, RUS has concluded that the proposal will not have 
a significant effect to various resources, including important 
farmland, floodplains, wetlands, cultural resources, threatened and 
endangered species and their critical habitat, air, water quality and 
noise. RUS has also determined that there would be no negative impacts 
of the proposal on minority communities and low-income communities as a 
result of the proposal's construction.
    Any final action by RUS related to the proposal will be subject to, 
and contingent upon, compliance with all relevant Federal environmental 
laws and regulations and completion of environmental review procedures 
as prescribed by the 7 CFR part 1794, Environmental Policies and 
Procedures.

    Dated: January 11, 2006.
James R. Newby,
Assistant Administrator, Electric Program, Rural Utilities Service.
 [FR Doc. E6-509 Filed 1-18-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P
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