March 5, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) announces its intent to prepare an amendment to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus ((Gmelin)) and to prepare an EIS to analyze the impacts of any proposed management measures. The Council is also formally re-initiating a public process to determine the scope of alternatives to be addressed in the amendment and EIS. The purpose of this notification is to alert the interested public of the re-commencement of the scoping process and to provide for public participation in compliance with environmental documentation requirements.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), give notice of our intent to adopt the National Park Service's existing environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (EIS/EIR) for the Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project in Marin County, California (Project). We are considering a decision to approve a National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Program grant for the California State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) to assist SCC in implementing the Project. The grant would help SCC restore and conserve a 556-acre coastal wetland ecosystem at the head of Tomales Bay. We propose to adopt the existing EIS/EIR, which evaluates the environmental effects of implementing field and construction activities related to restoring tidal and freshwater marsh habitat on the former dairy farm.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) are announcing an extension of the comment period on the Draft Land Management Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DLMP/DEIS) for the public and National Forest System Lands under their jurisdiction and by this notice is announcing the extension of the comment period. The original notice published in the Federal Register on December 14, 2007 [72 FR 71148] and provided for a comment period to end on March 12, 2007.

The FWS and the NMFS (collectively, the Services) announce the availability for public review of a combined draft Environmental Assessment/Habitat Conservation Plan (EA/HCP) pertaining to an application by the Broughton Land Company (BLC) for incidental take permits (ITPs) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The draft EA/HCP addresses the proposed issuance of ITPs by the Services to the BLC for land management activities in Columbia County, Washington, that are identified in the HCP portion of the draft document. The proposed ITPs would authorize take, incidental to otherwise lawful activities, of the following threatened fish species: the bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus); Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon and the Snake River fall Chinook salmon (both Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); and the middle Columbia River steelhead trout and the Snake River steelhead trout (both O. mykiss). We request comments from the public on the permit applications and the draft EA/HCP, all of which are available for review. The EA/HCP describes the proposed action and the measures that the BLC will implement to minimize and mitigate take of the threatened fish species discussed above. To review the documents, see ``Availability of Documents'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

Notice is hereby given that the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Region, Protected Resources Division [Responsible Party: Mary Colligan], One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, has been issued a permit to take dead shortnose sturgeon for purposes of scientific research.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, initiate 5-year reviews for 58 species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We request any new information on these species that may have a bearing on their classification as endangered or threatened (see Table 1 below). Based on the results of these 5-year reviews, we will make a finding on whether these species are properly classified under the Act. We also indicate in this notice the 5-year reviews we completed for species in California, Nevada and southern Oregon in FY 2007 and early FY 2008.

In accordance with Section 122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces a proposed administrative settlement to resolve claims under CERCLA. This settlement is intended to resolve the liability of four responsible parties for certain response costs incurred and to be incurred by EPA at the Delilah Road Landfill Superfund Site located in Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey (Site). The proposed administrative settlement is contained in a Settlement Agreement for recovery of response costs (Agreement) between Atlantic City Electric Company, Lenox, Incorporated, Wyeth Holdings Corporation, and Wyeth (Settling Parties) and EPA. By this Notice, EPA is informing the public of the proposed settlement and of the opportunity to comment. The Site, consisting of approximately 45 acres, was originally used for sand and gravel excavation, but was later converted to a solid waste disposal area. Landfill operations ceased in 1980. The Site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) on October 4, 1984, and in 1986, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) began a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) to investigate conditions at the Site and evaluate remedial alternatives. On September 28, 1990, NJDEP issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Site which included placement of an impermeable layer cap on the landfill and installation of a gas collection and treatment system. Certain private parties, including some of the Settling Parties or their predecessors, entered into an Administrative Consent Order with NJDEP, as the lead agency for the Site, effective on October 12, 1994, to implement the remedy selected in the ROD. NJDEP issued an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) effective September 30, 1998, based on the results of additional groundwater sampling, through which the remedy was modified to provide for a soil cap, rather than the synthetic membrane cap originally selected. Construction of the remedy began in late 2001, and was substantially completed by the summer of 2002. As the support agency for the Site, EPA's costs consist primarily of oversight costs. Section 122(h) of CERCLA authorizes EPA to consider, compromise and settle certain claims. Under the terms of the proposed Agreement, the Settling Parties will pay $81,410.95 in reimbursement of past and future Site costs incurred by EPA. In exchange, EPA will grant a covenant not to sue or take administrative action against the Settling Parties for reimbursement of past or future EPA Site response costs pursuant to Section 107(a) of CERCLA, subject to reopeners for unknown conditions or new information. EPA will consider any comments received during the comment period and may withdraw or withhold consent to the proposed settlement if comments disclose facts or considerations that indicate the proposed settlement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. EPA's response to any comments received will be available for public inspection at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Regional Counsel, 290 Broadway17th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866. Telephone: (212) 637-3111.

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is preliminarily rescinding the administrative reviews on heavy forged hand tools, finished or unfinished, with or without handles (``HFHTs'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). These reviews cover the period of review of February 1, 2006, through January 31, 2007 (``POR'').

The Privacy Office of the Department of Homeland Security is making available nine (9) Privacy Impact Assessments on various programs and systems in the Department. These assessments were approved and published on the Privacy Office's Web site between July 1, 2007 and September 30, 2007.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT, P.L. 109-58) required the Department of Energy (DOE) to expand the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) from its current 727 million-barrel capacity to 1 billion barrels. In order to fulfill the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the expansion project, DOE prepared the environmental impact statement (EIS) Site Selection for the Expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (DOE/EIS-0385). In the Record of Decision (ROD), published in the Federal Register on February 22, 2007, DOE announced its selection of Richton, Mississippi, as the location of a new SPR facility as part of the expansion project. The site was selected for its large and undeveloped salt dome, enhanced oil distribution capabilities, and inland location that is less vulnerable to the damaging effects of hurricanes. Since selecting the Richton site, DOE has engaged in further consultations with Federal and Mississippi state agencies and is now considering different locations from those addressed in DOE/EIS-0385 for certain facilities associated with the Richton SPR expansion site. This Notice announces DOE's intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) in accordance with NEPA, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500- 1508), and the DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR part 1021). Some of the potential new locations may be in floodplains or wetlands. DOE hereby gives notice that it will include in the SEIS a floodplain assessment and a wetland assessment prepared in accordance with the DOE Regulations for Compliance with Floodplain and Wetland Environmental Review Requirements (10 CFR part 1022). DOE invites interested agencies, organizations, Native American tribes, and members of the public to submit comments or suggestions to assist in identifying alternatives, significant environmental issues, and the appropriate scope of the SEIS.

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.

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) (Pub. L. 107-252, October 29, 2002) established the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Section 202 of HAVA directs the EAC to adopt voluntary voting system guidelines (WSG) and to provide for the testing, certification, decertification, and recertification of voting system hardware and software. The VVSG provides specifications and standards against which voting systems can be tested to determine if they provide basic functionality, accessibility, and security capabilities. Section 221 of HAVA mandates the creation of the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) to assist the EAC in developing its voluntary voting system guidance. The TGDC has recommended standards to the EAC. These recommended standards were submitted by the TGDC to the EAC's Executive Director pursuant to section 221 of HAVA. As part of its development process the EAC is seeking public comment on the TGDC's recommended standards. The EAC encourages the public to offer specific and detailed comments on all aspects and sections of the requirements. The EAC is particularly interested in receiving comments on three distinct issues: (1) The concept of Software Independence and the corresponding requirements for Independent Voter Verifiable Records and the Innovation class; (2) Open Ended Vulnerability Testing; and (3) The usability and accessibility benchmarks developed for this iteration of the VVSG. All three of these concepts are new to the VVSG and could have a substantial impact on the cost of implementation and on the security and accessibility of voting systems. The purpose of this notice is to extend the public comment period an additional sixty days. The EAC is currently in the process of conducting a series of roundtable discussions regarding the TGDC recommended guidelines. The first of these roundtables occurred on December 13, 2007 in Austin, TX and involved a group of computer security scientists from around the United States. The next roundtable was conducted on February 29, 2008 in Washington, DC and involved Voting System Manufacturers. The EAC is currently planning to conduct additional roundtables involving usability/accessibility professionals, election officials, and voting integrity advocates in March, April and May of 2008. The purpose of extending the public comment period is to allow the public the opportunity to continue to comment on the proposed standards including the ideas presented at the roundtables the EAC is conducting.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability of the Final Revised Recovery Plan, dated March 2008, for the western and eastern distinct population segments (DPS) of Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). NMFS also provides a link to the comprehensive and extensive responses to comments on the May 2007 Draft Revised Steller Sea Lion Recovery Plan posted on our website.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New Jersey. This revision updates the direct PM2.5 and NOX motor vehicle emissions budgets for Mercer County, located within the New Jersey portion of the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT, PM2.5 nonattainment area. The intended effect of this rulemaking is to approve budgets that will be used to determine transportation conformity.

We, NMFS, announce the 90-day finding for a petition to reclassify loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the western North Atlantic Ocean as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) with endangered status and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The loggerhead is currently listed as threatened throughout its range. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. We have initiated a review of the status of the species to determine whether the petitioned action is warranted and to determine whether any additional changes to the current listing of the loggerhead turtle are warranted. To ensure a comprehensive review, we solicit information and comments pertaining to this species from any interested party.

Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to as Rural Development or the Agency, is terminating further action by Rural Development on the environmental review process in accordance with the Agency's environmental policies and procedures for the Norborne Baseload Plant (Norborne Plant) in Carroll County, Missouri. The purpose of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of and alternatives to Associated Electric Cooperative, Incorporated's (AECI) application requesting federal financial assistance from Rural Development to construct the proposed 660 megawatt net supercritical pulverized coal fired power plant, new and modified substations, approximately 134 miles of new 345-kV transmission lines, a utility waste landfill, new rail access from existing mainline railroads, and a water supply system consisting of groundwater wells and associated pipeline. The AECI withdrew their application for federal financial assistance from the Agency on February 12, 2008, and has decided to evaluate non-federal financing options. The notice to prepare an EIS and to hold scoping meetings was published in the Federal Register on August 10, 2005. Four public scoping meetings were conducted in August of 2005. In addition, the Agency held an interagency scoping meeting with state and federal agency stakeholders on August 23, 2005. The Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on January 11, 2007 with the 45-day public comment period beginning on the date the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published their receipt of the document. The USEPA's notice was published on January 26, 2007 and the public review period concluded on March 12, 2007. Three public hearings to solicit review comments were held between February 6-8, 2007. A Notice of Availability of the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2007 with a 30-day public comment period. The comment period was extended to October 28, 2005 through a second notice published in the Federal Register on September 30, 2005.