National Environmental Policy Act Compliance, 302-303 [2017-28298]
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302
§ 200.80f
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Proposed Rules
[Removed]
[Docket No.
at U.S. Forest Service, Ecosystem
Management Coordination, 201 14th St.
SW, 2 Central, Washington, DC 20024.
Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to
(202) 205–1475 to facilitate entry to the
building.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim
Smalls; Assistant Director, Ecosystem
Management Coordination; 202–205–
1475. Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339
between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.,
Eastern Standard Time, Monday
through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
RIN 0596–AD31
Background
National Environmental Policy Act
Compliance
The Forest Service is proposing to
revise its NEPA procedures (including
its regulations at 36 CFR part 220, Forest
Service Manual 1950, and Forest
Service Handbook 1909.15) with the
goal of increasing efficiency of
environmental analysis. The Agency
will continue to hold true to its
commitment to deliver scientifically
based, high-quality analysis to decision
makers that honors its environmental
stewardship responsibilities while
maintaining robust public particiption.
These values are at the core of the Forest
Service mission.
Reforming the Forest Service’s NEPA
procedures is needed for a variety of
reasons. An increasing percentage of the
Agency’s resources are spent each year
to provide the necessary resources for
wildfire suppression, resulting in fewer
resources available for other
management activities such as
restoration. In 1995, fire made up 16
percent of the Forest Service’s annual
appropriated budget. In 2017, more than
50 percent of the Forest Service’s annual
budget will be dedicated to wildfire.
Along with this shift in resources, there
has also been a corresponding shift in
staff, with a 39 percent reduction in all
non-fire personnel since 1995.
Additionally, the Agency has a backlog
of more than 6,000 special use permits
awaiting completion, and over 80
million acres of National Forest System
land are in need of restoration to reduce
the risk of wildfire, insect epidemics,
and forest diseases.
Increasing efficiency of environmental
analysis will enable the Agency to
complete more projects needed to
increase the health and productivity of
our national forests and grasslands. The
Agency’s goal is to complete project
decision making in a timelier manner, to
improve or eliminate inefficient
processes and steps, and where
appropriate increase the scale of
■
8. Remove § 200.80f.
By the Commission.
Dated: December 21, 2017.
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017–27967 Filed 1–2–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
36 CFR Part 220
Forest Service, USDA.
Advance notice of proposed
rulemaking; request for comment.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Forest Service is
proposing to revise its National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
procedures with the goal of increasing
efficiency of environmental analysis.
This will help the Forest Service
implement its core mission by
increasing the health and productivity
of our Nation’s forests for the benefit of
all Americans, and in turn foster
productive and sustainable use of
National Forest System lands. The
Agency’s NEPA procedures are a key
component of its overall environmental
analysis and decision-making process.
The Agency is seeking comments from
the public on ways it can achieve the
goals of increased efficiency of
environmental analysis.
DATES: Comments must be received in
writing by February 2, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please submit comments via
one of the following methods:
1. Public participation portal
(preferred): https://cara.ecosystemmanagement.org/Public/
CommentInput?project=ORMS-1797.
2. Mail: NEPA Services Group, c/o
Amy Barker; USDA Forest Service,
Geospatial Technology and
Applications Center, 2222 West 2300
South, Salt Lake City, UT 84119.
3. Email: nepa-procedures- revision@
fs.fed.us.
All comments, including names and
addresses when provided, are placed in
the record and are available for public
inspection and copying. The public may
inspect comments received online via
the public reading room at https://cara.
ecosystem-management.org/Public/
ReadingRoom?project=ORMS-1797, or
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analysis and the amount of activities
authorized in a single analysis and
decision. Improving the efficiency of
environmental analysis and decision
making will enable the agency to ensure
lands and watersheds are sustainable,
healthy, and productive; mitigate
wildfire risk; and contribute to the
economic health of rural communities
through use and access opportunities.
Agency NEPA Procedures
Each Federal agency is required to
develop NEPA procedures that
supplement the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations and reflect the agency’s
unique mandate and mission. The CEQ
encourages agencies to periodically
review their NEPA procedures. The
Forest Service’s NEPA procedures were
last reviewed in 2008 when the Agency
moved a subset of its NEPA procedures
from the Forest Service Manual and
Handbook to the Code of Federal
Regulations. However, the Agency’s
NEPA procedures still reflect in part the
policies and practices established by the
Agency’s 1992 NEPA Manual and
Handbook. The proposed revision of the
Forest Service’s NEPA procedures will
be developed in consultation with CEQ.
Request for Comment
The Agency is seeking public
comment on the following:
• Processes and analysis
requirements that can be modified,
reduced, or eliminated in order to
reduce time and cost while maintaining
science-based, high-quality analysis;
public involvement; and honoring
agency stewardship responsibilities.
• Approaches to landscape-scale
analysis and decision making under
NEPA that facilitate restoration of
National Forest System lands.
• Classes of actions that are unlikely,
either individually or cumulatively, to
have significant impacts and therefore
should be categorically excluded from
NEPA’s environmental assessment and
environmental impact statement
requirements, such as integrated
restoration projects; special use
authorizations; and activities to
maintain and manage Agency sites
(including recreation sites), facilities,
and associated infrastructure.
• Ways the Agency might expand and
enhance coordination of environmental
review and authorization decisions with
other Federal agencies, as well as State,
Tribal, or local environmental reviews.
E:\FR\FM\03JAP1.SGM
03JAP1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Proposed Rules
Dated: December 20, 2017.
Tony Tooke,
Chief, USDA, Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 2017–28298 Filed 1–2–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411–15–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 54
[WC Docket No. 17–310; FCC 17–164]
Promoting Telehealth in Rural America
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
In this document, the Federal
Communications Commission
(Commission) proposes measured steps
as part of a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking and Order to ensure that
rural healthcare providers get the
support they need while guarding
against waste, fraud, and abuse,
considers a series of measures to ensure
the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program
operates efficiently and considers the
appropriate size of the funding cap. The
Commission takes targeted, immediate
action in the Order section of the item
to mitigate the impact of the existing
RHC Program cap on rural healthcare
providers in funding year (FY) 2017.
Because the Order section does not
establish any final rules, we do not
incorporate the Order section in this
document.
SUMMARY:
Comments are due February 2,
2018, and reply comments are due on or
before February 20, 2018. If you
anticipate that you will be submitting
comments, but find it difficult to do so
within the period of time allowed by
this document, you should advise the
contact listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by WC Docket No. 17–310, by
any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Federal Communications
Commission’s website: https://
apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• People with Disabilities: Contact the
FCC to request reasonable
accommodations (accessible format
documents, sign language interpreters,
CART, etc.) by email: FCC504@fcc.gov
or phone: (202) 418–0530 or TTY: (202)
418–0432.
For detailed instructions for
submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process,
jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
DATES:
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Jkt 244001
see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Radhika Karmarkar, Wireline
Competition Bureau, (202) 418–7400 or
TTY: (202) 418–0484.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a
summary of the Commission’s Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in WC
Docket No. 17–310; FCC 17–164,
adopted on December 14, 2017 and
released on December 18, 2017. The full
text of this document is available for
public inspection during regular
business hours in the FCC Reference
Center, Room CY–A257, 445 12th Street
SW, Washington, DC 20554 or at the
following internet address: https://
apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/
FCC-17-164A1.pdf.
I. Introduction
1. In this Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM), the Commission
proposes measured steps to ensure that
rural healthcare providers get the
support they need while guarding
against waste, fraud, and abuse. The
Commission considers a series of
measures to ensure the Rural Health
Care (RHC) Program operates efficiently
and in the appropriate size of the
funding cap.
2. As technology and telemedicine
assume an increasingly critical role in
healthcare delivery, a well-designed
RHC Program is more vital than ever.
Trends suggest that rural communities
across the country are falling behind
when it comes to the availability of
high-quality healthcare. Indeed, the
American Hospital Association (AHA)
reports that ‘‘obtaining access to care in
rural America is a significant
challenge.’’ Over the last seven years,
over 80 rural hospitals have closed and
hundreds more are at risk of closing. On
a per capita basis, there are far fewer
doctors in rural areas than in urban
areas. In sum, ‘‘rural hospitals are facing
one of the great slow-moving crises in
American health care.’’
3. By improving rural healthcare
provider access to modern
communications services, the RHC
Program can help in overcoming some
of the obstacles to healthcare delivery
faced in isolated communities. Through
broadband-enabled technology, a rural
clinic can transmit an x-ray in a matter
of seconds to a radiologist located
thousands of miles away. Via videoconferencing, a woman with a high-risk
pregnancy has access to the type of prenatal care that enables her baby to be
delivered much closer to term. This in
turn leads to fewer days in the Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit for the baby and
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303
potentially places the child and family
on a more positive future trajectory.
With a high-speed data connection, a
surgeon can perform an emergency
procedure remotely. In places where the
nearest pharmacist is a plane ride away,
vending machine-like devices can
dispense prescription medications.
4. The efforts by the Commission’s
Connect2HealthFCC (Connect2Health)
Task Force have illustrated the
significant impact communications
services can have on addressing the
healthcare needs of persons living in
rural and underserved areas, and how
communities are leveraging broadbandenabled health technologies to improve
access to health and care throughout the
country. For example, in Mississippi,
the Connect2Health Task Force
highlighted the positive impact of
public-private partnerships on health
outcomes and how broadband-enabled
health technologies have made a
difference to diabetes patients in
Mississippi. Additionally, in Texas, the
Connect2Health Task Force emphasized
how broadband-enabled health
technologies can improve access to
mental health care.
5. It is therefore crucial that the
benefits of the RHC Program are fully
realized across the nation. But current
RHC Program rules and procedures may
be holding back the promise of the RHC
Program for the rural healthcare
providers that need it most. For the
second funding year (FY) in a row,
demand for RHC Program support is
anticipated to exceed available program
funding, leaving healthcare providers to
potentially pay more for service than
expected. Unfortunately, part of that
growth is due to an increase in waste,
fraud, and abuse in the RHC Program.
Further, the Telecommunications
(Telecom) Program, a component of the
RHC Program, has not been significantly
reviewed or revised since its inception
in 1997.
II. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
A. Addressing RHC Program Funding
Levels
1. Revisiting the RHC Program Funding
Cap
6. The current cap on the RHC
Program has remained at $400 million
since its inception in 1997. RHC
Program demand, however, exceeded
the cap in FY 2016 and is expected to
exceed the cap in FY 2017 and in future
years. The proration that comes with
capped funding may be especially hard
on small, rural healthcare providers
with limited budgets, and so the
Commission examines whether a cap of
$400 million is an appropriate level of
E:\FR\FM\03JAP1.SGM
03JAP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 302-303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-28298]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
36 CFR Part 220
[Docket No.
RIN 0596-AD31
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Forest Service is proposing to revise its National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures with the goal of increasing
efficiency of environmental analysis. This will help the Forest Service
implement its core mission by increasing the health and productivity of
our Nation's forests for the benefit of all Americans, and in turn
foster productive and sustainable use of National Forest System lands.
The Agency's NEPA procedures are a key component of its overall
environmental analysis and decision-making process. The Agency is
seeking comments from the public on ways it can achieve the goals of
increased efficiency of environmental analysis.
DATES: Comments must be received in writing by February 2, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please submit comments via one of the following methods:
1. Public participation portal (preferred): https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public/CommentInput?project=ORMS-1797.
2. Mail: NEPA Services Group, c/o Amy Barker; USDA Forest Service,
Geospatial Technology and Applications Center, 2222 West 2300 South,
Salt Lake City, UT 84119.
3. Email: nepa-procedures- [email protected].
All comments, including names and addresses when provided, are
placed in the record and are available for public inspection and
copying. The public may inspect comments received online via the public
reading room at https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public/ReadingRoom?project=ORMS-1797, or at U.S. Forest Service, Ecosystem
Management Coordination, 201 14th St. SW, 2 Central, Washington, DC
20024. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to (202) 205-1475 to
facilitate entry to the building.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Smalls; Assistant Director,
Ecosystem Management Coordination; 202-205-1475. Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8:00 a.m.
and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Forest Service is proposing to revise its NEPA procedures
(including its regulations at 36 CFR part 220, Forest Service Manual
1950, and Forest Service Handbook 1909.15) with the goal of increasing
efficiency of environmental analysis. The Agency will continue to hold
true to its commitment to deliver scientifically based, high-quality
analysis to decision makers that honors its environmental stewardship
responsibilities while maintaining robust public particiption. These
values are at the core of the Forest Service mission.
Reforming the Forest Service's NEPA procedures is needed for a
variety of reasons. An increasing percentage of the Agency's resources
are spent each year to provide the necessary resources for wildfire
suppression, resulting in fewer resources available for other
management activities such as restoration. In 1995, fire made up 16
percent of the Forest Service's annual appropriated budget. In 2017,
more than 50 percent of the Forest Service's annual budget will be
dedicated to wildfire. Along with this shift in resources, there has
also been a corresponding shift in staff, with a 39 percent reduction
in all non-fire personnel since 1995. Additionally, the Agency has a
backlog of more than 6,000 special use permits awaiting completion, and
over 80 million acres of National Forest System land are in need of
restoration to reduce the risk of wildfire, insect epidemics, and
forest diseases.
Increasing efficiency of environmental analysis will enable the
Agency to complete more projects needed to increase the health and
productivity of our national forests and grasslands. The Agency's goal
is to complete project decision making in a timelier manner, to improve
or eliminate inefficient processes and steps, and where appropriate
increase the scale of analysis and the amount of activities authorized
in a single analysis and decision. Improving the efficiency of
environmental analysis and decision making will enable the agency to
ensure lands and watersheds are sustainable, healthy, and productive;
mitigate wildfire risk; and contribute to the economic health of rural
communities through use and access opportunities.
Agency NEPA Procedures
Each Federal agency is required to develop NEPA procedures that
supplement the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations and
reflect the agency's unique mandate and mission. The CEQ encourages
agencies to periodically review their NEPA procedures. The Forest
Service's NEPA procedures were last reviewed in 2008 when the Agency
moved a subset of its NEPA procedures from the Forest Service Manual
and Handbook to the Code of Federal Regulations. However, the Agency's
NEPA procedures still reflect in part the policies and practices
established by the Agency's 1992 NEPA Manual and Handbook. The proposed
revision of the Forest Service's NEPA procedures will be developed in
consultation with CEQ.
Request for Comment
The Agency is seeking public comment on the following:
Processes and analysis requirements that can be modified,
reduced, or eliminated in order to reduce time and cost while
maintaining science-based, high-quality analysis; public involvement;
and honoring agency stewardship responsibilities.
Approaches to landscape-scale analysis and decision making
under NEPA that facilitate restoration of National Forest System lands.
Classes of actions that are unlikely, either individually
or cumulatively, to have significant impacts and therefore should be
categorically excluded from NEPA's environmental assessment and
environmental impact statement requirements, such as integrated
restoration projects; special use authorizations; and activities to
maintain and manage Agency sites (including recreation sites),
facilities, and associated infrastructure.
Ways the Agency might expand and enhance coordination of
environmental review and authorization decisions with other Federal
agencies, as well as State, Tribal, or local environmental reviews.
[[Page 303]]
Dated: December 20, 2017.
Tony Tooke,
Chief, USDA, Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-28298 Filed 1-2-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
