Wallowa-Whitman National Forest; Notice of Availability of the Draft Record of Decision and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project, Oregon, 26253-26254 [2018-12156]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 6, 2018 / Notices
Meeting Accommodations: If you are
a person requiring reasonable
accommodation, please make requests
in advance for sign language
interpreting, assistive listening devices
or other reasonable accommodation. For
access to the facility or proceedings,
please contact the person listed in the
section titled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. All reasonable
accommodation requests are managed
on a case by case basis.
Dated: May 24, 2018.
Christopher French,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest
System.
[FR Doc. 2018–12172 Filed 6–5–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest;
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Record of Decision and Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Boardman to Hemingway
Transmission Line Project, Oregon
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The USDA Forest Service
(USFS), Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest, announces the availability of the
Draft Record of Decision (ROD) for the
Boardman to Hemingway Transmission
Line Project (B2H Project) for public
review. The proposed actions and
activities described in the Draft ROD are
subject to project-level predecisional
administrative review (known as an
‘‘objection’’ process) and a 45-day
objection filing period began with
publication of a legal notice in the Baker
City Herald. The USFS previously
notified the public that the agency
would waive its administrative review
procedures and adopt the Bureau of
Land Management’s (BLM) protest
procedures for its decisions to issue a
special use authorization and to amend
the Forest Plan. Following further
review of the scope of the decisions that
the USFS will make and the applicable
regulations, the USFS determined it
must instead follow their own agency’s
project-level predecisional
administrative review process.
DATES: An individual or entity who
meets eligibility for objecting to a draft
decision outlined in 36 CFR 218.5 and
wishes to file an objection must do so
within 45 days of the date that the
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
published the Legal Notice in the
newspaper of record, the Baker City
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:35 Jun 05, 2018
Jkt 244001
Herald. The publication date of the
Legal Notice is the exclusive means for
calculating the time to file an objection.
ADDRESSES: The Final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS) was circulated
by the BLM. The USFS adopted the
FEIS. As a cooperating agency for the
B2H Project, the USFS need not
recirculate the FEIS. However, the
document remains available for review
on the Applicant’s project
website at https://www.boardmanto
hemingway.com/documents.aspx and
copies are available upon request.
Copies of the Draft ROD were sent to
Federal, Tribal, State, and local
governments potentially affected by the
proposed USFS decision, to public
libraries in the area, and to interested
parties that previously requested a DVD
copy. Interested persons may also
review the FEIS and Draft ROD, along
with the legal notice announcing the
objection period, on the internet at
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/
?project=26709.
The reviewing officer for this project
˜
is James Pena, Regional Forester, Pacific
Northwest Region. Written objections,
including any attachments, must be
filed with the reviewing officer and may
be sent as follows:
Postal delivery (via USPS): Reviewing
Officer, Pacific Northwest Region,
USDA Forest Service, Attn. 1570
Appeals and Objections, P.O. Box 3623,
Portland, OR 97208–3623.
Email: objections-pnw-regionaloffice@fs.fed.us with OBJECTION and
‘‘B2H Project’’ in the subject line.
Hand delivered (including courier
delivery): Pacific Northwest Regional
Office, Edith Green Wendell Wyatt
Federal Building, 1220 SW 3rd Avenue,
Portland, Oregon. Hand deliveries can
occur between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,
Monday–Friday, except legal holidays;
Faxed: 503–808–2339, with
OBJECTION and ‘‘B2H Project’’ noted
on the cover sheet.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Arlene Blumton, Forest Service Project
Lead; by telephone at 541–962–8522; or
email to boardmantohemingway@
fs.fed.us. Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday.
For information about the BLM’s
involvement, contact: Renee Straub,
Assistant Field Manager, Bureau of
Land Management, Vale District Office;
100 Oregon St., Vale, Oregon 97918; by
telephone 541–473–6289. Persons who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf may call the Federal Relay Service
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
26253
(FRS) at (800) 877–8339 to contact the
above individual during normal
business hours. The FRS is available 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above
individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976, as
amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), together with
cooperating agencies including the
USFS, prepared a FEIS and proposed
Land Use Plan Amendments for the B2H
Project. The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) published a Notice of
Availability (NOA) for the FEIS in the
Federal Register on November 25, 2016
(81 FR 85222). BLM published a NOA
for the FEIS in the Federal Register on
November 28, 2016 (81 FR 85632). The
USFS adopted the FEIS and related
documents prepared by the lead agency
(BLM) following 40 CFR 1506.3. A NOA
announcing USFS’s adoption of the
FEIS was published by the EPA in the
Federal Register on June 30, 2017 (82
FR 29589).
The FEIS analyzes the potential
environmental impacts of BLM granting
a right-of-way to Idaho Power Company
(Applicant) to use BLM-managed lands
to construct and operate an
approximately 300 mile long overhead,
single-circuit, 500-kilovolt (kV)
alternating-current electric transmission
line with ancillary facilities. The FEIS
also analyzes the potential
environmental impacts of the USFS
issuing a special use authorization for
the construction, operation, and
maintainenance of those portions of the
transmission line and ancillary facilities
located on lands administered by the
USFS. In addition, the FEIS analyzes the
potential environmental impacts of an
amendment to the Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest’s 1990 Land and
Resource Management Plan (Forest
Plan) that are necessary to make the
Forest Plan consistent with the B2H
Project.
The USFS Responsible Official, the
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
Supervisor, must respond to the
Applicant’s request for use of National
Forest System lands and determine
whether to issue a special-use
authorization for the construction,
operation, and maintenance of the
Proposed Action and, if issued,
determine what terms and conditions
should apply. The USFS Responsible
Official must also approve any
amendment to the Forest Plan necessary
E:\FR\FM\06JNN1.SGM
06JNN1
26254
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 6, 2018 / Notices
to make the Forest Plan consistent with
the Project. The USFS Responsible
Official’s decisions will be separate
from the decisions that BLM made in
their November 17, 2017 Record of
Decision.
The FEIS and the USFS’s Draft Record
of Decision (ROD) are available for
public review. As required by 36 CFR
218.7(c), the Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest published a Legal
Notice of the opportunity to object in
the newspaper of record, the Baker City
Herald. Eligible individuals and entities
may file objections pursuant to 36 CFR
218 Subparts A and B. The USFS
previously notified the public that,
pursuant to 36CFR 219.59(a), the agency
would waive its administrative review
procedures and adopt the BLM’s protest
procedures for its decisions to issue a
special use authorization and to amend
the Forest Plan (NOA for the Draft EIS,
79 FR 75834). Following further review
of the scope of the decisions that the
USFS will make and the applicable
regulations, the USFS determined it
must instead follow the project-level
predecisional administrative review
process described at 36 CFR 218
Subparts A and B.
Dated: May 9, 2018.
Chris French,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest
System.
[FR Doc. 2018–12156 Filed 6–5–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture
Notice of Intent To Revise Currently
Approved Information Collection
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB)
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the National Institute
of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA)
intention to revise a currently approved
information collection, 0524–0039
entitled, ‘‘NIFA Application Kit’’. NIFA
does not plan to make any language
changes to this information collection.
DATES: Written comments on this notice
must be received by August 6, 2018 to
be assured of consideration. Comments
received after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Written comments
concerning this notice and requests for
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:35 Jun 05, 2018
Jkt 244001
copies of the information collection may
be submitted by any of the following
methods: Email: rmartin@nifa.usda.gov;
Fax: 202–720–0857; Mail: Office of
Information Technology (OIT), NIFA,
USDA, STOP 2216, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250–
2216.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Martin; Email: rmartin@
nifa.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: NIFA Application Kit.
OMB Number: 0524–0039.
Expiration Date of Current Approval:
October 31, 2018.
Type of Request: Intent to extend a
currently approved information
collection for three years.
Abstract: The National Institute of
Food and Agriculture (NIFA) sponsors
ongoing agricultural research, extension,
and education programs under which
competitive, formula, and special
awards of a high-priority nature are
made. Because competitive applications
are submitted, many of which
necessitate review by peer panelists, it
is particularly important that applicants
provide the information in a
standardized fashion to ensure equitable
treatment for all. Standardization is also
important to applicants to other
programs as it lends itself to a more
efficient process and minimizes
administrative burden. For this reason,
NIFA uses standard forms in the SF–424
Research and Related (R&R) form family
which includes agency-specific forms
for the application process. NIFA issues
Requests for Applications (RFA) that
includes the instructions for the
preparation and submission of
applications. These instructions
provide, where appropriate, the
necessary format for information in
order to expedite, to the extent possible,
the application review process. NIFA
requires submission of applications
electronically through Grants.gov.
The forms and narrative information
are mainly used for application
evaluation and administration purposes.
While some of the information is used
to respond to inquiries from Congress
and other government agencies, the
forms are not designed to be statistical
surveys.
Also included in this information
collection is one form which only
applies to recipients of a NIFA
fellowship/scholarship. The form is
only used to document pertinent
demographic data on the fellows/
scholars, documentation of the progress
of the fellows/scholars under the
program, and performance outcomes of
the student beneficiaries.
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
Respondents: Universities, non-profit
institutions, State, local, or Tribal
government, and a limited number of
for-profit institutions and individuals.
Estimated Number of Responses by
Form:
Letter of Intent: 2.739.
Form NIFA–2008 Assurance
Statement(s): 2,000.
Supplemental Information: 5,377.
Application Type: 2,200.
Proposal Type Form: 2,687.
NIFA–2010 Fellowships/Scholarships
Entry/Exit: 150.
The individual form burden is as
follows (calculated based on a survey of
grant applicants conducted by NIFA):
Letter of Intent: 2 hours.
Form NIFA–2008 Assurance
Statement(s): 30 minutes.
Supplemental Information: 2 hours.
Proposal Type Form: 15 minutes.
NIFA–2010 Fellowships/Scholarships
Entry/Annual Update/Exit: 3 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: The annual total burden
on the public for all forms is estimated
to be 18,354 hours.
Frequency of Respondents: Annually.
Comments: Comments are invited on:
(a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden of the proposed collection
of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond, including
through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments should be sent to the
address stated in the preamble.
All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request
for OMB approval. All comments also
will become a matter of public record.
Done in Washington, DC, this 30th day of
May 2018.
Thomas G. Shanower,
Acting Director, National Institute of Food
and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2018–12151 Filed 6–5–18; 8:45 am]
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26253-26254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12156]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest; Notice of Availability of the
Draft Record of Decision and Final Environmental Impact Statement for
the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project, Oregon
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service (USFS), Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest, announces the availability of the Draft Record of Decision
(ROD) for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project (B2H
Project) for public review. The proposed actions and activities
described in the Draft ROD are subject to project-level predecisional
administrative review (known as an ``objection'' process) and a 45-day
objection filing period began with publication of a legal notice in the
Baker City Herald. The USFS previously notified the public that the
agency would waive its administrative review procedures and adopt the
Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) protest procedures for its decisions
to issue a special use authorization and to amend the Forest Plan.
Following further review of the scope of the decisions that the USFS
will make and the applicable regulations, the USFS determined it must
instead follow their own agency's project-level predecisional
administrative review process.
DATES: An individual or entity who meets eligibility for objecting to a
draft decision outlined in 36 CFR 218.5 and wishes to file an objection
must do so within 45 days of the date that the Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest published the Legal Notice in the newspaper of record, the Baker
City Herald. The publication date of the Legal Notice is the exclusive
means for calculating the time to file an objection.
ADDRESSES: The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was
circulated by the BLM. The USFS adopted the FEIS. As a cooperating
agency for the B2H Project, the USFS need not recirculate the FEIS.
However, the document remains available for review on the Applicant's
project website at https://www.boardmantohemingway.com/documents.aspx
and copies are available upon request. Copies of the Draft ROD were
sent to Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments potentially
affected by the proposed USFS decision, to public libraries in the
area, and to interested parties that previously requested a DVD copy.
Interested persons may also review the FEIS and Draft ROD, along with
the legal notice announcing the objection period, on the internet at
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=26709.
The reviewing officer for this project is James Pe[ntilde]a,
Regional Forester, Pacific Northwest Region. Written objections,
including any attachments, must be filed with the reviewing officer and
may be sent as follows:
Postal delivery (via USPS): Reviewing Officer, Pacific Northwest
Region, USDA Forest Service, Attn. 1570 Appeals and Objections, P.O.
Box 3623, Portland, OR 97208-3623.
Email: [email protected] with OBJECTION and
``B2H Project'' in the subject line.
Hand delivered (including courier delivery): Pacific Northwest
Regional Office, Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, 1220 SW
3rd Avenue, Portland, Oregon. Hand deliveries can occur between 8:00
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, except legal holidays;
Faxed: 503-808-2339, with OBJECTION and ``B2H Project'' noted on
the cover sheet.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arlene Blumton, Forest Service Project
Lead; by telephone at 541-962-8522; or email to
[email protected]. Individuals who use telecommunication
devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday.
For information about the BLM's involvement, contact: Renee Straub,
Assistant Field Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Vale District
Office; 100 Oregon St., Vale, Oregon 97918; by telephone 541-473-6289.
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS) at (800) 877-8339 to contact the above
individual during normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the above
individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM), together with cooperating agencies including
the USFS, prepared a FEIS and proposed Land Use Plan Amendments for the
B2H Project. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a
Notice of Availability (NOA) for the FEIS in the Federal Register on
November 25, 2016 (81 FR 85222). BLM published a NOA for the FEIS in
the Federal Register on November 28, 2016 (81 FR 85632). The USFS
adopted the FEIS and related documents prepared by the lead agency
(BLM) following 40 CFR 1506.3. A NOA announcing USFS's adoption of the
FEIS was published by the EPA in the Federal Register on June 30, 2017
(82 FR 29589).
The FEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of BLM
granting a right-of-way to Idaho Power Company (Applicant) to use BLM-
managed lands to construct and operate an approximately 300 mile long
overhead, single-circuit, 500-kilovolt (kV) alternating-current
electric transmission line with ancillary facilities. The FEIS also
analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the USFS issuing a
special use authorization for the construction, operation, and
maintainenance of those portions of the transmission line and ancillary
facilities located on lands administered by the USFS. In addition, the
FEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of an amendment to
the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest's 1990 Land and Resource Management
Plan (Forest Plan) that are necessary to make the Forest Plan
consistent with the B2H Project.
The USFS Responsible Official, the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
Supervisor, must respond to the Applicant's request for use of National
Forest System lands and determine whether to issue a special-use
authorization for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the
Proposed Action and, if issued, determine what terms and conditions
should apply. The USFS Responsible Official must also approve any
amendment to the Forest Plan necessary
[[Page 26254]]
to make the Forest Plan consistent with the Project. The USFS
Responsible Official's decisions will be separate from the decisions
that BLM made in their November 17, 2017 Record of Decision.
The FEIS and the USFS's Draft Record of Decision (ROD) are
available for public review. As required by 36 CFR 218.7(c), the
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest published a Legal Notice of the
opportunity to object in the newspaper of record, the Baker City
Herald. Eligible individuals and entities may file objections pursuant
to 36 CFR 218 Subparts A and B. The USFS previously notified the public
that, pursuant to 36CFR 219.59(a), the agency would waive its
administrative review procedures and adopt the BLM's protest procedures
for its decisions to issue a special use authorization and to amend the
Forest Plan (NOA for the Draft EIS, 79 FR 75834). Following further
review of the scope of the decisions that the USFS will make and the
applicable regulations, the USFS determined it must instead follow the
project-level predecisional administrative review process described at
36 CFR 218 Subparts A and B.
Dated: May 9, 2018.
Chris French,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 2018-12156 Filed 6-5-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P