Army Department – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District has prepared a Draft Tiered Environmental Impact statement (TEIS) and Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) to analyze dredged material placement for the Port of Baltimore for 20 years of maintenance and new work dredging. USACE is 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 DMMP is to develop a plan to maintain, in an economically and environmentally sound manner, channels necessary for navigation for the Port of Baltimore, conduct dredged material placement in the most environmentally sound manner, and maximize the use of dredged material as a beneficial resource. The recommendations which will provide a minimum of 20 years of dredged material placement capacity for the Port of Baltimore are: Continued use of open water placement in Virginia (Dam Neck Open Water Placement; Rappahannock Shoal Deep Alternate Open Water Placement; and Wolf Trap Alternate Open Water Placement). Optimized use of existing dredged material management sites in Maryland, including Pooles Island Open Water Site, Hart-Miller Island Dredged Material Containment Facility, Cox Creek Confined Disposal Facility and Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project (PIERP). Multiple confined disposal facilities for harbor material in Patapsco River. Large Island Restoration-Middle Chesapeake Bay. PIERP Expansion. Wetland Restoration-Dorchester County. We are making the Draft TEIS available to the public for a 45-day review and comment period.

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), announcement is made of the following committee meeting: Name of Committee: Board of Visitors, United States Military Academy. Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2005. Place of Meeting: Veterans Affairs Conference room, Room 418, Senate Russell Building, Washington, DC. Start Time of Meeting: Approximately 10 a.m.

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Port Authority of Guam and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hereby give notice of intent to prepare a Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed wharf improvements and fill at Apra Harbor, Guam. Under a Federal grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, the Port Authority of Guam is proposing modifications to Apra Harbor for the purpose of improving maritime access and services to the island of Guam. The harbor is in need of improvements to meet anticipated future demands of the island's commercial port operations by providing additional cargo container storage area, and berthing facilities capable of accommodating the newest generation of large deep draft container vessels, and cruise ships. The proposed improvements would also provide contingency berthing facilities for U.S. Navy military vessels. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be the lead agency in preparing the EIS. The EIS will provide an analysis of potential impacts to the environment from the proposed modifications to Apra Harbor, in compliance with NEPA and CEQ regulations.

The Department of the Army announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) evaluating the potential environmental impacts that could result from granting an easement to the City of El Paso, El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU), to use land in the South Training Areas of Fort Bliss for construction and operation of a desalination plant and support facilities, including wells, pipelines, and disposal sites for the residual brine resulting from the desalination process. The purpose of the proposed plant is to treat brackish (salty) water pumped from the Hueco Bolson Aquifer to provide an additional reliable source of potable water for use by the City of El Paso and Fort Bliss. Pumping of fresh water by EPWU, Fort Bliss, Ciudad Ju[aacute]rez, and others has resulted in declining groundwater levels in the aquifer. In addition, brackish water is intruding into the aquifer's freshwater layer and has the potential to affect water wells on Fort Bliss and in other areas of El Paso. A sizable volume of brackish water exists adjacent to the freshwater zone of the Hueco Bolson Aquifer. Desalination of the brackish water offers a way to extend the life of the freshwater aquifer as a source of potable water that is to the mutual benefit of Fort Bliss and the City of El Paso. The proposed desalination plant would reduce withdrawals of fresh water from the aquifer, extending its useful life and intercepting the flow of brackish water to wells that are operated by Fort Bliss. Both Fort Bliss and the City of El Paso have considered constructing desalination facilities to tap into this potential water source. The Army and EPWU believe that building a single desalination plant to provide potable water for both the installation and the city would be more efficient and cost effective than constructing separate desalination plants.

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and Public Law 102-484 section 2834, as amended by Public Law 104-106 section 2867, the Department of the Army and the California State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) hereby give notice of intent to prepare a joint Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (SEIS/EIR) for the Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project (HWRP), Marin County, California to consider alternative methods to transfer dredged material collected from various navigational dredging projects within San Francisco Bay to the HWRP site for beneficial re-use in the construction of tidal and seasonal wetlands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is the lead agency for this project under NEPA. The SCC is the lead agency for this project under CEQA. A pubic scoping meeting will be held to solicit comments on the environmental scope of the project and the appropriate scope of the SEIS/EIR.

In accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i), announcement is made of the intent to grant an exclusive, royalty- bearing, revocable license within the geographic area of the United States of America and its territories and possessions to U.S. Provisional Patent S.N. 60/533,375, filed December 24, 2003, entitled ``Identification of Small Molecules of Inhibitors of Anthrax Factor,'' to Microbiotix, Inc. with its principal place of business at 1 Innovation Drive, STE 15, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605-4332.