Army Department August 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Army is proposing to alter an exempt system of records notice in its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

This announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) which assesses the potential environmental impacts of the proposed reinforcement of an existing stone revetment wall at Montauk Point, Suffolk County, NY. The DEIS has been prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) regulations for implementing NEPA.

Minnesota Steel Industries, LLC (Minnesota Steel) has applied to the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) for a permit to discharge fill material into wetlands to facilitate the construction and operation of an open pit taconite mine at the former Butler Taconite site near Nashwauk, Minnesota, and the construction of new facilitiesa crusher, a concentrator, a pellet plant, a plant for producing direct reduced iron (DRI), and a steel mill consisting of two electric arc furnaces, two idle furnaces, two thin slab casters, and a sheet rolling mill. the former Butler Taconite Stage 1 tailings basin would be reactivated for the disposal of concentrator tailings. The mining process would require the construction of overburden, waste rock, and lean ore stockpiles just north of the proposed mine site. Ore would be hauled via truck from the mine to the adjacent ore concentrator. Concentrating the ore would involve crushing, grinding, magnetic separation, and flotation processes. Concentrator tailings would be pumped as slurry to the former Butler Taconite Stage 1 tailings basin approximately two miles southeast of the proposed mine site. The concentrate would be mixed with a binder and limestone, and converted to unfired pellets in balling drums or disks. The unfired pellets would be hardened in an indurating furnace. The DRI plant would convert the iron oxide pellets to nearly pure iron pellets (DRI pellets) in a 300- to 425-foot-high vertical shaft reactor. The DRI pellets would be fed to steel mill, which would produce hot rolled sheet steel. Project plans call for the mining of approximately 12.8 million long tons of crude ore per year at a stripping ratio of approximately 0.50:1. Approximately 2.4 million short tons per year of hot rolled sheet steel would be produced. The project would employ approximately 700 people for production, support, and administration. Economic feasibility of the project is based on a 20-year project life. Minnesota Steel at this time cannot predict whether investments for further operations would be economically desirable. Therefore, mine planning and detailed design are being prepared for 20 years of operation and environmental permits are being requested for a 20-year project life. If the project is permitted, and if Minnesota Steel proposes to extend the project life beyond the 20- year period, then modifications to the Section 404 permit and supplemental environmental review would be required. The project would require dredging or discharging fill material into approximately 1,014 acres of wetlands. While some of the wetlands may be isolated, the majority of the wetlands are adjacent to Oxhide Creek, Snowball Creek, Pickerel Creek, or O'Brien Creek, which are tributaries to the Swan River, or they are adjacent to an unnamed tributary to the Prairie River or to an unnamed tributary to Sucker Brook, which is a tributary to the Prairie River. The Swan River and the Prairie River are tributaries to the Mississippi River, which is a navigable water of the United States. A specific compensatory wetland mitigation plan has not been developed for the project. Minnesota Steel intends to work with interested Federal and state agencies to develop an acceptable plan that would meet Federal and state compensatory mitigation requirements. The discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States requires a permit issued by the Corps under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The final environmental impact statement will be used as a basis for the permit decision and to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

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: Friday, September 16, 2005. Place of Meeting: Superintendent's Conference Room, Taylor Hall, 2nd floor, Bldg 600, West Point, NY. Start Time of Meeting: Approximately 1 p.m.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is deleting a system of records notice from its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Department of the Army proposes to alter a system of records notice in its inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974,(5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Department of the Army proposes to amend its regulation on Army Board for Correction of Military Records to be in compliance with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia decision (Daniel J. Lipsman v. Secretary of the ArmyCivil Action No. 02-0151 (RMU), Document Nos. 18, 20, decided September 7, 2004, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17866).

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 (except for use as a portable lavatory enclosure), royalty-bearing, revocable license within the geographic area of the United States of America and its territories and possessions to U.S. Patent 6,672,323, issued January 6, 2004 entitled ``Multipurpose Self-Erecting Structure having Advanced Insect Protection and Storage Characteristics,'' to Kamp-Rite Tent Cot, Inc. with its principal place of business at 1050 Connecticut Ave., Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036.

The Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Modification of the Kissimmee Basin (KB) Structure Operating Criteria. This project involves the establishment of a coordinated schedule of water level drawdowns throughout the seventeen lakes comprising the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, in the Kissimmee Upper Basin (KUB), and the possible effects on the Kissimmee Lower Basin (KLB). The ultimate purpose of the action is to facilitate environmental restoration throughout those water bodies. The local sponsor is the South Florida Water Management District. This Notice of Intent (NOI) constitutes a re-issue of the NOI titled: Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Portion of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project, and published in the Federal Register on May 19, 2005 (70 FR 28923). The re-issue is due to the work undergoing a change in both title and scope, to now include the entire basin (KB) of the Kissimmee River.

The Army proposes to conduct military training exercises at MMR, Oahu, Hawaii, for units assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (Light) (25th ID(L)) and for other military components. Other military components that have used MMR in the past include the Marine Corps, Army Reserves, and the Hawaii Army National Guard. Conducting live-fire exercises at the company level and below is critical to maintaining the readiness of all military units assigned or stationed in Hawaii in particular because training at the company level is one of the key building blocks in the Army's progressive training doctrine. Under this doctrine, Soldiers first train as smaller units and then train collectively as part of a large unit. In addition, the training received by a company commander during a company-level combined-arms live-fire exercise (CALFEX) is invaluable in teaching Soldiers the skills required to coordinate and integrate the combined arms support provided by aviation, artillery, mortar, and combat engineer support teams. These communication and coordination skills are essential when several companies combine as a battalion under the control of a battalion commander. The DEIS addresses, among other things, the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts associated with the proposal to conduct military training activities at MMR. The DEIS development process was conducted in accordance with the Settlement Agreement and Stipulated Order between Malama Makua and the Department of Defense (filed October 4, 2001).