Army Department 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is issuing this notice to advise the public that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) has been completed and is available for review and comment.

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

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, Wilmington Regulatory Division has received a request for Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from Carolinas Cement Company LLC (a subsidiary of Titan America LLC) to construct the Carolinas Cement Company LLC Castle Hayne Project. This project will include quarrying to support cement manufacturing in northern New Hanover County, NC. The proposed project will require the excavation of an open pit adjacent to the Northeast Cape Fear River in order to extract and process the raw materials (calcium carbonate and limestone) in order to produce Portland Cement. Existing infrastructure including railroad, interstate highway, and waterways allow for both the shipment of product from the plant and the receipt of materials, such as coal. The Castle Hayne site is the location of former cement manufacturing facility and an unrelated, active aggregate quarry.

The duties of the Task Force are to prepare and approve a plan for the use of the funds made available under Title VII to promote conservation practices in the Missouri River watershed, control and remove the sediment from the Missouri River, protect recreation on the Missouri River from sedimentation, and protect Indian and non-Indian historical and cultural sites along the Missouri River from erosion.

The Army has initiated a review of the programmatic regulations for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan required by section 601(h)(3)(E) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000. As part of scoping the review for the regulations, the public is invited to provide comments on this review. Specifically, we welcome your comments on issues concerning the programmatic regulations, any items in the regulations that should be reviewed, or suggestions to improve the programmatic regulations.

In accordance with 37 CFR 404.6, announcement is made of the availability for licensing of U.S. Patent No. U.S. 7,344,751 entitled ``Article of Footwear with Temperature Regulation Means'' issued April 29, 2008. This patent has been assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Regulatory Division), in coordination with the Port of Los Angeles, has completed and is re-circulating the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Berths 97-109 [China Shipping] Container Terminal Project. The Port of Los Angeles requires authorization pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the River and Harbor Act to construct new wharves at Berths 100 and 102; dredge (41,000 cubic yards [yd3] of sediments) and dispose of that material at the upland Port Anchorage Road Disposal Site; develop backlands, including construction of terminal buildings, on 142 acres; install 10 new A-frame cranes at Berths 100 and 102; construct transportation infrastructure improvements in the vicinity of the existing terminal entrance (shared by the Berths 97-109 terminal and the Berths 121-131 terminal); construct two new bridge structures connecting Berths 97-109 terminal and Berths 121-131 terminal across the Southwest Slip; and relocate the Catalina Terminal to south of the Vincent Thomas Bridge at Berth 95.

In accordance with 37 CFR Part 404.6, announcement is made of the availability for licensing of U.S. Patent No. U.S. 7,358,327 entitled ``Assembled Hematin, Method for Forming Same and Method for Polymerizing Aromatic Monomers Using Same'' issued April 15, 2008. This patent has been assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army.

The Vicksburg District Corps of Engineers, in conjunction with the City of Shreveport, the non-Federal sponsor, are undertaking studies to investigate the feasibility of water supply improvements for the City of Shreveport and Caddo Parish.

As part of the GTA effort, the U. S. Army intends to prepare an EIS to analyze the environmental and socioeconomic impacts resulting from the decision to station a new Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) at Fort Carson. The EIS will also analyze Fort Carson's Butts Army Airfield (BAAF) as a potential location for stationing a Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) in the future.

Under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 41 CFR 102-3.150, the Department of Defense announces that the following Federal advisory committee meeting will take place: 1. Name of Committee: United States Military Academy Board of Visitors. 2. Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2008. 3. Time: 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Members of the public wishing to attend the meeting will need to show photo identification in order to gain access to the meeting location. All participants are subject to security screening. 4. Location: Senate Russell Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 (exact room location will be published on the USMA Board of Visitors Web site at https://www.usma.edu/bov.asp). 5. Purpose of the Meeting: This is the 2008 Spring Meeting of the USMA Board of Visitors (BoV). Members of the Board will be provided updates on Academy issues. 6. Agenda: The Academy leadership will provide the Board updates on the following: Admissions, The Center of Professional Military Ethics, Capstone Course, FY08 & FY09 Budget and Manpower, Business Transformation, USMA Master Plan, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), Accreditation, Residential Communities Initiative (RCI), and Diversity. 7. Public's Accessibility to the Meeting: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b and 41 CFR 102-3.140 through 102-3.165, and the availability of space, this meeting is open to the public. Seating is on a first-come basis. 8. Committee's Designated Federal Officer or Point of Contact: Ms. Cynthia Kramer, (845) 938-5078, Cynthia.kramer@us.army.mil.

The Department of the Army announces the general availability of exclusive, partially exclusive or non-exclusive licenses relative to a novel ultraviolet light emitting device as described in U.S. Patent Applications 11/376,453, Ultraviolet Light Emitting AlGaN Composition and Ultraviolet Light Emitting Device Containing Same and 11/376,452 Method of Manufacturing an Ultraviolet Light Emitting AlGaN Composition and Ultraviolet Light Emitting Device Containing Same. Any license shall comply with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.

This action removes 32 CFR Part 501, Employment of Troops in Aid of Civil Authorities. The regulations are being removed because they are obsolete and no longer govern policies for the Department of the Army in planning and operations involving the use of Army resources in the control of actual or anticipated civil disturbances. The program responsibility has been transferred to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense.

In accordance with 37 CFR 404.6, announcement is made of the availability for licensing of U.S. Patent No. U.S. 7,344,751 entitled ``Assembled Hematin, Method for Forming Same and Method for Polymerizing Aromatic Monomers Using Same'' issued March 18, 2008. This patent has been assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army.

The Corps of Engineers is proposing to amend its regulations to establish a restricted area in the Menominee River, at the Marinette Marine Corporation Shipyard, Marinette, Wisconsin, to provide adequate protection for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS Freedom 1) during its construction. The regulations are necessary to provide adequate protection of the ship, its materials, equipment to be installed therein, and its crew, while it is located at the property of Marinette Marine Corporation.

The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, G-3/5/7 has reviewed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Permanent Stationing of the 2/25th SBCT and has made the decision to proceed with all facets of Alternative A. Alternative A permanently stations the 2/ 25th SBCT at Schofield Barracks Military Reservation (SBMR) while conducting the required training at military training sites in Hawaii. This alternative is summarized in the Army's ROD and described fully in Chapter 2 of the FEIS.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District in partnership with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) has prepared a joint Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and State Draft Environmental Impact Report (DSEIS/DEIR) examining improvements to deep-draft navigation channels in Boston Harbor, Boston, MA. Four separate improvements were developed. The first examined deepening the outer and lower harbor's existing 40-foot channel system to provide deeper access to Massport's Conley Terminal in South Boston for containership traffic. All depths are referenced to minus mean lower low water (MLLW). Navigation channel depths of between 45 to 50 feet were examined, with a depth of 48 feet recommended, with an additional two feet in the entrance channel. Under this plan the following project features would be improved: the 40-foot lane of the Broad Sound North Entrance Channel would be deepened to 50 feet and widened through the bend at Finn's Ledge. The 40-foot lane of the Main Ship Channel from the Broad Sound North Entrance Channel upstream through President Roads to the Reserved Channel would be deepened to 48 feet and its 600-foot-wide reaches widened to between 800 and 900 feet, with additional width in the bends. The 40-foot lower reach of Reserved Channel and its turning area would be deepened to 48 feet, with the turning area also widened to 1600 feet. The 40-foot President Roads Anchorage would be deepened to 48 feet. The second improvement would deepen the existing 40-foot lane of the Main Ship Channel from the Reserved Channel Turning Area upstream to just below the Third Harbor Tunnel to a depth of 45 feet, to improve access to the Massport Marine Terminal in South Boston. The third improvement would deepen a portion of the 35-foot Mystic River Channel lane to 40 feet to improve access to Massport's Medford Street Terminal. The fourth and final improvement would deepen the 38-foot Chelsea River Channel to 40 feet, with minor widening in the bridge approaches and the bend between the bridges. In conjunction with work in the Federal channels, the Massachusetts Port Authority would deepen vessel berths at the Conley Terminal and Marine Terminal. Terminals on the Chelsea River would also deepen their berths to match the new channel depth. A total of about 12.1 million cubic yards (cy) of parent material, and 1.2 million cy of rock, would be removed by dredging and placed at the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site (MBDS). Beneficial use opportunities for the dredged material have been identified and would be considered further during final design of the project. Those beneficial use opportunities include: creation of rock reefs in Massachusetts Bay and Broad Sound, and using the non-rock material as cover at the former Industrial Waste Site, which overlaps the MBDS. This joint Federal and State document builds on the lessons learned from the final EIR/S prepared in June of 1995 for the previous navigation improvement project in Boston Harbor.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are issuing regulations governing compensatory mitigation for activities authorized by permits issued by the Department of the Army. The regulations establish performance standards and criteria for the use of permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation, mitigation banks, and in-lieu programs to improve the quality and success of compensatory mitigation projects for activities authorized by Department of the Army permits. This rule improves the planning, implementation and management of compensatory mitigation projects by emphasizing a watershed approach in selecting compensatory mitigation project locations, requiring measurable, enforceable ecological performance standards and regular monitoring for all types of compensation and specifying the components of a complete compensatory mitigation plan, including assurances of long-term protection of compensation sites, financial assurances, and identification of the parties responsible for specific project tasks. This rule applies equivalent standards to permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation, mitigation banks and in-lieu fee mitigation to the maximum extent practicable. Since a mitigation bank must have an approved mitigation plan and other assurances in place before any of its credits can be used to offset permitted impacts, this rule establishes a preference for the use of mitigation bank credits, which reduces some of the risks and uncertainties associated with compensatory mitigation. This rule also significantly revises the requirements for in-lieu fee programs to address concerns regarding their past performance and equivalency with the standards for mitigation banks and permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation.

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: Chief of Engineers Environmental Advisory Board (EAB). Topic: The EAB will discuss national considerations related to ecosystem restoration through integrated water resources management with emphasis on communications and the implementation of the Environmental Operating Principles. Date of Meeting: April 30, 2008. Place: Red Lion Hotel, 1415 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA. Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Forty-five minutes will be set side for public comment. Members of the public who wish to speak are asked to register prior to the start of the meeting. Registration will begin at 8:30. Statements are limited to 3 minutes.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended), the Sunshine in the Government Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 41 CFR 102-3.150, the following meeting notice is announced:

The study area comprises Washington Parish in southeast Louisiana. Washington Parish currently consumes approximately 40 million gallons of water daily, 70 percent of which is supplied by groundwater. Decreasing groundwater levels (quantity) and groundwater quality, in combination with forecasted growth within the Parish require alternative water supplies to be developed. The purpose of the project is to identify a new water supply to address the current and future potable water demands of Washington Parish. The Local Project Sponsor is the Washington Parish Reservoir Commission.