Environmental Protection Agency March 4, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. This ICR is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2005. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. This ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found the Second Portland Area Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan adequate for transportation conformity purposes. On March 2, 1999, the DC Circuit Court ruled that submitted State Implementation Plans (SIPs) cannot be used for conformity determinations until EPA has found them adequate. This affects future transportation conformity determinations prepared, reviewed and approved by the Portland Metro, Oregon Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

EPA is proposing to approve delegation of the Federal plan for commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator (CISWI) units to both the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of the Federal Register, EPA is announcing its approval of the requests for delegation of the Federal plan without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse comments. A detailed rationale for the approval is set forth in the direct final rule. If EPA receives adverse comments, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule did not take effect. EPA will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment.

The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation was created by Section 10 of Public Law 101-619, the National Environmental Education Act of 1990. It is a private 501(c)(3) non- profit organization established to promote and support education and training as necessary tools to further environmental protection and sustainable, environmentally sound development. It provides the common ground upon which leaders from business and industry, all levels of government, public interest groups, and others can work cooperatively to expand the reach of environmental education and training programs beyond the traditional classroom. The Foundation supports a grant program that promotes innovative environmental education and training programs; it also develops partnerships with government and other organizations to administer projects that promote the development of an environmentally literal public. The Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as required by the terms of the Act, announces the following appointment to the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees. The appointee is Arthur Gibson, Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety for Home Depot. This appointee will join the current Board members which include: Braden Allenby, Vice President, Environment, Health and Safety, AT&T. Richard Bartlett, (NEETF Chairman) Vice Chairman, Mary Kay Holding Corporation. Dorothy Jacobson, Consultant. Karen Bates Kress, President, KBK Consulting, Inc. Dorothy McSweeny, (NEETF Vice Chair), Chair, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Honorable William Sessions, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Additional Considerations: Great care has been taken to assure that this new appointee not only has the highest degree of expertise and commitment, but also brings to the Board diverse points of view relating to environmental education and training. This appointment shall be for two consecutive four year terms.

EPA does not object to the preferred alternative. ERP No. D-BLM-L65471-ID Rating EC2, Fire, Fuels and Related Vegetation Management Direction Plan Amendment, Upper Snake River District (The District), Amending 12 Existing Land Use Plans, Several Counties, ID. Summary: EPA expressed concerns about air quality and grazing impacts, and requested additional information on acute and chronic effects of chemical treatments. ERP No. D-FHW-E40802-MS Rating EC1, I-69 Section of Independent Utility 11 Project, Construction of Multi-Lane, Interstate Highway from Benoit to Robinsonville, US. Army COE Section 404 Permit, Mississippi River Bridge, Bolivar, Coahoma, Tunica and Sunflower Counties, MS. Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about the proposed project related to water resource impacts (wetlands, streams, and floodplains), land use change/habitat loss, and refining mitigation commitments. ERP No. D-FHW-H50002-NE Rating LO, Bellevue Bridge Study, To Improve Connectivity between the Omaha Metropolitan Area and across the Missouri River from U.S. 75 to I-29, Coast Guard Permit, NPDES Permit, U.S. Army COE Section 10 and 404 Permits, Mills County, IA and Sarpy County, NE. Summary: EPA does not object to the proposed project. ERP No. D-UAF-G11053-NM Rating LO, New Mexico Training Initiative, Proposal to Modify the Training Airspace New Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), NM. Summary: EPA does not object to the proposed action. ERP No. D-USN-E11054-FL Rating EC2, Navy Air-To-Ground Training at Avon Park Air Force Range, To Conduct Air-to-Ground Ordnance Delivery and Training, Fleet Forces Command's Fleet Readiness Training Program (FRTP), Polk and Highlands Counties, FL. Summary: EPA expressed environmental concerns about wetland and noise impacts. ERP No. DA-ICC-J53004-MT Rating EC2, Tongue River Railroad Construction and Operation of the Proposed Western Alignment Tongue River III Southernmost Portion of the 41-mile Ashland to Decker Alignment, Rosebud and Bighorn Counties, MT. Summary: EPA expressed concern about water quality, wetlands, Tribal Trust resources, and indirect/cumulative environmental impacts, and requested additional information, data, analysis, and discussion related to these issues be included in the final EIS.

EPA's Office of Civil Rights is soliciting comments on the Draft Final Title VI Public Involvement Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Draft Final Recipient Guidance). This guidance significantly revises the previous Draft Title VI Guidance for EPA Assistance Recipients Administering Environmental Permitting Programs (Draft Recipient Guidance) issued for public comment in June 2000. The revisions made in this document reflect and include public involvement considerations suggested in comments the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) received on the Draft Recipient Guidance, at public participation sessions OCR held in various states over the last two years, and from other public involvement-related discussions and information. This guidance has been developed for recipients of EPA assistance that implement environmental permitting programs. It discusses various approaches and suggests tools recipients may wish to use to help enhance the public involvement aspects of their current permitting programs and reduce potential issues related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) and EPA's regulations implementing Title VI.