[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22510-22511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11094]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Amended Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program
AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Biomass Crop Assistance
Program (BCAP). BCAP is a new program authorized by the Food,
Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill). The EIS will
assess the potential environmental impacts of alternatives for
administration and implementation of BCAP. Through this notice and
public meetings, CCC is requesting the public to provide comments and
inputs on the preliminary proposed program alternatives and
environmental concerns associated with the implementation of BCAP.
DATES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for dates of the six
public meetings.
Comments: We will consider comments that we receive by June 12,
2009. We will consider comments submitted after that date, to the
extent possible.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments and to participate in
public meetings on the proposed alternatives related to BCAP. If you e-
mail, fax, or mail your comments, include the volume, date, and page
number of this issue of the Federal Register. You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
Go through the established public comments Web site
located at marine.com">http://public.geo-marine.com.
E-Mail: marine.com">bcapeis@geo-marine.com.
Fax: (757) 873-3703.
Mail: BCAP EIS c/o Geo-Marine, Inc., 2713 Magruder
Boulevard, Suite D, Hampton, Virginia 23666.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver comments to the above
address.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Comments may be inspected in the Office of the Director, CEPD, FSA,
USDA, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Room 4709 South Building,
Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays.
See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for addresses for the six
public meetings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew T. Ponish, FSA National
Environmental Compliance Manager at (202) 720-6853 or
[email protected]. Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication (Braille, large print, audio tape,
etc.) should contact the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice
and TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BCAP is authorized by Title IX of the 2008
Farm Bill (Pub. L. 110-246). The 2008 Farm Bill amends Title IX of the
Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171);
specifically, for BCAP, the 2008 Farm Bill adds section 9011 (7 U.S.C.
8111) to Title IX. BCAP is intended to support the establishment and
production of crops for conversion to bio-energy in project areas
(locations) and to assist with collection, harvest, storage, and
transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass conversion
facility.
As a new energy program, BCAP presents an opportunity to encourage
landowners and operators to produce biomass for commercial energy
production in ways that both are economically and environmentally
sound. CCC plans to implement BCAP by approving the best-qualifying
project proposals from project sponsors (producers or facilities) and
then entering into contracts with individual producers in the approved
project locations. BCAP is a CCC program administered by the Farm
Service Agency (FSA) with the support of other Federal and local
agencies.
Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the EIS process
provides a means for the public to provide input on program
implementation alternatives and on environmental concerns. This notice
informs the public of CCC's intention to prepare an EIS for BCAP. CCC
initially solicited public input and comments on the proposed EIS for
BCAP from the notice published in the Federal Register on October 1,
2008 (72 FR 5704-57047).
When we received comments and inputs from the public and through
internal agency scoping, CCC developed the following alternatives for
the BCAP analysis to be considered as part of the regulatory
requirements under NEPA process:
(1) No Action Alternative--addresses the potential effects from not
implementing BCAP.
(2) Action Alternative 1--addresses a targeted implementation of
BCAP to specific areas or regions of the United States.
(3) Action Alternative 2--addresses a broad national implementation
of BCAP.
The public meetings will be scoping meetings and will provide
public input for the development of the alternatives.
[[Page 22511]]
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Date Time Location information
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May 28, 2009.................. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 Red Lion Hotel, 2300
p.m. local time. Evergreen Park
Drive, Olympia,
Washington 98501,
Ph: 360-252-0972,
Fax: 360-753-9651.
June 2, 2009.................. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 Hilton Garden Inn,
p.m. local time. 9000 Interstate 40
West, Amarillo,
Texas 79124, Ph: 806-
355-4400, Fax: 806-
355-4411.
June 4, 2009.................. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 Alexander Fulton
p.m. local time. Hotel & Convention
Center, 701 4th
Street, Alexandria,
Louisiana 71301, Ph
318-442-9000.
June 8, 2009.................. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 Renaissance Savery
p.m. local time. Hotel, 401 Locust
Street, Des Moines,
Iowa 50309, Ph: 515-
365-7232, Fax: 515-
244-1228.
June 10, 2009................. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 Hilton Garden Inn,
p.m. local time. 101 S. Front Street,
Albany, Georgia
31701, Phone: 229-
518-5003, Fax: 229-
878-4862.
June 11, 2009................. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 Hilton Garden Inn
p.m. local time. Syracuse, 6004 Fair
Lakes Road,
Syracuse, New York
13057, Ph: 315-431-
4800, Fax: 315-431-
4999.
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Signed in Washington, DC on May 7, 2009.
Doug Caruso,
Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. E9-11094 Filed 5-12-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P