[Federal Register: October 27, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 207)]
[Notices]               
[Page 61213]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27oc03-64]                         

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COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

 
National Environmental Policy Act Task Force

AGENCY: Council on Environmental Quality.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) established a 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Task Force to review the 
current NEPA implementing practices and procedures in the following 
areas: Technology and information management; federal and 
intergovernmental collaboration; programmatic analyses and subsequent 
tiered documents; and adaptive management and monitoring. In addition, 
the NEPA Task Force reviewed other NEPA implementation issues such as 
the level of detail included in agencies' procedures and documentation 
for promulgating categorical exclusions; the structure and 
documentation of environmental assessments; and other implementation 
practices that would benefit federal agencies.
    ``The Task Force Report to the Council on Environmental Quality--
Modernizing NEPA Implementation'' was published and presented to CEQ on 
September 24, 2003. The Report contains recommendations designed to 
improve federal agency decision making by modernizing the NEPA process. 
To further the work of the NEPA Task Force, CEQ is holding a series of 
regional public roundtables to raise public awareness of the NEPA Task 
Force draft recommendations and discuss the recommendations and their 
implementation. The Eastern Regional Roundtable will be held at the 
Southeast Regional Office of the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection, Lee Park (Suite 6010), 555 North Lane in 
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania on November 13-14, 2003. Representatives 
from important constituent groups that have worked on NEPA issues have 
been invited to participate in a discussion of the recommendations. 
Announcements of future roundtables will be published on the NEPA Task 
Force Web site and in the Federal Register.

DATES: The eastern regional public roundtable will be held on November 
13 and 14 at the Southeast Regional Office of the Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection, Lee Park (Suite 6010), 555 
North Lane in Conshohocken Pennsylvania, 19428-2233. The session on 
November 13 will begin at 9 a.m. and interested members of the public 
will have an opportunity to present their views at 3:30 p.m. following 
the roundtable discussion. That session will end in the evening after 
the public's views have been presented. The session on November 14 will 
begin at 9 a.m. and interested members of the public will have an 
opportunity to present their views at 11 a.m. following the roundtable 
discussion.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties can review the Task Force report via the 
CEQ Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/ or the NEPA Task Force 
Web site at http:ceq.eh.doe.gov/ntf/. If you would like a printed copy, 
please mail a request to The NEPA Task Force, 722 Jackson Place, NW., 
Washington, DC 20585, or contact Bill Perhach at (202) 395-0826 to 
request a copy.

    Dated: October 21, 2003.
James L. Connaughton,
Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality.
[FR Doc. 03-26973 Filed 10-24-03; 8:45 am]

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