[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 226 (Thursday, November 21, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 59246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29825]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Permit Application Received Under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of Permit Application Received Under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the National Science Foundation 
(NSF) has received a waste management permit application for operation 
of remote field support and emergency provisions for the Expedition 
Vessel the Kapitan Khlebnikov for the 1996-1997 and four following 
austral summers. The application is submitted to NSF pursuant to 
regulations issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments, 
or views with respect to this permit application within 30 days of the 
publication of this notice. Permit applications may be inspected by 
interested parties at the Permit Office, address below.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Permit Office, Room 755, 
Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson 
Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert S. Cunningham or Nadene Kennedy 
at the above address or (703) 306-1033.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NSF's Antarctic Waste Regulation, 45 CFR 
Part 671, requires all U.S. citizens and entities to obtain a permit 
for the use or release of a designated pollutant in Antarctica, and for 
the release of waste in Antarctica. NSF has received a permit 
application under this Regulation for the operation of three 
expeditions per year to Antarctica. During each trip, passengers are 
taken ashore at selected sites by Zodiac (rubber raft) or helicopter 
for approximately two to four hours at a time. On each helicopter 
landing, emergency gear would be taken ashore in case weather 
deteriorates and passengers are required to camp on shore. Anything 
taken ashore will be returned to the vessel. All wastes will be removed 
from Antarctica and disposed of in Ushuaia, Argentina, Port Stanly, 
Falkland Islands, Lyttleton, New Zealand, Hobart, Tasmania, or a 
substitute port of disembarkation. No hazardous domestic products or 
wastes (aerosol cans, paints, solvents, etc.) will be brought ashore. 
Cooking stoves/fuel will be used only in an emergency where passengers 
are forced to spend a night on shore.
    Application for permit is made by: Mike McDowell, President, Quark 
Expeditions, 980 Post Road, Darien, CT 06820.
    The permittee has volunteered to collect information at each site 
visited and to make that information available as described in the 
waste permit application utilizing the forms, Site Visit Report and 
Environmental Impacts Observed. At the conclusion of the austral 
summer, the permittee will report specific uses or releases of 
designated pollutants and releases of wastes in an annual report 
summarizing each season's activities. The permittee will take necessary 
provisions to ensure that any spilled fuel or lubricants will be 
promptly cleaned-up, containerized, and removed from Antarctica. Based 
upon successful completion of required waste management procedures and 
annual reporting of results, the permit will continue in effect until 
December 31, 2000.
Nadene Kennedy,
Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 96-29825 Filed 11-20-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M