[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 18798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-8910]



[[Page 18798]]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; FY 2001 Notice of 
Availability of the Finding of No Significant Impact and the 
Environmental Assessment for the Office of Community Oriented Policing 
Services' Methamphetamine Law Enforcement Program

AGENCY: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Department of 
Justice.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the finding of no significant impact 
and the environmental assessment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services (``COPS'') announces the availability of the 
environmental assessment. This assessment, which is available to the 
public, concludes that the methamphetamine investigation and 
clandestine laboratory closure activities of the Methamphetamine/Drug 
Hot Spots Program will not have significant impact on the quality of 
the human environment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For copies of the Environmental 
Assessment and the Finding of No Significant Impact, please contact: 
COPS Grants Administration Division, 1100 Vermont Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20530; Phone: (202) 616-3031 or 1-800-421-6770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Overview

    In Fiscal Year 2000, the COPS Office collaborated with the Bureau 
of Justice Assistance and the Drug Enforcement Administration, 
Department of Justice, to prepare an Environmental Assessment for 
methamphetamine law enforcement programs, and with specific application 
for the Methamphetamine/Drug Hot Spots Program. This Environmental 
Assessment was prepared as required by the Council on Environmental 
Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508), implementing 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, et al.). 
The Methamphetamine/Drug Hot Spots Program addresses a broad array of 
law enforcement initiatives pertaining to the investigation of 
methamphetamine trafficking in many heavily impacted areas of the 
country.
    For the purposes of this program, law enforcement may include 
training of law enforcement officers in methamphetamine-related issues; 
collection and maintenance of intelligence and information relative to 
methamphetamine trafficking and traffickers; investigation, arrest and 
prosecution of producers, traffickers and users of methamphetamine; 
interdiction and removal of laboratories, finished products, and 
precursor chemicals and other elements necessary to produce 
methamphetamine; and preventive efforts to reduce the spread and use of 
methamphetamine. Individual projects will reflect a concentration on 
program areas consistent with congressional appropriations language.
    Among the many challenges faced by law enforcement agencies in the 
Methamphetamine/Drug Hot Spots Program will be discovery, interdiction, 
and dismantling of clandestine drug laboratories. These lab sites, as 
well as other methamphetamine crime venues, must be comprehensively 
dealt with in compliance with a variety of health, safety and 
environmental laws and regulations. The COPS Office requires that 
recipients, when encountering illegal drug laboratories, use grant 
funds to effect the proper removal and disposal of hazardous materials 
located at those laboratories and directly associated sites in 
accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
    The COPS Office will award grants to State and local criminal 
justice agencies for the FY 2001 COPS Methamphetamine/Drug Hot Spots 
Program. The Environmental Assessment concludes that the funding of 
this program will not have a significant impact on the quality of the 
human environment. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will 
not be prepared for the funding of this program.

    Dated: April 2, 2001.
Ralph Justus,
Acting Director.
[FR Doc. 01-8910 Filed 4-10-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-AT-M