[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 29 (Monday, February 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7568-7569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1967]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Public Scoping Meeting on Congressionally Mandated Study of 
Energy Rights-of-Way on Tribal Lands

AGENCY: Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Department of 
the Interior; Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, 
Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Meeting.

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SUMMARY: Section 1813 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58) 
requires the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Energy to 
jointly conduct a study of issues regarding energy rights-of-way on 
tribal land and provide a report to Congress on the findings of the 
study. The report is due to Congress by August 7, 2006. The Department 
of the Interior and the Department of Energy are interested in 
receiving comments from the public about how to proceed with the 
implementation of section 1813.

DATES: A 2-day meeting will be held on March 7 and 8, 2006, in Denver, 
Colorado, at the Adams Mark Hotel, 1550 Court Place, Denver, CO 80202; 
Telephone (303) 893-3333. A block of rooms has been reserved at the 
hotel for the meeting on a first-come first-served basis. Please inform 
the hotel that you are attending the ``Energy Policy Act Section 1813 
Nation-wide Scoping Meeting.''

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent by regular mail to Mr. 
Darryl Francois, Attention: Section 1813 ROW Study, Office of Indian 
Energy and Economic Development, 1849 C St., NW., Mail Stop 2749-MIB, 
Washington, DC 20240 or by e-mail to [email protected]. A duplicate copy of 
the comments should be sent to Mr. David Meyer, Office of Electricity 
Delivery and Energy Reliability, Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Department of the Interior--Mr. Darryl 
Francois, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, 1849 C 
Street, NW., Mail Stop 2749-MIB, Washington, DC 20240. He can also be 
reached by telephone at (202) 219-0740 or by electronic mail at 
[email protected].

[[Page 7569]]

    Department of Energy--Ms. Janelle Schmidt, Office of Electricity 
Delivery and Energy Reliability, Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. She can also be reached 
by telephone at (202) 586-6415 or by electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1813 of the Energy Policy Act of 
2005 (Pub. L. 109-58) requires the Secretaries of the Department of the 
Interior and the Department of Energy (Departments) to conduct a study 
of energy related rights-of-way on tribal lands. The Act requires that 
the study address four subjects:
    1. An analysis of historical rates of compensation;
    2. Recommendations for appropriate standards to determine fair and 
appropriate compensation;
    3. An assessment of tribal self-determination and sovereignty 
interests implicated by applications for energy rights-of-way on tribal 
land; and
    4. An analysis of relevant national energy transportation policies.
    The Departments will consider Tribal and interested party's 
comments in preparing a final report for delivery to Congress by August 
7, 2006. A proposed work plan was presented for comment in the Federal 
Register on December 29, 2005 (70 FR 77178).
    To help develop the report to Congress, the Departments will 
conduct a 2-day scoping and kick-off meeting on March 7 and 8, 2006. 
The Departments will solicit input on how to proceed with this work in 
a fair and timely manner. At this meeting, the Departments propose to 
establish several working groups to solicit and further develop 
information on each of these subjects. We propose to convene these 
working groups on the second day of the meeting and will solicit 
initial substantive comments on study issues at that time.
    If a Tribe, group, or organization would like to be considered to 
make a formal presentation at the meeting, please send a written 
request that includes a subject topic by regular mail or e-mail to the 
addresses provided above by February 22, 2006.

    Dated: February 3, 2006.
Michael D. Olsen,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
 [FR Doc. E6-1967 Filed 2-10-06; 8:45 am]
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