[Federal Register: April 2, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 64)]
[Notices]
[Page 17454]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02ap04-99]
[[Page 17454]]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; Methamphetamine
Initiative
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 Environmental Assessment, which is available to the
public, concludes that the methamphetamine investigation and
clandestine laboratory closure activities of the Methamphetamine
Initiative will not have significant impact on the quality of the human
environment given adherence to all applicable laws and regulations.
ADDRESSES: For copies of the Environment Assessment, please contact:
COPS Grants Administration Division, 1100 Vermont Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20530; Phone: (202) 616-3031 or 1-800-421-6770.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The U.S. Department of Justice
Response Center, 1-800-421-6770 and ask to speak with your Grant
Program Specialist.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In Fiscal Year 2003, the COPS Office
prepared an Environmental Assessment for its methamphetamine law
enforcement programs, with specific application for the Methamphetamine
Initiative. 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 Initiative addressed
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, funded items
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; transportation and storage of 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.
Among the many challenges faced by law enforcement agencies in the
Methamphetamine Initiative 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.
Overview
Environmental Assessment
The COPS Office will award grants to State and local criminal
justice agencies for the FY 2004 COPS Methamphetamine Initiative. The
Environmental Assessment concludes that the funding of this program
will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human
environment given adherence to all applicable laws and regulations.
Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will not be prepared for
the funding of this program.
Dated: Narch 18, 2004.
Carl R. Peed,
Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
[FR Doc. 04-7425 Filed 4-1-04; 8:45 am]