[Federal Register: February 26, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 38)]
[Notices]
[Page 8926-8927]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26fe03-80]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; FY 2002 Community
Policing Discretionary Grants
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/Drug
Hot Spots Program will not have significant impact on the quality of
the human environment.
ADDRESSES: 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.
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 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
[[Page 8927]]
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.
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.
Overview
Environmental Assessment
The COPS Office will award grants to State and local criminal
justice agencies for the FY 2002 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: February 9, 2003.
Carl R. Peed,
Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
[FR Doc. 03-4543 Filed 2-25-03; 8:45 am]