Search Results for keywords:"St. Lawrence

The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, part of the Department of Transportation, has announced a public meeting of its Advisory Board scheduled for March 6, 2025, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT. The meeting will take place in-person at the DOT in Washington, DC, with a virtual attendance option available. Interested individuals must RSVP by March 1, 2025, along with requests to speak at the meeting or submit materials for discussion. The meeting agenda includes opening remarks, a report, and discussions on previous and new business.

The University of Kansas plans to return a cultural item—a silver ring—that is considered an unassociated funerary object according to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The ring, linked to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, was taken from an Arapaho man named Wox-Ei-Bet' and has been part of a museum collection that is now managed by the University of Kansas. The repatriation process involves consulting with relevant Native American tribes, and competing claims may be considered before the item is returned. The formal repatriation could occur on or after January 29, 2025.

The University of Kansas plans to return a cultural item, specifically a discoidal stone, to the Chickasaw Nation in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This stone, considered an unassociated funerary object, was initially part of the Menninger Foundation's collection and transferred to the university in 1992. Repatriation of the item can occur on or after January 13, 2025. Any other Native American or Native Hawaiian organizations who believe they have a claim to the item can submit a request for repatriation.

St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad Company (SLR) is seeking to abandon a 24.23-mile rail line in Cumberland County, Maine. The rail line has not been used for local traffic since 2015, and no complaints about the cessation of service are pending. Certain conditions, like employee protection, must be met, and formal expressions of financial assistance or trail use must be submitted by specific dates. The Surface Transportation Board will issue a Draft Environmental Assessment and is open to comments on environmental and historic preservation issues.

The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS) announced a final rule to update the St. Lawrence Seaway Tariff of Tolls to match fees charged by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) in Canada, starting in the 2025 navigation season. This tariff outlines the tolls for vessels and commodities using their facilities. GLS clarified that these changes won't significantly impact small U.S. entities because they mostly affect foreign vessels. The rule doesn't require an environmental impact statement and has no federalism or unfunded mandates implications.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced that several individuals and entities have been added to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. This means their property and interests that are within U.S. jurisdiction are now blocked, and U.S. individuals and companies are generally not allowed to do business with them. The designations include James Kabarebe from Rwanda and Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston linked to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with his business activities related to Kingston Fresh Ltd and Kingston Holding. These actions are based on sanctions aimed at addressing the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, alongside the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation of Canada, has updated the St. Lawrence Seaway Regulations and Rules used in their regions. These changes, now effective as of January 10, 2025, aim to clarify current requirements related to vessel conditions, navigation, radio communications, hazardous cargo, and reporting procedures. The rules also detail specific requirements, such as the need for landing booms on certain vessels and the conditions under which vessels can load at increased draughts. The updates are intended to ensure consistency and avoid confusion among users of the Seaway, with the amendments aligning closely between the United States and Canada.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), part of the U.S. Department of Energy, plans to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for enhanced use of the plutonium facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California. This plan follows the 2023 Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement, and the SEIS will examine the environmental effects of increasing the facility's operations from Security Category III to Category II to meet national security needs. The NNSA is seeking public input on the SEIS scope, alternatives, and environmental issues, and plans to hold a virtual public meeting for further discussion.

CHPE LLC has submitted an application to the Department of Energy to amend its Presidential Permit, seeking to increase the project's capacity from 1,000 MW to 1,250 MW. This request follows a study from the New York Independent System Operator which confirmed the project could handle the increased load without harming the transmission grid's reliability. People interested in commenting or intervening on this permit amendment must submit their responses by March 31, 2021. The DOE requires a public interest determination and favorable recommendations from the Secretaries of State and Defense before any amendment can be finalized.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has issued an amendment to the Presidential declaration of a disaster in West Virginia due to severe storms, winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that started on February 15, 2025, and are ongoing. This amendment includes Logan and Wayne counties as areas eligible for physical damage and economic injury loans, with neighboring counties in Kentucky and Ohio eligible for economic injury loans only. The physical loan application deadline is April 28, 2025, and the economic injury loan application deadline is November 26, 2025. People can apply for these loans through the MySBA Loan Portal.