04-3249. Notice of Establishment of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Scientific Committee

AGENCY:

Minerals Management Service, Interior.

SUMMARY:

Following consultation with the General Services Administration, notice is hereby given that the Secretary of the Interior has established the OCS Scientific Committee.

The OCS Scientific Committee will provide advice on the feasibility, appropriateness, and scientific value of the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Program to the Secretary of the Interior through the Director of the Minerals Management Service. The Committee will review the relevance of the research and data being produced to meet MMS scientific information needs for decision making and may recommend changes in scope, direction, and emphasis.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeryne Bryant, Minerals Management Service, Offshore Minerals Management, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817, telephone, [phone].

Certification

I hereby certify that the OCS Scientific Committee is in the public interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed on the Department of the Interior by 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq., 30 U.S.C. 1701 et. seq., and 30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.

Dated: February 3, 2004.

Gale A. Norton,

Secretary of the Interior.