[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 189 (Wednesday, September 30, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52206-52207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26151]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
23 CFR Chapter I
[Docket No. OST-98-4146]
Outreach on the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
(TEA-21); Meetings Regarding Environmental Streamlining, Transportation
Enhancements and Environmental Justice
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Announcement of public meetings; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announces a series
of information exchange meetings to discuss how to implement provisions
of TEA-21 (Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107) relative to environmental
streamlining (three meetings) and transportation enhancements (three
meetings). There will also be a series of four information exchange
meetings on environmental justice and the implementation of TEA-21.
These meetings are part of the outreach sessions the DOT is holding
around the country on the implementation of TEA-21.
The FHWA has not completed scheduling all of the meetings.
Locations, subject, and dates for the meetings are as follows:
Kansas City, MO, transportation enhancements, September 29, 1998
Washington, DC, environmental streamlining, October 9, 1998
Oakland, CA, transportation enhancements, October 13, 1998
Atlanta, GA, environmental justice, October 14, 1998
Chicago, IL, environmental streamlining, October 15, 1998
Harlem, NY, environmental justice, October 27, 1998
Washington, DC, transportation enhancement, date to be determined in
October 1998
San Francisco, CA, environmental justice, November, 11, 1998
Seattle, WA, environmental justice, date to be determined in November
1998
West Coast Location, environmental streamlining, date to be announced
DATES: Comments must be submitted to the docket on or before November
22, 1998.
Meeting Dates and Times
The Kansas City, MO, meeting on transportation enhancements will be
held on September 29, 1998, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., c.t. The
Washington, DC, meeting on environmental streamlining will be held on
October 9, 1998, from noon to 5:00 p.m., e.t. The Oakland, CA, meeting
on transportation enhancements will be held on October 13, 1998 from
noon to 5:00 p.m., p.t. The Atlanta, GA, meeting on environmental
justice will be held on October 14, 1998 from noon until 5:00 p.m.,
e.t. The Chicago, IL, meeting on environmental streamlining will be
held on October 15, 1998 from noon until 5:00 p.m., c.t. The Harlem,
NY, meeting on environmental justice will be held on October 27, 1998
from noon until 5:00 p.m., e.t. The San Francisco, CA, meeting on
environmental justice will be held on November 11, 1999 from noon until
5:00 p.m., p.t.
Specific times and locations for the Seattle, WA, meeting on
environmental justice in November 1998 and the west coast meeting on
environmental streamlining in October or November will be announced at
a later date through the TEA-21 website at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/
tea21/outreach.htm. If you do not have access to the Internet, please
contact Leslie Wright-Small who is listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section below.
ADDRESSES: FOR DOCKETS: All signed, written comments should refer to
the docket number in the heading of this document. Since the docket
contains comments on many provisions of TEA-21, there should be a clear
identification of which provisions are being commented on. Comments
must be sent to the Docket Clerk, U.S. DOT Dockets, Room PL-401, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. All comments received
will be available for public examination at this address between 10
a.m. and 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Persons who wish notification of the receipt of their comments must
include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or postcard.
FOR MEETINGS: Please contact the appropriate individual meeting
contact as listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: TEA-21 Outreach: Ms. Leslie Wright-
Small, HPP 20, Room 3318, (202) 366-9227, Office of Policy Development,
Federal Highway Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,
DC, 20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
For Individual Meetings: For environmental streamlining: Mr. Fred
Skaer, HEP 30, (202) 366-0106; for transportation enhancements: Mr.
Harold Peaks, HEP 30, (202) 366-0106; and for environmental justice:
Mr. Wendell Stills, HEP 30, 366-0106, all located at 400 Seventh Street
SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15
p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
Internet users can access all comments received by the U.S. DOT
Dockets, Room PL-401, by using the universal resource locator (URL):
http://dms.dot.gov. It is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each
year. Please follow the instructions online for more information and
help.
An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded using a modem
and suitable communications software from the Government Printing
Office's electronic Bulletin Board Service at (202) 512-1661. Internet
users may reach the Federal Register's home page at: http://
www.nara.gov/fedreg and the Government Printing Office's database at:
http://www/access.gpo.gov/nara.
Background
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) was
signed into law on June 9, 1998. Prior to implementing this
legislation, the DOT is consulting with its partners and customers
through a series of TEA-21 outreach sessions/meetings. The FHWA is
responsible for conducting the meetings described in this notice.
For more information about other TEA-21 outreach sessions and
meetings, please visit our website at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tea21/
outreach.htm. For the text of TEA-21 (Public Law 105-178) as well as a
summary and fact sheets on its provisions, please visit our website at
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tea21/legis.htm. If you do not have access to
the Internet, please contact Leslie Wright-Small who is listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above.
Meeting Purpose and Format
Information exchange meetings are opportunities for the
transportation community to speak to the DOT on specific issues related
to TEA-21. At each of the information exchange meetings covered by this
[[Page 52207]]
announcement, a DOT official will moderate a discussion by up to 25
participants on a series of specific TEA-21 implementation issues
identified by the DOT as well as by participants. Proceedings will be
recorded by notetakers who will prepare meeting summaries. The format
emphasizes discussion and interaction by the participants with remarks
limited to 5 minutes on a given topic. Lengthy statements should be
sent directly to the docket (see ADDRESSES section above).
Meeting Participants
Since space is limited in this sort of interactive meeting and a
broad spectrum of viewpoints is desired, the DOT will directly invite
the participation of individuals and organizations with a known
interest in the subject of each information exchange meeting. There
will be limited numbers of additional places available. If you wish to
attend an information exchange meeting, please call the appropriate
contact from the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above to
register for available places on a first come basis. Office hours are
from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
As remaining meeting dates and places are scheduled, the DOT will
post them on the TEA-21 website at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tea21/
outreach.htm. If you do not have access to the Internet, please contact
Leslie Wright-Small who is listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section above.
Environmental Streamlining Meetings
The three sessions on environmental streamlining will be held in
Washington, DC on October 9, 1998, in Chicago, IL on October 15, 1998
and at a West Coast location to be determined. They are concerned with
what the language of TEA-21 means relative to environmental
streamlining and how the DOT should implement these provisions of the
Act: through regulations, guidance, or perhaps administering directly
from the statutory language. Under TEA-21, the Secretary of
Transportation will establish a coordinated environmental review
process for the DOT to work with other Federal agencies in ensuring
that major highway and transit projects are advanced according to
cooperatively determined time frames. The new process will use
concurrent, rather than sequential, reviews and will allow States to
include their environmental reviews in it. The Act also authorizes the
Secretary to approve State requests to provide funding to affected
Federal agencies to meet established time limits. If the Secretary
finds that a project-related environmental issue has not been resolved
with another Federal agency, the heads of the agencies will meet within
30 days to resolve the issue. In addition, the Act contains provisions
relating to the applicability of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) with respect to transportation planning, consultant selection,
design/build contracting, transportation infrastructure financial
innovation and high priority projects. The DOT seeks discussion on how
it should implement these provisions.
Transportation Enhancements Sessions
The three sessions on transportation enhancements will be held in
Kansas City, MO on September 29, 1998, in Oakland, CA on October 13,
1998, and in Washington, DC on a date to be set sometime in October.
They are concerned with what the language of TEA-21 means relative to
transportation enhancements and how the DOT should implement these
provisions of the Act: through regulations, guidance, or perhaps
administering directly from the statutory language. Under TEA-21,
transportation enhancements continue to be funded with a 10 percent
setaside from Surface Transportation Program funds but with new
innovative financing alternatives for meeting matching requirements.
New provisions allow States to transfer some of their transportation
enhancement funds to other programs and expand the list of activities
eligible for transportation enhancement funds. Newly eligible are
safety education activities for pedestrians and bicyclists,
establishment of transportation museums, and projects to reduce
vehicle-caused wildlife mortality. Provision of tourist and welcome
center facilities is included under the existing activity, ``scenic or
historic highway programs.''
Environmental Justice Sessions
The four sessions on environmental justice will be held in Atlanta,
GA on October 14, 1998, in Harlem, NY on October 27, 1998, in San
Francisco, CA on November 11, 1998 and in Seattle, WA at a date in
November to be determined. They will explore the implications for
implementing TEA-21 of Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to
Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations, and the implementing DOT Order on Environmental Justice.
TEA-21 does not have specific environmental justice provisions.
However, the DOT seeks discussion on how to avoid disproportionate
impacts on minority and low income populations in carrying out the
extensive provisions of TEA-21. In addition, the DOT wishes discussion
of how to include the traditionally underserved in transportation
decisions under TEA-21. Through these meetings, the DOT is pursuing a
deeper understanding of how to infuse environmental justice
considerations into the new TEA-21 initiatives to improve safety,
protect and enhance communities and the natural environment and advance
America's economic growth through efficient and flexible
transportation.
Contributing Views
There are three ways for you to contribute your views on how to
implement the provisions of TEA-21 relating to environmental
streamlining and transportation enhancements as well as on
environmental justice and the implementation of TEA-21. You may attend
one of the meetings and participate in the discussions, you may hand in
written comments at a meeting, or you may mail comments to the docket
the DOT has established for TEA-21 outreach. See the ADDRESSES section
above for the docket address.
You may use one or more of any of these methods. Since attendees at
the meetings will be asked to limit their remarks on a topic to 5
minutes to accommodate a maximum number of persons, commenting directly
to the docket is particularly useful for comments which are too long or
detailed for convenient oral presentation at a meeting or when you are
not able to attend a meeting.
What Happens Next
Comments in the docket and information exchange meeting summaries
will be forwarded to the element of the DOT responsible for the
relevant provisions of TEA-21. Oral and written comments will be
equally considered in decisionmaking on how to implement TEA-21. If the
DOT decides to pursue implementing a provision of TEA-21 by issuing
regulations, it will then initiate formal rule making under the
Administrative Procedure Act.
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315.
Issued on: September 24, 1998.
Thomas Ptak,
Associate Administrator for Program Development.
[FR Doc. 98-26151 Filed 9-29-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P
