Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed Rail System San Francisco to San Jose Section, CA, 42392-42393 [2016-15409]

Download as PDF 42392 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 125 / Wednesday, June 29, 2016 / Notices mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES conducted. The Agency must also provide an opportunity for public comment on the request. The Agency reviews the safety analyses and the public comments, and determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(b)) with the reason for the grant or denial, and, if granted, the specific person or class of persons receiving the exemption, and the regulatory provision or provisions from which exemption is granted. The notice must also specify the effective period and explain the terms and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)). Request for Exemption The Missouri DOR requested an exemption from 49 CFR 383.77(b)(1), which allows States to waive the skills test described in § 383.113 for applicants regularly employed or previously employed within the last 90 days in a military position requiring operation of a CMV. The Missouri DOR proposed that it be allowed to extend the 90-day timeline to one year following the driver’s separation from military service. The Missouri DOR contended that the 90-day timeframe is too short for many of the qualified veterans to utilize while reentering civilian life. They stated that the Department has utilized the military waiver program for years and one of the most common reasons the applicant is not eligible is because the application is beyond the 90-day timeframe. Furthermore, the industry need for new drivers is continually growing each year and providing additional flexibility in § 383.77(b)(1) will help offset that need by transitioning fully-trained military veterans into civilian employment. They further stated that it is their goal to assure highway safety by licensing qualified veterans seeking employment following discharge. A more accessible waiver period would assist in meeting this goal and provide an opportunity to veterans. FMCSA has previously determined that extending the 90-day skills test waiver period to one year following the driver’s separation from military service would maintain a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level achieved without the exemption (49 CFR 381.305(a)). An exemption extending the 90-day skills test waiver period to one year was granted to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:18 Jun 28, 2016 Jkt 238001 of Motor Vehicles (Virginia DMV) and all SDLAs on July 8, 2014 (79 FR 38645). This exemption is in effect through July 8, 2016. On March 16, 2016, FMCSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and request for comments entitled ‘‘Commercial Driver’s License Requirements of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act and the Military Commercial Driver’s License Act of 2012’’ (81 FR 14052). This proposed rulemaking would extend the time period for applying for a skills test waiver from 90 days to one year after leaving a military position requiring the operation of a CMV for all States. The comment period on this notice closed on May 16, 2016. This proposed rulemaking will not be finalized by July 8, 2016, which is the VA DMV exemption expiration date. Therefore, this Missouri DOR exemption for all SDLAs is needed to cover the time between expiration of the Virginia exemption and any rulemaking that would make the exemption(s) moot. A copy of the Missouri DOR’s application for exemption is available for review in the docket for this notice. Public Comments On April 11, 2016, FMCSA published notice of the Missouri DOR’s application for exemption and requested public comment (81 FR 21443). The Agency received three docket comments submitted, which were all filed in support of the Missouri DOR request. The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) commented that on July 8, 2014, FMCSA had granted an extension to all SDLAs to extend the allowable timeframe for a military skills test waiver for up to one year. AAMVA applauded FMCSA for granting that exemption and proposing to make it a permanent regulatory change in the Agency’s aforementioned NPRM. According to AAMVA, as that NPRM may not become final before the current exemption’s [VA DMV] July 8, 2016 expiration, they requested FMCSA extend this important exemption for the maximum extent allowable. The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (OR DMV) commented that they are fully supportive of Missouri’s request for exemption from § 383.77(b)(1). Another individual commented that he was in favor of any exemption that benefits both the transportation industry and the veterans. PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 FMCSA Response and Decision The FMCSA has evaluated Missouri DOR’s application and, following consideration of the comments submitted to the docket, has decided to grant the exemption from 49 CFR 383.77(b)(1). FMCSA does not believe that the veterans’ driving skills would decrease during the additional months in which this exemption allows them to apply for a waiver of the CDL skills test. This exemption only extends the period during which application for the skills test waiver may be made, and does not revise any other provisions of the regulations. FMCSA determined that the exemption would maintain a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level achieved without the exemption (49 CFR 381.305(a)). Issued on: June 16, 2016. T.F. Scott Darling, III, Acting Administrator. [FR Doc. 2016–15287 Filed 6–28–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed Rail System San Francisco to San Jose Section, CA Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of Transportation (DOT). AGENCY: Extension of comment period for the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). ACTION: On May 9, 2016, FRA published a NOI announcing its intent to jointly prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) with the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) for the San Francisco to San Jose Section of the California HighSpeed Rail (HSR) System, Blended System Project (Blended System Project or Project) and requesting public comments. Through this notice, FRA is extending the comment period and inviting the public and all interested parties to provide comments on the scope of the EIR/EIS, including the proposed purpose and need, the alternatives to consider, potential environmental impacts of concern, and methodologies for analysis of impacts. SUMMARY: FRA must receive written comments by July 20, 2016. FRA may consider comments received after that date if it is practicable. DATES: E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM 29JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 125 / Wednesday, June 29, 2016 / Notices You can send written comments on the scope to Mr. Mark McLoughlin, Director of Environmental Services, Attention: San Francisco to San Jose Section EIR/EIS, California High-Speed Rail Authority, 770 L Street, Suite 1160, Sacramento, CA 95814, or via email with subject line ‘‘San Francisco to San Jose Section EIR/EIS’’ to: san.francisco_san.jose@hsr.ca.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stephanie Perez, Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Program Delivery, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE. (Mail Stop 20), Washington, DC 20590; Telephone: (202) 493–0388, email: stephanie.perez@dot.gov, or Mr. Guy Preston, Regional Delivery Manager, California High Speed Rail Authority, 100 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, CA 95113, Telephone: (408) 277–1091 or san.francisco_san.jose@ hsr.ca.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FRA and Authority are preparing an EIR/EIS for the San Francisco to San Jose Project Section to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Authority has decided to extend the comment period to July 20, 2016 to comply with CEQA. Following discussions with the Authority, FRA has decided to extend the NEPA scoping comment period for consistency with the Authority’s extension and to give the public additional time to provide comments. FRA encourages broad participation in the EIS process during scoping and review of the resulting environmental documents. FRA invites Native American Tribes, interested agencies, and the public at large to participate in the scoping process to ensure the EIR/EIS addresses the full range of issues related to the proposed action and reasonable alternatives, and that all significant issues are identified. FRA requests that any public agency having jurisdiction over an aspect of the Project identify the applicable permit and environmental review requirements of the agency and the scope and content of the environmental information germane to the agency’s jurisdiction over the Project. Public agencies are requested to advise FRA if they anticipate taking a major action in connection with the proposed project and if they wish to participate as a cooperating agency for the San Francisco to San Jose Section EIR/EIS. FRA and the California High Speed Rail Authority held public scoping meetings in May 2016. Additional information about the project can be found at https://www.hsr.ca.gov/ mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES ADDRESSES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:18 Jun 28, 2016 Jkt 238001 Programs/Statewide_Rail_ Modernization/Project_Sections/ sanfran_sanjose.html. Issued in Washington, DC on June 24, 2016. Jamie Rennert, Director, Office of Program Delivery. [FR Doc. 2016–15409 Filed 6–28–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–06–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice AGENCY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and the expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on December 9, 2015 (Federal Register/Vol. 80, No. 236/ pp. 16613–16615). DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 29, 2016. ADDRESSES: Send comments, within 30 days, to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention NHTSA Desk Officer. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary T. Byrd, 202–366–5595. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Evaluation of CommunityOriented Enforcement Demonstrations. Type of Request: New information collection requirement. Abstract: NHTSA was established by the Highway Safety Act of 1970 (23 U.S.C. 101). Its Congressional mandate is to reduce the number of deaths, injuries, and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes on our nation’s highways. To accomplish this mission, NHTSA conducts research on driver behavior and traffic safety to develop efficient and effective means of bringing about safety improvements. This information collection supports NHTSA’s strategic goal of safety. Within the next hour, an average of one person SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00086 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 42393 will die in an alcohol-impaired-driving crash and one person will die unbuckled in a crash. In 2014, 9,967 people died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes, an average of one alcoholimpaired-driving death every 53 minutes. In the same year, 9,385 people died in passenger vehicle crashes while not wearing a seat belt, an average of one person dying unbuckled every 56 minutes. To help decrease alcoholimpaired-driving deaths and save more lives with seat belts, approval is requested to conduct a public information collection to help evaluate the effectiveness of two traffic safety programs called Building Community Support for Impaired Driving Enforcement and Building Community Support for Seat Belt Enforcement. The programs will use community-oriented enforcement programs to increase community involvement in and support for alcohol-impaired-driving and seat belt enforcement. The programs are designed to create stronger community norms surrounding the value of traffic enforcement and the importance of driving sober and being buckled. A key to determining if these programs reach their objective is to survey the public regarding exposure to the program and support for enforcement. Affected Public: The potential respondent universe is comprised of licensed drivers aged 18 years and older visiting locations such as Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices in the program and control (comparison) areas. The program and control areas for these programs have not been selected as of the time of this request. The program areas will be communities with a population between 75,000 and 200,000 people, a local government and law enforcement agency interested in participation, alcohol-impaired-driving crashes and fatalities above the national average (alcohol-impaired-driving program only), seat belt use below the national average, unrestrained fatalities above the national average, and lower levels of seat belt enforcement (seat belt program only). The control areas will be demographically similar to the program areas and be in separate media markets. Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2,168 hours (i.e., 21,216 total participants including 16,416 taking an average of 5 minutes to complete the screener survey and 4,800 taking an average of 10 minutes to complete the full survey). Comments are invited on the following: (i) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM 29JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 125 (Wednesday, June 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42392-42393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15409]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for the California High Speed Rail 
System San Francisco to San Jose Section, CA

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Extension of comment period for the Notice of Intent (NOI) to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On May 9, 2016, FRA published a NOI announcing its intent to 
jointly prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) with the California High-Speed Rail Authority 
(Authority) for the San Francisco to San Jose Section of the California 
High-Speed Rail (HSR) System, Blended System Project (Blended System 
Project or Project) and requesting public comments. Through this 
notice, FRA is extending the comment period and inviting the public and 
all interested parties to provide comments on the scope of the EIR/EIS, 
including the proposed purpose and need, the alternatives to consider, 
potential environmental impacts of concern, and methodologies for 
analysis of impacts.

DATES: FRA must receive written comments by July 20, 2016. FRA may 
consider comments received after that date if it is practicable.

[[Page 42393]]


ADDRESSES: You can send written comments on the scope to Mr. Mark 
McLoughlin, Director of Environmental Services, Attention: San 
Francisco to San Jose Section EIR/EIS, California High-Speed Rail 
Authority, 770 L Street, Suite 1160, Sacramento, CA 95814, or via email 
with subject line ``San Francisco to San Jose Section EIR/EIS'' to: 
san.francisco_san.jose@hsr.ca.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stephanie Perez, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Office of Program Delivery, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE. (Mail Stop 20), Washington, 
DC 20590; Telephone: (202) 493-0388, email: stephanie.perez@dot.gov, or 
Mr. Guy Preston, Regional Delivery Manager, California High Speed Rail 
Authority, 100 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, CA 95113, Telephone: 
(408) 277-1091 or san.francisco_san.jose@hsr.ca.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FRA and Authority are preparing an EIR/
EIS for the San Francisco to San Jose Project Section to comply with 
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Authority has decided to extend 
the comment period to July 20, 2016 to comply with CEQA. Following 
discussions with the Authority, FRA has decided to extend the NEPA 
scoping comment period for consistency with the Authority's extension 
and to give the public additional time to provide comments. FRA 
encourages broad participation in the EIS process during scoping and 
review of the resulting environmental documents. FRA invites Native 
American Tribes, interested agencies, and the public at large to 
participate in the scoping process to ensure the EIR/EIS addresses the 
full range of issues related to the proposed action and reasonable 
alternatives, and that all significant issues are identified. FRA 
requests that any public agency having jurisdiction over an aspect of 
the Project identify the applicable permit and environmental review 
requirements of the agency and the scope and content of the 
environmental information germane to the agency's jurisdiction over the 
Project. Public agencies are requested to advise FRA if they anticipate 
taking a major action in connection with the proposed project and if 
they wish to participate as a cooperating agency for the San Francisco 
to San Jose Section EIR/EIS.
    FRA and the California High Speed Rail Authority held public 
scoping meetings in May 2016. Additional information about the project 
can be found at https://www.hsr.ca.gov/Programs/Statewide_Rail_Modernization/Project_Sections/sanfran_sanjose.html.

    Issued in Washington, DC on June 24, 2016.
Jamie Rennert,
Director, Office of Program Delivery.
[FR Doc. 2016-15409 Filed 6-28-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P

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