Surface Transportation Environment and Planning Cooperative Research Program (STEP), 10586 [E6-2829]

Agencies

• Federal Highway Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 10586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2829]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-2006-23612]


Surface Transportation Environment and Planning Cooperative 
Research Program (STEP)

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Section 5207 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) established 
the Surface Transportation Environment and Planning Cooperative 
Research Program (STEP). The general objective of the STEP is to 
improve understanding of the complex relationship between surface 
transportation, planning and the environment. SAFETEA-LU provides 
$16.875 million per year for fiscal years (FY) 2006-2009 to implement 
this new cooperative research program. Due to obligation limitations, 
rescissions, and congressional designation of Title V Research in 
SAFETEA-LU, it is anticipated that approximately $11.9 million of the 
$16.875 million authorized will be available each fiscal year. The 
purpose of this notice is to: (1) Announce the creation of an FHWA Web 
site to provide information regarding the STEP; and (2) to solicit 
public input on the implementation strategy for this program.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 17, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Felicia Young, Office of Interstate 
and Border Planning, (202) 366-1263, Felicia.young@fhwa.dot.gov; or 
Grace Reidy, Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-6226; Federal 
Highway Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. 
Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    You may submit or retrieve comments online through the Document 
Management System (DMS) at: https://dms.dot.gov/submit. The DMS is 
available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic submission 
and retrieval help and guidelines are available under the help section 
of the Web site.
    An electronic copy of this notice may be downloaded from the Office 
of the Federal Register's home page at https://www.archives.gov and the 
Government Printing Office's Web site at https://www.access.gpo.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in a Federal Register published on April 
11, 2000 (70FR 19477), or you may visit https://dms.dot.gov.

Background

    Section 5207 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (Pub. L. 
109-59, Aug. 10 2005), established the Surface Transportation 
Environment and Planning Cooperative Research Program (STEP), and 
provided $16.875 million per year for FY2006-FY2009 to implement this 
new program. The general objective of the STEP is to improve 
understanding of the complex relationship between surface 
transportation, planning and the environment.
    The FHWA anticipates that approximately $11.9 million of the 
$16.875 million authorized will be available each year. STEP will also 
be the sole source of funds available to conduct all FHWA research on 
planning and environmental issues. In addition, Congress mandated 
several special studies (i.e. Report on Non Motorized Transportation 
Pilot Program (Section 1807 of SAFETEA-LU); and the Annual Report for 
the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Pilot Program (Section 
6005(h) of SAFETEA-LU)). STEP will be the funding source for those 
projects as well.
    Section 5207 of SAFETEA-LU identifies certain characteristics of 
STEP regarding program contents and administration. Regarding the 
program content, STEP may include research to:
     Develop more accurate models for evaluating transportation 
control measures and system designs for use by State and local 
governments to meet environmental requirements;
     Improve understanding of transportation demand factors;
     Develop indicators of economic, social, and environmental 
performance of transportation systems to facilitate alternatives 
analysis;
     Meet additional priorities determined through the 
transportation research and development strategic planning process 
identified in section 5208 of SAFETEA-LU;
     Refine the scope and research emphases through outreach 
and in consultation with stakeholders.
    In administering the program, the USDOT and FHWA will ensure, to 
the maximum extent practicable, that:
     The best projects and researchers are selected based on 
merit, open solicitations, and selection by a panel of appropriate 
experts;
     Qualified, permanent core staff with ability to manage a 
large multiyear budget is used;
     Stakeholders are involved in governance of program;
     There is no duplication with the Future Strategic Highway 
Research Program (Section 5210 of SAFETEA-LU), which will be 
administered by the National Research Council of the National Academy 
of Sciences.
    The FHWA has had some initial meetings with major stakeholder 
groups and Federal agency partners to begin receiving input on the 
governance and strategic direction of STEP, and will continue these 
discussions in the future.
    The FHWA is issuing this notice to: (1) Announce the creation of an 
FHWA Web site to provide information regarding the STEP; and (2) to 
solicit public input on the implementation strategy for this program. 
The Web site URL for the STEP is https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/
index.htm. The FHWA will use this Web site as a major mechanism for 
informing the public regarding the status of the STEP.
    We invite the public to visit this Web site to obtain additional 
information regarding the STEP as well as information regarding the 
process for forwarding comments to FHWA regarding the STEP 
implementation strategy.


    Authority: Section 5207 of Pub. L. 109-59.

    Issued on: February 6, 2006.
J. Richard Capka,
Acting Federal Highway Administrator.
 [FR Doc. E6-2829 Filed 2-28-06; 8:45 am]
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