Department of Transportation Equity Action Plan Update, 57516-57518 [2024-15456]
Download as PDF
57516
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 135 / Monday, July 15, 2024 / Notices
recipient must agree to: (1) make records
available to the evaluation contractor;
(2) provide access to program records,
and any other relevant documents to
calculate costs and benefits; (3) in the
case of an impact analysis, facilitate the
access to relevant information as
requested; and (4) follow evaluation
procedures as specified by the
evaluation contractor or DOT staff.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Jennifer Mitchell,
Deputy Administrator.
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
[DOT–OST–2024–0072]
For further information concerning
this Notice, please contact the FRA
NOFO Support program staff via email
at FRA-NOFO-Support@dot.gov. If
additional assistance is needed, you
may contact Mr. Marc Dixon, Office of
Rail Program Development, Federal
Railroad Administration, at email:
marc.dixon@dot.gov; or telephone: 202–
493–0614.
Department of Transportation Equity
Action Plan Update
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H. Other Information
All information submitted as part of
or in support of any application shall
use publicly available data or data that
can be made public and methodologies
that are accepted by industry practice
and standards, to the extent possible. If
the application includes information the
applicant considers to be a trade secret
or confidential commercial or financial
information, the applicant should do the
following: (1) Note on the front cover
that the submission ‘‘Contains
Confidential Business Information
(CBI)’’; (2) mark each affected page
‘‘CBI’’; and (3) highlight or otherwise
denote the CBI portions.
The DOT regulations implementing
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
are found at 49 CFR part 7 Subpart C—
Availability of Reasonably Described
Records under the Freedom of
Information Act which sets forth rules
for FRA to make requested materials,
information, and records publicly
available under FOIA. Unless prohibited
by law and to the extent permitted
under the FOIA, contents of
applications and proposals submitted by
successful applicants may be released in
response to FOIA requests. In addition,
following the completion of the
selection process and announcement of
awards, FRA may publish a list of all
applications received along with the
names of the applicant organizations
and funding amounts requested. Except
for information withheld under the
previous paragraph, FRA may also make
application narratives publicly available
or share application information within
DOT or with other Federal agencies if
FRA determines that sharing is relevant
to the respective program’s objectives.
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BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
Office of the Secretary (OST),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Request for Information (RFI).
AGENCY:
The Office of the Secretary of
Transportation (OST) invites public
comment on the most meaningful
activities to advance equity that should
be considered as part of DOT’s 2024
update to its Equity Action Plan. The
responses to this RFI will help the
Department of Transportation (DOT, or
the Department) understand the impact
of our equity activities to date and
inform what equity-related activities
and performance metrics we prioritize
through the Plan.
DATES: Comments are requested by
August 14, 2024. See the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section on
‘‘Public Participation,’’ below, for more
information about written comments.
Written Comments: Responses to this
RFI are voluntary Comments should
refer to the docket number above and be
submitted by one of the following
methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, West Building Ground
Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday
through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
Instructions: For detailed instructions
on submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process,
see the Public Participation heading of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
of this document. Note that all
comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Privacy Act: Except as provided below
(‘‘confidential business information’’),
all comments received into the docket
SUMMARY:
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will be made public in their entirety.
The comments will be searchable 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 should
not include information in your
comment that you do not want to be
made public. For information on DOT’s
Privacy Act compliance, see https://
www.transportation.gov/privacy.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov or to the street
address listed above. Follow the online
instructions for accessing the dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Please email Equity@dot.gov or contact
Kristin Wood at 774–293–2726 with
questions. Office hours are from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. EDT, Monday through Friday,
except for Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Through this Request for Information
(RFI), the Department solicits input from
the public on the following question:
(1) What activities being advanced
through DOT’s Equity Action Plan
would be the most meaningful in
advancing equity?
(a) What activities can be expanded?
(b) What new activities can DOT
consider for the future?
This section includes additional
background information related to
DOT’s Equity Action Plan that may be
helpful in responding to this question.
The DOT Strategic Plan (available at
https://www.transportation.gov/dotstrategic-plan) is a roadmap for the
Department’s implementation of six
strategic goals, one of which is Equity.
The Equity strategic goal states that the
Department will ‘‘reduce inequities
across our transportation systems and
the communities they affect’’ and
‘‘support and engage people and
communities to promote safe,
affordable, accessible, and multimodal
access to opportunities and services
while reducing transportation-related
disparities, adverse community impacts,
and health effects.’’
In response to Executive Order (E.O.)
13985, Advancing Racial Equity and
Support for Underserved Communities
Through the Federal Government
(https://www.federalregister.gov/
documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/
advancing-racial-equity-and-supportfor-underserved-communities-throughthe-federal-government), the
Department developed its first Equity
Action Plan (https://
www.transportation.gov/priorities/
equity/actionplan). It highlighted key
actions that the Department will
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 135 / Monday, July 15, 2024 / Notices
undertake to expand access and
opportunity to all communities while
focusing on underserved, overburdened,
and disadvantaged communities.
E.O. 14091, Further Advancing Racial
Equity and Support for Underserved
Communities Through the Federal
Government (https://
www.federalregister.gov/documents/
2023/02/22/2023-03779/furtheradvancing-racial-equity-and-supportfor-underserved-communities-throughthe-federal), directs all federal agencies
to update their Equity Action Plans on
an annual basis. Specifically, each
update should include: the progress
made by the agency on the actions,
performance measures, and milestones
highlighted in the preceding year’s
Equity Action Plan; potential barriers
that underserved communities may face;
strategies to address those barriers, and
a description of how the agency intends
to meaningfully engage with
underserved communities. In response
to E.O. 14091, the 2023 update to DOT’s
Equity Action Plan (https://
www.transportation.gov/priorities/
equity/2023-equity-action-plan)
highlights DOT accomplishments and
updated commitments to equity.
Actions in the EAP fall under five focus
areas, including four that carried over
from the original Equity Action Plan:
Wealth Creation; Power of Community;
Proactive Intervention, Planning, and
Capacity Building; Expanding Access;
and a new Institutionalizing Equity
focus area.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
(BIL; enacted November 15, 2021 as the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act)
and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA;
enacted August 16, 2022) make historic
investments in the transportation sector,
improving public safety and climate
resilience, creating jobs across the
country, and delivering a more equitable
future. The Department is committed to
applying an equity lens to
implementation of BIL and IRA,
including through actions described in
our initial and updated Equity Action
Plans.
Government-wide definitions of (a)
equity, (b) underserved communities,
and (c) disadvantaged communities
have been established via Executive
Order(s). DOT has adopted these
government-wide definitions for the
purpose of this RFI and our Equity
Action Plan:
(a) The term ‘‘equity’’ means the
consistent and systematic treatment of
all individuals in a fair, just, and
impartial manner, including individuals
who belong to communities that often
have been denied such treatment, such
as Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native
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18:25 Jul 12, 2024
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American, Asian American, Native
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander persons
and other persons of color; members of
religious minorities; women and girls;
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with
disabilities; persons who live in rural
areas; persons who live in United States
Territories; persons otherwise adversely
affected by persistent poverty or
inequality; and individuals who belong
to multiple such communities. [Source:
E.O. 14091.]
(b) The term ‘‘underserved
communities’’ refers to those
populations [included in the definition
of ‘‘equity’’] as well as geographic
communities that have been
systematically denied the opportunity to
participate fully in aspects of economic,
social, and civic life, as defined in E.O.
13985. [Source: E.O. 14091.]
(c) The term ‘‘disadvantaged
community’’ refers to a community that
experiences disproportionately high and
adverse health, environmental, climate
related, economic, and other cumulative
impacts. [Source: E.O. 14008, Tackling
the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,
https://www.federalregister.gov/
documents/2021/02/01/2021-02177/
tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-andabroad.]
In addition, DOT has adopted the
following definitions of (d)
overburdened community and (2) for
the purpose of this RFI and our Equity
Action Plan:
(d) The term ‘‘overburdened
community’’ refers to minority, lowincome, tribal, or Indigenous
populations or geographic locations in
the United States that potentially
experience disproportionate
environmental and/or safety harms and
risks. This disproportionality can be a
result of greater vulnerability to
environmental hazards, heightened
safety risks, lack of opportunity for
public participation, or other factors.
[Source: https://www.epa.gov/
environmentaljustice/ej-2020-glossary.]
(e) The term ‘‘meaningful public
involvement’’ refers to a process that
proactively seeks full representation
from the community, considers public
comments and feedback, and
incorporates that feedback into a
project, program, or plan. [Source:
https://www.transportation.gov/publicinvolvement.]
DOT is in the process of preparing the
2024 Equity Action Plan update. The
responses to this RFI will help the
Department understand the impact of
our equity activities to date and inform
what we prioritize through this year’s
update to DOT’s Equity Action Plan.
Through this request, the Department
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seeks information from stakeholders in
public agencies, academic researchers
involved in the study of equity in
transportation decision-making,
advocacy, community-based
organizations, and not-for-profit
institutions and individuals working in
the transportation sector or the field of
equity, and State, local, Tribal, and
territorial areas, and the public. A
summary of input provided to the 2023
EAP update is available at: https://
www.transportation.gov/equity-RFI and
a webinar will be hosted on July 25,
2024.
Public Participation
How do I prepare and submit
comments?
To ensure that your comments are
filed correctly, please include the
docket number of this document DOT–
OST–2024–0072 in your comments.
Please submit one copy (two copies if
submitting by mail or hand delivery) of
your comments, including any
attachments, to the docket following the
instructions given above under
ADDRESSES. Please note, if you are
submitting comments electronically as a
PDF (Adobe) file, we ask that the
documents submitted be scanned using
an Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
process, thus allowing the Agency to
search and copy certain portions of your
submissions.
How do I submit confidential business
information?
Any submissions containing
Confidential Information must be
delivered to DOT in the following
manner:
• Submitted in a sealed envelope
marked ‘‘confidential treatment
requested’’;
• Document(s) or information that the
submitter would like withheld from the
public docket should be marked
‘‘PROPIN’’;
• Accompanied by an index listing
the document(s) or information that the
submitter would like the Departments to
withhold. The index should include
information such as numbers used to
identify the relevant document(s) or
information, document title and
description, and relevant page numbers
and/or section numbers within a
document; and
• Submitted with a statement
explaining the submitter’s grounds for
objecting to disclosing the information
to the public.
DOT will treat such marked
submissions as confidential under the
FOIA and not include them in the
public docket. DOT also requests that
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 135 / Monday, July 15, 2024 / Notices
submitters of Confidential Information
include a non-confidential version
(either redacted or summarized) of those
confidential submissions in the public
docket. If the submitter cannot provide
a non-confidential version of its
submission, DOT requests that the
submitter post a notice in the docket
stating that it has provided DOT with
Confidential Information. Should a
submitter fail to docket either a nonconfidential version of its submission or
to post a notice that Confidential
Information has been provided, we will
note the receipt of the submission on
the docket, with the submitter’s
organization or name (to the degree
permitted by law) and the date of
submission.
Will the Agency consider late
comments?
DOT will consider all comments
received before the close of business on
the comment closing date indicated
above under DATES. To the extent
practicable, DOT will also consider
comments received after that date.
How can I read the comments submitted
by other people?
You may read the comments received
at the address given above under
Written Comments. The hours of the
docket are indicated above in the same
location. You may also see the
comments on the internet, identified by
the docket number at the heading of this
notice, at https://www.regulations.gov.
Please note, this RFI is a planning
document and will serve as such. The
RFI should not be construed as policy,
a solicitation for applications, or an
obligation on the part of the
government.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 10,
2024.
Mariia Zimmerman,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Transportation Policy.
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
Internal Revenue Service
Open Meeting of the Taxpayer
Advocacy Panel Joint Committee
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
An open meeting of the
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Joint
Committee will be conducted. The
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting
SUMMARY:
Jkt 262001
10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. (1988) that
an open meeting of the Taxpayer
Advocacy Panel’s Special Projects
Committee will be held Wednesday,
August 14, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern
Time. The public is invited to make oral
comments or submit written statements
for consideration. Due to limited time
and structure of meeting, notification of
intent to participate must be made with
Antoinette Ross. For more information
please contact Antoinette Ross at 1–
888–912–1227 or 202–317–4110, or
write TAP Office, 1111 Constitution
Ave. NW, Room 1509, Washington, DC
20224 or contact us at the website:
https://www.improveirs.org. The agenda
will include TAP 2024 committee
project focus areas.
Dated: July 5, 2024.
Shawn Collins,
Director, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel.
[FR Doc. 2024–15435 Filed 7–12–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Open Meeting of the Taxpayer
Advocacy Panel Taxpayer Assistance
Center Improvements Project
Committee
Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
An open meeting of the
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel’s Taxpayer
Assistance Center Improvements Project
Committee will be conducted. The
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting
public comments, ideas, and
suggestions on improving customer
service at the Internal Revenue Service.
This meeting will be held via
teleconference.
SUMMARY:
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Open Meeting of the Taxpayer
Advocacy Panel’s Special Projects
Committee
An open meeting of the
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel’s Special
Projects Committee will be conducted.
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is
soliciting public comments, ideas, and
suggestions on improving customer
service at the Internal Revenue Service.
This meeting will be held via
teleconference.
DATES: The meeting will be held
Wednesday, August 14, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Antoinette Ross at 1–888–912–1227 or
202–317–4110.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
hereby given pursuant to section
SUMMARY:
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
[FR Doc. 2024–15439 Filed 7–12–24; 8:45 am]
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of Meeting.
BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P
18:25 Jul 12, 2024
Dated: July 5, 2024.
Shawn Collins,
Director, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel.
AGENCY:
[FR Doc. 2024–15456 Filed 7–12–24; 8:45 am]
VerDate Sep<11>2014
public comments, ideas, and
suggestions on improving customer
service at the Internal Revenue Service.
This meeting will be held via
teleconference through the Microsoft
Teams Platform.
DATES: The meeting will be held
Thursday, August 22, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Conchata Holloway at 1–888–912–1227
or 214–413–6550.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
hereby given pursuant to section
10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. (1988)
that an open meeting of the Taxpayer
Advocacy Panel Joint Committee will be
held Thursday, August 22, 2024, at 3:00
p.m. Eastern Time via teleconference.
The public is invited to make oral
comments or submit written statements
for consideration. For more information,
please contact Conchata Holloway at 1–
888–912–1227 or 214–413–6550, or
write TAP Office, 1114 Commerce St.
MC 1005, Dallas, TX 75242 or contact us
at the website: https://
www.improveirs.org.
The agenda will include the potential
project referrals from the committees,
and discussions on priorities the TAP
will focus on for the 2024 year. Public
input is welcomed.
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The meeting will be held
Tuesday, August 13, 2024.
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Matthew O’Sullivan at 1–888–912–1227
or (510) 907–5274.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
hereby given pursuant to section
10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. (1988) that
an open meeting of the Taxpayer
Advocacy Panel’s Taxpayer Assistance
Center Improvements (TAC) Project
Committee will be held Tuesday,
August 13, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Time. The public is invited to make oral
comments or submit written statements
for consideration. Due to limited time
and structure of meeting, notification of
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 135 (Monday, July 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57516-57518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15456]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[DOT-OST-2024-0072]
Department of Transportation Equity Action Plan Update
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Request for Information (RFI).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) invites
public comment on the most meaningful activities to advance equity that
should be considered as part of DOT's 2024 update to its Equity Action
Plan. The responses to this RFI will help the Department of
Transportation (DOT, or the Department) understand the impact of our
equity activities to date and inform what equity-related activities and
performance metrics we prioritize through the Plan.
DATES: Comments are requested by August 14, 2024. See the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section on ``Public Participation,'' below, for more
information about written comments.
Written Comments: Responses to this RFI are voluntary Comments
should refer to the docket number above and be submitted by one of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public
Participation heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this
document. Note that all comments received will be posted without change
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided.
Privacy Act: Except as provided below (``confidential business
information''), all comments received into the docket will be made
public in their entirety. The comments will be searchable 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 should not include information in your comment that you do not want
to be made public. For information on DOT's Privacy Act compliance, see
https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov or to the street
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please email [email protected] or contact
Kristin Wood at 774-293-2726 with questions. Office hours are from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT, Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Through this Request for Information (RFI), the Department solicits
input from the public on the following question:
(1) What activities being advanced through DOT's Equity Action Plan
would be the most meaningful in advancing equity?
(a) What activities can be expanded?
(b) What new activities can DOT consider for the future?
This section includes additional background information related to
DOT's Equity Action Plan that may be helpful in responding to this
question.
The DOT Strategic Plan (available at https://www.transportation.gov/dot-strategic-plan) is a roadmap for the
Department's implementation of six strategic goals, one of which is
Equity. The Equity strategic goal states that the Department will
``reduce inequities across our transportation systems and the
communities they affect'' and ``support and engage people and
communities to promote safe, affordable, accessible, and multimodal
access to opportunities and services while reducing transportation-
related disparities, adverse community impacts, and health effects.''
In response to Executive Order (E.O.) 13985, Advancing Racial
Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal
Government (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government), the Department developed its first
Equity Action Plan (https://www.transportation.gov/priorities/equity/actionplan). It highlighted key actions that the Department will
[[Page 57517]]
undertake to expand access and opportunity to all communities while
focusing on underserved, overburdened, and disadvantaged communities.
E.O. 14091, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for
Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/02/22/2023-03779/further-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal), directs all federal agencies to update their
Equity Action Plans on an annual basis. Specifically, each update
should include: the progress made by the agency on the actions,
performance measures, and milestones highlighted in the preceding
year's Equity Action Plan; potential barriers that underserved
communities may face; strategies to address those barriers, and a
description of how the agency intends to meaningfully engage with
underserved communities. In response to E.O. 14091, the 2023 update to
DOT's Equity Action Plan (https://www.transportation.gov/priorities/equity/2023-equity-action-plan) highlights DOT accomplishments and
updated commitments to equity. Actions in the EAP fall under five focus
areas, including four that carried over from the original Equity Action
Plan: Wealth Creation; Power of Community; Proactive Intervention,
Planning, and Capacity Building; Expanding Access; and a new
Institutionalizing Equity focus area.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL; enacted November 15, 2021
as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) and Inflation Reduction
Act (IRA; enacted August 16, 2022) make historic investments in the
transportation sector, improving public safety and climate resilience,
creating jobs across the country, and delivering a more equitable
future. The Department is committed to applying an equity lens to
implementation of BIL and IRA, including through actions described in
our initial and updated Equity Action Plans.
Government-wide definitions of (a) equity, (b) underserved
communities, and (c) disadvantaged communities have been established
via Executive Order(s). DOT has adopted these government-wide
definitions for the purpose of this RFI and our Equity Action Plan:
(a) The term ``equity'' means the consistent and systematic
treatment of all individuals in a fair, just, and impartial manner,
including individuals who belong to communities that often have been
denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native
American, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander persons
and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; women and
girls; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons;
persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; persons who
live in United States Territories; persons otherwise adversely affected
by persistent poverty or inequality; and individuals who belong to
multiple such communities. [Source: E.O. 14091.]
(b) The term ``underserved communities'' refers to those
populations [included in the definition of ``equity''] as well as
geographic communities that have been systematically denied the
opportunity to participate fully in aspects of economic, social, and
civic life, as defined in E.O. 13985. [Source: E.O. 14091.]
(c) The term ``disadvantaged community'' refers to a community that
experiences disproportionately high and adverse health, environmental,
climate related, economic, and other cumulative impacts. [Source: E.O.
14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/02/01/2021-02177/tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad.]
In addition, DOT has adopted the following definitions of (d)
overburdened community and (2) for the purpose of this RFI and our
Equity Action Plan:
(d) The term ``overburdened community'' refers to minority, low-
income, tribal, or Indigenous populations or geographic locations in
the United States that potentially experience disproportionate
environmental and/or safety harms and risks. This disproportionality
can be a result of greater vulnerability to environmental hazards,
heightened safety risks, lack of opportunity for public participation,
or other factors. [Source: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/ej-2020-glossary.]
(e) The term ``meaningful public involvement'' refers to a process
that proactively seeks full representation from the community,
considers public comments and feedback, and incorporates that feedback
into a project, program, or plan. [Source: https://www.transportation.gov/public-involvement.]
DOT is in the process of preparing the 2024 Equity Action Plan
update. The responses to this RFI will help the Department understand
the impact of our equity activities to date and inform what we
prioritize through this year's update to DOT's Equity Action Plan.
Through this request, the Department seeks information from
stakeholders in public agencies, academic researchers involved in the
study of equity in transportation decision-making, advocacy, community-
based organizations, and not-for-profit institutions and individuals
working in the transportation sector or the field of equity, and State,
local, Tribal, and territorial areas, and the public. A summary of
input provided to the 2023 EAP update is available at: https://www.transportation.gov/equity-RFI and a webinar will be hosted on July
25, 2024.
Public Participation
How do I prepare and submit comments?
To ensure that your comments are filed correctly, please include
the docket number of this document DOT-OST-2024-0072 in your comments.
Please submit one copy (two copies if submitting by mail or hand
delivery) of your comments, including any attachments, to the docket
following the instructions given above under ADDRESSES. Please note, if
you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file, we
ask that the documents submitted be scanned using an Optical Character
Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing the Agency to search and copy
certain portions of your submissions.
How do I submit confidential business information?
Any submissions containing Confidential Information must be
delivered to DOT in the following manner:
Submitted in a sealed envelope marked ``confidential
treatment requested'';
Document(s) or information that the submitter would like
withheld from the public docket should be marked ``PROPIN'';
Accompanied by an index listing the document(s) or
information that the submitter would like the Departments to withhold.
The index should include information such as numbers used to identify
the relevant document(s) or information, document title and
description, and relevant page numbers and/or section numbers within a
document; and
Submitted with a statement explaining the submitter's
grounds for objecting to disclosing the information to the public.
DOT will treat such marked submissions as confidential under the
FOIA and not include them in the public docket. DOT also requests that
[[Page 57518]]
submitters of Confidential Information include a non-confidential
version (either redacted or summarized) of those confidential
submissions in the public docket. If the submitter cannot provide a
non-confidential version of its submission, DOT requests that the
submitter post a notice in the docket stating that it has provided DOT
with Confidential Information. Should a submitter fail to docket either
a non-confidential version of its submission or to post a notice that
Confidential Information has been provided, we will note the receipt of
the submission on the docket, with the submitter's organization or name
(to the degree permitted by law) and the date of submission.
Will the Agency consider late comments?
DOT will consider all comments received before the close of
business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To
the extent practicable, DOT will also consider comments received after
that date.
How can I read the comments submitted by other people?
You may read the comments received at the address given above under
Written Comments. The hours of the docket are indicated above in the
same location. You may also see the comments on the internet,
identified by the docket number at the heading of this notice, at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Please note, this RFI is a planning document and will serve as
such. The RFI should not be construed as policy, a solicitation for
applications, or an obligation on the part of the government.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2024.
Mariia Zimmerman,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy.
[FR Doc. 2024-15456 Filed 7-12-24; 8:45 am]
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