2774 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement: Fond du Lac & Sheboygan 

Counties, WI 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this 

notice to advise the public that a limited 

scope Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Statement (SEIS) will be 

prepared for the proposed capacity 

improvements to Wisconsin Highway 23 

from U.S. Highway 151 to County 

Highway P in Fond du Lac and 

Sheboygan Counties, Wisconsin. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bethaney Bacher-Gresock, 

Environmental Program Manager, 

FHWA, 525 Junction Road, Suite 8000, 

Madison, WI 53717–2157; Telephone: 

(608) 662–2119. You may also contact 

Rebecca Burkel, Director, Bureau of 

Technical Services, Wisconsin 

Department of Transportation, 3502 

Kinsman Blvd., Madison, WI 53704– 

2549; Telephone (608) 246–5399. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

FHWA, in cooperation with the 

Wisconsin Department of 

Transportation (WisDOT) will prepare a 

limited scope SEIS in accordance with 

23 CFR 771.130(f) and 40 CFR 1502.9 

for the proposed capacity improvements 

along approximately 19 miles of 

Wisconsin Highway 23 from U.S. 

Highway 151 in the City of Fond du Lac 

to County Highway P in the City of 

Plymouth, in Fond du Lac and 

Sheboygan Counties, Wisconsin. The 

purpose of the SEIS is to clarify certain 

parts of the previously approved June 3, 

2010 Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (FEIS) and to reconsider 

certain portions, including parts of the 

Section 4(f) evaluation and indirect and 

cumulative impacts analysis. In 

accordance with its regulations, FHWA 

also will evaluate and provide 

additional analysis, if needed, on any 

new or changed impacts to the human 

and natural environment since the 

issuance of the Record of Decision 

(ROD) on September 27, 2010. The ROD 

selected a build alternative involving 

construction of a 4-lane divided 

highway along the existing Wisconsin 

Highway 23 alignment, three 

interchanges (at County Highway K, 

County Highway UU, and County 

Highway G), and local road and access 

improvements. The ROD also selected a 

corridor preservation alternative for the 

Wisconsin Highway 23 corridor (except 

for the U.S. 151 interchange where there 

will be no corridor preservation), to 

preserve the right-of-way needed for 

future interchanges and grade 

separations. 

The SEIS will follow the same process 

and format as the original EIS (Draft EIS, 

FEIS, and ROD), except that scoping is 

not required. The FEIS and ROD are 

available at http:// 

www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/ 

neregion/23/environ.htm. 

Public involvement is a critical 

component of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

project development process and will 

occur throughout the development of 

the environmental documents. 

Environmental documents will be made 

available for review by resource 

agencies and the public. Public 

hearing(s) will be held following the 

availability of the Draft SEIS and as 

necessary. The public hearing(s) will be 

accessible and held at a convenient time 

and location. Individuals will be 

provided the opportunity to offer 

official comments by publicly 

expressing their views to representatives 

of WisDOT and others in attendance, 

privately to a court reporter, or by 

submitting written comments. WisDOT 

will provide FHWA with a transcript of 

the public hearing(s) and copies of 

submitted written comments. 

Letters describing the proposed action 

and soliciting comments will be sent to 

the appropriate Federal, State, and local 

agencies, and to private organizations 

and citizens who have previously 

expressed or are known to have interest 

in this proposed project. To ensure that 

the full range of issues related to this 

proposed action are addressed and all 

significant issues are identified, 

comments and suggestions are invited 

from interested parties. Comments or 

questions concerning this proposed 

action and the SEIS should be directed 

to the FHWA at the address above. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway, Planning, 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding the intergovernmental consultation 

on Federal programs and activities apply to 

this program.) 

Issued on: January 11, 2012. 

R. Kirk Fredrichs, 

Assistant Division Administrator, Federal 

Highway Administration, Madison, 

Wisconsin. 

[FR Doc. 2012–925 Filed 1–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket Number FRA–2003–15754] 

Notice of Application for Approval of 

Discontinuance or Modification of a 

Railroad Signal System 

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 

49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 

this document provides the public 

notice that by a document dated 

December 16, 2011, the Reading, Blue 

Mountain and Northern Railroad 

(RBMN) has petitioned the Federal 

Railroad Administration (FRA) seeking 

approval for the discontinuance or 

modification of a signal system. FRA 

has reopened and assigned the 

application Docket Number FRA–2003– 

15754. 

Applicant: Reading, Blue Mountain 

and Northern Railroad, Mr. Jonathan 

Barket, AVP, Communications & 

Signals, 1 Railroad Boulevard, Port 

Clinton, Pennsylvania 19549. 

RBMN seeks approval of the proposed 

discontinuance of the automatic block 

signal (ABS) system on Track 1 on the 

main line and Lehighton Branch, Lehigh 

Division, between Milepost (MP) 119.3, 

Lehighton, and MP 130.6, 

Independence, PA. 

The reason given for the proposed 

change is that the signal system has 

been out of service since being damaged 

by weather in December 2003. RBMN 

applied, in Docket Number FRA–2003– 

15754, for an extension to the time 

allowed to repair the signal system after 

the damage. The application was denied 

due to not being filed correctly. At the 

time, there was another railroad 

operating in the application area and the 

application was not submitted as a joint 

application. RBMN did not resubmit a 

joint application as requested in FRA’s 

decision letter denying the application. 

In the ensuing years, operations have 

changed, with RBMN being the sole 

operator on the trackage involved. 

RBMN records indicate that the ABS has 

been out of service since before the 

August 1996 acquisition of this section 

of railroad. Since the acquisition, RBMN 

states they have operated this section by 

means of Northeast Operating Rules 

Advisory Committee (NORAC) Form D 

permits. FRA records continue to show 

the area being operated under NORAC 

Rule 251. Therefore RBMN requests to 

discontinue the ABS. 

A copy of the petition, as well as any 

written communications concerning the 

petition, is available for review online at 

www.regulations.gov and in person at 

the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 

(DOT) Docket Operations Facility, 1200 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Notices 2775 

1 Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (Goodyear) 

is a replacement equipment manufacturer 

incorporated in the state of Ohio. 

New Jersey Ave. SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. The Docket 

Operations Facility is open from 9 a.m. 

to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal Holidays. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. FRA does not anticipate 

scheduling a public hearing in 

connection with these proceedings since 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested party desires 

an opportunity for oral comment, they 

should notify FRA, in writing, before 

the end of the comment period and 

specify the basis for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number and may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal Holidays. 

Communications received by March 

5, 2012 will be considered by FRA 

before final action is taken. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered as far as practicable. 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of any written 

communications and 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 the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78), or 

online at http://www.dot.gov/ 

privacy.html. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 12, 

2012. 

Ron Hynes, 

Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Regulatory and Legislative Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2012–1003 Filed 1–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2011–0033; Notice 2] 

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, 

Grant of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Petition Grant. 

SUMMARY: Goodyear Tire and Rubber 

Company,(Goodyear),1 has determined 

that approximately 26,224 Goodyear 

Assurance ComforTred Touring 

passenger replacement car tires 

manufactured between January 4, 2010 

and September 11, 2010, did not fully 

comply with paragraph S5.5(e) of 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 

(FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic 

Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. 

Goodyear has filed an appropriate report 

pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and 

Noncompliance Responsibility and 

Reports (dated December 16, 2010). 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h) and the rule implementing 

those provisions at 49 CFR part 556, 

Goodyear has petitioned for an 

exemption from the notification and 

remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. 

chapter 301 on the basis that this 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety. 

Notice of receipt of Goodyear’s 

petition was published with a 30-day 

public comment period, on March 18, 

2011, in the Federal Register (76 FR 

15045). No comments were received. To 

view the petition and all supporting 

documents log onto the Federal Docket 

Management System Web site at: 

http://www.regulations.gov/. Then 

follow the online search instructions to 

locate docket number ‘‘NHTSA–2011– 

0033.’’ 

Contact Information: For further 

information on this decision contact Mr. 

George Gillespie, Office of Vehicle 

Safety Compliance, the National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA), telephone (202) 366–5299, 

facsimile (202) 366–7002. 

Summary of Goodyear’s Petition: 

Affected are approximately 26,224 

Goodyear Assurance ComforTred 

Touring passenger car replacement tires, 

size 215/70R15 that were manufactured 

between January 4, 2010 and September 

11, 2010. 

Goodyear explains that the 

noncompliance is that, due to a mold 

labeling error, the sidewall marking on 

the tires incorrectly describes the 

generic name of the cord material in the 

tread area of the tires as required by 

paragraph S5.5(e). Specifically, the tires 

in question were inadvertently 

manufactured with ‘‘Tread: 1 Polyester 

Cord + 2 Steel Cords + 1 Polyester Cord. 

The labeling should have been ‘‘Tread: 

1 Polyester Cord + 2 Steel Cords + 1 

Nylon Cord.’’ 

Goodyear argues that this 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety because while the 

non-compliant tires are mislabeled they 

meet or exceed all applicable Federal 

Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, the 

noncompliant sidewall marking does 

not create an unsafe condition, and all 

other labeling requirements have been 

met. 

Goodyear points out that NHTSA has 

previously granted similar petitions for 

non-compliances in sidewall marking. 

Goodyear additionally states that it 

has corrected the affected tire molds and 

all future production will have the 

correct material shown on the sidewall. 

In summation, Goodyear believes that 

the described noncompliance of its tires 

to meet the requirements of FMVSS No. 

139 is inconsequential to motor vehicle 

safety, and that its petition, to exempt 

from providing recall notification of 

noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 

30118 and remedying the recall 

noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 

30120, and should be granted. 

NHTSA Decision: The agency agrees 

with Goodyear that the noncompliances 

are inconsequential to motor vehicle 

safety. The agency believes that the true 

measure of inconsequentiality to motor 

vehicle safety in this case is that there 

is no effect of the noncompliances on 

the operational safety of vehicles on 

which these tires are mounted. 

Although tire construction affects the 

strength and durability, neither the 

agency nor the tire industry provides 

information relating tire strength and 

durability to the number of plies and 

types of ply cord material in the tread 

and sidewall. Therefore, tire dealers and 

customers should consider the tire 

construction information along with 

other information such as load capacity, 

maximum inflation pressure, and tread 

wear, temperature, and traction ratings, 

to assess performance capabilities of 

various tires. 

In the agency’s judgment, the 

incorrect labeling of the tire 

construction information will have an 

inconsequential effect on motor vehicle 

safety because most consumers do not 

base tire purchases or vehicle operation 

parameters on the ply material in a tire. 

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