Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2004 / Notices 58997

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration 

[FTA Docket No. FTA–2004–19219] 

Agency Information Collection Activity 

Undre OMB Review

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT.

ACTION: Notice of request for comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance 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 

approval. The Federal Register Notice 

with a 60-day comment period soliciting 

comments was published on June 1, 

2004.

DATES: Comments must be submitted 

before November 1, 2004. A comment to 

OMB is most effective if OMB receives 

it within 30 days of publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sylia L. Marion, Office of 

Administration, Office of Management 

Planning, (202) 366–6680.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: 49 

CFR Part 611 Major Capital Investment 

Projects (OMB Number: 2132–0561). 

Abstract: On June 9, 1998, the 

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st 

Century (TEA–21) (Pub. L. 105–178) 

was enacted. Section 3009(e)(5) of TEA–

21 requires FTA to issue regulations on 

the manner in which candidate projects 

for capital investment grants and loans 

for new fixed guideway systems and 

extensions to existing systems (‘‘New 

Starts’’) will be evaluated and rated for 

purposes of the FTA Capital Investment 

Grants and Loans program for New 

Starts under 49 USC Section 5309. 

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(NPRM) for this regulation was issued 

on April 7, 1999, (64 FR 17062). The 

Final Rule was issued on December 7, 

2000, (67 FR 76864). In the Federal 

Register of October 30, 2001, FTA 

announced OMB’s approval of the 

collection of information for the Final 

Rule. 

It is important to note that while the 

New Starts project evaluation and rating 

regulation was new when FTA first 

requested approval for this information 

collection, the requirements for project 

evaluation and data collection for the 

New Starts program are not. FTA’s 

requirement to evaluate proposed New 

Starts against a prescribed set of 

statutory criteria is longstanding. The 

Surface Transportation and Uniform 

Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 

(STURAA) established in law a set of 

criteria for proposed projects to become 

eligible for federal funding. The 

requirement for summary project ratings 

has been in place since 1998. 

In general, the information used by 

FTA for New Starts project evaluation 

and rating purposes should arise as a 

part of the normal planning process. 

Prior to this Rule, FTA collected project 

evaluation information from project 

sponsors under a Paperwork Reduction 

Act request (OMB No. 2132–0529) 

approved under the joint FTA/FHWA 

planning regulations. However, as the 

project evaluation criteria expanded 

under TEA–21, it became aparent that 

some information required under this 

Rule might be beyond the scope of 

ordinary planning activities. Further, 

whlie FTA has long required the 

reporting of information for project 

evaluations, there has never been a 

regulatory requirement until TEA–21. 

Finally, this Rule added a new 

requirement for before-and-after data 

collection for purposes of Government 

Performance and Results Act reporting 

as a condition of obtaining a Full 

Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA). It is 

also important to note that since this is 

a new regulatory requirement, the 

burden estimates include all data 

collection efforts required by this Rule, 

regardless of whether the same data 

would have been required under the 

previous, policy statement-driven 

process. Thus, the total burden estimate 

includes items that would have been 

required whether this regulation had 

been issued or not. These estimates 

were also provided in the preamble to 

the Final Rule dated December 7, 2000. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden:

32,920 hours.

ADDRESSES: All written comments must 

refer to the docket number that appears 

at the top of this document and be 

submitted to the Office of Information 

and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, 725–17th 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, 

Attention: FTA Desk Officer. 

Comments are Invited On: Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility, the accuracy of 

the Department’s estimate of the burden 

of the proposed information collection; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology.

Dated: September 27, 2004. 

Ann M. Linnertz, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 04–22143 Filed 9–30–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration 

Preparation of an Environmental 

Impact Statement on Transit 

Improvements Between Ann Arbor and 

Downtown Detroit, MI

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The FTA is issuing this notice 

to advise agencies and the public that, 

in accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

is being prepared for a proposed transit 

improvement in Southeast Michigan, 

between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Located 

in Wayne and Washtenaw Counties, the 

proposed transit project would extend 

from west of Ann Arbor to downtown 

Detroit, by way of the Detroit Metro 

Airport. The corridor is situated along I–

94 and the Norfolk Southern Railroad. 

The study area boundaries are generally 

defined as the corridor formed by the 

City of Chelsea on the west, Detroit 

Metro Airport on the south, and 

downtown Detroit on the east. The 

study area is located within the 

metropolitan area represented by the 

Southeast Michigan Council of 

Governments (SEMCOG), the project 

sponsor. FTA and SEMCOG will also 

seek the cooperation of the Federal 

Railroad Administration (FRA), the 

Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA), and the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) in conducting 

this review.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written 

comments on the scope of the EIS, 

including the alternatives and impacts 

to be considered, should be sent to 

Carmine Palombo of SEMCOG at the 

SEMCOG address given in ADDRESSES

below by October 30, 2004. Scoping 

Meetings: SEMCOG will conduct three 

(3) public scoping meetings and an 

agency scoping meeting. The public 

scoping meetings will be held at the 

following locations: 

• Tuesday, October 19, 2004, 4–8 

p.m.; Washtenaw Community College, 

Morris Lawrence Building, Room 

ML103/123, 4800 E. Huron River Drive, 

Ann Arbor;