Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2011 / Notices 50323 

CFR Section Respondent universe Total annual responses Average time per 

response 

Total annual 

burden hours 

Handling of Defective Equipment w/ECP 

Brake Systems—Tagging.

25 Cars ........................ 50 tags ......................... 2.5 minutes .................. 2 

Train in ECP Mode w/Less Than 85% of 

Cars w/Operative Brakes—Insp. + Tagging.

20 Cars ........................ 20 insp. + 40 tags ........ 5 minutes + 2.5 minutes.3 

Freight Cars w/ECP Systems Found with 

Defective Non-Safety Appliance—Tagging.

75 Cars ........................ 150 tags ....................... 2.5 minutes .................. 6 

Conventional Train Operating with ECP 

Stand Alone Brake Systems—Tagging.

500 Cars ...................... 1,000 tags .................... 2.5 minutes .................. 42 

Procedures for Handling ECP Brake System 

Repairs.

4 railroads .................... 4 procedures ................ 24 hours ....................... 96 

Submission to FRA of ECP Brake System 

Repair Locations—Lists.

4 railroads .................... 4 lists ............................ 8 hours ......................... 32 

Notice to FRA of Change in List .................. 4 railroads .................... 1 notification ................. 60 minutes ................... 1 

232.611: 

Periodic Maintenance Inspection and Repair 

of ECP Cars Before Release from Repair 

Shop or Track.

500 freight Cars ........... 500 inspection and 

records.

10 minutes ................... 83 

Petitions for Special Approval of Pre-Revenue Service Acceptance Testing Plan.AAR .............................. 1 petition + 2 copies .... 24 hours + 5 minutes ... 24 

Single Car Brake Test on ECP Retrofitted 

Cars.

2,500 freight Cars ........ 2,500 tests/Records ..... 45 minutes ................... 1,875 

Modification of Single Car Test Standard .... AAR .............................. 1 procedure .................. 40 hours ....................... 40 

Total Responses: 8,677,078. 

Total Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

990,276 hours. 

Status: Regular Review. 

Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 

CFR 1320.5(b), 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), FRA 

informs all interested parties that it may 

not conduct or sponsor, and a 

respondent is not required to respond 

to, a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520. 

Issued in Washington, DC on August 5, 

2011 . 

Kimberly Coronel, 

Director, Office of Financial Management, 

Federal Railroad Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20464 Filed 8–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Environmental Impact Report/ 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the California High-Speed Train Project 

Fresno to Bakersfield Section 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), United States 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to 

advise the public that a Draft 

Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/ 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

has been prepared for the California 

High-Speed Train (HST) Project Fresno 

to Bakersfield Section (Project). FRA is 

the lead Federal agency and the 

California High-Speed Rail Authority 

(Authority) is the lead state agency for 

the environmental review process. 

The Authority plans to construct and 

operate a fully grade-separated, 

dedicated double-track, electric 

powered, passenger rail, high-speed 

railroad along a 114-mile corridor 

between Fresno and Bakersfield, CA. 

The Project includes stations in 

downtown Fresno and Bakersfield, and 

a possible Kings/Tulare Regional Station 

east of Hanford, CA. A heavy 

maintenance facility for assembly, 

testing, and commissioning of trains, 

train inspection and service, and train 

overhaul may be constructed in the 

Fresno to Bakersfield Section. 

The Draft EIR/EIS presents the 

Project’s purpose and need, identifies 

all reasonable alternatives including 

track alignments, stations, and heavy 

maintenance facilities as well as the no 

action alternative, describes the affected 

environment, analyzes the potential 

environmental impacts of all the 

reasonable alternatives and the no 

action alternative, and identifies 

appropriate mitigation measures to 

minimize the potential environmental 

impacts. 

DATES: Written comments on the Draft 

EIR/EIS for the Fresno to Bakersfield 

Section should be provided to the 

Authority on or before September 28, 

2011. Public hearings are scheduled on 

September 20, September 21, and 

September 22, 2011 in Fresno, CA, 

Hanford, CA, and Bakersfield, CA 

respectively at the times and dates listed 

in the ADDRESSES section below. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

Draft EIR/EIS should be sent to the 

California High-Speed Rail Authority, 

Fresno to Bakersfield EIR/EIS 

Comments, 770 L Street, Suite 800, 

Sacramento, CA 95814, through the 

Authority’s Web site at http:// 

www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov, or via email with the subject line ‘‘Draft EIR/ 

EIS’’ at Fresno_Bakersfield@hsr.ca.gov. 

Comments may also be provided orally 

or in writing at the public hearings 

scheduled at the following locations: 

• Fresno, CA, Tuesday, September 20, 

2011, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Fresno 

Convention Center, 848 M Street, 

Fresno, CA; 

• Hanford, CA, Wednesday, 

September 21, 2011, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., 

Civic Auditorium, 400 N. Douty Street, 

Hanford, CA; and 

• Bakersfield, CA, Thursday, 

September 22, 2011, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., 

Beale Memorial Library, 701 Truxton 

Avenue, Bakersfield, CA. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mr. David Valenstein, Chief, 

Environment and Systems Planning 

Division, Office of Railroad Policy and 

Development, Federal Railroad 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., MS–20, Washington, DC 

20590 (telephone: 202–493–6368), or 

Mr. Dan Leavitt, Deputy Director for 

Environmental Review and Planning, 

California High-Speed Rail Authority, 

770 L Street, Ste. 800, Sacramento, CA 

95814 (telephone: 916–324–1541). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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50324 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2011 / Notices 

Once completed, the California HST 

system will provide intercity, highspeed passenger rail service on more 

than 800 miles of tracks throughout 

California, connecting the major 

population centers of Sacramento, the 

San Francisco Bay Area, the Central 

Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, 

Orange County, and San Diego. It will 

use state-of-the-art, electrically 

powered, high-speed, steel-wheel-onsteel-rail technology, including 

contemporary safety, signaling, and 

automated train-control systems, with 

trains capable of operating up to 220 

miles per hour (mph) over a fully gradeseparated, dedicated double track 

alignment. 

The FRA and Authority certified a 

Statewide Program EIR/EIS (Tier 1) for 

the California HST system in November 

2005 as the first phase of a tiered 

environmental review process for the 

California HST system. In 2008, the FRA 

and Authority certified another program 

EIR/EIS for the Bay Area to Central 

Valley portion of the HST system. The 

Fresno to Bakersfield Section Draft EIR/ 

EIS (Tier 2) analyzes the environmental 

impacts and benefits of implementing 

the high-speed train in the more 

geographically limited area between 

Fresno and Bakersfield, and is based on 

more detailed project planning and 

engineering. This Draft EIR/EIS analysis 

builds on the earlier decisions and 

program EIR/EISs, and provides more 

site-specific and detailed analysis. 

The Authority plans to complete the 

California HST System in two phases. 

Phase 1 will connect San Francisco to 

Los Angeles/Anaheim via the Pacheco 

Pass and the Central Valley with a 

mandated express travel time of 2 hours 

and 40 minutes or less. Phase 2 will 

connect the Central Valley to the state’s 

capital, Sacramento, and will extend the 

system from Los Angeles, CA to San 

Diego, CA. This Project is for one 

section in Phase 1 and is receiving 

funding from FRA for design and 

environmental review as well as for the 

construction of an initial Section in the 

Central Valley. 

The American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery 

Act), enacted February 17, 2009, 

contained $8 billion to fund high-speed 

intercity passenger rail (HSIPR) projects. 

In response to the Recovery Act 

funding, FRA developed and began 

implementation of the HSIPR Program 

to fund projects to improve existing 

intercity passenger rail service and to 

develop new high speed intercity 

passenger rail corridors. FRA’s HSIPR 

Program also received an additional 

$2.1 billion from the Transportation, 

Housing, and Urban Development and 

Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 

2010. The California High-Speed Rail 

Authority applied for and was selected 

to receive over $3.5 billion in HSIPR 

funds from FRA to complete 

preliminary engineering and NEPA 

reviews and associated documentation 

for all eight segments comprising the 

California HST System and to construct 

an initial Central Valley Section from 

Madera County to Bakersfield (Kern 

County) California. Completion of the 

environmental review process marked 

by issuance of a Record of Decision 

(ROD) by FRA is a prerequisite for any 

construction related Federal funding or 

approvals from FRA. 

The approximately 114-mile-long 

Fresno to Bakersfield Section is a 

critical Phase 1 link connecting Merced 

to Fresno and Bay Area HST Sections to 

the north and the Bakersfield to 

Palmdale and Palmdale to Los Angeles 

HST Sections to the south. The Fresno 

to Bakersfield Section includes HST 

stations in the cities of Fresno and 

Bakersfield, with a third potential 

station located in the vicinity of 

Hanford (Kings/Tulare Regional Station) 

that would serve the Hanford, Visalia, 

and Tulare area. The Fresno and 

Bakersfield stations are this Section’s 

beginning and ending points, or project 

termini. 

This Draft EIR/EIS has been prepared 

by the FRA and the Authority consistent 

with the provisions of Section 102(2)(c) 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), the Counsel of Environmental 

Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing 

NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500 et seq.), FRA’s 

Procedures for Considering 

Environmental Impacts (64 FR 28545 

(May 26, 1999)), the California 

Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 

(Public Resources Code § 21000–21178), 

and CEQA Guidelines (California Code 

of Regulations Title 14, Chapter 3 

§ 15000–15387). 

Copies of the Draft EIR/EIS are 

available online at FRA’s Web site: 

http://www.fra.dot.gov; the Authority’s 

Web site: http:// 

www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov; and they 

are also available for viewing at the 

following locations near the planned 

rail system: 

• Fresno County Public Library, 

Central Branch, Central Reference 

Department, 2420 Mariposa Street, 

Fresno, CA; 

• Fresno County Public Library, 

Clovis Regional Library, 1155 Fifth 

Street, Clovis, CA; 

• Fresno County Public Library, Laton 

Branch, 6313 DeWoody Street, Laton, 

CA; 

• Kern County Library, Beale 

Memorial Library, 701 Truxtun Avenue, 

Bakersfield, CA; 

• Kern County Library, Corcoran 

Branch, 1001 Chittenden Avenue, 

Corcoran, CA; 

• Kern County Library, Delano 

Branch, 925 10th Avenue, Delano, CA; 

• Kern County Library, Shafter 

Branch, 236 James Street, Shafter, CA; 

• Kern County Library, Wasco 

Branch, 1102 7th Street, Wasco, CA; 

• Kings County Library, Hanford 

Branch (Main Library), 401 N. Douty 

Street, Hanford, CA; 

• Kings County Library, Lemoore 

Branch, 457 C Street, Lemoore, CA; 

• Tulare County Library, Visalia 

Branch (Main Library), 200 West Oak 

Avenue, Visalia, CA; and 

• Tulare Public Library, 475 North M 

Street, Tulare, CA. 

Issued in Washington, DC on August 9, 

2011. 

Corey W. Hill, 

Director, Rail Project Development and 

Delivery. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20571 Filed 8–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Environmental Impact Report/ 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the California High-Speed Rail Project 

Merced to Fresno Section 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), United States 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to 

advise the public that a Draft 

Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/ 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

has been prepared for the California 

High-Speed Train (HST) Project Merced 

to Fresno Section (Project). FRA is the 

lead Federal agency and the California 

High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) 

is the lead state agency for the 

environmental review process. 

The Authority proposes to construct 

and operate a reliable high-speed 

electric-powered passenger train system 

along an approximately 65-mile 

corridor, from Merced, CA, to Fresno, 

CA that links those cities by delivering 

predictable and consistent travel times. 

The Project includes high-speed track 

alignments, stations in downtown 

Merced and Fresno. A heavy 

maintenance facility for assembly, 

testing, and commissioning of trains, 

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