77084 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 246 / Friday, December 22, 2006 / Notices 

1Speaking before the National Retail Federation’s 

annual conference on May 16, 2006, in Washington, 

DC, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman 

Mineta unveiled a new plan to reduce congestion 

plaguing America’s roads, rail, and airports. The 

National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on 

America’s Transportation Network includes a 

number of initiatives designed to reduce 

transportation congestion. The transcript of these 

remarks is available at the follwoing URL: http:// 

www.dot.gov./affairs/minetasp051606.htm. 

from abroad for temporary exhibition 

within the United States, are of cultural 

significance. The objects are imported 

pursuant to loan agreements with the 

foreign owners or custodians. I also 

determine that the exhibition or display 

of the exhibit objects at The 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 

New York, from on or about March 26, 

2007, until on or about July 8, 2007, and 

at possible additional venues yet to be 

determined, is in the national interest. 

Public Notice of these Determinations is 

ordered to be published in the Federal 

Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, including a list of 

the exhibit objects, contact Wolodymyr 

Sulzynsky, Attorney-Adviser, Office of 

the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of 

State (telephone: (202) 453–8050). The 

address is U.S. Department of State, SA–

44, 301 4th Street, SW., Room 700, 

Washington, DC 20547–0001. 

Dated: December 15, 2006. 

C. Miller Crouch, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department 

of State. 

[FR Doc. E6–21964 Filed 12–21–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Notice To Rescind a Notice of Intent To 

Prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS); Bannock County, ID 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Rescind Notice of Intent to 

prepare an EIS. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this 

notice to advise the public that the 

Notice of Intent (NOI) published on May 

3, 2006 to prepare an EIS for a proposed 

highway project in Bannock County, 

Idaho is being rescinded. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Edwin B. Johnson, Field Operations 

Engineer, Federal Highway 

Administration, 3050 Lakeharbor Lane, 

Suite 126, Boise, Idaho 83703, 

Telephone: (208) 334–9180, ext. 116, or 

Mr. Dennis Clark, Environmental 

Section Manager, Headquarters, Idaho 

Transportation Department, P.O. Box 

7129, Boise, Idaho 83703–1129, 

Telephone: (208) 334–8203. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The FHWA, in cooperation with the 

Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), 

is rescinding the NOI to prepare an EIS 

for a project that has been proposed to 

provide a new access point along 

Interstate 15 (I–15) in Bannock County, 

Idaho. The NOI is being rescinded 

because ITD and FHWA have 

determined that the project will have no 

significant impacts and an EIS is not 

necessary or appropriate for the 

environmental evaluation. 

The I–15 Environmental Study began 

in June 2004. Initial projects indicated 

that an Environmental Assessment (EA) 

would be an appropriate level of 

documentation for project impacts. 

Additional environmental scans and 

screening did not reveal significant 

impacts to support a change in the level 

of documentation. Alternatives were 

developed and advanced into further 

screening where actual footprints were 

evaluated for impacts within the project 

limits. One of the alternatives showed 

greater impacts than others being 

evaluated during the continued 

screening process. In response to that 

finding it was thought that an EIS would 

be the best method to discuss impacts 

from this alternative. Consequently, an 

NOI was published on May 3, 2006. 

A public meeting was held on June 

22, 2006 to solicit comments from the 

public on alternatives being considered. 

An additional screening analysis was 

performed in conjunction with the 

public meeting. Based upon the results 

of that screening analysis and public 

comments received on this analysis, 

some of the alternatives were dropped 

from further analysis due to potential 

significant impacts to the built and 

natural environment as well as to traffic 

operations. At this point in the project 

development process, no significant 

human or natural environmental 

impacts are evident in the I–15 

Environmental Study project that would 

require an EIS. If, at any point in the EA 

process, it is determined that the action 

is likely to have a significant impact on 

the environment, the preparation of an 

EIS will be required. 

To ensure that the full range of issues 

related to this proposed action and all 

significant issues are identified, 

comments and suggestions are invited 

from all interested parties regarding this 

action to rescind the NOI published 

May 3, 2006 for the highway project in 

Bannock County, Idaho. Comments or 

questions concerning this proposed 

action should be directed to the FHWA 

or ITD at the addresses provided above. 

[Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Research, 

Planning, and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to the 

program.] 

Issued on December 12, 2006. 

Stephen A. Moreno, 

Division Administrator, Boise, Idaho. 

[FR Doc. 06–9779 Filed 12–21–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Value Pricing Pilot Program 

Participation, Fiscal Years 2007–2009 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice; solicitation for 

participation. 

SUMMARY: This notice invites State and 

local governments and other public 

authorities to apply to participate in the 

Value Pricing Pilot (VPP) program and 

presents guidelines for program 

applications. This notice supersedes 

two previous notices about the VPP 

program under the Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) 

published in the Federal Register on 

January 6, 2006 (71 FR 970), and July 

17, 2006 (71 FR 40578). The primary 

purpose of superseding the previous 

notices with this new notice is to shift 

the focus on the types of VPP program 

projects being solicited to achieve 

consistency with the U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s (DOT) National 

Strategy to Reduce Congestion on 

America’s Transportation Network 

(DOT Congestion Initiative), announced 

on May 16, 2006.1 This national strategy 

contains a number of elements that 

involve pricing, thus warranting a 

reconsideration of the types of projects 

solicited for VPP program participation. 

This solicitation aligns the VPP program 

with the DOT Congestion Initiative by 

together seeking to support metropolitan 

areas in systemically progressing toward 

implementation of broad congestion 

pricing strategies in the near term. This 

notice also describes the statutory basis 

for the VPP program and specifies all of 

the steps necessary to apply for funding 

and, where applicable, tolling authority 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES