65768 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices 

4The dollar equivalent cost is derived from the 

2022 Surface Transportation Board Full Year Wage 

A&B data series using the employee groups 100 

(Executives, Officials, and Office Staff Assistants) 

$70.52, 200 (Professional and Administrative) 

$49.10, and 400 (Maintenance of Equipment & 

Stores) $38.35. The total burden wage rate (Straight 

time plus 75%) used in the table is $85.93 ($49.10 

× 1.75 = $85.93) except for the following: 

§ 213.234(g) and § 213.345(h) which uses an hourly 

wage rate of $123.41 (70.52 × 1.75 = $123.41) and 

§ 213.234(h)(3) which uses an hourly wage rate of 

$67.11 ($38.35 × 1.75 = $67.11). 

5Totals may not add up due to rounding. 

CFR section Respondent 

universe 

Total annual 

responses 

Average time 

per response 

Total annual 

burden hours 

Total cost 

equivalent 

in U.S. dollar 

(A) (B) (C = A * B) (D = C * 

wage rates) 4

213.329(e)—Curves, elevation, and speed limitations—FRA approval of qualified vehicle 

types based on results of testing.

2 railroads .................... 2.00 cover letters + 

2.00 technical reports 

+ 2.00 diagrams.

30.00 minutes + 16.00 

hours + 15.00 minutes.

33.50 2,878.66 

—(f) Written notification to FRA 30 days prior to 

implementation of higher curving speeds.

2 railroads .................... 2 notices ...................... 2 hours ......................... 4.00 343.72 

—(g) Written consent of other affected track 

owners by railroad.

2 railroads .................... 2 written consents ........ 45 minutes ................... 1.50 128.90 

213.333(d)—Automated vehicle-based inspection systems—Track Geometry Measurement 

System (TGMS) output/exception reports.

7 railroads .................... 7 reports ....................... 1 hour ........................... 7.00 601.51 

213.341(b)–(d)—Initial inspection of new rail & 

welds—Inspection records.

2 railroads .................... 800 records .................. 2 minutes ..................... 26.67 2,291.75 

213.343(a)–(e)—CWR—Procedures for installations and adjustments of CWR.2 railroads .................... 2 plans ......................... 4 hours ......................... 8.00 687.44 

—(h) Recordkeeping requirements ..................... 2 railroads .................... 8,000 records ............... 2 minutes ..................... 266.67 22,914.95 

213.345(a)–(c)—Vehicle qualification testing— 

Vehicle qualification program for all vehicle 

types operating at track Class 6 speeds or 

above.

2 railroads .................... 2 program plans ........... 120 hours ..................... 240.00 20,623.20 

—(d) Previously qualified vehicle types qualification programs.2 railroads .................... 2 program plans ........... 8 hours ......................... 16.00 1,374.88 

—(h) Written consent of other affected track 

owners by railroad.

4 railroads .................... 4 written consents ........ 30 minutes ................... 2.00 246.82 

213.369(d)—Inspection Records—Record of inspection of track.2 railroads .................... 15,000 record sets ....... 10 minutes ................... 2,500.00 214,825.00 

Total 5 ........................................................... 784 railroads ................ 1,432,181 responses ... N/A ............................... 234,294 20,131,107 

Total Estimated Annual Responses: 

1,432,181. 

Total Estimated Annual Burden: 

234,294. 

Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour 

Dollar Cost Equivalent: $20,131,107. 

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 that does 

not display a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520. 

Christopher S. Van Nostrand, 

Acting Deputy Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20662 Filed 9–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[Docket No.: FTA–2023–0006] 

Notice of Availability of Programmatic 

Assessment of Greenhouse Gas 

Emissions From Transit Projects; 

Request for Comments 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) announces the 

availability of and requests comments 

on a Programmatic Assessment of 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transit 

Projects. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

November 24, 2023. Late filed 

comments will be considered to the 

extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: The Programmatic 

Assessment is available through https:// 

www.regulations.gov under docket 

number FTA–2023–0006. 

You may submit comments to Docket 

No. FTA–2023–0006 by any of the 

following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and 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 or Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 

4:30 p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

Instructions: You must include the 

agency name (Federal Transit 

Administration) and the Docket Number 

of this notice at the beginning of your 

comments. Note that all comments 

received will be posted without change 

to https://www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan Blum, Office of Environmental 

Programs, (202) 366–0463, 

Megan.Blum@dot.gov, or Alexandra 

Brun, Office of Environmental 

Programs, (202) 366–7469, 

Alexandra.Brun@dot.gov; Mark 

Montgomery, Office of Chief Counsel, 

(202) 366–1017, Mark.Montgomery@

dot.gov. Office hours are from 9:00 a.m. 

to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) requires Federal agencies to 

disclose and analyze the environmental 

effects of their proposed actions. In 

January 2023, the Council on 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices 65769 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Guidance on Consideration of 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate 

Change (88 FR 1196) (CEQ guidance) to 

assist agencies in analyzing greenhouse 

gas (GHG) emissions and climate change 

effects of their proposed actions under 

NEPA. The CEQ guidance provides a 

framework for agencies to consider the 

effects of a proposed action on climate 

change, as indicated by its estimated 

GHG emissions. It also advises agencies 

to assess the effects of climate change on 

their proposed actions. 

The CEQ guidance acknowledges that 

incorporation by reference is of great 

value in considering GHG emissions or 

the implications of climate change for 

the proposed action and its 

environmental effects. The CEQ 

guidance also notes that an agency may 

decide that it would be useful and 

efficient to provide an aggregate analysis 

of GHG emissions or climate change 

effects in a programmatic analysis and 

then incorporate that analysis by 

reference into future NEPA reviews. 

FTA considers it practicable to assess 

the effects of GHG emissions and 

climate change for transit projects at a 

programmatic level, where possible. 

The Programmatic Assessment of 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transit 

Projects (Programmatic Assessment) is a 

NEPA streamlining tool that creates 

greater efficiency by: (1) reporting on 

whether certain types of proposed 

transit projects merit detailed analysis 

of their GHG emissions at the projectlevel; and (2) providing a source of data 

and analysis for FTA and its project 

sponsors to reference in future 

environmental documents for projects 

where detailed, project-level GHG 

analysis would provide only limited 

information beyond what is collected 

and considered in the Programmatic 

Assessment. The Programmatic 

Assessment is intended to update and 

supersede FTA’s January 2017 

Programmatic Assessment of 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transit 

Projects (82 FR 5636). 

The Programmatic Assessment 

presents results from an analysis to 

estimate direct and indirect GHG 

emissions generated from the 

construction, operations, and 

maintenance phases for a sample of bus 

rapid transit, streetcar rail, light rail, 

commuter rail, and heavy rail projects, 

as well as an estimate of personal 

vehicle emissions displaced due to 

transit’s ‘‘ridership effect.’’ Emissions 

estimates were calculated using FTA’s 

Transit Greenhouse Gas Estimator, 

version 3.0 (https://www.transit.dot.gov/ 

regulations-and-guidance/ 

environmental-programs/ftas-transitgreenhouse-gas-emissions-estimator), 

which is an Excel-based tool that allows 

users to calculate partial lifecycle GHG 

emissions estimates by transit mode 

based on limited data inputs. The CEQ 

guidance also indicates that project 

proponents should place potential GHG 

emissions and their impacts in 

appropriate context. In order to provide 

additional context for the GHG 

estimates included in the Programmatic 

Assessment, the net social benefits of 

reduced operational emissions resulting 

from each transit project in the sample 

were estimated. 

The Programmatic Assessment 

provides a reference for FTA and its 

project sponsors to use in future NEPA 

documents to describe the effects of 

proposed transit investments on partial 

lifecycle GHG emissions. The 

Programmatic Assessment’s results can 

inform transit project proponents who 

are considering the GHG emissions of 

future transit investments or who might 

independently want to evaluate the 

GHG emissions benefits and cost of such 

investments. 

FTA requests comments on the 

Programmatic Assessment, which is 

available in the docket. FTA will 

respond to comments received on the 

Programmatic Assessment in a second 

Federal Register notice to be published 

after the comment period closes. That 

second notice will also announce the 

availability of a final Programmatic 

Assessment that reflects any changes 

implemented as a result of comments 

received. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; 40 

CFR 1507.3; 49 CFR 1.81(a)(5). 

Felicia L. James, 

Associate Administrator for Planning and 

Environment. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20745 Filed 9–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2023–0048] 

Motorcyclist Advisory Council 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of establishment of the 

Motorcyclist Advisory Council (MAC) 

and solicitation for appointment to the 

MAC. 

SUMMARY: NHTSA announces the 

establishment of MAC for a 2-year 

period. The MAC will coordinate with 

and advise the Secretary of 

Transportation, the NHTSA 

Administrator and the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) Administrator 

on transportation issues of concern to 

motorcyclists, including: motorcycle 

and motorcyclist safety; barrier and road 

design, construction, and maintenance 

practices; and the architecture and 

implementation of intelligent 

transportation system technologies. 

NHTSA is also soliciting nominations 

for appointment to the MAC. 

DATES: Applications for membership 

must be received by NHTSA on or 

before 5 p.m. EST, December 15, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: If you wish to apply for 

membership, your application should be 

submitted to: 

• Email: 

MotorcyclistAdvisoryCouncil@dot.gov. 

• Mail: Use only overnight mail and 

send to: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration, Office of 

Safety Programs, Room W44–308, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, 

DC, 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

W. Marshall, Director, Office of Safety 

Programs, Office of Research and 

Program Development, National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

john.marshall@dot.gov or 202–366– 

3803. Any Council related questions 

should be sent to the persons listed in 

this section. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: Section 24111 of the 

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also 

known as the Infrastructure Investment 

and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117–58) (codified 

at 49 U.S.C. 355) requires the 

establishment of a Motorcyclist 

Advisory Council (MAC). The Secretary 

of Transportation is required to 

establish a MAC to advise on 

transportation safety issues of concern 

to motorcyclists, including: 

(1) Motorcycle and motorcyclist safety 

(2) Barrier and road design, 

construction, and maintenance 

practices; and 

(3) The architecture and 

implementation of intelligent 

transportation system technologies. 

Description of Duties: The Council 

shall: 

a. Provide advice on transportation 

safety issues of concern to motorcyclists 

consistent with the statutorily specified 

advising duties. 

b. Provide a forum for the 

development, consideration, and 

communication of information from a 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1