Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Notices 12259 

delivery capacity of 1.5 bcfd (42.5 

million cubic meters per day). 

The FSRU would store LNG in three 

Moss spherical tanks. Each tank would 

have a 24 million gallon (90,800 cubic 

meters) LNG storage capacity, and the 

total FSRU LNG storage capacity would 

be approximately 72 million gallons 

(273,000 cubic meters). The FSRU 

would be permanently moored, and 

would use a turret system (a tower-like 

revolving structure) to allow the FSRU 

to weathervane (rotate) around a fixed 

point. A Safety Zone would be 

established covering a 500-meter (1,640- 

foot) radius out from the stern of the 

FSRU. The FSRU, which would be 

designed for loading LNG from side-byside, moored LNG tankers, would be 

shaped like a double-sided, doublebottomed vessel, 971 feet (296 meters) 

long and 213 feet (65 meters) wide, with 

a displacement of approximately 

190,000 deadweight tons. 

Alternatives 

The FEIS/FEIR examines and assesses 

the environmental impact of the project 

location and pipeline routes of the 

proposed action, alternatives, and the 

no-action alternative. In addition to the 

environmental impacts, the FEIS/FEIR 

considers approving, approving with 

conditions or denying (no action 

alternative) the application for a license. 

Dated: March 9, 2007. 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

Daron T. Threet, 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. E7–4767 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

Hazardous Materials: Improving the 

Safety of Railroad Tank Car 

Transportation of Hazardous Materials 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: As part of PHMSA’s and the 

Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) 

comprehensive review of design and 

operational factors that affect the safety 

of railroad tank car transportation of 

hazardous materials, the two agencies 

invite interested persons to participate 

in a public meeting addressing potential 

improvements to hazardous materials 

tank cars in order to improve the overall 

safety of hazardous materials shipments 

via railroad tank car. 

DATES: Public meeting: March 30, 2007, 

starting at 9 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: Public meeting: The 

meeting will be held at The Westin 

O’Hare, 6100 River Road, Rosemont, 

Illinois 60018. For information on the 

facilities or to request special 

accommodations at the meeting, please 

contact Ms. Michele M. Sampson by 

telephone or e-mail as soon as possible. 

Written Comments: Written comments 

may be submitted identified by DOT 

DMS Docket Number FRA–2006–25169 

by any of the following methods: 

• Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. 

Follow the instructions for submitted 

comments on the DOT electronic docket 

site. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 

Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: Room PL–401 on 

the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 

400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michele M. Sampson 

(Michele.Sampson@dot.gov), Railroad 

Safety Specialist, Federal Railroad 

Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC 20590 (202–493–

6475) or Lucinda Henriksen 

(Lucinda.Henriksen@dot.gov), Trial 

Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, 

Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 

Vermont Ave., NW., Washington, DC 

20590 (202–493–1345). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal hazardous materials 

transportation law (Federal hazmat law, 

49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., as amended by 

section 1711 of the Homeland Security 

Act of 2002, Public Law 107–296 and 

Title VII of the 2005 Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible and Efficient Transportation 

Equity Act—A Legacy for Users 

(SAFETEA–LU)) authorizes the 

Secretary of the Department of 

Transportation (DOT) to ‘‘prescribe 

regulations for the safe transportation, 

including security, of hazardous 

material in intrastate, interstate, and 

foreign commerce.’’ The Secretary has 

delegated this authority to PHMSA. 

The Secretary of Transportation also 

has authority over all areas of railroad 

safety (49 U.S.C. 20101 et seq.), and has 

delegated this authority to FRA. FRA 

has issued a comprehensive set of 

Federal regulations governing the safety 

of all facets of freight and passenger 

railroad operations (49 CFR parts 200–

244). FRA inspects railroads and 

shippers for compliance with both FRA 

and PHMSA regulations. FRA also 

conducts research and development to 

enhance railroad safety. 

On May 24, 2006, PHMSA and FRA 

announced that the two operating 

administrations of the DOT were 

initiating a comprehensive review of 

design and operational factors that affect 

the safety of railroad tank car 

transportation of hazardous materials. 

71 FR 30019. In order to facilitate public 

involvement in this review, FRA 

established a public docket (docket no. 

FRA–2006–25169) to provide interested 

parties with a central location to both 

send and review relevant information 

concerning the safety of railroad tank 

car transportation of hazardous 

materials. See 71 FR 37974 (July 3, 

2006). In addition, PHMSA and FRA 

held public meetings on May 31–June 1, 

2006 and on December 14, 2006 (see 71 

FR 30019 and 71 FR 67015 (Nov. 17, 

2006)). The primary purpose of the first 

meeting was to surface and prioritize 

issues relating to the safe and secure 

transportation of hazardous materials by 

railroad tank car. The primary purpose 

of the second meeting was to solicit 

input and comments in response to 

specific questions posed by the 

agencies. In addition, at the December 

meeting, FRA announced the agency’s 

commitment to develop an enhanced 

tank car standard by 2008. 

This document announces that 

PHMSA and FRA have scheduled a 

third public meeting as part of DOT’s 

comprehensive review. The meeting 

will be held on the date specified in the 

DATES section of this document and at 

the location specified in the ADDRESSES

section of this document. At this 

meeting, FRA intends to share its 

preliminary research results regarding 

tank car survivability and provide an 

update on the agency’s progress towards 

developing an enhanced tank car 

standard. FRA also invites interested 

parties to participate in the meeting by 

presenting any relevant comments, 

information, or data, regarding potential 

enhancements or modifications to 

hazardous materials tank cars in order 

to improve the overall safety and 

security of hazardous material 

shipments via railroad tank car. As with 

the previous public meetings, although 

DOT’s review includes both tank car 

design and operational factors that affect 

railroad tank car safety, this public 

meeting is intended to focus on the 

issue of potential improvements to 

hazardous materials tank cars 

themselves. In order to facilitate 

discussion, FRA will post the materials 

to be presented at this meeting in the 

docket established for this proceeding 

(Docket Number FRA–2006–25169) by 

March 23, 2007. We encourage 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES
12260 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Notices 

1See 41 CFR 102–3.60(b)(3). 

2See 41 CFR 102–3.60(a). 

interested parties to review the posted 

materials prior to the meeting. 

PHMSA and FRA encourage all 

interested persons to participate in this 

meeting. The agencies ask that 

commenters provide data in the most 

detail possible, including costs of 

design, installation, and maintenance. 

The agencies also invite interested 

parties who are unable to attend the 

public meeting, or who otherwise desire 

to submit written comments or data 

responsive to the questions raised 

above, to submit any relevant 

information, data, or comments to the 

DOT Docket Management System 

Docket Number FRA–2006–25169. 

Comments may be submitted by any 

method noted in the ADDRESSES section 

above. 

Issued in Washington, DC on March 9, 

2007, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

part 106. 

Robert Richard, 

Acting Associate Administrator for 

Hazardous Materials Safety. 

[FR Doc. E7–4686 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Ex Parte No. 670] 

Establishment of the Rail Energy 

Transportation Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation 

Board seeks public comment on the 

desirability of establishing, pursuant to 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), a Rail Energy Transportation 

Advisory Committee, to provide 

independent advice and policy 

suggestions to the Board on issues 

related to the reliability of rail 

transportation of resources critical to the 

nation’s energy supply, including, but 

not necessarily limited to, the rail 

transportation of coal and ethanol. 

Specifically, the Board seeks the views 

of interested persons on the utility of 

establishing such a committee, and, if 

established, the appropriate scope and 

the optimum size and composition of 

such a committee so as to reflect an 

appropriate and balanced cross-section 

of interested and affected stakeholders. 

DATES: Comments are due by April 16, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted either via the Board’s e-filing 

format or in the traditional paper 

format. Any person using e-filing should 

comply with the instructions at the E–

FILING link on the Board’s Web site, at 

http://www.stb.dot.gov. Any person 

submitting a filing in the traditional 

paper format should send an original 

and 10 copies to: Surface Transportation 

Board, Attn: STB Ex Parte No. 670, 395 

E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. 

Copies of written comments will be 

available from the Board’s contractor, 

ASAP Document Solutions (mailing 

address: Suite 103, 9332 Annapolis Rd., 

Lanham, MD 20706; e-mail address: 

asapdc@verizon.net; telephone number: 

202–306–4004). The comments will also 

be available for viewing and selfcopying in the Board’s Public Docket 

Room, Room 131, and will be posted to 

the Board’s Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Scott M. Zimmerman at 202–245–0202. 

[Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339.] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Surface Transportation Board (STB or 

Board) is seeking public comment on 

issues relating to the potential 

establishment of a federal advisory 

committee to provide independent 

advice and policy recommendations to 

the Board on issues pertaining to the 

reliability of rail transportation of 

energy resources, particularly, but not 

necessarily limited to, the rail 

transportation of coal and ethanol. 

The Board, created by Congress in 

1996 to take over many of the functions 

previously performed by the Interstate 

Commerce Commission, exercises broad 

authority over transportation by rail 

carriers, including regulation of railroad 

rates and service (49 U.S.C. 10701–

10747, 11101–11124), as well as the 

construction, acquisition, operation, and 

abandonment of rail lines (49 U.S.C. 

10901–10907) and railroad line sales, 

consolidations, mergers, and common 

control arrangements (49 U.S.C. 10902, 

11323–11327). 

The Board views the reliability of the 

nation’s energy supply as crucial to this 

nation’s economic and national security, 

and the transportation by rail of coal 

and other energy resources as a vital 

link in the energy supply chain. 

Particularly in the present environment 

of constrained rail capacity, the Board 

believes that an advisory committee 

consisting of a balanced cross-section of 

energy and rail industry stakeholders 

could serve as an important resource for 

providing independent, candid policy 

advice to the Board and for fostering 

open, effective communication among 

the affected interests on issues such as 

rail performance, capacity constraints, 

infrastructure planning and 

development, and effective coordination 

among suppliers, carriers, and users of 

energy resources. 

The Board seeks input from interested 

persons on a number of issues, 

including: (1) What are the views of rail 

and energy industry stakeholders as to 

the potential utility of such a 

committee? (2) What would be the 

appropriate scope of such a committee’s 

mandate—i.e., should it be limited to 

issues involving transportation of coal 

and ethanol, or constituted more 

broadly to include, for example, the 

biofuel industry and/or others? How 

would the scope of the committee’s 

mandate affect its utility? (3) Consistent 

with one’s views on the answers to the 

previous questions, what would be the 

optimum size of such a committee, and 

how should the committee’s 

membership be allocated among various 

stakeholder groups to achieve a fairly 

balanced ‘‘cross section of those directly 

affected, interested, and qualified,’’ as 

required under the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA)?1

The Board is not, by this notice, 

establishing such a committee. Rather, it 

seeks from interested persons input that 

would assist the Board at this 

preliminary stage in developing a 

proposed charter for such an advisory 

committee, in consultation with the 

General Services Administration’s 

Committee Management Secretariat, as 

provided under FACA.2

This action will not significantly 

affect either the quality of the human 

environment or the conservation of 

energy resources. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 721, 49 U.S.C. 11101; 

49 U.S.C. 11121. 

Decided: March 9, 2007. 

By the Board, Chairman Nottingham, Vice 

Chairman Buttrey, and Commissioner 

Mulvey. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–4769 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 


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