Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 71 / Friday, April 13, 2007 / Notices 18725 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement; 

Cidra-Cayey Connector, Puerto Rico 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this 

notice to advise the public that an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

will be prepared for the Cidra-Cayey 

Connector in the east center area of 

Puerto Rico. The purpose of the EIS is 

to provide information and analyses for 

decisions on the project in accordance 

with the policies and purposes of the 

National Environmental Policy Act. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Fe ́lix Rodrı ́guez, P.E., Federal Highway 

Administration, Puerto Rico Division, 

350 Carlos Chardon Street, Suite 210, 

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918, Telephone 

(787) 766–5600 Ext. 230; or Ms. Irma 

Garcı ́a, P.E., Programming and Special 

Studies Area, Puerto Rico Highway and 

Transportation Authority, PO Box 

42007, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00940–

2007, Telephone (787) 729–1580. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

FHWA, in cooperation with the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 

Department of Transportation and 

Public Works (PRDTPW), through its 

Highway and Transportation Authority 

(HTA), will prepare a joint 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

on a proposal to construct a new 

roadway in the municipality of Cidra. 

The proposed action consists of the 

construction of a new roadway which 

will provide the municipality of Cidra 

and bordering districts with an access 

from Cidra to PR–52. The new highway 

will begin in existing PR–7733 and end 

in PR–52 or PR–184, depending on the 

alternative that will be selected during 

the environmental process. The route 

will have partial access control. 

A State, non-Federal, Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

was prepared for the proposed project in 

the year 2000 and public hearings were 

held in the same year. Since the 2000, 

technical studies identified 

environmental and socio-economic 

factors which warranted the 

consideration of additional alternatives 

beyond the ones studied for the original 

preferred alternative presented in the 

DEIS. As a result, the FHWA in 

cooperation with the PRHTA will 

prepare an EIS. 

Alternatives under consideration 

include: No-Build; Transportation 

System Management (TSM) activities; 

upgrade existing roadways; Mass 

Transit; and five alignment alternatives 

to construct a new roadway on a new 

location. The new alignment of the road 

is necessary to relieve traffic congestion 

along existing PR–172 and in areas 

which have experienced a traffic 

increase such as the PR–7733 and PR–

787. 

As part of the scoping process, 

Federal, State, and local agencies, 

private organizations, citizens and 

interest groups will have an opportunity 

to identify issues of concern and 

provide input on the purpose and need 

for the project, range of alternatives, 

methodology, and the development of 

the EIS. A public coordination plan will 

be developed. This plan will utilize the 

following outreach efforts to provide 

information and request input: 

newsletters, an internet Web site, e-mail 

and direct mail, informational meetings 

and briefings, public hearings, and other 

efforts, as necessary and appropriate. A 

public hearing will be held upon 

completion of the DEIS. The DEIS will 

be available for public and agency 

review and comments prior to the 

public hearings. 

To ensure that the full range of issues 

and alternatives related to this proposed 

action is addressed and all significant 

issues identified, comments and 

suggestions are invited from interested 

parties. Comments or questions 

concerning this proposed action, the EIS 

and Section 106 consultation should be 

directed to FHWA at the address 

provided above. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued on: April 5, 2007. 

Fe ́lix Rodrı ́guez-Soto, 

Puerto Rico Assistant Division 

Administrador. 

[FR Doc. E7–7014 Filed 4–12–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket Nos. FMCSA–02–12423, FMCSA–

02–12844, FMCSA–04–19477, 04–17984] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Renewals; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA previously 

announced its decision to renew the 

exemptions from the vision requirement 

in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations for 11 individuals. FMCSA 

has statutory authority to exempt 

individuals from the vision requirement 

if the exemptions granted will not 

compromise safety. The Agency has 

reviewed the comments submitted in 

response to the previous announcement 

and concluded that granting these 

exemptions will provide a level of safety 

that will be equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety maintained 

without the exemptions for these 

commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

drivers. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Chief, Physical 

Qualifications Division, (202) 366–4001, 

fmcsamedical@dot.gov, FMCSA, 

Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Room 8301, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. Office 

hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

You may see all the comments online 

through the Document Management 

System (DMS) at http://dmses.dot.gov. 

Background 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, 

FMCSA may grant an exemption for a 2- 

year period if it finds ‘‘such exemption 

would likely achieve a level of safety 

that is equivalent to, or greater than, the 

level that would be achieved absent 

such exemption.’’ The statute also 

allows the Agency to renew exemptions 

at the end of the 2-year period. The 

comment period ended on March 8, 

2007. 

Discussion of Comments 

FMCSA received three comments in 

these proceedings. The comments were 

considered and discussed below. 

Ms. Sachau believes that the approval 

or renewal of vision exemptions make 

the roads much more dangerous. 

A review of each record for safety 

while driving with the respective vision 

deficiencies over the past two years 

indicates each applicant continues to 

meet the vision exemption standards. 

To evaluate the effect of these 

exemptions on safety, FMCSA 

considered not only the medical reports 

about the applicants’ vision, but also 

their driving records and experience 

with the vision deficiency. To qualify 

for an exemption from the vision 


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18726 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 71 / Friday, April 13, 2007 / Notices 

standard, FMCSA requires a person to 

present verifiable evidence that he or 

she has driven a commercial vehicle 

safely with the vision deficiency for 3 

years. Recent driving performance is 

especially important in evaluating 

future safety, according to several 

research studies designed to correlate 

past and future driving performance. 

Results of these studies support the 

principle that the best predictor of 

future performance by a driver is his/her 

past record of crashes and traffic 

violations. Copies of the studies may be 

found at docket number FMCSA–98–

3637. 

Advocates for Highway and Auto 

Safety (Advocates) expressed opposition 

to FMCSA’s policy to grant exemptions 

from the FMCSR, including the driver 

qualification standards. Specifically, 

Advocates: (1) Objects to the manner in 

which FMCSA presents driver 

information to the public and makes 

safety determinations; (2) objects to the 

Agency’s reliance on conclusions drawn 

from the vision waiver program; (3) 

claims the Agency has misinterpreted 

statutory language on the granting of 

exemptions (49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315); and finally (4) suggests that a 

1999 Supreme Court decision affects the 

legal validity of vision exemptions. 

The issues raised by Advocates were 

addressed at length in 64 FR 51568 

(September 23, 1999), 64 FR 66962 

(November 30, 1999), 64 FR 69586 

(December 13, 1999), 65 FR 159 (January 

3, 2000), 65 FR 57230 (September 21, 

2000), and 66 FR 13825 (March 7, 2001). 

We will not address these points again 

here, but refer interested parties to those 

earlier discussions. 

Ms. Valerie L. Kaune is in support of 

the Federal vision exemption program. 

She believes that it does not pose a 

danger to our roads and is the livelihood 

of many drivers. 

Conclusion 

The Agency has not received any 

adverse evidence on any of these drivers 

that indicates that safety is being 

compromised. Based upon its 

evaluation of the 11 renewal 

applications, FMCSA renews the 

Federal vision exemptions for Roger C. 

Carson, Charles R. O’Connell, William 

T. Cummins, Dennis R. O’Dell, Jr., Scott 

D. Goalder, Harold D. Jones, Lester G. 

Kelly, III, Jerry W. Parker, Virgil A. 

Potts, Henry A. Shelton and Ronald A. 

Stevens. 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) 

and 31315, each renewal exemption will 

be valid for 2 years unless revoked 

earlier by FMCSA. The exemption will 

be revoked if: (1) The person fails to 

comply with the terms and conditions 

of the exemption; (2) the exemption has 

resulted in a lower level of safety than 

was maintained before it was granted; or 

(3) continuation of the exemption would 

not be consistent with the goals and 

objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136 and 31315. 

Issued on: April 6, 2007. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Acting, Associate Administrator, Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E7–6997 Filed 4–12–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–98–3637, FMCSA–98–

4334, FMCSA–00–7918, FMCSA–00–8203, 

FMCSA–02–13411, FMCSA–03–14223, 

FMCSA–05–20027] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of renewal of 

exemptions; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to renew the exemptions from 

the vision requirement in the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 16 

individuals. FMCSA has statutory 

authority to exempt individuals from 

the vision requirement if the 

exemptions granted will not 

compromise safety. The Agency has 

concluded that granting these 

exemptions will provide a level of safety 

that will be equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety maintained 

without the exemptions for these 

commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

drivers. 

DATES: This decision is effective April 

21, 2007. Comments must be received 

on or before May 14, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT Docket Management 

System (DMS) Docket Numbers 

FMCSA–98–3637, FMCSA–98–4334, 

FMCSA–00–7918, FMCSA–00–8203, 

FMCSA–02–13411, FMCSA–03–14223, 

FMCSA–05–20027, using any of the 

following methods. 

• Web site: http://dmses.dot.gov. 

Follow the instructions for submitting 

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–

0001. 

• 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. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the Agency name and docket 

numbers for this Notice. Note that all 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http://dms.dot.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading for further information. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

dms.dot.gov at any time or 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. The DMS is available 

24 hours each day, 365 days each year. 

If you want us to notify you that we 

received your comments, please include 

a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments on-line. 

Privacy Act: Anyone may search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or of the person signing the 

comment, if submitted on behalf of an 

association, business, labor union, etc.). 

You may review the Department of 

Transportation’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477; Apr. 11, 2000). This information 

is also available at http://dms.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Chief, Physical 

Qualifications Division, (202) 366–4001, 

fmcsamedical@dot.gov FMCSA, 

Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Room 8301, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. Office 

hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., E.T., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Exemption Decision 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, 

FMCSA may renew an exemption from 

the vision requirements in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10), which applies to drivers 

of CMVs in interstate commerce, for a 

two-year period if it finds ‘‘such 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level that would be achieved 


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