45474 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 166 / Wednesday, August 27, 1997 / Notices

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

Scott on (202) 366–4104.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Federal Highway Administration

Title: Developing and Recording Costs

for Utility Adjustments.

OMB Number: 2125–0519.

Type of Request: Reinstatement, with

change, of a previously approved

collection for which approval has

expired.

Affected Public: 3,000 U.S. Utilities

Companies.

Form(s): N/A.

Abstract: Under the provisions of 23

U.S.C. 123, Federal-aid highway funds

may be used to reimburse State highway

agencies (SHAs) when they have paid

for the cost of relocation of utility

facilities necessitated by the

construction of Federal-aid highway

projects. This reimbursement is based

on actual costs incurred by a utility

company as a result of adjusting its

facilities. Payment for ‘‘costs incurred’’

is a basic tenet of the Federal-aid

program. This general principle is also

established in 23 U.S.C. 121 when

Federal-aid highway funds are being

used to reimburse the State highway

agencies for the cost of construction of

Federal-aid highway projects. To

implement these provisions of law,

Federal Highway Administration

(FHWA) regulations, 23 CFR 645,

Subpart A, require that the utility be

able to document its costs or expenses

for adjusting its facilities. This record of

costs then forms the basis for payment

by the SHA to the utility company and

in turn FHWA reimburses the SHA for

its payments to the utility company. A

utility company’s cost accounting

records establish a means of identifying

the costs incurred in adjusting utility

facilities. The SHA uses these records to

verify the costs to base its payments on.

The FHWA payment is based on the

costs the State pays for. If the utility did

not keep a record of its costs, then there

would be no documentation of the

expenses it would have incurred in

adjusting its facilities. If this should

occur, there would be no basis for

Federal-aid highway fund participation

in the costs and, under 23 U.S.C. 123,

the FHWA would not be able to

reimburse the State for utility

adjustments. There are approximately

30,000 utility companies in the United

States. In any one year, it is estimated

that about 10 percent, or 3,000, of these

utilities will be involved with

reimbursable utility adjustments on

Federal-aid projects. It is further

estimated that each of these 3,000

utilities will have about 3 adjustments

of its facilities per year on Federal-aid

projects. The net impact is

approximately 9,000 reimbursable

utility adjustments. For a typical

adjustment, about 20 hours of staff time

(16 hours professional staff; 4 hours

secretarial staff) are expended to

establish and maintain the record of

costs.

Estimated Annual Burden: 180,000

hours.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and

Budget, 725–17th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20503, Attention

FHWA Desk Officer.

Comments are invited on: whether the

proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the Department,

including whether the information will

have practical utility; the accuracy of

the Departments estimate of the burden

of the proposed information collection;

ways to enhance the quality, utility and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 20,

1997.

Phillip A. Leach,

Clearance Officer, United States Department

of Transportation.

[FR Doc. 97–22741 Filed 8–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

Task Force on Assistance to Families

in Aviation Disasters Open Meeting

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Meeting.

SUMMARY: The Task Force on Assistance

to Families in Aviation Disasters will

hold a meeting to discuss assistance to

families of passengers involved in

aviation accidents. The meeting is open

to the public.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

Thursday, September 18, 1997, from

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Friday,

September 19, 1997, from 8:30 a.m. to

5:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will take

place in Room 2230 of Department of

Transportation (DOT) Headquarters, 400

7th Street, SW., Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven R. Okun, Task Force Executive

Director, telephone 202–366–4702, or

Marc C. Owen, Task Force Staff

Director, mailing address, 400 7th Street

SW., Room 5424, Washington, DC

20590, telecopier 202–366–7147, and

telephone 202–366–6823.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to the Federal Advisory Committee Act

(5 U.S.C. Appendix), DOT gives notice

of a meeting of the Task Force on

Assistance to Families in Aviation

Disasters (Task Force). The Task Force

was established by the Aviation Disaster

Family Assistance Act of 1996 to

develop recommendations on ways to

improve the treatment of families of

passengers involved in aviation

accidents. The meeting is open to the

public both days. In particular, topics

for discussion at the September 18

session include a presentation by the

National Transportation Safety Board on

the lessons learned from the Korean Air

Flight 801 disaster as well as a review

of the recommendations to be issued by

the Task Force in its Final Report to

Congress, including a discussion of

passenger manifest requirements that

could be implemented to speed family

notification. On September 19, the Task

Force will hear testimony regarding the

treatment of families by lawyers and

continue the review of the

recommendations to be issued by the

Task Force in its Final Report to

Congress.

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 21,

1997.

Steven R. Okun,

Task Force Executive Director, Department

of Transportation.

[FR Doc. 97–22740 Filed 8–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

[Docket No. 97–28, Notice 2]

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.; Grant of

Application for Decision of

Inconsequential Noncompliance

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

(Cooper) has determined that some of its

tires fail to comply with the labeling

requirements of 49 CFR 571.119,

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard

(FMVSS) No. 119, ‘‘New Pneumatic

Tires for Vehicles Other Than Passenger

Cars’’ and has filed an appropriate

report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573,

‘‘Defect and Noncompliance Reports.’’

Cooper has also applied to be exempted

from the notification and remedy

requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301,