61820 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2012 / Notices 

Administrative Review (A–570–941); 

Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods (A– 

570–943); Prestressed Concrete Steel 

Wire Strand (A–570–945); Certain Steel 

Grating (A–570–947); Wire Decking (A– 

570–949); Narrow Woven Ribbons With 

Woven Selvedge (A–570–952); Certain 

Magnesia Carbon Bricks (A–570–954); 

Certain Seamless Carbon and Alloy 

Steel Standard, Line, and Pressure Pipe 

(A–570–956); Certain Coated Paper 

Suitable for High-Quality Print Graphics 

Using Sheet-Fed Presses (A–570–958); 

Certain Potassium Phosphate Salts (A– 

570–962); Drill Pipe (A–570–965); 

Aluminum Extrusions (A–570–967); 

Multilayered Wood Flooring (A–570– 

970); Certain Steel Wheels (A–570–973); 

Galvanized Steel Wire (A–570–975); 

High Pressure Steel Cylinders (A–570– 

977); Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic 

Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into 

Modules (A–570–979); Utility Scale 

Wind Towers (A–570–981); and Drawn 

Stainless Steel Sinks (A–570–983). 

China alleges inconsistencies with 

Articles VI, X:1, X:2, X:3 of the General 

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 

(‘‘GATT 1994’’), Articles 10, 15, 19, 21 

and 32 of the Agreement on Subsidies 

and Countervailing Measures, and 

Articles 9 and 11 of the Agreement on 

Implementation of Article VI of the 

GATT 1994. The challenged 

investigations and reviews are available 

at the following web page of the 

Department of Commerce: http:// 

ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/index.html. 

Public Comment: Requirements for 

Submissions 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written comments concerning 

the issues raised in this dispute. Persons 

may submit public comments 

electronically to www.regulations.gov 

docket number USTR–2012–0031. If you 

are unable to provide submissions by 

www.regulations.gov, please contact 

Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395–9483 to 

arrange for an alternative method of 

transmission. 

To submit comments via 

www.regulations.gov, enter docket 

number USTR–2012–0031 on the home 

page and click ‘‘search’’. The site will 

provide a search-results page listing all 

documents associated with this docket. 

Find a reference to this notice by 

selecting ‘‘Notice’’ under ‘‘Document 

Type’’ on the left side of the searchresults page, and click on the link 

entitled ‘‘Comment Now!.’’ (For further 

information on using the 

www.regulations.gov Web site, please 

consult the resources provided on the 

Web site by clicking on ‘‘How to Use 

Regulations.gov’’ on the bottom of the 

page.) 

The www.regulations.gov site 

provides the option of providing 

comments by filling in a ‘‘Type 

Comments’’ field or by attaching a 

document using an ‘‘upload file’’ field. 

It is expected that most comments will 

be provided in an attached document. If 

a document is attached, it is sufficient 

to type ‘‘See attached’’ in the ‘‘Type 

Comments’’ field. 

A person requesting that information 

contained in a comment submitted by 

that person be treated as confidential 

business information must certify that 

such information is business 

confidential and would not customarily 

be released to the public by the 

submitter. Confidential business 

information must be clearly designated 

as such and the submission must be 

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ 

at the top and bottom of the cover page 

and each succeeding page. Any 

comment containing business 

confidential information must be 

submitted by fax to Sandy McKinzy at 

(202) 395–3640. A non-confidential 

summary of the confidential 

information must be submitted to 

www.regulations.gov. The nonconfidential summary will be placed in 

the docket and open to public 

inspection. 

Information or advice contained in a 

comment submitted, other than business 

confidential information, may be 

determined by USTR to be confidential 

in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of 

the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that 

information or advice may qualify as 

such, the submitter— 

(1) Must clearly so designate the 

information or advice; 

(2) Must clearly mark the material as 

‘‘SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE’’ at the 

top and bottom of the cover page and 

each succeeding page; and 

(3) Must provide a non-confidential 

summary of the information or advice. 

Any comment containing confidential 

information must be submitted by fax. A 

non-confidential summary of the 

confidential information must be 

submitted to www.regulations.gov. The 

non-confidential summary will be 

placed in the docket and open to public 

inspection. 

Pursuant to section 127(e) of the 

Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 

U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will maintain a 

docket on this dispute settlement 

proceeding accessible to the public at 

www.regulations.gov, docket number 

USTR–2012–0031. 

The public file will include nonconfidential comments received by 

USTR from the public with respect to 

the dispute. If a dispute settlement 

panel is convened or in the event of an 

appeal from such a panel, the U.S. 

submissions, any non-confidential 

submissions, or non-confidential 

summaries of submissions, received 

from other participants in the dispute, 

will be made available to the public on 

USTR’s Web site at www.ustr.gov, and 

the report of the panel, and, if 

applicable, the report of the Appellate 

Body, will be available on the Web site 

of the World Trade Organization, 

www.wto.org. Comments open to public 

inspection may be viewed on the 

www.regulations.gov Web site. 

Juan Millan, 

Acting Assistant United States Trade 

Representative for Monitoring and 

Enforcement. 

[FR Doc. 2012–25061 Filed 10–10–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3290–F3–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket No. OST–2012–0165] 

Notice of Rights and Protections 

Available Under the Federal 

Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower 

Protection Laws 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: No FEAR Act Notice. 

SUMMARY: This Notice implements Title 

II of the Notification and Federal 

Employee Antidiscrimination and 

Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act of 

2002). It is the annual obligation for 

Federal agencies to notify all employees, 

former employees, and applicants for 

Federal employment of the rights and 

protections available to them under the 

Federal Anti-discrimination and 

Whistleblower Protection Laws. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Benison, Associate Director of Policy 

and Quality Control Division, S–35, 

Departmental Office of Civil Rights, 

Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W78–304, 

Washington, DC 20590, 202–366–1732 

or by email at John.Benison@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

You may retrieve this document 

online through the Federal Document 

Management System at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Electronic 

retrieval instructions are available under 

the help section of the Web site. An 

electronic copy is also available for 

download from the Government 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2012 / Notices 61821 

Printing Office’s Electronic Bulletin 

Board at http://www.nara.gov/fedreg 

and the Government Printing Office’s 

Web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/ 

nara. 

No FEAR Act Notice 

On May 15, 2002, Congress enacted 

the ‘‘Notification and Federal Employee 

Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act 

of 2002,’’ now recognized as the No 

FEAR Act (Pub. L. 107–174). One 

purpose of the Act is to ‘‘require that 

Federal agencies be accountable for 

violations of antidiscrimination and 

whistleblower protection laws.’’ (Pub. L. 

107–174, Summary). In support of this 

purpose, Congress found that ‘‘agencies 

cannot be run effectively if those 

agencies practice or tolerate 

discrimination’’ (Pub. L. 107–174, Title 

I, General Provisions, section 101(1)). 

The Act also requires the United States 

Department of Transportation (USDOT) 

to provide this Notice to all USDOT 

employees, former USDOT employees, 

and applicants for USDOT employment. 

This Notice is to inform you of the 

rights and protections available to you 

under Federal antidiscrimination and 

whistleblower protection laws. 

Antidiscrimination Laws 

A Federal agency cannot discriminate 

against an employee or applicant with 

respect to the terms, conditions, or 

privileges of employment because of 

race, color, religion, sex, national origin, 

age, disability, marital status, genetic 

information, or political affiliation. One 

or more of the following statutes 

prohibit discrimination on these bases: 

5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(1), 29 U.S.C. 631, 29 

U.S.C. 633a, 29 U.S.C. 206(d), 29 U.S.C. 

791, 42 U.S.C. 2000e–16 and 2000ff. 

If you believe you were a victim of 

unlawful discrimination on the bases of 

race, color, religion, sex, national origin, 

age, genetic information, and/or 

disability, you must contact an Equal 

Employment Opportunity (EEO) 

counselor within 45 calendar days of 

the alleged discriminatory action, or in 

the case of a personnel action, within 45 

calendar days of the effective date of the 

action to try and resolve the matter 

informally. This must be done before 

filing a formal complaint of 

discrimination with USDOT (See, e.g., 

29 CFR part 1614). 

If you believe you were a victim of 

unlawful discrimination based on age, 

you must either contact an EEO 

counselor as noted above or give notice 

of intent to sue to the Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission 

(EEOC) within 180 calendar days of the 

alleged discriminatory action. As an 

alternative to filing a complaint 

pursuant to 29 CFR part 1614, you can 

file a civil action in a United States 

district court under the Age 

Discrimination in Employment Act 

(ADEA), against the head of an alleged 

discriminating agency, after giving the 

EEOC not less than a 30 day notice of 

the intent to file such action. You may 

file such notice in writing with the 

EEOC via mail at P.O. Box 77960, 

Washington, DC 20013, personal 

delivery, or facsimile within 180 days of 

the occurrence of the alleged unlawful 

practice. 

If you are alleging discrimination 

based on marital status or political 

affiliation, you may file a written 

discrimination complaint with the U.S. 

Office of Special Counsel (OSC) (See 

Contact information below). In the 

alternative (or in some cases, in 

addition), you may pursue a 

discrimination complaint by filing a 

grievance through the USDOT 

administrative or negotiated grievance 

procedures, if such procedures apply 

and are available. Form OSC–11 is 

available online at the OSC Web site 

http://www.osc.gov/index.htm, under 

the filing tab (Contact Information). 

Additionally, you can download the 

form under the same filing tab, under 

OSC Forms. Complete this form and 

mail it to the Complaints Examining 

Unit, U.S. Office of Special Counsel at 

1730 M Street NW., Suite 218 

Washington, DC 20036–4505. You also 

have the option to call the Complaints 

Examining Unit at (800) 872–9855 for 

additional assistance. 

If you are alleging compensation 

discrimination pursuant to the Equal 

Pay Act (EPA), and wish to pursue your 

allegations through the administrative 

process, you must contact an EEO 

counselor within 45 calendar days of 

the alleged discriminatory action as 

such complaints are processed under 

EEOC’s regulations at 29 CFR part 1614. 

Alternatively, you may file a civil action 

in a court of competent jurisdiction 

within two years, or if the violation is 

willful, three years of the date of the 

alleged violation, regardless of whether 

you pursued any administrative 

complaint processing. The filing of a 

complaint or appeal pursuant to 29 CFR 

part 1614 shall not toll the time for 

filing a civil action. 

Whistleblower Protection Laws 

A USDOT employee with authority to 

take, direct others to take, recommend, 

or approve any personnel action must 

not use that authority to take, or fail to 

take, or threaten to take, or fail to take 

a personnel action against an employee 

or applicant because of a disclosure of 

information by that individual that is 

reasonably believed to evidence 

violations of law, rule, or regulation; 

gross mismanagement; gross waste of 

funds; an abuse of authority; or a 

substantial and specific danger to public 

health or safety, unless the disclosure of 

such information is specifically 

prohibited by law and such information 

is specifically required by Executive 

Order to be kept secret in the interest of 

national defense or the conduct of 

foreign affairs. 

Retaliation against a USDOT 

employee or applicant for making a 

protected disclosure is prohibited (5 

U.S.C. 2302(b)(8)). If you believe you are 

a victim of whistleblower retaliation, 

you may file a written complaint with 

the U.S. Office of Special Counsel at 

1730 M Street, NW., Suite 218, 

Washington, DC 202–036–4505 using 

Form OSC–11. Alternatively, you may 

file online through the OSC Web site at 

http://www.osc.gov. 

Disciplinary Actions 

Under existing laws, USDOT retains 

the right, where appropriate, to 

discipline a USDOT employee who 

engages in conduct that is inconsistent 

with Federal Antidiscrimination and 

Whistleblower Protection laws up to 

and including removal from Federal 

service. If OSC initiates an investigation 

under 5 U.S.C. 1214 according to 5 

U.S.C. 1214(f), USDOT must seek 

approval from the Special Counsel to 

discipline employees for, among other 

activities, engaging in prohibited 

retaliation. Nothing in the No FEAR Act 

alters existing laws, or permits an 

agency to take unfounded disciplinary 

action against a USDOT employee, or to 

violate the procedural rights of a 

USDOT employee accused of 

discrimination. 

Additional Information 

For more information regarding the 

No FEAR Act regulations, refer to 5 CFR 

part 724, as well as the appropriate 

office(s) within your agency (e.g., EEO/ 

civil rights offices, human resources 

offices, or legal offices). You can find 

additional information regarding 

Federal antidiscrimination, 

whistleblower protection, and 

retaliation laws at the EEOC Web site at 

http://www.eeoc.gov and the OSC Web 

site at http://www.osc.gov. 

Existing Rights Unchanged 

Pursuant to section 205 of the No 

FEAR Act, neither the Act nor this 

notice creates, expands, or reduces any 

rights otherwise available to any 

employee, former employee, or 

applicant under the laws of the United 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
61822 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2012 / Notices 

States, including the provisions of law 

specified in 5 U.S.C. 2302(d). 

Dated: October 3, 2012. 

Camille Hazeur, 

Director, Departmental Office of Civil Rights, 

United States Department of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–25008 Filed 10–10–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions 

on Proposed Highways in Texas 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Limitation on Claims 

for Judicial Review of Actions by FHWA 

and Other Federal Agencies. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces actions 

taken by the FHWA and other Federal 

agencies that are final within the 

meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The 

actions relate to various proposed 

highway projects in Tarrant, Dallas and 

Denton Counties, Texas. Those actions 

grant licenses, permits, and approvals 

for the projects. 

DATES: By this notice, the FHWA is 

advising the public of final agency 

actions subject to 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). A 

claim seeking judicial review of the 

Federal agency actions on any of the 

listed highway projects will be barred 

unless the claim is filed on or before 

March 10, 2013. If the Federal law that 

authorizes judicial review of a claim 

provides a time period of less than 150 

days for filing such claim, then that 

shorter time period still applies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

FHWA: Mr. Achille Alonzi, Assistant 

Division Administrator, Texas Division, 

Federal Highway Administration, 300 E. 

8th Street, Room 826, Austin, Texas 

78701; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (central 

time) Monday through Friday, 512–536– 

5902; email: al.alonzi@fhwa.dot.gov. For 

Texas Department of Transportation 

(TxDOT): Mr. Carlos Swonke, Director 

of Environmental Affairs Division, 

Texas Department of Transportation 

(TxDOT), 118 E. Riverside, Austin, 

Texas 78704; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

(central time) Monday through Friday, 

512–416–2734; email: 

carlos.swonke@txdot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that the FHWA and other 

Federal agencies have taken final agency 

actions by issuing licenses, permits, and 

approvals for the highway projects in 

the State of Texas that are listed below. 

The actions by the Federal agencies on 

a project, and the laws under which 

such actions were taken, are described 

in the documented environmental 

assessments (EAs) issued in connection 

with the project, and in other FHWA 

project records. The EAs and other 

documents from the FHWA project 

record files for the listed projects are 

available by contacting the FHWA or 

TxDOT at the addresses provided above. 

This notice applies to all Federal 

agency decisions on the listed projects 

as of the issuance date of this notice and 

all laws under which such actions were 

taken. This notice does not apply to the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineering 

(USACE) permitting process for these 

projects, because no USACE permits 

have been issued for any of the projects 

to date. The laws under which Federal 

agency decisions were made on the 

projects listed in this notice include, but 

are not limited to: 

1. General: National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) [42 U.S.C. 4321– 

4351]; Federal-Aid Highway Act 

(FAHA) [23 U.S.C. 109 and 128]. 

2. Air: Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. 

7401–7671(q). 

3. Land: Section 4(f) of the 

Department of Transportation Act of 

1966 [49 U.S.C. 303]. 

4. Wildlife: Endangered Species Act 

(ESA) [16 U.S.C. 1531–1544 and Section 

1536], Migratory Bird Treaty Act 

(MBTA) [16 U.S.C. 703–712]. 

5. Historic and Cultural Resources: 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966, as amended 

(106) [16 U.S.C. 470(f) et seq.]; 

Archeological Resources Protection Act 

of 1979 (ARPA) [16 U.S.C. 470(aa)– 

470(11)]; Archeological and Historic 

Preservation Act (AHPA) [16 U.S.C. 

469–469(c)]; Native American Grave 

Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA) [25 U.S.C. 3001–3013] 

6. Social and Economic: Civil Rights 

Act of 1964 (Civil Rights) [42 U.S.C. 

2000(d)–2000(d)(1)]; American Indian 

Religious Freedom Act (AIRF) [42 

U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland Protection 

Policy Act (FPPA) [7 U.S.C. 4201–4209]. 

7. Wetlands and Water Resources: 

Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251–1377 

(Section 404, Section 401, Section 319); 

Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA), 

33 U.S.C. 401–406; Safe Drinking Water 

Act (SDWA) [42 U.S.C. 300(f)–300(j)(6); 

Emergency Wetlands Resources Act 

(EWRA) [16 U.S.C. 3921, 3931]; 

Wetlands Mitigation (WM) [23 U.S.C. 

103(b)(6)(M) and 133(b)(11); Flood 

Disaster Protection Act (FDPA) [42 

U.S.C. 4001–4128]. 

8. Executive Orders: E.O. 11990 

Protection of Wetlands; E.O. 11988 

Floodplain Management; E.O. 13007 

Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 13287 Preserve 

America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and 

Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments; E.O. 12898 Federal 

Actions to Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and Low 

Income Populations; E.O. 13112 

Invasive Species and the Executive 

Memorandum on Beneficial 

Landscaping; and E.O. 13166, 

Improving Access to Services for 

Persons with Limited English 

Proficiency. 

The projects subject to this notice are: 

(1) Project location: The 10.8 mile 

section of Interstate Highway (IH) 35W 

North study limits extend from State 

Highway (SH) 114 in Denton County to 

IH 820 in Tarrant County Texas. The 

proposed improvements extend from 

south of SH 114 at Eagle Parkway to IH 

820. 

Project reference number: TxDOT 

Control Section Job numbers (CSJs): 

0014–16–252, 0014–16–255, 0081–12– 

041 & 0081–13–904. 

Project Type: The various ultimate 

lane configurations of the three sections 

of the roadway are described as follows: 

• From Eagle Parkway to US 81/287, 

the proposed project will consist of 

reconstructing and widening the 

roadway to a 10-lane facility consisting 

of three general purpose lanes (non-toll) 

in each direction and a barrier-separated 

four-lane concurrent managed (toll) lane 

facility (two lanes in each direction). 

The concurrent managed (toll) lane 

facility will be centered between the 

general purpose lanes (non-toll). 

Auxiliary lanes will be constructed 

between entrance and exit ramps along 

the roadway and two/three lane frontage 

roads in each direction with bicycle 

accommodation will be constructed. 

Direct connectors from IH 35W to SH 

170 will also be constructed. 

• From US 81/287 to Basswood 

Boulevard, the proposed project will 

consist of reconstructing and widening 

the roadway to a 12-lane facility 

consisting of four general purpose lanes 

(non-toll) in each direction and a 

barrier-separated four-lane concurrent 

managed (toll) lane facility (two lanes in 

each direction). The concurrent 

managed (toll) lane facility will be 

centered between the general purpose 

lanes (non-toll). Auxiliary lanes will be 

constructed between entrance and exit 

ramps along the roadway and two/three/ 

four-lane frontage roads in each 

direction with bicycle accommodation 

will be constructed throughout this 

section. Direct connectors to/from US 

81/287 from IH 35W managed (toll) 

lanes will be constructed. 

• From Basswood Boulevard to IH 

820, the proposed project will consist of 

reconstructing and widening the 


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