1918 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 6 / Wednesday, January 9, 2013 / Notices 

year. The questionnaires will be 

administered via the Internet and 

invitations to participate in the 

questionnaire will be distributed via 

email. 

This information, once compiled, will 

allow the FHWA to better understand 

the existing capabilities that agencies 

across the country have in support of 

the planning process and the readiness 

they possess to handle new and ongoing 

challenges. As a result of the collected 

information, FHWA will focus its efforts 

and resources on providing targeted and 

meaningful support for planning and 

readiness nationwide. Additionally, 

FHWA will ensure that excellent 

planning practices are identified will be 

shared broadly across the country. 

Respondents: Respondents are 

representatives of State DOT 

headquarters and districts, Metropolitan 

Planning Organizations, Regional 

Planning Organizations, and Tribal 

Governments. 

Respondents: 950 respondents 

annually. 

Frequency: 4 per year for 3 years. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: Approximately 30 minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: Up to 1,900 hours annually. 

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of this 

information collection, including: (1) 

Whether the proposed collection is 

necessary for the FHWA’s performance; 

(2) the accuracy of the estimated 

burden; (3) ways for the FHWA to 

enhance the quality, usefulness, and 

clarity of the collected information; and 

(4) ways that the burden could be 

minimized, including the use of 

computer technology, without reducing 

the quality of the collected information. 

The agency will summarize and/or 

include your comments in the request 

for OMB’s clearance of this information 

collection. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 

and 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued on: January 4, 2013. 

Michael Howell, 

Information Collection Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2013–00240 Filed 1–8–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[Docket No. FHWA–2012–0126] 

Public-Private Partnerships Public 

Meeting and Request for Comment 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Public meeting notice; request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: The USDOT/FHWA is tasked 

by MAP–21 to develop ‘‘standard 

public-private partnership transaction 

model contracts for the most popular 

types of public-private partnerships for 

the development, financing, 

construction and operation of 

transportation facilities.’’ We invite the 

public to provide ideas and comments 

on what should be included or excluded 

from such model public-private 

partnership (P3) contracts. The 

comments can be made to the docket or 

at a Listening Session in the District of 

Columbia. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 31, 2013. Late comments 

will be considered to the extent 

practicable. The Listening Session will 

be conducted on Wednesday, January 

16, 2013, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., 

e.t. 

ADDRESSES: 

Comment Submission: 

Mail or hand deliver comments to the 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Dockets Management Facility, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, or fax comments 

to (202) 493–2251. Alternatively, 

comments may be submitted via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov (follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments). 

All comments should include the 

docket number that appears in the 

heading of this document. All 

comments received will be available for 

examination and copying at the above 

address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. Those desiring notification of 

receipt of comments must include a selfaddressed, stamped postcard or you 

may print the acknowledgment page 

that appears after submitting comments 

electronically. All comments received 

into any docket may be searched in 

electronic format by the name of the 

individual submitting the comment (or 

signing the comment, if submitted on 

behalf of an association, business, labor 

union, etc.). Persons making comments 

may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70, Pages 19477–78). 

Listening Session Location: 

The listening session will be held at 

the U.S. Department of Transportation 

located at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information regarding this notice 

please contact Prabhat Diksit via email 

at Prabhat.diksit@dot.gov or via 

telephone at (720) 963–3202. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Public-private partnerships are 

contractual arrangements between 

public and private sector entities that 

allow for greater participation by the 

private sector in the delivery of surface 

transportation projects and services. 

Generally, in addition to designing or 

building a project, which is traditional, 

a private partner in a P3 may be 

involved in designing, constructing, 

financing, operating and maintaining 

the project. By transferring certain risks 

and responsibilities to the private 

partner, P3s can result in more efficient 

and effective project delivery. However, 

P3 contracts are complex and are of 

much longer duration than traditional 

construction contracts. Their terms and 

conditions address many requirements 

not covered by traditional construction 

contracts such as financing 

arrangements and performance during a 

concession period, among others. Public 

agencies generally acquire special 

expertise to ensure that they can 

successfully negotiate P3 agreements. 

Congress, recognizing both the growing 

interest in this delivery option, as well 

as the inherent complexities in P3 

agreements, tasked the USDOT, via the 

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st 

Century Act (MAP–21), to develop 

‘‘standard public-private partnership 

model contracts’’ and to ‘‘encourage 

states, public transportation agencies 

and other public officials to use the 

model contracts as a base template’’. 

II. Purpose of This Notice 

Section 1534(d) of MAP–21, enacted 

October 1, 2012, requires the USDOT to 

develop model P3 contracts that could 

serve as a base template and guide 

States and other public transportation 

providers in developing their own P3 

contracts. The legislation states: 

(d) STANDARD TRANSACTION 

CONTRACTS.— 

(1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 18 

months after the date of enactment of this 

Act, the Secretary shall develop standard 

public-private partnership transaction model 

contracts for the most popular types of 

public-private partnerships for the 

development, financing, construction, and 

operation of transportation facilities. 

(2) USE.—The Secretary shall encourage 

States, public transportation agencies, and 

other public officials to use the model 

contracts as a base template when developing 

their own public-private partnership 

agreements for the development, financing, 

construction, and operation of transportation 

facilities. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with 
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 6 / Wednesday, January 9, 2013 / Notices 1919 

The USDOT, prior to undertaking this 

effort, wishes to engage in a dialogue 

and canvass the opinion of interested 

parties—including, among others, 

public project sponsors, and their 

consultants, advisers, and attorneys; 

private sector designers, builders, 

operators, contractors and other 

engineering and construction firms; 

banks, lenders, funds, and other 

financing institutions involved in P3s; 

unions and their representatives; 

concessionaires and other organizations 

involved in project development; and 

members of the general public. 

Interested parties are asked to provide 

comments to the docket regarding the 

development and use of the standard 

public-private partnerships transaction 

model contracts mentioned above in the 

legislation. Interested parties are also 

invited to provide input at a Listening 

Session at USDOT Headquarters in 

Washington, DC, on January 16, 2013. 

Listening Session 

The Listening Session will be 4 hours 

in length and will be structured around 

the legislative requirements of Section 

1534(d) specified above. Some of the 

topics that may be considered at this 

listening session include: 

(a) The design of the model contract 

template (for example, should it provide 

options or recommendations?); 

(b) The scope of the model contract 

(for example, should it include public 

protections?); 

(c) The specific provisions included 

in the model contract (for example, 

which public protections should be 

addressed?); and 

(d) The model contracts that should 

be delivered first (for example, should 

the initial set of templates include P3 

availability payment concessions for 

managed lanes?). 

Listening Session Information 

Email comments can be provided to 

the docket at www.regulations.gov. 

The Listening Session will be held on 

January 16, 2013, from 12:00 p.m. to 

4:00 p.m., e.t., at the U.S. Department of 

Transportation building at 1200 New 

Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

Because access to the DOT building is 

controlled, all visitors must sign in with 

the security staff at the West Building 

entrance, present valid picture 

identification, be escorted and wear a 

visitor’s badge at all times while in the 

building. 

Due to security procedures and space 

limitations, individuals who wish to 

attend the listening session must preregister online by 5:00 p.m., e.t., on 

January 14, 2013, to gain admittance to 

the building. Space is limited to the first 

250 registrants. The link for the 

registration is: http://152.122.41.186/ 

registration/p3listening.aspx. Anyone 

with difficulties registering should 

contact Terrance Regan, at this 

telephone number: (617) 494–3628. 

Attendees are encouraged to arrive 

early for processing through security. 

All participants and attendees must 

enter through the New Jersey Avenue 

entrance (West Building—at the corner 

of New Jersey Avenue and M Street SE.). 

Photo identification is required and 

Foreign National attendees must bring 

their passports with them. Participants 

or attendees who have Federal 

government identification will still need 

to register to attend. To facilitate 

security screening, all participants and 

attendees are encouraged to limit the 

bags and other items (laptops, cameras, 

etc.) they bring into the building. 

Anyone exiting the building for any 

reason will be required to re-enter 

through the security checkpoint at the 

New Jersey Avenue entrance. 

The DOT does not offer visitor 

parking; we suggest that attendees 

consider using alternative means of 

transportation to the building. DOT 

Headquarters is served by Metrorail 

(Navy Yard station), Metrobus, DC 

Circulator, and taxi service. There are a 

number of private parking lots near the 

DOT buildings, but the DOT cannot 

guarantee the availability of parking 

spaces. 

For information on facilities or 

services for persons with disabilities, or 

to request special assistance at the 

meeting, contact Prabhat Diksit (720) 

963–3202 as soon as possible. 

Issued on: January 2, 2013. 

Victor M. Mendez, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2013–00219 Filed 1–8–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

Sunshine Act Meetings; Unified Carrier 

Registration Plan Board of Directors 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Unified Carrier 

Registration Plan Board of Directors 

Meeting. 

TIME AND DATE: The meeting will be held 

on January 14, 2013, from 8:00 a.m. to 

5:00 p.m., Central Daylight Time. 

PLACE: This meeting will take place at 

the Hyatt French Quarter; 800 Iberville 

Street, New Orleans, LA 70112. 

STATUS: Open to the public. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The Unified 

Carrier Registration Plan Board of 

Directors (the Board) will continue its 

work in developing and implementing 

the Unified Carrier Registration Plan 

and Agreement and to that end, may 

consider matters properly before the 

Board. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Avelino Gutierrez, Chair, Unified 

Carrier Registration Board of Directors at 

(505) 827–4565. 

Issued on: December 28, 2012. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2013–00314 Filed 1–7–13; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2012–0339] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of applications for 

exemptions; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces receipt of 

applications from 14 individuals for 

exemption from the vision requirement 

in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations. They are unable to meet 

the vision requirement in one eye for 

various reasons. The exemptions will 

enable these individuals to operate 

commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in 

interstate commerce without meeting 

the prescribed vision requirement in 

one eye. If granted, the exemptions 

would enable these individuals to 

qualify as drivers of commercial motor 

vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before February 8, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket No. FMCSA– 

2012–0339 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

on-line 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: West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with