Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 24, 2000 / Notices 63675

implications. Impacts will be identified

both for the construction period and for

the long-term operation of the

alternatives. The primary evaluation of

the alternatives will focus on the extent

to which an alternative meets or

promotes the project purpose and need.

In addition, FTA’s national evaluation

criteria include: transportation;

environmental; social, economic, and

financial measures as required by

current federal (NEPA) and state

environmental laws and by Council on

Environmental Quality (CEO) and FTA

guidelines.

The TSM and LRT alternatives are

expected to increase ridership, and

therefore may improve air quality and

reduce automobile traffic congestion in

the South Central Corridor. Possible

adverse effects of these alternatives

include localized traffic congestion or

delay, property acquisition/

displacement, visual, noise/vibration,

wetlands, natural resources, hazardous

materials, and temporary constructionphase impacts. Mitigating measures will

be explored for identified adverse

effects.

V. Scoping

To ensure that the full range of issues

related to this proposed action are

addressed and all significant issues

identified, comments and suggestions

are invited from all interested parties.

Letters describing the proposed action

and soliciting comments were sent to

the appropriate federal, state and local

agencies, and to private organizations

and citizens who have expressed or are

known to have interest in this proposal.

Copies of the scoping package are

available from TARC upon request by

calling, emailing, or writing Nina

Walfoort as provided above in the

ADDRESSES section. During scoping,

comments should focus on identifying

specific social, economic, or

environmental impacts to be evaluated,

and suggesting alternatives that are less

costly or less environmentally damaging

that achieve similar transit objectives.

Comments should focus on the issues

and alternatives for analysis, and not on

a preference for a particular alternative.

Comments or questions concerning this

proposed action and the EIS may be

made at the public scoping meeting or

in writing directed to TARC at the

address provided above. Written

comments must be postmarked no later

than December 29, 2000.

VI. FTA Procedures

In accordance with Federal

transportation planning regulations and

environmental procedures (40 CFR Part

1500–1508 and 23 CFR Part 771), the

Draft EIS will be prepared and

circulated to solicit public and agency

comments on the proposed action.

Based on the comments received on the

Draft EIS, TARC will prepare the Final

EIS. Opportunity for public comment

will be provided throughout this project

development process.

Issued on: October 18, 2000.

Jerry Franklin,

Region IV Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–27230 Filed 10–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

[Docket NHTSA–99–5087]

Safety Performance Standards

Program Meeting

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of NHTSA Rulemaking

Status Meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a

public meeting at which NHTSA will

answer questions from the public and

the automobile industry regarding the

agency’s vehicle regulatory program.

DATES: The Agency’s regular, quarterly

public meeting relating to its vehicle

regulatory program will be held on

Thursday, December 14, 2000,

beginning at 9:45 a.m. and ending at

approximately 12:00 p.m. at the Best

Western Gateway International Hotel in

Romulus, Michigan, telephone number

734–728–2800. Questions relating to the

vehicle regulatory program must be

submitted in writing with a diskette

(WordPerfect) by Tuesday, November

14, 2000, to the address shown below or

by e-mail. If sufficient time is available,

questions received after November 14,

may be answered at the meeting. The

individual, group or company

submitting a questions(s) does not have

to be present for the questions(s) to be

answered. A consolidated list of the

questions submitted by November 14,

2000 and the issues to be discussed, will

be posted on NHTSA’s web site

(www.nhtsa.dot.gov) by Monday,

December 11, 2000, and also will be

available at the meeting. The agency

will hold a second public meeting on

December 14, devoted exclusively to a

presentation of research and

development programs. This meeting

will begin at 1:30 p.m. and end at

approximately 5:00 p.m. This meeting is

described more fully in a separate

announcement.

ADDRESSES: Questions for the December

14, NHTSA Rulemaking Status Meeting,

relating to the agency’s vehicle

regulatory program, should be

submitted to Delia Lopez, NPS–01,

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, Room 5401, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590, Fax Number 202–366–4329, email dlopez@nhtsa.dot.gov. The meeting

will be held at the Best Western

Gateway International Hotel, Romulus,

Michigan 48174, telephone number

734–728–2800.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Delia Lopez, (202) 366–1810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA

holds a regular, quarterly meeting to

answer questions from the public and

the regulated industries regarding the

agency’s vehicle regulatory program.

Questions on aspects of the agency’s

research and development activities that

relate directly to ongoing regulatory

actions should be submitted, as in the

past, to the agency’s Safety Performance

Standards Office. The purpose of this

meeting is to focus on those phases of

NHTSA activities which are technical,

interpretative or procedural in nature.

Transcripts of these meetings will be

available for public inspection in the

DOT Docket in Washington, DC, within

four weeks after the meeting. Copies of

the transcript will then be available at

ten cents a page, (length has varied from

80 to 150 pages) upon request to DOT

Docket, Room PL–401, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. The

DOT Docket is open to the public from

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The transcript

may also be accessed electronically at

http://dms.dot.gov, at docket NHTSA–

99–5087. Questions to be answered at

the quarterly meeting should be

organized by categories to help us

process the questions into an agenda

form more efficiently. Sample format:

I. Rulemaking

A. Crash avoidance

B. Crashworthiness

C. Other Rulemakings

II. Consumer Information

III. Miscellaneous

NHTSA will provide auxiliary aids to

participants as necessary. Any person

desiring assistance of ‘‘auxiliary aids’’

(e.g., sign-language interpreter,

telecommunications devices for deaf

persons (TDDs), readers, taped texts,

brailled materials, or large print

materials and/or a magnifying device),

please contact Delia Lopez on (202)

366–1810, by COB Monday, December

11, 2000.

63676 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 24, 2000 / Notices

Review

We are in the process of reviewing

NHTSA’s quarterly meetings. Please

take a moment and fill out the survey

posted on NHTSA’s web site

(www.nhtsa.dot.gov). Our goal is to

ensure that these meetings best serve the

needs of the interested public. The

preliminary results and your

suggestions will be discussed at the

December 14, 2000 quarterly meeting.

Issued: October 17, 2000.

Stephen R. Kratzke,

Associate Administrator for Safety

Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 00–27300 Filed 10–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs

Administration

[Docket No. RSPA–00–7283; Notice No. 00–

13]

Safety Advisory: Unauthorized Marking

of Compressed Gas Cylinders

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs

Administration (RSPA), Department of

Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Safety Advisory Notice.

SUMMARY: This is to notify the public

that RSPA is investigating the

unauthorized marking of high-pressure

compressed gas cylinders by Eddma

Corporation (EC) d/b/a Fire Services. At

the time the cylinders were marked, EC

was located at 1565 Diamond Springs

Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23455. RSPA

has determined that EC has marked an

undetermined number of cylinders

indicating they had been properly

retested in accordance with the

Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR)

without hydrostatically retesting the

cylinders.

A hydrostatic retest and visual

inspection of a cylinder, conducted in

accordance with the Hazardous

Materials Regulations (HMR), verifies

the structural integrity of each cylinder.

Failure to perform the hydrostatic retest

and visual inspection in accordance

with the HMR can result in a cylinder

with compromised structural integrity

being returned to service instead of

condemned. Serious personal injury,

death, and property damage could result

from rupture of a cylinder. Cylinders

that have not been retested in

accordance with the HMR may not be

charged or filled with a hazardous

material (compressed gas).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anthony Lima, Hazardous Materials

Enforcement Specialist, Eastern Region,

Office of Hazardous Materials

Enforcement, Research and Special

Programs Administration, US

Department of Transportation, 820 Bear

Tavern Rd., Suite 306, West Trenton, NJ

08628. Telephone: (609) 989–2256, Fax:

(609) 989–2277.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Through

the inspection of EC, it was determined

that EC had marked an undetermined

number of cylinders as having been

properly retested in accordance with the

HMR without retesting the cylinders as

required. Specifically, the inspector

determined that EC’s retest equipment

was obstructed by cylinders, tools,

equipment and parts, so that

accessibility to the equipment was

hampered. In addition, there were other

indications that EC had not recently

operated its retest equipment. During

the inspection, EC was unable to

calibrate their test equipment. RSPA has

determined that EC was not capable of

hydrostatically retesting cylinders

between June 1996 and July 1998. RSPA

cannot determine the number of

cylinders that EC marked without

retesting because EC did not keep

records.

The cylinders in question were

stamped with EC’s RIN, ‘‘A307’’. The

markings appear in the following

pattern:

A 3

M Y

7 0

Where A307 is EC’s RIN, M is the month

of the retest (e.g., 05) and Y is the year

of the retest (e.g., 98). Filled cylinders

(if filled with an atmospheric gas)

described in this safety advisory should

be vented or otherwise properly and

safely evacuated and purged, and taken

to a DOT-authorized cylinder retest

facility for visual reinspection and retest

to determine if they qualify for

continued use in accordance with the

HMR. Anyone who has a cylinder that

is marked with RIN A307 and dated

between June 1996 and July 1998

should consider the cylinder unsafe and

not charge it with a hazardous material

(compressed gas) unless first properly

retested by a DOT-authorized retest

facility. Under no circumstances should

a cylinder described in this safety

advisory be filled, refilled or used for

any purpose other than scrap, until it is

reinspected and retested by a DOTauthorized retest facility.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on October 18,

2000.

John J. O’Connell, Jr.,

Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for

Hazardous Materials Safety.

[FR Doc. 00–27299 Filed 10–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P