65894 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 213 / Thursday, November 2, 2000 / Notices

SUMMARY: The Department of

Transportation is directing all interested

persons to show cause why it should

not issue an order finding Kalitta Air,

L.L.C., fit, willing, and able, and (1)

transferring to it the all-cargo authority

contained in the interstate scheduled

certificate currently issued to Kitty

Hawk International, Inc. d/b/a American

International Airways, and (2) canceling

the passenger authority contained in

that certificate.

DATES: Persons wishing to file

objections should do so no later than

November 6, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Objections and answers to

objections should be filed in Docket

OST–2000–7588 and addressed to the

Department of Transportation Dockets

(SVC–124.1, Room PL–401), U.S.

Department of Transportation, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590, and should be served upon the

parties listed in Attachment A to the

order.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Delores King, Air Carrier Fitness

Division (X–56, Room 6401), U.S.

Department of Transportation, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590, (202) 366–2343.

Dated: October 27, 2000.

Susan McDermott,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and

International Affairs.

[FR Doc. 00–28151 Filed 11–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Intent To Prepare a Joint

Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR)

and Hold a Scoping Meeting for Santa

Barbara Municipal Airport, Santa

Barbara, CA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice to hold a public scoping

meeting.

SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) is issuing this

notice to advise the public that a joint

EIS/EIR will be prepared for

development recommended by the

Master Plan Update for Santa Barbara

Municipal Airport, Santa Barbara,

California. This is the second notice that

the FAA has published on this

document; the first notice was

published on August 11, 1993 and a

public scoping meeting was held on

September 17, 1993. Portions of the

baseline information and proposed

project scope have since been updated,

and the planning horizon has been

extended, therefore, to ensure that all

significant issues related to the

proposed action are identified, another

public scoping meeting is being

scheduled.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter Ciesla, Airport Planner, AWP–

613.2, Federal Aviation Administration,

Airports Division, Western-Pacific

Region, P.O. Box 92007, World Way

Postal Center, Los Angeles, California

90009–2007, Telephone: 310/725–3628.

Comments on the scope of the EIS

should be submitted to the address

above and must be received no later

than Friday, December 15, 2000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA

in cooperation with the city of Santa

Barbara, California, will prepare a joint

EIS/EIR for further development

recommendation at Santa Barbara

Municipal Airport. The need to prepare

an EIS is based on the procedures

described in FAA Order 5050.4A,

Airport Environmental Handbook. The

city of Santa Barbara is preparing an EIR

to meet the state of California

environmental review requirements.

Preparation of the joint EIS/EIR for

the proposed Santa Barbara Municipal

Airport improvements were initially

started in August 1993, with the first

Notice of Intent being published for

development recommended in the Draft

Master Plan Update. At that time, the

proposed improvements included the

extension of Runway 7/25 to the west by

800 feet, construction of runway safety

areas at each end of Runway 7/25 in

order to meet FAA standards, extension

and widening of Runway 15R/33L, and

for the Terminal Building expansion

and terminal area improvements. The

runway safety areas are required under

FAA standards in order to reduce the

risk of damage and passenger injury, if

an aircraft leaves the runway pavement.

The existing runway safety area for the

east end Runway 7/25 is 500 feet wide

and 215 feet long, and the west end is

500 feet wide and 320 feet long. The

current required dimensions for the

runway safety area is an area that is 500

feet wide and 1,000 feet beyond the

runway end. Since the original Notice of

Intent, a number of studies were

completed, which concluded that the

existing 6,052 foot operational length of

Runway 7/25 is satisfactory for current

and foreseeable future airline flights. In

order to achieve the runway safety

areas, Runway 7/25 would need to be

relocated approximately 800 feet to the

west. These studies formed the basis of

the City’s current Aviation Facilities

Plan, which includes the required

runway safety areas and retains the

current runway length for aircraft

operations.

The proposed action is the adoption

of the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport,

Aviation Facilities Plan (AFP). The AFP

recommends expanding the existing

runway safety areas on both ends of

Runway 7/25 in order to meet current

FAA standards, expansion of the airline

terminal and parking facility,

construction of a new Taxiway M and

construction of general aviation

facilities.

The federal actions being proposed

are FAA approval of the Airport Layout

Plan and approval of future processing

of an application for federal funding

assistance, for the proposed

improvements. The airport is located in

the vicinity of the Goleta Slough and

there are potential impacts on wetlands

and biotic communities from the

disruption of stream flows and tidal

circulation to the area around the

airport. The land adjacent to the airport

contains non-compatible land uses in

terms of aircraft noise, and the proposed

development is likely to be

controversial.

The city of Santa Barbara, pursuant to

the California Environmental Quality

Act of 1970 (CEQA) is preparing an

Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for

the proposed development. In an effort

to eliminate unnecessary duplication

and reduce delay, the document to be

prepared, will be a joint EIS/EIR in

accordance with the President’s Council

on Environmental Quality Regulations

described in 40 Code of Federal

Regulations Sections 1500.5 and 1506.2.

The Joint Lead Agencies for the

preparation of the EIS/EIR will be the

Federal Aviation Administration and

the city of Santa Barbara, California.

Due to proximity of the Goleta Slough

and other water courses on the airport,

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a

cooperating agency in the preparation of

the document.

The development recommended in

the AFP and which will be evaluated in

the EIS/EIR is described below:

West Creek Realignment Alternative

• Construction of a new runway

safety area on each end of Runway 7/25,

in order to meet FAA standards. The

runway safety area on the east end of

the runway would use an 800 foot

portion of the existing runway.

• Construction of an 800 foot western

extension to Runway 7/25 to maintain

the existing 6,052 foot, Runway 7/25

length, and extension of the associated

taxiway.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 213 / Thursday, November 2, 2000 / Notices 65895

1Each of the five SOFA Working Group

recommendations is described in the ‘‘Findings and

Recommended Actions of the SOFA Working

Group’’ section of this advisory.

• Terminal Building expansion, and

expansion of the automobile parking

area.

• Construction of a new Taxiway M.

• Construction of additional Thangars and a new air cargo facility.

• Realignment of Tecolotito Creek,

2,000 feet to west, to be rerouted around

the new runway safety area and

relocation of Carneros Creek.

• Acquisition of Runway Protection

Zones on each end of Runway 7/25.

• Relocation of navigational aids at

the airport.

• Revisions to the standard

instrument departure and arrival

procedures at the airport.

West Creek Culvert Alternative

• Same as Alternative 1, except that

a culvert would be built for Tecolotito

Creek to allow it to flow under the

runway, taxiway and safety area.

No Action Alternative

• No construction activities at the

airport would occur under this

alternative.

Comments received during the first

scoping meeting raised concerns about

the potential emissions from air

pollutants, impacts on biological

resources, noise impacts to surrounding

residential areas, potential disruption of

archaeological or historic sites,

incompatibility with existing land uses,

traffic impacts on existing streets, and

possible contamination of Goleta Slough

or alterations of it’s flow patterns.

Comments and suggestions to this

second Notice of Intent are invited from

Federal, State and local agencies, and

other interested parties to ensure that

the full range of issues related to these

proposed projects are addressed and all

significant issues are identified. Written

comments and suggestions concerning

the scope of the EIS/EIR may be mailed

to the FAA informational contact listed

above and must be received no later

than Friday, December 15, 2000.

Public Scoping Meeting

The FAA will hold a public scoping

meeting to solicit input from the public

with respect to any environmental

impacts associated with the proposed

project. The public scoping meeting will

be held at 1 p.m. on December 7, 2000,

at the City Council Chambers, Santa

Barbara City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street,

Santa Barbara, CA 93101.

Issued in Hawthorne, California on Friday,

October 20, 2000.

Mia Paredes Ratcliff,

Acting Manager, Airports Division, WesternPacific Region, AWP–600.

[FR Doc. 00–28189 Filed 11–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

Notice of Safety Advisory 2000–03

AGENCY: Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA), Department of

Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of safety advisory.

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety

Advisory 2000–03 addressing safety

practices to reduce the risk of serious

injury or death both to railroad

employees engaged in switching

operations and to the general public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Douglas H. Taylor, Staff Director,

Operating Practices Division, Office of

Safety Assurance and Compliance, FRA,

1120 Vermont Avenue, N.W., RRS–11,

Mail Stop 25, Washington, D.C. 20590

(telephone 202–493–6255) or David H.

Kasminoff, Trial Attorney, Office of

Chief Counsel, 1120 Vermont Avenue,

N.W., RCC–12, Mail Stop 10,

Washington, D.C. 20590 (telephone

202–493–6043).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA has

determined that the safety of railroad

employees and the general public

compels the issuance of this safety

advisory. A review of FRA’s accident/

incident data demonstrates that overall

the safety of rail transportation has

continued to improve; however, so far

this year, ten railroad employees have

lost their lives while engaged in

switching operations. This figure

already exceeds the total number of

switching-related deaths in 1999, and

has caused FRA serious concern about

the safety of certain aspects of rail

operations. Specifically, these deaths

have raised questions about the safety

practices employed by crewmembers

assigned to perform switching

operations. These deaths occurred on

both large and small railroads and

included employees with levels of

experience that ranged from as little as

two years to over 30 years.

The most recent incident occurred on

September 9, 2000. FRA believes that

each of the ten fatalities could probably

have been prevented if all employees on

each railroad had strictly followed the

five recommendations of FRA’s

Switching Operations Fatality Analysis

(SOFA) Working Group and the

applicable Federal and railroad

company operating and safety rules to

which they relate.1 The ten employee

fatalities, which occurred between

January 2 and September 9, 2000, on

seven separate railroads, are

summarized in Appendix A to this

safety advisory.

Findings and Recommended Actions of

the SOFA Working Group

During February of 1998, the SOFA

Working Group was formed at the

request of FRA to review recent fatal

incidents that occurred during railroad

switching operations and to develop

recommendations for preventing such

fatalities. The Working Group was

comprised of representatives from FRA,

the Association of American Railroads,

the United Transportation Union, the

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers,

and The American Short Line and

Regional Railroad Association. The

Working Group developed a codified

database of standardized information,

referred to as the ‘‘SOFA Matrix,’’ from

the wide range of information on the 76

fatal switching incidents that occurred

between January 1992 and July 1998. In

addition, the Working Group reviewed

very limited data obtained from FRA

files concerning employee fatalities

from 1975 to 1991 and participated in

a series of systematic exercises designed

to tap the extensive expertise acquired

by the Working Group during its review

and analysis of these employee

fatalities.

For statistical purposes, the total

number of employee fatalities studied

by the Working Group was too small

and the circumstances were too varied

to permit formal statistical analysis.

Notwithstanding these limitations,

based on the objective evidence of likely

contributing factors, a number of

findings and recommendations were

developed. The Working Group’s

recommendations include actions to

improve both the safety of railroad

switching operations and the quality of

data collected on fatalities in switching

operations. That database and the

expertise-capturing exercises were then

used to identify trends or patterns in the

data for a more comprehensive

understanding of the fatalities the

Working Group was investigating, and

became the foundation for the analysis

and recommendations in the report,

entitled ‘‘Switching Operations Fatality

Analysis,’’ which the Working Group

issued in October 1999.

The five critical SOFA Working

Group recommendations (‘‘five SOFA

lifesavers’’) are set forth below:

• Recommendation 1. Notification to

the locomotive engineer before fouling

track or equipment. ‘‘Any crew member

intending to foul track or equipment

must notify the locomotive engineer

before such action can take place. The