Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 219 / Monday, November 13, 2000 / Notices 67791

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement;

Manatee County, FL

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this

notice to advise the public that an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

will be prepared for a proposed highway

project in Manatee County, Florida.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Donald Davis, Program Operations

Engineer, Federal Highway

Administration, 227 North Bronough

Street, Suite 2015, Tallahassee, Florida

32301, Telephone: (850) 942–9650,

Extension 3031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

FHWA, in cooperation with the Florida

Department of Transportation will

prepare an EIS for a proposal to improve

the north-south circulation between I–

75 and Rye Road (CR 675). Part of this

proposal is to evaluate increased

vehicular capacity crossing the Manatee

River. Improvements to the corridor are

considered necessary to provide for

projected traffic demand.

Alternatives under consideration

include (1) taking no action; (2)

widening mainline I–75 and the I–75

crossing of the River; (3) widening Rye

Road; and (4) a new crossing of the

Manatee River connecting a widened

Fort Hamer Road to the north with a

widened Upper Manatee River Road to

the south.

Letters describing the proposed action

and soliciting comments will be sent to

appropriate Federal, state, and local

agencies, and to private organizations

and citizens who have expressed

interest in this proposal. A series of

public meetings will be held in Manatee

County, Florida between October 2000

and September 2001. In addition a

public hearing will be held. Public

notice will be given of the time and

place of the meetings and hearing. The

Draft EIS (DEIS) will be made available

for public and organizations reviews

and comments prior to the public

hearing. Per 40 CFR 1507.1, a scoping

process will be developed as part of the

project and a formal scoping meeting

will be held.

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.

Comments or questions concerning this

proposed action and the EIS should be

directed to the FHWA at the address

provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Number 20.205, Highway Research,

Planning and Construction. The regulations

implementing Executive Order 12372

regarding inter-governmental consultation on

Federal programs and activities apply to this

program.)

Issued on: November 1, 2000.

Donald Davis,

Program Operations Engineer, Tallahassee,

Florida.

[FR Doc. 00–28872 Filed 11–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS);

Sarasota and Charlotte Counties, FL

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this

notice to advise the public that an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

will be prepared for a proposed highway

project in Sarasota and Charlotte

Counties, Florida.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Donald Davis, Programs Operation

Engineer, Federal Highway

Administration, 227 N. Bronough Street,

Suite Room 2015, Tallahassee, Florida

32301–2015, Telephone: (850) 942–

9650, Extension 3031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

FHWA, in consultation with the Florida

Department of Transportation, will

prepare an EIS for a proposal to develop

a north-south arterial linking S.R. 776 in

the Englewood area of Charlotte County,

Florida to I–75 in Sarasota County,

Florida. The project area is

approximately 48 square miles, which is

four miles wide by 12 miles in length.

The project limits are from the vicinity

of the S.R. 776/Pine Street intersection

to the I–75 interchange at River Road.

This project is commonly referred to as

the Englewood Interstate Connector.

This project has been identified as a

high priority by both the Sarasota/

Manatee and Charlotte County-Punta

Gorda Metropolitan Planning

Organizations and is needed to

accommodate future growth and to

serve as an additional hurricane

evacuation route. Alternatives to be

considered for this arterial will include

a new roadway alignment(s), utilizing

the existing River Road alignment and a

combination of each. A no-build

alternative will also be considered.

Letters describing the appropriate

action and soliciting comments will be

sent to appropriate Federal, State, and

local agencies, and to private

organizations and citizens who have

expressed an interest in this proposal.

Public meetings will be held in the

study area until June 2001. In addition,

a Public Hearing will be held in the

study area. Public notice will be given

of the time and place of the meetings

and hearings. The Draft EIS will be

made available to the public and

organizations for their review and

comments. The formal scoping meeting

date is not available at this time.

To ensure that the full range of issues

related to the proposed action are

addressed and all significant issues

identified, comments and suggestions

are invited from all interested parties.

Comments or questions concerning

this proposed action and the EIS should

be directed to the FHWA at the address

provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Number 20.205, Highway Research,

Planning and Construction. The regulations

implementing Executive Order 12372

regarding inter-governmental consultation on

Federal programs and activities apply to this

program.)

Issued On: November 1, 2000.

Donald Davis,

Program Operations Engineer, Tallahassee,

Florida.

[FR Doc. 00–28871 Filed 11–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement: St.

Mary Parish, Louisiana

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this

notice to advise the public that an

Environmental Impact Statement will be

prepared for a proposed road project in

St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William C. Farr, Program Operations

Manager, Federal Highway

Administration, 5304 Flanders Drive,

Suite A, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70808,

Telephone: (225) 757–7615, Facsimile:

(225) 757–7601.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

FHWA, in cooperation with the

Louisiana Department of Transportation

and Development (LDOTD), will

prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) on a proposal to

67792 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 219 / Monday, November 13, 2000 / Notices

upgrade a portion of US 90 to a full

‘‘Control of Access’’ highway meeting

current interstate standards. US 90 will

become an extension of Interstate 49 (I–

49). The proposed project passes

through the municipalities of Patterson

and Berwick as well as the

unincorporated community of Bayou

Vista, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. The

approximate distance of the project is 9

miles.

The proposed improvements would

provide sufficient capacity for hurricane

evacuation routes, maintain access to

abutting properties, and minimize

adverse environmental and community

impacts.

This portion of US 90 begins east of

the Wax Lake Outlet Bridge and extends

to the interchange with LA 182 in

Berwick, St. Mary Parish.

Alternatives to be considered include:

(1) Utilization of the existing right-ofway to the maximum extent practicable

to incorporate a controlled access

roadway with a one-way frontage road

system; and (2) Utilization of the

existing right-of-way to the maximum

extent practicable to incorporate a

controlled access roadway with a twoway frontage road system.

Letters describing the proposed action

and soliciting comments will be sent to

appropriate Federal, state, and local

agencies and to private organizations,

including groups of individuals who

have expressed interest in the project in

the past. There are no plans to hold a

formal scoping meeting for the proposed

action. At least one public informational

meeting will be held in the project area

that will be affected. In addition, a

Public Hearing will be held. Public

notice will be given of the time and

place of the public informational

meeting(s) and the Public Hearing. The

draft EIS will be available for public and

agency review and comment prior to the

Public Hearing.

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.

Comments or questions concerning this

proposed action and the EIS should be

directed to the FHWA at the address

provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning

and Construction. The regulations

implementing Executive Order 12372

regarding intergovernmental consultation on

Federal programs and activities apply to this

program.)

Issued on: October 31, 2000.

William A. Sussmann,

Division Administrator, FHWA, Baton Rouge,

Louisiana.

[FR Doc. 00–28869 Filed 11–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs

Administration

[Docket No. RSPA–2000–6944 (Notice No.

00–12)]

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping

Requirements Agency Information

Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs

Administration (RSPA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice

announces that the Information

Collections Requests (ICRs) abstracted

below have been forwarded to the Office

of Management and Budget (OMB) for

review and comments. The ICRs

describe the nature of the information

collections and their expected burden.

The Federal Register Notice with a 60-

day comment period soliciting

comments on the following collections

of information was published on August

21, 2000, (65 FR 50741). One comment

was received regarding OMB Control

No. 2137–0034, Hazardous Materials

Shipping Papers & Emergency Response

Information.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before December 13, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deborah Boothe, Office of Hazardous

Materials Standards (DHM–10),

Research and Special Programs

Administration, Room 8422, 400

Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC

20590–0001, Telephone (202) 366–8553.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Hazardous Materials Shipping

Papers & Emergency Response

Information.

OMB Control Number: 2137–0034.

Type of Request: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Abstract: This information collection

consolidates and describes the

information collection provisions in

parts 172, 174, 175, 176, and 177 of the

HMR on the shipping paper and

emergency response requirements for

the transportation of hazardous

materials in commerce. Shipping papers

and emergency response information are

a basic communication tool used in the

safe transportation of hazardous

materials. They serve as a principal

means of identifying hazardous

materials during transportation,

including emergencies, by providing the

proper shipping name, hazard class, UN

or NA identification number, packing

group and quantity of each hazardous

material being transported. Shipping

papers also provide emergency response

information for use in the mitigation of

an incident, and an emergency response

telephone number for use in the event

of an emergency. The telephone number

must be monitored at all times the

hazardous material is in transportation,

by a person who is either

knowledgeable of the hazardous

material being shipped and has

comprehensive emergency response and

incident mitigation information for that

material, or has immediate access to a

person who posses such knowledge and

information. Shipping papers also serve

as a means of notifying transport

workers that hazardous materials are

present, so that the proper loading,

unloading, handling and safety

procedures may be followed.

One comment was received from the

Hazardous Materials Advisory Council

(HMAC) requesting clarification on the

basis of the 6,500,000 burden hours for

the preparation of shipping papers.

HMAC cited a recent RSPA study

completed in August 1998 that

estimated there are 800,000 daily

shipments of hazardous materials in

commerce, most requiring the

preparation of shipping papers.

According to the August 1998 RSPA

study, shipments are defined as

equivalent to deliveries, and in most

instances may be distinguished from the

number of movements, trip segments, or

other measures. The estimated number

of movements associated with these

shipments exceeds 1.2 million per day.

Because most of the 800,000 daily

shipments are accomplished with one

shipping paper and some require

multiple shipping papers, RSPA has

estimated the annual number of

shipments for shipping paper

calculation purposes to be

approximately 1 million shipments per

day. The information collection

estimates used by RSPA average out to

1 million/day x 5 days/week x 52 weeks

or 260 million shipments per year.

These estimates are averages based on

the average time it takes all shippers to

complete shipping paper. This includes

shippers who prepare shipping papers

once a year manually, as well as those

shippers who ship hundreds of material

daily using a permanent reusable