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

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 219 / Monday, November 13, 2000 / Notices 67793

shipping paper, and shippers who use

computer generated shipping papers

that can be printed out in seconds.

RSPA acknowledges that it may take

more than 1 minute 30 seconds to

prepare a number of shipping papers.

However, other shipping papers can be

prepared more quickly by using data

programs, especially for shippers who

continually ship the same hazardous

materials.

Affected Public: Shippers and carriers

of hazardous materials in intrastate,

interstate, and foreign commerce.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

250,000.

Estimated Number of Responses:

260,000,000.

Annual Estimated Burden Hours:

6,500,000.

Frequency of Collection: Annually.

Title: Radioactive (RAM)

Transportation Requirements.

OMB Control Number: 2137–0510.

Type of Request: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Abstract: This information collection

consolidates and describes the

information collection provisions in the

HMR (49 CFR parts 171–180) involving

the transportation of radioactive

materials in commerce. Information

collection requirements for RAM

include: shipper notification to

consignees of the dates of shipment of

RAM; expected arrival; special loading/

unloading instructions; verification that

shippers using foreign-made packages

hold a foreign competent authority

certificate and verification that the

terms of the certificate are being

followed for RAM shipments being

made into this country; and specific

handling instructions from shippers to

carriers for fissile RAM, bulk shipments

of low specific activity RAM and

packages of RAM which emit high

levels of external radiation. These

information collection requirements

help to establish that proper packages

are used for the type of radioactive

material being transported; external

radiation levels do not exceed

prescribed limits; packages are handled

appropriately and delivered in a timely

manner, so as to ensure the safety of the

general public, transport workers, and

emergency responders.

Affected Public: Shippers and carriers

of radioactive materials in commerce.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

3,807.

Estimated Number of Responses:

21,319.

Annual Estimated Burden Hours:

14,480.

Frequency of Collection: Periodically.

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding

the burden estimate, including

suggestions for reducing the burden, to

Office of Management and Budget,

Attention: Desk Officer for RSPA, 725

17th Street, NW., Washington, DC

20503.

Comments are invited on: whether the

proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the Department,

including whether the information will

have practical utility; the accuracy of

the Department’s estimate of the burden

of the proposed information collection;

ways to enhance the quality, utility and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

A comment to OMB is most effective

if OMB receives it within 30 days of

publication.

Issued in Washington, DC on November 7,

2000.

Edward T. Mazzullo,

Director, Office of Hazardous Materials

Standards.

[FR Doc. 00–28986 Filed 11–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs

Administration

Office of Hazardous Materials Safety;

Notice of Delays in Processing of

Exemption Applications

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: List of Applications Delayed

more than 180 days.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5117(c), RSPA

is publishing the following list of

exemption applications that have been

in process for 180 days or more. The

reason(s) for delay and the expected

completion date for action on each

application is provided in association

with each identified application.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J.

Suzanne Hedgepeth, Director, Office of

Hazardous Materials, Exemptions and

Approvals, Research and Special

Programs Administration, U.S.

Department of Transportation, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590–0001, (202) 366–4535.

Key to ‘‘Reasons for Delay’’

1. Awaiting additional information from

applicant

2. Extensive public comment under

review

3. Application is technically complex

and is of significant impact or

precedent-setting and requires

extensive analysis

4. Staff review delayed by other priority

issues or volume of exemption

applications

Meaning of Application Number

Suffixes

N—New application

M—Modification request

PM—Party to application with

modification request

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 6,

2000.

R. Ryan Posten,

Exemptions Program Officer, Office of

Hazardous Materials, Exemptions and

Approvals.

NEW EXCEPTION APPLICATIONS

Application

No. Applicant Reason fordelay

Estimated date

of completion

11862–N .. The BOC Group, Murray Hill, NJ .......................................................................................................... 4 12/29/2000

11927–N .. Alaska Marine Lines, Inc. Seattle, WA ................................................................................................. 4 12/29/2000

12125–N .. Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN ........................................................................................................ 4 11/30/2000

12142–N .. Aristech Chemical Corp., Pittsburgh, PA .............................................................................................. 4 12/29/2000

12158–N .. Hickson Corporation, Conley, GA ......................................................................................................... 4 12/29/2000

12181–N .. Aristech, Pittsburgh, PA ........................................................................................................................ 4 12/29/2000

12248–N .. Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corp., High Point, NC ................................................................................. 4 12/29/2000

12277–N .. The Indian Sugar & General Engineering Corp. ISGE, Haryana, IX ................................................... 1 11/30/2000