Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 128 / Monday, July 6, 1998 / Notices 36477

the Nominating Committee (A); (14)

Other Business; (15) Adjournment until

October 11, 1998, Board of Directors

Meeting in Conjunction with the Fifth

ITS World Congress at the InterContinental Hotel, Seoul, Korea (not a

Federal Advisory Committee Meeting).

ITS AMERICA provides a forum for

national discussion and

recommendations on ITS activities

including programs, research needs,

strategic planning, standards,

international liaison, and priorities.

The charter for the utilization of ITS

AMERICA establishes this organization

as an advisory committee under the

Federal Advisory Committee Act

(FACA) 5 USC app. 2, when it provides

advice or recommendations to DOT

officials on ITS policies and programs.

(56 FR 9400, March 6, 1991).

DATES: The Board of Directors of ITS

AMERICA will meet on Wednesday,

August 5, 1998, from 9:30 a.m.–noon.

ADDRESSES: The Hyatt Regency

Savannah, #2 W. Bay Street, Savannah,

Georgia, 31401. Phone: (912) 238–1234.

Fax: (912) 944–3678.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Materials associated with this meeting

may be examined at the offices of ITS

AMERICA, 400 Virginia Avenue SW.,

Suite 800, Washington, DC 20024.

Persons needing further information or

who request to speak at this meeting

should contact Kenneth Faunteroy at

ITS AMERICA by telephone at (202)

484–4130 or by FAX at (202) 484–3483.

The DOT contact is Mary C. Pigott,

FHWA, HVH–1, Washington, DC 20590,

(202) 366–9230. Office hours are from

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through

Friday, except for legal holidays.

(23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48)

Issued on: June 29, 1998.

Jeffrey Paniati,

Deputy Director, ITS Joint Program Office.

[FR Doc. 98–17746 Filed 7–2–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement on

New Rochelle Intermodal

Transportation Center Project, New

Rochelle, New York

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration,

DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS).

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C)

of the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and as

implemented by the Council on

Environmental Quality (CEQ)

regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500–1508)

and Federal Transit Administration

(FTA) regulations under 23 CFR Part

771, the FTA and the Westchester

County Department of Transportation

(WCDOT) intend to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

to assess the impacts of a project known

as the New Rochelle Intermodal

Transportation Center. The EIS will also

comply with the requirements of the

1990 Clean Air Act Amendments

(CAAA) and Executive Order 12898 on

Environmental Justice.

The project consists of a proposed

multi-level garage and other vehicular

and pedestrian circulation

improvements to be constructed on the

site of the existing at-grade parking lot

along the southbound Metro-North

railroad tracks at the New Rochelle

Train Station in New Rochelle

(Westchester County), New York. The

proposed project is intended to be

financed through FTA and local funding

sources. The project is being

administered by the City of New

Rochelle (City) Department of

Development on behalf of WCDOT.

The proposed garage and station site

redesign are intended to better serve

Metro-North and Amtrak train

operations, Westchester County bus

service, taxi and private bus operations,

and commuters parking at the station,

and improve pedestrian and vehicle

circulation. The proposed project

includes a new 1,000-space parking

structure, improved vehicular and

pedestrian circulation, bicycle storage,

and separate taxi, bus, and auto

passenger pick up/drop off areas. The

project will be designed to be in

character with the New Rochelle train

station building on the project site.

In addition to assessing the proposed

intermodal center, the EIS will evaluate

the No Build alternative and any other

reasonable alternatives determined

through the scoping process. Scoping

will occur both through correspondence

with interested persons, organizations,

and federal, state, and local agencies

and through a public meeting.

Involved agencies may include:

National Railroad Passenger Corporation

(Amtrak), New York State Thruway

Authority, Metro-North Railroad (MTA),

and New York State Historic

Preservation Office (SHPO).

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written

comments on the scope of alternatives

and impacts to be considered should be

sent to the City of New Rochelle by and

will be accepted by the Department up

to thirty days following the close of the

public scoping meeting. Oral comments

may be given at the scoping meeting.

Scoping Meeting: A public scoping

meeting will be held on Tuesday, July

21, 1998, 8:00 PM, in City Hall, 515

North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

project scope should be sent to Mark

Stellato, City of New Rochelle,

Department of Development, New

Rochelle City Hall, 515 North Avenue,

New Rochelle, NY 10801.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anthony G. Carr, Director, Planning and

Program Development, Federal Transit

Administration, at 212–264–8162.

SUPPLEMENATRY INFORMATION:

Scoping

The FTA is initiating a scoping

process for the purpose of determining

the scope of issues to be addressed in

the EIS. All interested individuals,

organizations, and Federal, State, and

local agencies are invited to participate

in identifying any significant social,

economic, and environmental issues

related to the proposed project and

defining the alternatives to be evaluated

in the EIS. A draft Scoping Document

describing the purpose of the project

and impact issues is being mailed to

affected Federal, State, and local

agencies as well as interested parties.

Copies of the draft Scoping Document

may be obtained from Mark Stellato,

City of New Rochelle Department of

Development at (914) 654–2191.

Following a presentation on the

project, comments on the scope of the

EIS will be received and transcribed at

this meeting. Scoping comments may be

submitted at the public scoping meeting

and/or submitted in writing at the

address listed above. It is important that

interested parties and Federal, State,

and local agencies take this opportunity

to identify environmental concerns that

should be addressed in the EIS. Further,

because the preliminary design

components of the New Rochelle

Intermodal Transportation Center

Project are currently being formulated

and refined, the scoping process offers

an opportunity to incorporate public

environmental concerns into the urban

design and engineering processes of the

project.

Description of Study Area and Project

Need

The proposed action (New Rochelle

Intermodal Transportation Center)

includes the construction of a 1,000-

space, multi-level parking garage on the

site of the existing New Rochelle train

station as well as the reconfiguration

and redesign of the train station site to
36478 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 128 / Monday, July 6, 1998 / Notices

create an intermodal transportation

center. The New Rochelle train station

is located in the central business district

of the City of New Rochelle,

Westchester County, New York. The

station site is bordered on the north by

the New England Section (I–95) of the

New York State Thruway; on the south

by Metro-North’s New Haven Division;

on the east by North Avenue, and on the

west by Division Street. It is a major

commuter stop along the MTA MetroNorth Railroad’s New Haven Division as

well as Amtrak’s New England Express,

Springfield, and Vermont lines. In

addition, the New Rochelle station will

be the only stop in Westchester for

Amtrak’s high speed Northeast Corridor

service between Washington, DC and

Boston, Massachusetts. The station is

also a hub for the County’s Bee-Line bus

service.

The City, the New York State

Department of Transportation, and

WCDOT will consolidate to the

maximum extent feasible various

transportation services into a single

intermodal hub adjacent to the train

station building. The overall goals and

objectives of this project are to provide

a convenient, secure, operationally

efficient transportation center which

considers internal circulation, site

access, user friendliness, bus pick up

and drop-off areas, commuter parking,

ADA access, taxi layover, kiss-and-ride,

and pedestrian as well as bicycle access.

Alternatives

The EIS will evaluate reasonable

alternatives that will assist in achieving

the objectives of the New Rochelle

Intermodal Transportation Center

Project. Alternatives to be analyzed

would include a No Build Alternative

under which no change to the New

Rochelle Station would occur. Other

alternatives to be considered would be

developed during the scoping and

public comment period and could

include design alternatives.

Probable Effects/Potential Impacts for

Analysis

The EIS will evaluate all potential

significant social, economic, and

environmental impacts of the

alternatives. Primary issues include

traffic and transportation, air quality,

noise, and the landmark-eligibility of

the Train Station Building. Both

positive and negative impacts will be

evaluated for the construction period

and for the long term period of

operation. Measures to mitigate adverse

impacts will be identified, where

reasonable and appropriate. The Build

year for the proposed project is

anticipated to be 2001.

FTA and State Procedures

The EIS process will be conducted in

accordance with the regulations and

guidance established by NEPA, as well

as FTA’s regulations under 23 CFR 771

and associated guidance documents.

Following the completion of the

scoping process, a draft EIS will be

prepared and made available for public

review. There will be a 45-day public

comment period and public hearing on

the draft EIS. After its publication and

the public hearing, a final EIS will be

prepared with appropriate revisions and

additions responding to all substantive

comments received. The final EIS will

serve as the basis for a Record of

Decision issued on the proposed action.

Because the proposed action also

includes actions by New York State,

county, and local agencies, it will also

be assessed in accordance with the New

York State Environmental Quality

Review Act (SEQRA). The City of New

Rochelle will serve as the lead agency

for SEQRA documentation. The content

and format of the Federal EIS will be

designed to also meet the requirements

of SEQRA for the action. All time

frames, public notices, public hearings,

and comment periods will be

coordinated in accordance with both

NEPA and SEQRA requirements.

Issued on: June 30, 1998.

Letitia Thompson,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 98–17820 Filed 7–2–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA–97–3125; Notice 02]

RIN 2127–AH04

Final Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft

Prevention Standard

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA),

Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Publication of final theft data.

SUMMARY: This document publishes the

final data on thefts of model year (MY)

1996 passenger motor vehicles that

occurred in calendar year (CY) 1996.

The final 1996 theft data indicate a

decrease in the vehicle theft rate when

compared to the theft rate experienced

in CY/MY 1995. The final theft rate for

MY 1996 passenger vehicles stolen in

calendar year 1996 (3.28 thefts per

thousand vehicles produced) decreased

by 8.1 percent from the theft rate for CY/

MY 1995 vehicles (3.57 thefts per

thousand vehicles produced).

Publication of these data fulfills

NHTSA’s statutory obligation to

periodically obtain accurate and timely

theft data and publish the information

for review and comment. The data were

calculated for informational purposes

only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Rosalind Proctor, Office of Planning and

Consumer Programs, NHTSA, 400

Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.

20590. Ms. Proctor’s telephone number

is (202) 366–0846. Her fax number is

(202) 493–2739.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA

administers a program for reducing

motor vehicle theft. The central feature

of this program is the Federal Motor

Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard, 49

CFR Part 541. The standard specifies

performance requirements for inscribing

and affixing vehicle identification

numbers (VINs) onto certain major

original equipment and replacement

parts of high-theft lines of passenger

motor vehicles.

The agency is required by 49 U.S.C.

33104(b)(4) to periodically obtain, from

the most reliable source, accurate and

timely theft data and publish the data

for review and comment. To fulfill this

statutory mandate, NHTSA has

published theft data annually beginning

with MYs 1983/84. Continuing to fulfill

the section 33104(b)(4) mandate, this

document reports the final theft data for

CY 1996, the most recent calendar year

for which data are available.

In calculating the 1996 theft rates,

NHTSA followed the same procedures it

used in calculating the MY 1995 theft

rates. (For 1995 theft data calculations,

see 62 FR 44416, August 21, 1997.) As

in all previous reports, NHTSA’s data

were based on information provided to

NHTSA by the National Crime

Information Center (NCIC) of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation. The

NCIC is a government system that

receives vehicle theft information from

nearly 23,000 criminal justice agencies

and other law enforcement authorities

throughout the United States. The NCIC

data also include reported thefts of selfinsured and uninsured vehicles, not all

of which are reported to other data

sources.

The 1996 theft rate for each vehicle

line was calculated by dividing the

number of reported thefts of MY 1996

vehicles of that line stolen during

calendar year 1996 by the total number

of vehicles in that line manufactured for

MY 1996, as reported to the

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA).