Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 223 / Monday, November 21, 2005 / Notices 70111 

Dated: November 10, 2005. 

Clay Diamond, 

Executive Secretary, Shipping Coordinating 

Committee, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 05–23012 Filed 11–18–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Draft Supplement Environmental 

Impact Statement for US 411 

Connector, Bartow County, GA 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Extension of Comment Period. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, the FHWA, in cooperation with 

the Georgia Department of 

Transportation (GDOT), have jointly 

prepared a Draft Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement 

(DSEIS) for proposed transportation 

improvements in the US 411 Corridor. 

A Notice of Availability published in 

the Federal Register on October 12, 

2005 included a comment period 

through November 21, 2005. This date 

has been revised and extended to 

December 5, 2005, to coincide with the 

date listed in the EPA Federal Register 

Notice. 

DATES: The comment period will end on 

December 5, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Harvey D. Keepler, State 

Environmental/Location Engineer, 

Georgia Department of Transportation, 

3993 Aviation Circle, Atlanta, GA 

30336–1593. 

Dated: Issued on: November 15, 2005. 

Mr. Robert M. Callan, 

Division Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration, Atlanta, Georgia. 

[FR Doc. 05–22965 Filed 11–21–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Environmental Impact Statment: 

Sanders and Flathead Counties, MT 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA); Department of 

Transportation. 

ACTION: Rescind notice of intent to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this 

notice to advise the public that the 

FHWA is rescinding the Notice of Intent 

(NOI) to prepare an environmental 

impact statement (EIS) for proposed 

improvements to the Thompson River 

Road (also known as Forest Highway 

56), a county road located near 

Thompson Falls, Montana. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Terri Thomas, Environmental Manager, 

Federal Highway Administration, 610 

East Fifth Street, Vancouver, 

Washington 98661–3801. Telephone: 

(360) 619–7700. E-mail: 

Terri.Thomas@fhwa.dot.gov 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

FHWA, in cooperation with the U.S. 

Forest Service (USFS) and the Montana 

Department of Transportation (MDT), is 

rescinding the NOI published in the 

Federal Register (Volume 67, Number 

236, page 73004–73005) on December 9, 

2002, to prepare an EIS for proposed 

improvements to the Thompson River 

Road (Forest Highway 56) near 

Thompson Falls, Montana. The NOI is 

being rescinded due to social, 

environmental, and political issues 

associated with the proposed 

improvements. These issues include 

problems managing access to properties 

with the elimination of portions of the 

current dual road system, social and 

economic impacts on surrounding 

communities, and the lack of available 

‘‘take’’ of the depleted grizzly bear 

population in the Cabinet-Yaak 

Ecosystem. 

Benefits of the proposed 

improvements identified through public 

comments and preliminary studies 

included potential for improving fish 

and wildlife habitat within the 

Thompson River drainage. The 

proposed improvements included a plan 

to eliminate portions of the dual road 

network, which would potentially 

reduce river sediments and benefit 

recovering bull trout. An additional goal 

was to replace the high-speed logging 

road alignment with a lower-speed 

curvilinear alignment to reduce 

mortality of carnivores and other 

species resulting from vehicle 

collisions. However, the combined 

issues of property access, social and 

economic impacts, and potential 

impacts on the depleted population of 

grizzly bear in the Cabinet-Yaak 

Ecosystem were considered more 

significant than the combined potential 

benefits of the project. Therefore, the 

decision was made to stop the project 

and remove it from the Transportation 

Improvement Plan. 

Notices of the decision were sent to 

all cooperating agencies on October 18, 

2005. A press release was issued on 

October 18, 2005. Public involvement 

meetings were held in Thompson Falls, 

Montana on October 19, 2005, and 

Libby, Montana on October 20, 2005, to 

inform the public of this decision. No 

significant opposition to stopping the 

project was received. 

Comments or questions regarding this 

action should be addressed to the 

FHWA at the address and phone 

number provided above. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Research, 

Planning and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Dated: Issued on: November 7, 2005. 

Ricardo Suarez, 

Acting Division Engineer, Western Federal 

Lands Highway Division, Federal Highway 

Administration, Vancouver, Washington. 

[FR Doc. 05–22911 Filed 11–18–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6905–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[FTA Docket Number: FTA–2005–22658] 

Notice of Policy Statement for 

Implementation of Notice and 

Comment Procedures for Documents 

Imposing ‘‘Binding Obligations’’

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice establishes the 

Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA, 

we) policy concerning notice and 

comment for FTA documents that 

impose binding obligations. This new 

policy is consistent with recent 

amendments to FTA’s administrative 

procedures statute and provides the 

public and opportunity to comment on 

documents that FTA issues routinely. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

December 21, 2005. Late filed comments 

will be considered to the extent 

practicable. FTA will publish a second 

notice in the Federal Register 

summarizing all comments received 

regarding this notice, and, if 

appropriate, may modify this policy 

statement. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

[identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 

FTA–2005–22658] by any of the 

following methods: 

Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow 

the instructions for submitting 

comments on the DOT electronic docket 

site. 

Fax: 202–493–2251.