Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 174 / Monday, September 8, 2008 / Notices 52075 

to award discretionary grants are made 

on the basis of a number of factors, 

including project evaluation under the 

National Priority System and the current 

operations and number of aircraft that 

are based at an airport. Nonprimary 

airports that have not provided 

verifiable data on the number of based 

aircraft at the airport deprive FAA of a 

tool for reviewing discretionary 

requests. Therefore, if a nonprimary 

airport has not provided a list of based 

aircraft at the airport, including ‘‘Nnumber’’, FAA will consider the failure 

to provide the information as a factor 

when considering a request from the 

airport for discretionary funding. 

Issued in Washington, DC on August 27, 

2008. 

Wayne Heibeck, 

Deputy Director, Office of Airport Planning 

and Programming. 

[FR Doc. E8–20459 Filed 9–5–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory 

Committee Meeting on Transport 

Airplane and Engine Issues 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

public meeting of the FAA’s Aviation 

Rulemaking Advisory Committee 

(ARAC) to discuss transport airplane 

and engine (TAE) issues. 

DATES: The meeting is scheduled for 

Wednesday, October 1, 2008, starting at 

9 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Arrange 

for oral presentations by September 16, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: FAA–Northwest Mountain 

Region Office, Transport Standards Staff 

conference room, 1601 Lind Ave. SW., 

Renton, WA 98507. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ralen Gao, Office of Rulemaking, ARM–

209, FAA, 800 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC 20591, Telephone 

(202) 267–3168, FAX (202) 267–5075, or 

e-mail at ralen.gao@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463; 5 U.S.C. app. III), notice is given of 

an ARAC meeting to be held October 1, 

2008. 

The agenda for the meeting is as 

follows: 

• Opening Remarks, Review Agenda 

and Minutes. 

• FAA Report. 

• Excom Report. 

• Transport Canada Report. 

• Airplane-level Safety Analysis 

Working Group Report. 

• Task 4 Status. 

• Propeller Harmonization Working 

Group (HWG) Report. 

• Ice protection HWG Report. 

• Airworthiness Assurance HWG 

Report. 

• Avionics HWG Report. 

• Halon Replacement as Fire 

Extinguishing Agent. 

• Any Other Business. 

• Action Item Review. 

Attendance is open to the public, but 

will be limited to the availability of 

meeting room space. Please confirm 

your attendance with the person listed 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section no later than 

September 16, 2008. Entrance to the 

FAA facility will require presentation of 

a valid passport or state-issued (US) 

identification (e.g, driver’s license). 

Please plan on arriving at least 20 

minutes in advance of meeting to 

facilitate entrance screening. 

For persons participating by 

telephone, the call-in number is (202) 

366–3920; the pass code is ‘‘2816.’’ To 

insure that sufficient telephone lines are 

available, please notify the person listed 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of your intent to 

participate by telephone by September 

16, 2008. Anyone calling from outside 

the Seattle, WA metropolitan area will 

be responsible for paying long-distance 

charges. 

The public must make arrangements 

by September 16, 2008, to present oral 

statements at the meeting. Written 

statements may be presented to the 

ARAC at any time by providing 25 

copies to the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 

or by providing copies at the meeting. 

Copies of the documents to be presented 

to ARAC for decision by the FAA may 

be made available by contacting the 

person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

If you need assistance or require a 

reasonable accommodation for the 

meeting or meeting documents, please 

contact the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

Sign and oral interpretation, as well as 

a listening device, can be made 

available if requested 10 calendar days 

before the meeting. 

Issued in Washington, DC on September 3, 

2008. 

Pamela Hamilton-Powell, 

Director, Office of Rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. E8–20747 Filed 9–5–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Environmental Impact Report: 

San Francisco, CA 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare 

a joint Environmental Impact 

Statement/Environmental Impact Report 

(EIS/EIR). 

SUMMARY: The FHWA, on behalf of the 

California Department of Transportation 

(Caltrans), and The San Francisco 

County Transportation Authority 

(Authority), is issuing this notice to 

advise the public that an Environmental 

Impact Statement/Environmental 

Impact Report (EIS/EIR) will be 

prepared for the proposed Yerba Buena 

Island (YBI) Ramps Improvement 

Project on Interstate 80 (I–80) in San 

Francisco County, California. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Cordoba, San Francisco County 

Transportation Authority, 100 Van Ness 

Avenue, 26th Floor, San Francisco, CA 

94102, Telephone (415) 955–2904 or 

Melanie Brent, Caltrans District 4 Office 

of Environmental Analysis, 111 Grand 

Avenue, Oakland, CA 94623, Telephone 

(510) 286–5231. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective 

July 1, 2007, the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) assigned, and 

the California Department of 

Transportation (Caltrans) assumed, 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) environmental responsibilities 

for highway projects pursuant to 23 

U.S.C. 327. In cooperation with 

Caltrans, the Authority will prepare a 

joint EIS/EIR for the proposed YBI 

Ramps Improvement Project at Yerba 

Buena Island in the City and County of 

San Francisco, California. Caltrans is the 

lead agency under NEPA and the 

Authority is the lead agency under the 

California Environmental Quality Act 

(CEQA). 

YBI is located in San Francisco Bay, 

between Oakland and San Francisco, 

and is accessible by vehicles only via 

the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge 

(SFOBB), which is a critical link in the 

interstate network, providing access 

between San Francisco and the East 

Bay. The only access to Treasure Island, 

located north of YBI, and the only land 

access to the active U.S. Coast Guard 

facilities on the south side of YBI, is 

also from the SFOBB and the associated 

on- and off-ramps. 

The proposed project would replace 

the existing westbound on- and offmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

52076 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 174 / Monday, September 8, 2008 / Notices 

ramps located on the east side of YBI 

with new westbound on- and off-ramps 

that replicate the functional role of the 

current ramps and also address seismic, 

traffic safety requirements, and design 

standards. The feasibility of improving 

the geometric configuration of the 

current eastbound off-ramp on the 

eastern side of YBI to Hillcrest Road 

will also be included. The YBI Ramps 

Improvement Project is separate and 

independent of both the SFOBB East 

Span Seismic Safety Project currently 

under construction, and the Treasure 

Island and Yerba Buena Island (TI/YBI) 

Redevelopment Plan, which is currently 

undergoing its own environmental 

review process. The proposed new 

ramps would improve traffic and 

seismic safety of the ramps and provide 

connections between YBI and the 

transition structure of the new SFOBB. 

The proposed project is located between 

Post Mile (PM) 7.8 and 8.1 starting at 

the east portal of the YBI tunnel and 

ending before the SFOBB Transition 

Structure. 

The purpose of the project is to 

address geometric and operational 

deficiencies of the existing on- and offramps, improve traffic operations to and 

from the SFOBB and improve traffic 

safety by increasing deceleration length 

for the eastbound and westbound offramps, and increasing merging distance 

for eastbound and westbound on-ramps. 

Preliminary alternatives under 

consideration for the EIS/EIR include: 

(1) No Build Alternative, which 

assumes that the existing on- and offramps would remain in place and no 

further action or improvements would 

occur; 

(2) Alternative 2B, which would 

include the removal of the existing 

westbound on- and off-ramps on the 

east side of YBI, construction of a 

westbound off-ramp to Macalla Court on 

the east side of YBI, construction of a 

westbound hook on-ramp from Macalla 

Court on the east side of YBI. The 

feasibility of incorporating 

improvements to the current eastbound 

off-ramp on the eastern side of YBI to 

Hillcrest Road will be studied; and, 

(3) Alternative 4, which would 

include the removal of the existing 

westbound on- and off-ramps on the 

east side of YBI, the construction of 

westbound on-ramp from Hillcrest 

Road, the construction of westbound 

off-ramp from Macalla Court on the east 

side of YBI. The feasibility of 

incorporating improvements to the 

current eastbound off-ramp on the 

eastern side of YBI to Hillcrest Road 

will be studied. 

Anticipated Federal approvals or 

permits include, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS) Section 7 Endangered 

Species Act, Consultation, Sections 401 

and 404 of the Clean Water Act, Section 

4(f) of the Transportation Act of 1966, 

Section 6(f) Land and Water 

Conservation Fund Act, Section 10 

Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE), 

Section 9 Coast Guard, and 

determination of consistency with the 

Federal Coastal Zone Management Act 

by the San Francisco Bay Conservation 

and Development Commission. 

Letters describing the proposed action 

and soliciting comments will be sent to 

appropriate Federal, State, participating 

agencies (including federally recognized 

Tribal governments, if any), local 

agencies, and private organizations and 

citizens who have previously expressed 

or are known to have interest in this 

proposal. The NEPA environmental 

process for the proposed project began 

in June 2008. A public scoping meeting 

is scheduled to be held at the Port of 

San Francisco office, in the Bayside 

Conference Room located at Pier 1, The 

Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111 

on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 

from 6:30 to 8 p.m. 

In addition, at least one public 

hearing will be held after the 

publication of the Draft EIS/EIR. Public 

notice will be given of the time and 

place of the meeting and hearing (as 

applicable). The Draft EIS/EIR 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. 

Comment or questions concerning this 

proposed action and the EIS should be 

directed to Eric Cordoba, Project 

Manager for the Authority, with a copy 

of comment sent to Melanie Brent, 

Caltrans Office Chief. Written comments 

must be received no later than 5 p.m. on 

October 6, 2008 and should be sent to 

Eric Cordoba at the Authority, with a 

copy of the comment sent to Melanie 

Brent at Caltrans at the addresses listed 

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: September 5, 2008. 

Nancy E. Bobb, 

Director, State Programs, Federal Highway 

Administration, Sacramento, California. 

[FR Doc. E8–20698 Filed 9–5–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Notice of Application for Approval of 

Discontinuance or Modification of a 

Railroad Signal System or Relief From 

the Requirements of Title 49 Code of 

Federal Regulations Part 236 

Pursuant to Title 49 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) Part 235 and 49 

U.S.C. 20502(a), the following railroad 

has petitioned the Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA) seeking approval 

for the discontinuance or modification 

of the signal system or relief from the 

requirements of 49 CFR Part 236, as 

detailed below. 

[Docket Number FRA–2008–0094] 

Applicant: Wheeling & Lake Erie 

Railway Company, Mr. Dan Reinsel, 

Signal & Communications Supervisor, 

100 East First Street, Brewster, OH 

44613. 

The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway 

Company seeks approval of the 

proposed discontinuance of the signal 

system governing movements over the 

Maumee River turn span bridge at MP 

2.38, Toledo, Ohio. 

The reason given for the proposed 

changes is that a damaged mechanical 

circuit coupler located on the east end 

of the turn span is no longer in 

production and attempts to secure a 

replacement have been unsuccessful. 

Replacement of the entire system would 

be of excessive cost given the amount of 

rail traffic across the bridge. 

Any interested party desiring to 

protest the granting of an application 

shall set forth specifically the grounds 

upon which the protest is made, and 

include a concise statement of the 

interest of the party in the proceeding. 

Additionally, one copy of the protest 

shall be furnished to the applicant at the 

address listed above. 

FRA expects to be able to determine 

these matters without an oral hearing. 

However, if a specific request for an oral 

hearing is accompanied by a showing 

that the party is unable to adequately 

present his or her position by written 

statements, an application may be set 

for public hearing. 

All communications concerning this 

proceeding should be identified by 

Docket Number FRA–2008–0094 and 

may be submitted by one of the 

following methods: 

• Web site: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the DOT electronic site; 

• Fax: 202–493–2251; 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES