7030 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 25 / Wednesday, February 6, 2008 / Notices 

solicited on an annual basis. Eligible 

projects are on State designated byways, 

National Scenic Byways, All-American 

Roads, or Indian tribe scenic byways. 

Applications are completed by 

Federal, State, or local governmental 

agencies; Tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations. The application 

information is collected electronically 

via the online Grant system (http:// 

www.grants.gov) and is used to 

determine project eligibility. 

The legislation also includes 

information about the nomination of 

scenic byways to become one of 

America’s Byways, a collection of 

distinct and diverse roads designated by 

the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. 

America’s Byways include the National 

Scenic Byways and All-American 

Roads. Additional information on the 

National Scenic Byways Program, its 

grant program, and the nomination 

process is available at http:// 

www.bywaysonline.org. 

The total number of burden hours for 

this collection has changed. The grants 

applications forms were decreased to 

include only those forms that were 

created specifically for www.grants.gov. 

Also, the nominations cycle burden 

hours have been added. 

Respondents 

Grants Application Respondents: In a 

typical grants cycle, it is estimated that 

400 applications will be received. 

Respondents include: 50 State 

Departments of Transportation, the 

District of Columbia and Puerto Rico 

(Right-of-Way Department), Federal 

Land Management Agencies, State and 

local governments, non-profit agencies, 

and Tribal Governments. 

Frequency: Annual. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: 16 hours. 

Nomination Respondents: Based on 

previous nomination cycles, it is 

estimated that a total of 75 nominations 

will be received, originating from any 

local government, including Indian 

tribal governments, or any private group 

or individual. Nominations may also 

originate from the U.S. Forest Service, 

the National Park Service, the Bureau of 

Land Management, or the Bureau of 

Indian Affairs. 

Frequency: Every 2–3 years. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: 200 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 11,400 hours. 

Electronic Access: For access to the 

docket to read background documents 

or comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for accessing the dockets. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 

and 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued on: January 30, 2008. 

James R. Kabel, 

Chief, Management Programs and Analysis 

Division. 

[FR Doc. E8–2168 Filed 2–5–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[Docket No: FTA–2007–0012] 

National Transit Database: Strike 

Adjustments for Urbanized Area 

Apportionments 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final Strike Adjustment Policy 

for Urbanized Area Apportionments. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) 

National Transit Database (NTD) policy 

on strike adjustments. On March 12, 

2007, FTA provided notice to NTD 

reporters that it was changing its policy 

on strikes, to permit transit agencies to 

request an adjustment to their NTD data 

that are used in the apportionment of 

Urbanized Area Formula Grants to offset 

the effect of strikes, retroactive to the 

2005 Report Year. This policy was also 

announced in the Federal Register 

Notice of the Urbanized Area Formula 

Apportionments for Fiscal Year 2007, 

which was published on March 23, 

2007. FTA then formally invited the 

public to comment on this policy 

change through a notice published in 

the Federal Register on November 21, 

2007. FTA received one comment on 

this policy change, and is now formally 

adopting the new policy. 

DATES: Effective Date: February 6, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

program issues, John D. Giorgis, Office 

of Budget and Policy, (202) 366–5430 

(telephone); (202) 366–7989 (fax); or 

john.giorgis@dot.gov (e-mail). For legal 

issues, Richard Wong, Office of the 

Chief Counsel, (202) 366–0675 

(telephone); (202) 366–3809 (fax); or 

richard.wong@dot.gov (e-mail). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The National Transit Database (NTD) 

is the Federal Transit Administration’s 

(FTA’s) primary database for statistics 

on the transit industry. Congress 

established the NTD to ‘‘help meet the 

needs of * * * the public for 

information on which to base public 

transportation service planning * * *’’

(49 U.S.C 5335). Currently, over 650 

transit agencies in urbanized areas 

report to the NTD through an Internetbased reporting system. Each year, 

performance data from these 

submissions are used to apportion over 

$4 billion of FTA funds under the 

Urbanized Area Formula Grants 

Program. These data are also used in the 

annual National Transit Summaries and 

Trends report, the biennial Conditions 

and Performance Report to Congress, 

and in meeting FTA’s obligations under 

the Government Performance and 

Results Act. 

For many years, it was FTA’s policy 

to not adjust performance data 

submitted to the NTD to offset the effect 

of strikes. On March 12, 2007, FTA 

provided notice to NTD reporters that it 

was changing its policy on strikes, to 

permit transit agencies to request an 

adjustment to their NTD data that are 

used in the apportionment of Urbanized 

Area Formula Grants to offset the effect 

of strikes, retroactive to the 2005 Report 

Year. This policy was also announced in 

the Federal Register Notice of the 

Urbanized Area Formula 

Apportionments for Fiscal Year 2007, 

which was published on March 23, 

2007. FTA invited the public to 

comment on this policy change through 

a notice published in the Federal 

Register on November 21, 2007. 

FTA proposes to allow urbanized area 

transit agencies to request that their 

NTD data submissions be adjusted to 

offset the effects of strikes for purposes 

of the apportionment of Urbanized Area 

Formula Program Grants. Requesting 

transit agencies must provide FTA with 

documentation for the duration of the 

strike. FTA will then use the transit 

agency’s NTD submissions to project 

performance data for the time period in 

question. These projections would then 

be added to the transit agency’s NTD 

submission in the data sets used by FTA 

for the calculation of the 

apportionments of Urbanized Area 

Formula Program Grants (Section 5307 

and Section 5309 Grants). In all 

publicly-available data sets and data 

products, an agency’s NTD data would 

remain unadjusted and would reflect 

the actual NTD submission for the 

agency. 

FTA proposes this policy change 

because the Section 5307 and Section 

5309 Grant Programs are fundamentally 

designed to support the capital needs of 

transit agencies in urbanized areas. As 

such, various performance data are used 

to approximate the relative capital 

needs of the various urbanized areas. 

These capital needs are unaffected by 

strikes, even though strikes may 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 25 / Wednesday, February 6, 2008 / Notices 7031 

produce a substantial decrease in the 

performance data for an urbanized area. 

Further, FTA proposes to make this 

policy retroactive to the FY 2005 Report 

Year, to allow urbanized areas that were 

negatively impacted by strikes in the 

2005 and 2006 Report Years in the 

formula apportionment to avail 

themselves of this new policy. 

II. Comments and FTA Response to 

Comments 

FTA received one comment on this 

proposed policy change, inquiring as to 

how retroactive strike adjustments will 

be handled. 

FTA Responds: FTA has made its new 

strike adjustment policy retroactive to 

the FY 2005 Report Year. Transit 

agencies that experienced a reduction in 

service reported to the NTD due to a 

strike in FY 2005, FY 2006, or FY 2007 

may request an offsetting adjustment in 

their service data for purposes of the FY 

2009 Urbanized Area Formula 

Apportionment by May 1, 2008. (Service 

data for FY 2007 will be adjusted in 

these cases.) Transit agencies 

experiencing a strike-related service 

reduction in subsequent years must 

submit their request for an adjustment 

along with their original NTD 

submission. 

Issued in Washington, DC, this 1st day of 

February 2008. 

James S. Simpson, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–2162 Filed 2–5–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2008–0018; Notice 1] 

Nissan North America, Inc., Receipt of 

Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan), 

has determined that certain vehicles 

that it manufactured during the period 

of April 5, 2007 to July 25, 2007, did not 

fully comply with paragraph S4.3(b) of 

49 CFR 571.110 (Federal Motor Vehicle 

Safety Standards (FMVSS) No. 110 Tire 

Selection and Rims for Motor Vehicles 

With a GVWR of 4,536 Kilograms 

(10,000 Pounds) or Less). Nissan has 

filed an appropriate report pursuant to 

49 CFR Part 573, Defect and 

Noncompliance Responsibility and 

Reports. 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h) (see implementing rule at 49 

CFR part 556), Nissan has petitioned for 

an exemption from the notification and 

remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. 

Chapter 301 on the basis that this 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety. 

This notice of receipt of Nissan’s 

petition is published under 49 U.S.C. 

30118 and 30120 and does not represent 

any agency decision or other exercise of 

judgment concerning the merits of the 

petition. 

Affected are approximately 321 Model 

Year 2008 Nissan Titan E-Grade trucks 

manufactured from April 5 to July 25, 

2007. Paragraph S4.3(b) of 49 CFR 

571.110 requires in pertinent part that: 

S4.3 Placard. Each vehicle * * * shall 

show the information specified in S4.3 (a) 

through (g) * * * on a placard permanently 

affixed to the driver’s side B-pillar * * * 

(b) Designated seated capacity (expressed 

in terms of total number of occupants and 

number of occupants for each front and rear 

seat location) 

Nissan explains that E-grade Titan 

trucks can be equipped with two front 

bucket seats as an option, which means 

it has two seats in the front and three 

in the back for a total of five seating 

positions. The space between the two 

front bucket seats is occupied by a hard 

plastic console with cup holders that 

cannot be used or mistaken for a seating 

position. The second row has 3 seating 

positions. On the subject vehicles, the 

tire information placard incorrectly 

states that the total vehicle seating 

capacity is 6, with 3 seats in the front 

row, and 3 seats in the second row. All 

other applicable requirements of 

FMVSS No. 110 are met. 

Nissan states that it believes the 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety for the following 

reasons: 

1. The front center console area of this 

vehicle cannot be mistaken for a seating 

position because the center console is 

low to the floor, has molded-in cup 

holders, has no padded/cushioned area, 

and has no provisions for seatbelts. It is 

apparent to any observer that there are 

only two front seating positions. Even if 

an occupant referenced the tire 

information placard to determine the 

vehicle’s front seating capacity, it is 

readily apparent that the total capacity 

is five and not six and front row 

capacity is two and not three. 

2. Because the subject vehicle cannot 

be occupied by more than five people, 

there is no risk of vehicle overloading. 

3. The vehicle capacity weight 

(expressed as a total weight for 

passengers and cargo) on the placard is 

correct. The seating capacity error has 

no impact on the vehicle capacity 

weight. 

Nissan also states that there have been 

no customer complaints, injuries, or 

accidents related to the incorrect seating 

capacity of the subject tire information 

placard. 

Additionally, Nissan stated that it 

believes that because the 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety that no corrective 

action is warranted. 

After receipt of the petition, Nissan 

also informed NHTSA that it has 

corrected the problem that caused these 

errors so that they will not be repeated 

in future production. 

NHTSA notes that the statutory 

provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to 

file petitions for a determination of 

inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to 

exempt manufacturers only from the 

duties found in sections 30118 and 

30120, respectively, to notify owners, 

purchasers, and dealers of a defect or 

noncompliance and to remedy the 

defect or noncompliance. 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments on this petition. Comments 

must refer to the docket and notice 

number cited at the beginning of this 

notice and be submitted by any of the 

following methods: 

a. By mail addressed to: U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

b. By hand delivery to: U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. The Docket Section is open 

on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

except Federal Holidays. 

c. Electronically: by logging onto the 

Federal Docket Management System 

(FDMS) Web site at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Comments may also be faxed to 1–202–

493–2251. 

The petition, supporting materials, 

and all comments received before the 

close of business on the closing date 

indicated below will be filed and will be 

considered. All comments and 

supporting materials received after the 

closing date will also be filed and will 

be considered to the extent possible. 

When the petition is granted or denied, 

notice of the decision will be published 

in the Federal Register pursuant to the 

authority indicated below. 

Comment closing date: March 7, 2008. 

Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: 

delegations of authority at CFR 1.50 and 

501.8) 


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