Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 23, 2008 / Notices 54893 

invitation to become a participating 

agency, with the scoping materials 

appended, will be extended to other 

Federal and non-Federal agencies and 

Native American tribes that may have 

an interest in the proposed project. It is 

possible that FTA and the HCRRA will 

not be able to identify all Federal and 

non-Federal agencies and tribes that 

may have such an interest. Any Federal 

or non-Federal agency or tribe interested 

in the proposed project that does not 

receive an invitation to become a 

participating agency should notify, at 

the earliest opportunity, the Project 

Manager identified above under 

ADDRESSES. 

A comprehensive public involvement 

program will be developed and a 

Coordination Plan for public and 

interagency involvement will be created 

and posted on the project Web site at 

www.southwesttransitway.org. 

The public involvement program 

includes a full range of involvement 

activities including the project Web site 

(referenced above); outreach to local 

officials, community and civic groups, 

and the public; and development and 

distribution of project newsletters. 

Specific mechanisms for involvement 

will be detailed in the public 

involvement program. 

The public and participating agencies 

are invited to consider and comment on 

this preliminary statement of the 

purpose and need for the proposed 

Southwest Transitway project. 

Suggestions for modifications to the 

statement of purpose and need for the 

proposed project are welcome and will 

be given serious consideration. 

Comments on potentially significant 

environmental impacts that may be 

associated with the proposed project 

and alternatives are also welcome. 

There will be additional opportunities 

to participate in the scoping process at 

the public meetings announced in this 

notice. 

The HCRRA will be seeking New 

Starts funding for the proposed project 

under 49 U.S.C. 5309 and, therefore, 

will be subject to New Starts regulations 

(49 CFR Part 611). The New Starts 

regulation requires a planning 

Alternatives Analysis that leads to the 

selection of a locally preferred 

alternative and the inclusion of the 

locally preferred alternative as part of 

the long-range transportation plan 

adopted by the Metropolitan Council. 

The New Starts regulation also requires 

the submission of certain projectjustification information in support of a 

request to initiate preliminary 

engineering, and this information is 

normally developed in conjunction with 

the NEPA process. Pertinent New Starts 

evaluation criteria will be included in 

the Final EIS. 

The EIS will be prepared in 

accordance with NEPA and its 

implementing regulations issued by the 

Council on Environmental Quality (40 

CFR parts 1500–1508) and with the 

FTA/Federal Highway Administration 

regulations ‘‘Environmental Impact and 

Related Procedures’’ (23 CFR part 771). 

In accordance with 23 CFR 771.105(a) 

and 771.133, FTA will comply with all 

Federal environmental laws, 

regulations, and executive orders 

applicable to the proposed project 

during the environmental review 

process to the maximum extent 

practicable. These requirements 

include, but are not limited to, the 

environmental and public hearing 

provisions of Federal transit laws (49 

U.S.C. 5301(e), 5323(b), and 5324), the 

project-level air quality conformity 

regulation of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) (40 CFR part 

93), the Section 404(b)(1) guidelines of 

EPA (40 CFR part 230), the regulation 

implementing Section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act (36 

CFR part 800), the regulation 

implementing Section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act (50 CFR part 

402), Section 4(f) of the Department of 

Transportation Act (23 CFR 771.135), 

and Executive Orders 12898 on 

Environmental justice, 11988 on 

Floodplain Management, and 11990 on 

Wetlands. 

Issued on September 18, 2008. 

Marisol R. Simon, 

Regional Administrator, Region V, Federal 

Transit Administration. 

[FR Doc. E8–22257 Filed 9–22–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping 

Requirements; Agency Information 

Collection Activity Under OMB Review 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, 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 

collection abstracted below has been 

forwarded to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for review and 

approval. The nature of the information 

collection is described as well as its 

expected burden. The Federal Register 

Notice with a 60-day comment period 

soliciting comments on the following 

collection of information was published 

on June 18, 2008, and comments were 

due by August 18, 2008. No comments 

were received. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before October 23, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Gearhart, Maritime 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

Telephone: 202–366–1867; or e-mail: 

beth.gearhart@dot.gov. Copies of this 

collection also can be obtained from that 

office. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Maritime 

Administration (MARAD). 

Title: Shipbuilding Orderbook and 

Shipyard Employment. 

OMB Control Number: 2133–0029. 

Type Of Request: Extension of 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Owners of U.S. 

shipyards who agree to complete the 

requested information. 

Forms: MA–832. 

Abstract: MARAD collects this 

information from the shipbuilding and 

ship repair industry primarily to 

determine if an adequate mobilization 

base exists for national defense and for 

use in a national emergency. 

Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 400 

hours. 

Addresses: Send comments to the 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20503, Attention 

MARAD Desk Officer. 

Comments Are Invited On: Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; the accuracy of the 

agency’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 best assured of 

having its full effect if OMB receives it 

within 30 days of publication. 

Authority: 49 CFR 1.66. 

Issued in Washington, DC on September 

15, 2008. 

Leonard Sutter, 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. E8–22135 Filed 9–22–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES