60398 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 198 / Friday, October 10, 2008 / Notices 

Telephone (651) 291–6120; or Claudia 

Dumont, Project Manager, Minnesota 

Department of Transportation—District 

3, 3725 12th Street North, St. Cloud, 

Minnesota 56303, Telephone (320) 223– 

6530; (651) 296–9930 TTY. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

FHWA, in cooperation with the 

Minnesota Department of 

Transportation (Mn/DOT) has 

terminated the Tier I EIS process begun 

in 2003 to address future transportation 

demand, safety problems, access 

management and interregional corridor 

status on TH 10 from 1.0 mile east of Big 

Lake to 0.75 mile west of Big Lake, 

Sherburne County, Minnesota. The 

purpose of the Tier I EIS was to preserve 

right of way for the proposed highway 

improvement. The Scoping Decision 

Document for the project was approved 

by Mn/DOT on April 23, 2004. On June 

18, 2008, Mn/DOT notified federal, state 

and local agencies; tribal governments; 

interested parties; and the public that 

work on the Tier I EIS was being 

discontinued due to a lack of identified 

funding for any of the build alternatives. 

Mn/DOT will proceed with 

implementing more affordable and 

timely safety improvements on existing 

TH 10. Therefore, the Tier I EIS for this 

project has been terminated. 

(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: October 3, 2008. 

Cheryl B. Martin, 

Environmental Engineer, Federal Highway 

Administration, St. Paul, Minnesota. 

[FR Doc. E8–23988 Filed 10–9–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–98–3637; FMCSA–99– 

6156; FMCSA–00–7006; FMCSA–00–7165; 

FMCSA–00–8203; FMCSA–02–12294; 

FMCSA–04–18885; FMCSA–06–23773; 

FMCSA–06–24783] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of renewal of 

exemptions; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to renew the exemptions from 

the vision requirement in the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 15 

individuals. FMCSA has statutory 

authority to exempt individuals from 

the vision requirement if the 

exemptions granted will not 

compromise safety. The Agency has 

concluded that granting these 

exemption renewals will provide a level 

of safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety maintained 

without the exemptions for these 

commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

drivers. 

DATES: This decision is effective 

November 9, 2008. Comments must be 

received on or before November 10, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA–98– 

3637; FMCSA–99–6156; FMCSA–00– 

7006; FMCSA–00–7165; FMCSA–00– 

8203; FMCSA–02–12294; FMCSA–04– 

18885; FMCSA–06–23773; FMCSA–06– 

24783, using any of the following 

methods. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal Holidays. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Each submission must include the 

Agency name and the docket number for 

this Notice. Note that DOT posts all 

comments received without change to 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information included in a 

comment. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading below. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at any time or 

Room W12–140 on the ground level of 

the West Building, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The 

FDMS is available 24 hours each day, 

365 days each year. 

If you want acknowledgment that we 

received your comments, please include 

a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments on-line. 

Privacy Act: Anyone may search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or of the person signing the 

comment, if submitted on behalf of an 

association, business, labor union, etc.). 

You may review the DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register published on April 11, 2000 

(65 FR 19476). This information is also 

available at http://DocketInfo.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Director, Medical 

Programs, (202) 366–4001, 

fmcsamedical@dot.gov, FMCSA, 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W64– 

224, Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, 

FMCSA may renew an exemption from 

the vision requirements in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10), which applies to drivers 

of CMVs in interstate commerce, for a 

two-year period if it finds ‘‘such 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level that would be achieved 

absent such exemption.’’ The 

procedures for requesting an exemption 

(including renewals) are set out in 49 

CFR part 381. 

Exemption Decision 

This notice addresses 15 individuals 

who have requested a renewal of their 

exemption in accordance with FMCSA 

procedures. FMCSA has evaluated these 

16 applications for renewal on their 

merits and decided to extend each 

exemption for a renewable two-year 

period. They are: 

Donald O. Clopton, Steven H. Heidorn, 

Jimmy E. Settle, Richard B. Eckert, 

Danny E. Hillier, Noel S. Wangerin, 

Charles B. Edwards, Jimmy D. 

Johnson, II, Hubert Whittenburg, Gary 

R. Evans, Gary L. Killian, George R. 

Gorsuch, Jr., Volga Kirkwood, Harlan 

L. Gunter, Garry R. Setters. 

These exemptions are extended 

subject to the following conditions: (1) 

That each individual have a physical 

examination every year (a) by an 

ophthalmologist or optometrist who 

attests that the vision in the better eye 

continues to meet the standard in 49 

CFR 391.41(b)(10), and (b) by a medical 

examiner who attests that the individual 

is otherwise physically qualified under 

49 CFR 391.41; (2) that each individual 

provide a copy of the ophthalmologist’s 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 198 / Friday, October 10, 2008 / Notices 60399 

or optometrist’s report to the medical 

examiner at the time of the annual 

medical examination; and (3) that each 

individual provide a copy of the annual 

medical certification to the employer for 

retention in the driver’s qualification 

file and retain a copy of the certification 

on his/her person while driving for 

presentation to a duly authorized 

Federal, State, or local enforcement 

official. Each exemption will be valid 

for two years unless rescinded earlier by 

FMCSA. The exemption will be 

rescinded if: (1) The person fails to 

comply with the terms and conditions 

of the exemption; (2) the exemption has 

resulted in a lower level of safety than 

was maintained before it was granted; or 

(3) continuation of the exemption would 

not be consistent with the goals and 

objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315. 

Basis for Renewing Exemptions 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(1), an 

exemption may be granted for no longer 

than two years from its approval date 

and may be renewed upon application 

for additional two year periods. In 

accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315, each of the 15 applicants has 

satisfied the entry conditions for 

obtaining an exemption from the vision 

requirements (63 FR 30285; 63 FR 

54519; 63 FR 196; 64 FR 54948; 65 FR 

159; 67 FR 67234; 69 FR 62741; 71 FR 

62147; 65 FR 20245; 65 FR 57230; 67 FR 

57266; 65 FR 33406; 65 FR 57234; 65 FR 

66293; 67 FR 67234; 67 FR 46016; 67 FR 

57267; 69 FR 53493; 69 FR 62742; 71 FR 

62148; 71 FR 6826; 71 FR 19602; 71 FR 

32183; 71 FR 41310). Each of these 15 

applicants has requested renewal of the 

exemption and has submitted evidence 

showing that the vision in the better eye 

continues to meet the standard specified 

at 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10) and that the 

vision impairment is stable. In addition, 

a review of each record of safety while 

driving with the respective vision 

deficiencies over the past two years 

indicates each applicant continues to 

meet the vision exemption standards. 

These factors provide an adequate basis 

for predicting each driver’s ability to 

continue to drive safely in interstate 

commerce. Therefore, FMCSA 

concludes that extending the exemption 

for each renewal applicant for a period 

of two years is likely to achieve a level 

of safety equal to that existing without 

the exemption. 

Request for Comments 

FMCSA will review comments 

received at any time concerning a 

particular driver’s safety record and 

determine if the continuation of the 

exemption is consistent with the 

requirements at 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315. However, FMCSA requests that 

interested parties with specific data 

concerning the safety records of these 

drivers submit comments by November 

10, 2008. 

FMCSA believes that the 

requirements for a renewal of an 

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315 can be satisfied by initially 

granting the renewal and then 

requesting and evaluating, if needed, 

subsequent comments submitted by 

interested parties. As indicated above, 

the Agency previously published 

notices of final disposition announcing 

its decision to exempt these 15 

individuals from the vision requirement 

in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). The final 

decision to grant an exemption to each 

of these individuals was based on the 

merits of each case and only after 

careful consideration of the comments 

received to its notices of applications. 

The notices of applications stated in 

detail the qualifications, experience, 

and medical condition of each applicant 

for an exemption from the vision 

requirements. That information is 

available by consulting the above cited 

Federal Register publications. 

Interested parties or organizations 

possessing information that would 

otherwise show that any, or all of these 

drivers, are not currently achieving the 

statutory level of safety should 

immediately notify FMCSA. 

The Agency will evaluate any adverse 

evidence submitted and, if safety is 

being compromised or if continuation of 

the exemption would not be consistent 

with the goals and objectives of 49 

U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA will 

take immediate steps to revoke the 

exemption of a driver. 

Issued on: October 2, 2008. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E8–24104 Filed 10–9–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks 

Program, Formerly Alternative 

Transportation in Parks and Public 

Lands Program 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT. 

ACTION: Announcement of project 

selections. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) announces the 

selection of projects to be funded under 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 appropriations for 

the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks 

program (formally the Alternative 

Transportation in Parks and Public 

Lands (ATPPL)) program, authorized by 

Section 3021 of the Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

Act—A Legacy for Users of 2005 

(SAFETEA–LU) and codified in 49 

U.S.C. 5320. The Paul S. Sarbanes 

Transit in Parks program funds capital 

and planning expenses for alternative 

transportation systems in parks and 

public lands. Federal land management 

agencies and State, tribal and local 

governments acting with the consent of 

a Federal land management agency are 

eligible recipients. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Award recipients who are State, local, 

or tribal entities may contact the 

appropriate FTA Regional 

Administrator (See Appendix A) for 

grant-specific issues. Award Recipients 

who are a specific unit of the following 

Federal land management agencies 

should work with the contact listed 

below at their headquarters office to 

coordinate the availability of funds to 

that unit. 

• Bureau of Land Management: Linda 

Force, Linda_Force@blm.gov, 202–557– 

3567. 

• Fish and Wildlife Service: Nathan 

Caldwell, nathan_caldwell@fws.gov, 

703–358–2376. 

• Forest Service: Ellen LaFayette, 

elafayette@fs.fed.us, 703–605–4509. 

• National Park Service: Kevin 

Percival, Kevin_Percival@nps.gov, 303– 

969–2429. 

Any other Federal land management 

agency, as specified by 49 U.S.C. 

5320(b)(2), should contact Henrika 

Buchanan-Smith at (202) 366–2053 for 

instructions regarding receiving funds. 

For general information about the Paul 

S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks program, 

please contact Scott Faulk, Office of 

Program Management, Federal Transit 

Administration, at (202) 366–2053. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A total of $25,000,000 was 

appropriated for FTA’s Paul S. Sarbanes 

Transit in Parks program in Fiscal Year 

(FY) 2008, and $807,660 in FY 2007 

funds remain available for allocation. Of 

this amount, $1,250,000 has been 

reserved for oversight, planning, 

research, and technical assistance 

leaving $24,557,660 available for project 

awards. A total of 84 applicants 

requested $55.2 million in funding 

under the program, which was more 

than twice the amount available for 

projects. FTA, Department of the 

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