67350 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Notices

instructions for the submission of

written comments.

Donald Eiss,

Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.

[FR Doc. 01–32002 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement;

Orange County, California

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this

notice to advise the public that an

Environmental Impact Statement will be

prepared for a series of proposed grade

separations within the Orangethorpe

Rail Corridor (a section of the

Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line)

located within the Cities of Placentia

and Anaheim in Orange County,

California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tay

Dam, Senior Transportation Engineer,

Federal Highway Administration—Los

Angeles Metro Office, 201 N. Figueroa

Street, Suite 1460, Los Angeles, CA

90012. Telephone: (213) 202–3954.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)

rail line through Orange County is one

of three main rail freight routes out of

the Los Angeles area. International cargo

comes into and out of the Ports of Los

Angeles and Long Beach. The BNSF rail

line serves those ports via the Alameda

Corridor, a joint use line serving both

the Union Pacific and BNSF railway

companies, connects to the Hobart Yard

outside downtown Los Angeles, and

proceeds southeast through Pico Rivera

and Santa Fe Springs. The line then

continues through northern Orange

County, the City of Corona, San

Bernardino County, and, ultimately, the

Gulf States and eastern United States.

This proposed project is a part of the

regional traffic congestion relief project

called the Orange County Gateway

(OCG) which is located within the limits

of the Cities of Placentia, Fullerton,

Anaheim, Yorba Linda, and the County

of Orange.

The FHWA, as a federal lead agency,

in cooperation with the Federal Railroad

Administration, the California

Department of Transportation, and the

City of Placentia/Orange North

American Trade Rail Access Corridor

Authority (On Trac), will prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

on a proposal to (1) Reduce traffic

congestion; (2) eliminate or reduce the

current and potential hazards posed by

the existing at-grade crossings; (3)

accommodate currently planned

railroad expansion; (4) and implement

transportation strategies to increase the

efficiency of moving people and goods

throughout the Orangethorpe Rail

Corridor area.

Alternatives under consideration

include (1) A no build option; (2) a

series of grade separations option; and

(3) a railroad trench option within the

Orangethorpe Rail Corridor between

Placentia Avenue and Imperial Highway

in northern Orange County, California.

These basic alternatives will have

additional design variations and other

engineering details. A final selection of

study alternatives and their subset

variations will not be made until all

public and agency comments are

reviewed following the Scoping process.

Note: As required by the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, all

other reasonable alternatives will be

considered. These alternatives may be

refined, combined with various different

alternative elements, or be removed from

further consideration, as more analysis is

conducted on the project alternatives.

Letters describing the proposed action

and soliciting comments will be sent to

appropriate Federal, State, and local

agencies, and to private organizations

and citizens who have previously

expressed or are known to have interest

in this proposal. Public scoping

meetings will be held on January 22 and

24, 2002 in the City of Placentia prior

to preparation of the draft EIS. Public

notice will be given of the time and

place of these meetings.

Public hearing(s) will be held after the

draft EIS is completed. Public notice

will be given of the time and place of

the hearing(s). The draft EIS will be

available for public and agency review

and comment prior to the formal public

hearing(s).

To ensure that the full range of issues

related to the proposed action are

addressed and all significant issues are

identified, comments and suggestions

are invited from all interested parties.

Comments or questions concerning this

proposed action and the EIS should be

directed to the FHWA at the addresses

provided 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: December 19, 2001.

Jeffrey W. Kolb,

Chief, District Operations-South, Sacramento,

California.

[FR Doc. 01–31904 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

Presidential Memorandum of

December 12, 2001; Marine War Risk

Insurance Under Title XII of the

Merchant Marine Act, 1936

On December 12, 2001, President

George W. Bush approved the provision

of vessel war risk insurance by

memorandum for the Secretary of State

and the Secretary of Transportation. The

text of this memorandum reads:

By virtue of the authority vested in me by

the Constitution and laws of the United

States, including 3 U.S.C. 301 and section

1202 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as

amended (the ‘‘Act’’), 46 U.S.C. App. 1282,

I hereby:

Approve the provision by the Secretary of

Transportation of insurance or reinsurance of

vessels (including cargoes and crew) entering

the Middle East region against loss or damage

by war risks in the manner and to the extent

approved in title XII of the Act, 46 U.S.C.

App. 1281, et seq., for purposes of

responding to the recent terrorist attacks,

whenever, after consultation with the

Department of State, it appears to the

Secretary of Transportation that such

insurance adequate for the needs of the

waterborne commerce of the United States

cannot be obtained on reasonable terms and

conditions from companies authorized to do

an insurance business in a State of the United

States. The approval is effective for 6 months.

I hereby delegate to the Secretary of

Transportation, in consultation with the

Secretary of State, the authority vested in me

by section 1202 of the Act, to approve the

provision of insurance or reinsurance for

these purposes after the expiration of 6

months.

The Secretary of Transportation is

directed to bring this approval to the

immediate attention of all operators and

to arrange for its publication in the

Federal Register.

By Order of the Maritime Administrator.

Dated: December 21, 2001.

Murray A. Bloom,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–32019 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P