60-day Federal Register Notices

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 183 / Thursday, September 20, 2012 / Notices
All comments should include the
Docket number FHWA–2012–0077.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marlys Osterhues, 202–366–2052,
Department of Transportation, Federal
Highway Administration, Office of
Project Development and Environmental
Review, E76–312, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FHWA Environmental
Excellence Awards.
Background: In 1995 FHWA
established the biennial Environmental
Excellence Awards to recognize
partners, projects and processes that use
FHWA funding sources to go beyond
environmental compliance and achieve
environmental excellence. Awardees
must make an outstanding contribution
that goes beyond traditional
transportation projects and that
encourages environmental stewardship
and partnerships to achieve a truly
multi-faceted, environmentally sensitive
transportation solution.
Award: Anyone can nominate a
project, process, person or group that
has used Federal Highway
Administration funding sources to make
an outstanding contribution to
transportation and the environment.
The nominator is responsible for
submitting an application via the FHWA
Environmental Excellence Awards Web
site that gives a summary of the
outstanding accomplishments of the
entry. The collected information will be
used by FHWA to evaluate, showcase
and enhance the public’s knowledge on
incorporating environmental
stewardship into the planning and
project development process.
Nominations will be reviewed by an
independent panel of judges from
varying backgrounds. It is anticipated
that awards will be given every two
years. The winners are presented
plaques at an awards ceremony.
Respondents: Anyone who has used
Federal Highway funding sources in the
fifty states, the District of Columbia and
Puerto Rico.
Frequency: The information will be
collected biennially.
Estimated Average Burden per
Response: 8 hours per respondent per
application.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: It is expected that the
respondents will complete
approximately 150 applications for an
estimated total of 1,200 annual burden
hours.
Public Comments Invited: You are
asked to comment on any aspect of this

VerDate Mar<15>2010

16:11 Sep 19, 2012

Jkt 226001

information collection, including: (1)
Whether the proposed collection is
necessary for the FHWA’s performance;
(2) the accuracy of the estimated
burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to
enhance the quality, usefulness, and
clarity of the collected information; and
(4) ways that the burden could be
minimized, including the use of
electronic technology, without reducing
the quality of the collected information.
The agency will summarize and/or
include your comments in the request
for OMB’s clearance of this information
collection.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended;
and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued On: September 17, 2012.
Steven Smith,
Chief, Information Technology Division.
[FR Doc. 2012–23242 Filed 9–19–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA 2012–0006–N–12]

Environmental Impact Statement for
the Northeast Corridor Between
Washington, DC, New York, NY and
Boston, MA
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Request for public comment on
proposed collection of information.
AGENCY:

Before a Federal agency can
collect certain information from the
public, it must receive approval from
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). Under procedures established
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, before seeking OMB approval,
Federal agencies must solicit public
comment on proposed collections of
information, including extensions and
reinstatement of previously approved
collections. This document describes
the collection of information for which
FRA intends to seek OMB approval.
DATES: Comments must be received no
later than November 19, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by DOT Docket ID Number
[Docket No. FRA 2012–0006–N–12] online at http://www.regulations.gov
(follow the online instructions for
submitting comments), by mail to
Docket Management Facility, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Ave. SE., Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001, by hand
delivery to West Building Ground Floor,
SUMMARY:

PO 00000

Frm 00086

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

58439

Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Ave.
SE., Washington, DC (between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays), or by facsimile
to (202) 493–2251.
Each submission must include the
Agency name and the Docket number
for this Notice. Note that all comments
received will be posted without change
to http://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rebecca Reyes-Alicea, U.S. Department
of Transportation, Federal Railroad
Administration, Office of Railroad
Policy & Development, Mail Stop 20,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), Public Law 104–13, 2, 109 Stat.
163 (1995) (codified as revised at 44
U.S.C. 3501–3520), and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part
1320, require Federal agencies to
provide 60-days’ notice to the public for
comment on information collection
activities before seeking approval for
reinstatement or renewal by OMB. 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1),
1320.10(e)(1), 1320.12(a). Specifically,
FRA invites interested respondents to
comment on the following summary of
proposed information collection
activities regarding (i) whether the
information collection activities are
necessary for FRA to properly execute
its functions, including whether the
activities will have practical utility; (ii)
the accuracy of FRA’s estimates of the
burden of the information collection
activities, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used to
determine the estimates; (iii) ways for
FRA to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information being
collected; and (iv) ways for FRA to
minimize the burden of information
collection activities on the public by
automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology (e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses). See 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)(I)–(iv); 5 CFR
1320.8(d)(1)(I)–(iv).
FRA believes that soliciting public
comment will promote its efforts to
reduce the administrative and
paperwork burdens associated with this
collection of information. Comments
that you submit in response to this
notice are a matter of public record.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, please be aware that your
entire comment, including your

E:\FR\FM\20SEN1.SGM

20SEN1

58440

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 183 / Thursday, September 20, 2012 / Notices

personal identifying information may be
made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so. In summary, FRA reasons that
comments received will advance three
objectives: (i) Reduce reporting burdens;
(ii) ensure that it organizes information
collection requirements in a ‘‘user
friendly’’ format to improve the use of
such information; and (iii) accurately
assess the resources expended to
retrieve and produce information
requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
Below is a brief summary of the
information collection activities that
FRA will submit for clearance by OMB
as required under the PRA:
Title: Survey of Northeast Regional
and Intercity Household Travel
Attitudes and Behavior.
Type of Request: New information
collection requirement.
Status: Regular review.
OMB Clearance Number: None.
Form Number: F222.
Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Affected Public: Members of the
general public between the ages of 18
and 74 who have Northeast intercity or
regional travel experience during the 12
months prior to interview.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
up to 22,500 for phase 1; up to 15,000
for phase 2.
Abstract: FRA proposes to collect
information from the public to
determine current intercity and regional
travel behavior of Northeast residents.
The information collected will include
frequency of trips, origin and
destination, modes of travel (and class
of service if applicable), trip purpose,
party size, trip costs, and other trip
characteristics. It will also ask for travel
preferences under alternative choice

scenarios that include different and new
modes, classes of service, costs, and
amenities.
The proposed information collection
will be conducted in two phases. The
first phase (Phase 1 Survey) will be
conducted by telephone, using
computer-assisted telephone
interviewing (CATI). A dual frame
sample design will be used including
both landlines and cell phones. The
Phase 1 Survey will obtain basic travel
information and invite just those who
experienced a qualifying intercity or
regional travel trip to provide more
detailed travel information and choice
preferences in a second phase. The
Phase 1 Survey interview is estimated to
take five (5) minutes to complete. The
second phase (Phase 2 Survey), which
will immediately follow the first, will be
administered by web (except in cases
when easy web access is not possible
and the participant needs a mailed
paper survey). The Phase 2 Survey will
ask more detailed questions about one
randomly selected trip that the
respondent reported in the first phase of
the survey. In addition, it will ask the
travel preference questions. The Phase 2
Survey is estimated to take 15 minutes
to complete.
The Northeast faces major congestion
and capacity constraints that, if not
addressed, will have the potential to
curtail future mobility and economic
growth in the region. Thus, FRA
established the Northeast Corridor
(NEC) Future Program to develop a
Passenger Rail Corridor Investment Plan
(PRCIP) for the Northeast region. The
PRCIP will address the larger goals of
improving mobility, effectively serving
travel demand, supporting economic
development, reducing growth in
carbon emissions and dependence of
foreign oil, and contributing to
improved land utilization. The PRCIP

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Phase

requires the development and
evaluation of improved transportation
alternatives for the Northeast. In support
of preparing the PRCIP, this data
collection is needed to build a model for
estimating market demand for
transportation in the Northeast and to
evaluate how travelers would respond
to alternative transportation service
options.
While there are certain publicly
available data that can assist in
analyzing the Northeast travel market
during the early phases of the project
when alternatives are evaluated using
coarse screening tools, more detailed
data will be needed to support
development of the detailed PRCIP.
Currently available data include airline
ticket data, Amtrak ticket data, and
commuter rail ticket data. But these data
sources do not contain information on
the characteristics of the traveler (such
as age, income, or vehicle ownership),
trip purpose, detail on party size, or
actual origins and destinations.
Importantly, there is no current
information on the number of intercity
trips taken by automobile in the
Northeast. Further, there is not currently
a sufficient information source for
traveler preferences regarding new
transportation services that might be
developed as part of the PRCIP.
Reporting Burden: The target sample
size for the Phase 2 Survey is up to
15,000 responses. To achieve this target
sample size, we estimate needing to
contact up to 22,500 households in the
Phase 1 Survey. This larger number for
Phase 1 respondents accounts for the
fact that (i) not all households will have
taken a qualifying trip during the
previous 12 months and (ii) not all
respondents will want to participate. All
interviewing will occur during a two to
three month phase in winter/spring
2012–2013.
Minutes

Respondents

Burden hours

Phase 1 ........................................................................................................................................
Phase 2 ........................................................................................................................................

5
15

22,500
15,000

1,875
3,750

Total ......................................................................................................................................

........................

........................

5,625

Total Annual Estimated Responses:
37,500.
Total Estimated Annual Burden:
5,625 hours.
Status: Regular Review.
Requested Expiration: 3 years from
date of approval.

Issued in Washington, DC, on September
14, 2012.
Rebecca Pennington,
Chief Financial Officer, Federal Railroad
Administration.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[FR Doc. 2012–23232 Filed 9–19–12; 8:45 am]

Petition for Waiver of Compliance

16:11 Sep 19, 2012

Jkt 226001

[Docket Number FRA–2012–0063]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

In accordance with Part 211 of Title
49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
this document provides the public
notice that by a document dated July 17,

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520.

VerDate Mar<15>2010

Federal Railroad Administration

PO 00000

Frm 00087

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

E:\FR\FM\20SEN1.SGM

20SEN1