Notice of Availability of Programmatic Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Transit Projects; Request for Comments
| Published date | 25 September 2023 |
| Citation | 88 FR 65768 |
| FR Document | 2023-20745 |
| Pages | 65768-65769 |
| Section | Notices |
| Issuer | Transportation Department,Federal Transit Administration |
65768
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices
4
The dollar equivalent cost is derived from the
2022 Surface Transportation Board Full Year Wage
A&B data series using the employee groups 100
(Executives, Officials, and Office Staff Assistants)
$70.52, 200 (Professional and Administrative)
$49.10, and 400 (Maintenance of Equipment &
Stores) $38.35. The total burden wage rate (Straight
time plus 75%) used in the table is $85.93 ($49.10
× 1.75 = $85.93) except for the following:
§213.234(g) and § 213.345(h) which uses an hourly
wage rate of $123.41 (70.52 × 1.75 = $123.41) and
§213.234(h)(3) which uses an hourly wage rate of
$67.11 ($38.35 × 1.75 = $67.11).
5
Totals may not add up due to rounding.
CFR section Respondent
universe Total annual
responses Average time
per response Total annual
burden hours
Total cost
equivalent
in U.S. dollar
(A) (B) (C = A * B) (D = C *
wage rates)
4
213.329(e)—Curves, elevation, and speed limi-
tations—FRA approval of qualified vehicle
types based on results of testing.
2 railroads .................... 2.00 cover letters +
2.00 technical reports
+ 2.00 diagrams.
30.00 minutes + 16.00
hours + 15.00 min-
utes.
33.50 2,878.66
—(f) Written notification to FRA 30 days prior to
implementation of higher curving speeds. 2 railroads .................... 2 notices ...................... 2 hours ......................... 4.00 343.72
—(g) Written consent of other affected track
owners by railroad. 2 railroads .................... 2 written consents ........ 45 minutes ................... 1.50 128.90
213.333(d)—Automated vehicle-based inspec-
tion systems—Track Geometry Measurement
System (TGMS) output/exception reports.
7 railroads .................... 7 reports ....................... 1 hour ........................... 7.00 601.51
213.341(b)–(d)—Initial inspection of new rail &
welds—Inspection records. 2 railroads .................... 800 records .................. 2 minutes ..................... 26.67 2,291.75
213.343(a)–(e)—CWR—Procedures for installa-
tions and adjustments of CWR. 2 railroads .................... 2 plans ......................... 4 hours ......................... 8.00 687.44
—(h) Recordkeeping requirements ..................... 2 railroads .................... 8,000 records ............... 2 minutes ..................... 266.67 22,914.95
213.345(a)–(c)—Vehicle qualification testing—
Vehicle qualification program for all vehicle
types operating at track Class 6 speeds or
above.
2 railroads .................... 2 program plans ........... 120 hours ..................... 240.00 20,623.20
—(d) Previously qualified vehicle types qualifica-
tion programs. 2 railroads .................... 2 program plans ........... 8 hours ......................... 16.00 1,374.88
—(h) Written consent of other affected track
owners by railroad. 4 railroads .................... 4 written consents ........ 30 minutes ................... 2.00 246.82
213.369(d)—Inspection Records—Record of in-
spection of track. 2 railroads .................... 15,000 record sets ....... 10 minutes ................... 2,500.00 214,825.00
Total
5
........................................................... 784 railroads ................ 1,432,181 responses ... N/A ............................... 234,294 20,131,107
Total Estimated Annual Responses:
1,432,181.
Total Estimated Annual Burden:
234,294.
Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour
Dollar Cost Equivalent: $20,131,107.
FRA informs all interested parties that
it may not conduct or sponsor, and a
respondent is not required to respond
to, a collection of information that does
not display a currently valid OMB
control number.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520.
Christopher S. Van Nostrand,
Acting Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023–20662 Filed 9–22–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[Docket No.: FTA–2023–0006]
Notice of Availability of Programmatic
Assessment of Greenhouse Gas
Emissions From Transit Projects;
Request for Comments
AGENCY
: Federal Transit Administration
(FTA), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION
: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
SUMMARY
: The Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) announces the
availability of and requests comments
on a Programmatic Assessment of
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transit
Projects.
DATES
: Comments must be received by
November 24, 2023. Late filed
comments will be considered to the
extent practicable.
ADDRESSES
: The Programmatic
Assessment is available through https://
www.regulations.gov under docket
number FTA–2023–0006.
You may submit comments to Docket
No. FTA–2023–0006 by any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and follow
the online 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 8:30 a.m. and
4:30 p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
Fax: (202) 493–2251.
Instructions: You must include the
agency name (Federal Transit
Administration) and the Docket Number
of this notice at the beginning of your
comments. Note that all comments
received will be posted without change
to https://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information
provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Megan Blum, Office of Environmental
Programs, (202) 366–0463,
Megan.Blum@dot.gov, or Alexandra
Brun, Office of Environmental
Programs, (202) 366–7469,
Alexandra.Brun@dot.gov; Mark
Montgomery, Office of Chief Counsel,
(202) 366–1017, Mark.Montgomery@
dot.gov. Office hours are from 9:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Background
The National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) requires Federal agencies to
disclose and analyze the environmental
effects of their proposed actions. In
January 2023, the Council on
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65769
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 184 / Monday, September 25, 2023 / Notices
Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued the
National Environmental Policy Act
Guidance on Consideration of
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate
Change (88 FR 1196) (CEQ guidance) to
assist agencies in analyzing greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions and climate change
effects of their proposed actions under
NEPA. The CEQ guidance provides a
framework for agencies to consider the
effects of a proposed action on climate
change, as indicated by its estimated
GHG emissions. It also advises agencies
to assess the effects of climate change on
their proposed actions.
The CEQ guidance acknowledges that
incorporation by reference is of great
value in considering GHG emissions or
the implications of climate change for
the proposed action and its
environmental effects. The CEQ
guidance also notes that an agency may
decide that it would be useful and
efficient to provide an aggregate analysis
of GHG emissions or climate change
effects in a programmatic analysis and
then incorporate that analysis by
reference into future NEPA reviews.
FTA considers it practicable to assess
the effects of GHG emissions and
climate change for transit projects at a
programmatic level, where possible.
The Programmatic Assessment of
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transit
Projects (Programmatic Assessment) is a
NEPA streamlining tool that creates
greater efficiency by: (1) reporting on
whether certain types of proposed
transit projects merit detailed analysis
of their GHG emissions at the project-
level; and (2) providing a source of data
and analysis for FTA and its project
sponsors to reference in future
environmental documents for projects
where detailed, project-level GHG
analysis would provide only limited
information beyond what is collected
and considered in the Programmatic
Assessment. The Programmatic
Assessment is intended to update and
supersede FTA’s January 2017
Programmatic Assessment of
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transit
Projects (82 FR 5636).
The Programmatic Assessment
presents results from an analysis to
estimate direct and indirect GHG
emissions generated from the
construction, operations, and
maintenance phases for a sample of bus
rapid transit, streetcar rail, light rail,
commuter rail, and heavy rail projects,
as well as an estimate of personal
vehicle emissions displaced due to
transit’s ‘‘ridership effect.’’ Emissions
estimates were calculated using FTA’s
Transit Greenhouse Gas Estimator,
version 3.0 (https://www.transit.dot.gov/
regulations-and-guidance/
environmental-programs/ftas-transit-
greenhouse-gas-emissions-estimator),
which is an Excel-based tool that allows
users to calculate partial lifecycle GHG
emissions estimates by transit mode
based on limited data inputs. The CEQ
guidance also indicates that project
proponents should place potential GHG
emissions and their impacts in
appropriate context. In order to provide
additional context for the GHG
estimates included in the Programmatic
Assessment, the net social benefits of
reduced operational emissions resulting
from each transit project in the sample
were estimated.
The Programmatic Assessment
provides a reference for FTA and its
project sponsors to use in future NEPA
documents to describe the effects of
proposed transit investments on partial
lifecycle GHG emissions. The
Programmatic Assessment’s results can
inform transit project proponents who
are considering the GHG emissions of
future transit investments or who might
independently want to evaluate the
GHG emissions benefits and cost of such
investments.
FTA requests comments on the
Programmatic Assessment, which is
available in the docket. FTA will
respond to comments received on the
Programmatic Assessment in a second
Federal Register notice to be published
after the comment period closes. That
second notice will also announce the
availability of a final Programmatic
Assessment that reflects any changes
implemented as a result of comments
received.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; 40
CFR 1507.3; 49 CFR 1.81(a)(5).
Felicia L. James,
Associate Administrator for Planning and
Environment.
[FR Doc. 2023–20745 Filed 9–22–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–57–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA–2023–0048]
Motorcyclist Advisory Council
AGENCY
: National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION
: Notice of establishment of the
Motorcyclist Advisory Council (MAC)
and solicitation for appointment to the
MAC.
SUMMARY
: NHTSA announces the
establishment of MAC for a 2-year
period. The MAC will coordinate with
and advise the Secretary of
Transportation, the NHTSA
Administrator and the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) Administrator
on transportation issues of concern to
motorcyclists, including: motorcycle
and motorcyclist safety; barrier and road
design, construction, and maintenance
practices; and the architecture and
implementation of intelligent
transportation system technologies.
NHTSA is also soliciting nominations
for appointment to the MAC.
DATES
: Applications for membership
must be received by NHTSA on or
before 5 p.m. EST, December 15, 2023.
ADDRESSES
: If you wish to apply for
membership, your application should be
submitted to:
•Email:
MotorcyclistAdvisoryCouncil@dot.gov.
•Mail: Use only overnight mail and
send to: U.S. Department of
Transportation, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, Office of
Safety Programs, Room W44–308, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington,
DC, 20590.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
: John
W. Marshall, Director, Office of Safety
Programs, Office of Research and
Program Development, National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
U.S. Department of Transportation,
john.marshall@dot.gov or 202–366–
3803. Any Council related questions
should be sent to the persons listed in
this section.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Background: Section 24111 of the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also
known as the Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117–58) (codified
at 49 U.S.C. 355) requires the
establishment of a Motorcyclist
Advisory Council (MAC). The Secretary
of Transportation is required to
establish a MAC to advise on
transportation safety issues of concern
to motorcyclists, including:
(1) Motorcycle and motorcyclist safety
(2) Barrier and road design,
construction, and maintenance
practices; and
(3) The architecture and
implementation of intelligent
transportation system technologies.
Description of Duties: The Council
shall:
a. Provide advice on transportation
safety issues of concern to motorcyclists
consistent with the statutorily specified
advising duties.
b. Provide a forum for the
development, consideration, and
communication of information from a
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