Notice of Final Agency Actions on Proposed Railroad Project in California, on Behalf of the California High Speed Rail Authority
| Published date | 15 September 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 51438 |
| Record Number | 2021-19914 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Federal Railroad Administration |
51438
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 15, 2021 / Notices
1
The California HSR System would be
implemented in two phases. Phase 1 would connect
San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim via the
Pacheco Pass and the southern Central Valley.
Phase 2 would extend the HSR system from the
Central Valley (starting at the Merced Station) to the
state’s capital in Sacramento and from Los Angeles
to San Diego.
Barriers to U.S. Exports for 2022
Reporting.’ Commenters providing
information on foreign trade barriers in
more than one country should,
whenever possible, provide a separate
submission for each country.
The submission deadline is Tuesday,
October 26, 2021, at midnight EST.
USTR strongly encourages commenters
to make online submissions, using
Regulations.gov. To submit comments
via Regulations.gov, enter docket
number USTR–2021–0016 on the home
page and click ‘search.’ The site will
provide a search-results page listing all
documents associated with this docket.
Find a reference to this notice and click
on the link entitled ‘comment now.’ For
further information on using
Regulations.gov, please consult the
resources provided on the website by
clicking on ‘How to Use
Regulations.gov’ on the bottom of the
home page.
Regulations.gov allows users to
submit comments by filling in a ‘type
comment’ field, or by attaching a
document using an ‘upload file’ field.
USTR prefers that you provide
comments in an attached document. If
you attach a document, please identify
the name of the country to which the
submission pertains in the ‘type
comment’ field, e.g., see attached
comments with respect to (name of
country). USTR prefers submissions in
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(.pdf). If you use an application other
than those two, please indicate the
name of the application in the ‘type
comment’ field.
Filers submitting comments
containing no business confidential
information (BCI) should name their file
using the name of the person or entity
submitting the comments. For any
comments submitted electronically
containing BCI, the file name of the
business confidential version should
begin with the characters ‘BCI.’ Clearly
mark any page containing BCI with
‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’ on the top
of that page. Filers of submissions
containing BCI also must submit a
public version of their comments that
USTR will place in the docket for public
inspection. The file name of the public
version should begin with the character
‘P.’ Follow the ‘BCI’ and ‘P’ with the
name of the person or entity submitting
the comments.
Please do not attach separate cover
letters to electronic submissions; rather,
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appear in a cover letter in the comments
themselves. Similarly, to the extent
possible, please include any exhibits,
annexes, or other attachments in the
same file as the submission itself, not as
separate files.
As noted, USTR strongly urges that
you file submissions through
Regulations.gov. You must make any
alternative arrangements with Spencer
Smith at Spencer.L.Smith2@ustr.eop.gov
or (202) 395–2974 before transmitting a
comment and in advance of the
deadline.
USTR will post comments in the
docket for public inspection, except
properly designated BCI. You can view
comments on the Regulations.gov by
entering docket number USTR–2021–
0016 in the search field on the home
page. General information concerning
USTR is available at https://
www.ustr.gov.
Edward Gresser,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee,
Office of the United States Trade
Representative.
[FR Doc. 2021–19934 Filed 9–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290–F1–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Notice of Final Agency Actions on
Proposed Railroad Project in
California, on Behalf of the California
High Speed Rail Authority
AGENCY
: Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT).
SUMMARY
: FRA, on behalf of the
California High-Speed Rail Authority
(Authority), is issuing this notice to
announce actions taken by the
Authority that are final. By this notice,
FRA is advising the public of the time
limit to file a claim seeking judicial
review of the actions related to a
proposed railroad project, the California
High-Speed Rail (HSR) Authority’s
Bakersfield to Palmdale Project Section
(Project). These actions grant approvals
for project implementation pursuant to
the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and other laws, regulations, and
executive orders.
DATES
: A claim seeking judicial review
of the agency actions on the Project will
be barred unless the claim is filed on or
before September 15, 2023. If the
Federal law that authorizes judicial
review of a claim provides a time period
of less than 2 years for filing such claim,
then that shorter time period applies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
For the Authority: Scott Rothenberg,
NEPA Assignment Manager,
Environmental Services, California
High-Speed Rail Authority, telephone:
(916) 403–6936; email:
Scott.Rothenberg@hsr.ca.gov.
For FRA: Marlys Osterhues, Division
Chief, Environment and Project
Engineering, RPD, telephone: (202) 493–
0413; email: Marlys.Osterhues@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
: Effective
July 23, 2019, FRA assigned, and the
State of California acting through the
Authority assumed, environmental
responsibilities for the California HSR
System pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327.
Notice is given that the Authority has
taken final agency actions subject to 23
U.S.C. 139(l)(1) and 49 U.S.C.
24201(a)(4) by issuing approvals for the
Project.
The purpose of the California HSR
System
1
is to provide a reliable, high-
speed, electric-powered train system
that links the major metropolitan areas
of California, delivering predictable and
consistent travel times. A further
objective is to provide an interface with
commercial airports, mass transit, and
the highway network, and to relieve
capacity constraints of the existing
transportation system as increases in
intercity travel demand in California
occur, in a manner sensitive to and
protective of California’s unique natural
resources. The Authority has selected
Alternative 2 with the Refined Ce
´sar E.
Cha
´vez National Monument Design
Option, Avenue M Maintenance Site
and Maintenance-of-Way Facility, and
the Palmdale Station identified in the
Final Environmental Impact Statement
(Final EIS) for the Project because the
Selected Alternative (1) best satisfies the
Purpose, Need, and Objectives for the
Project and (2) minimizes impacts on
the natural and human environment by
utilizing an existing transportation
corridor where practicable and
incorporating mitigation measures. The
actions by the Authority, and the laws
under which such actions were taken,
are described in the Record of Decision
(ROD) and Final EIS on the Project,
approved on September 3, 2021. The
ROD, Final EIS, and other documents
are available online in PDF at the
Authority’s website (www.hsr.ca.gov)
and on CD–ROM by calling (916) 324–
1541.
The notice applies to the ROD, Final
EIS, and all other Federal agency
decisions with respect to the Project as
of the issuance date of this notice and
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51439
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 15, 2021 / Notices
2
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
issued new regulations on July 14, 2020, effective
September 14, 2020, updating the NEPA
implementing procedures at 40 CFR parts 1500
through 1508. However, this project initiated NEPA
before the effective date and relies on the CEQ
regulations as they existed prior to September 14,
2020. All subsequent citations to the CEQ
regulations in the ROD and Final EIS refer to the
1978 regulations, consistent with 40 CFR 1506.13
(2020) and the preamble at 85 FR 43340.
all laws under which such actions were
taken, including but not limited to:
1. NEPA;
2. Council on Environmental Quality
regulations (1978);
2
3. Fixing America’s Surface
Transportation Act (FAST Act);
4. Department of Transportation Act
of 1966, Section 4(f);
5. Land and Water Conservation Fund
(LWCF) Act of 1965, Section 6(f);
6. Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990;
7. Clean Water Act of 1977 and 1987;
8. Endangered Species Act of 1973;
9. Migratory Bird Treaty Act;
10. National Historic Preservation Act
of 1966, as amended;
11. Executive Order 11990, Protection
of Wetlands;
12. Executive Order 11988,
Floodplain Management;
13. Executive Order 12898, Federal
Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations;
14. Executive Order 13112, Invasive
Species.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Jamie P. Rennert,
Director, Office of Infrastructure Investment.
[FR Doc. 2021–19914 Filed 9–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT–OST–2021–0104]
Agency Request for Approval of a New
Information Collection(s):
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
(DBE) Program Requirements
AGENCY
: Office of the Secretary,
Department of Transportation.
ACTION
: Notice and request for
comments.
SUMMARY
: The Department of
Transportation (DOT or Department)
invites public comments about our
intention to request the Office of
Management and Budget’s (OMB)
approval for an information collection
for the Department’s Disadvantaged
Business Enterprise (DBE) program. The
information collected is necessary to
maintain successful implementation of
the DBE program, as it helps ensure that
state and local recipients of DOT funds
carry out the program’s mission of
providing a level playing field for small
businesses owned and controlled by
socially and economically
disadvantaged individuals. We are
required to publish this notice in the
Federal Register by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
DATES
: Written comments should be
submitted by October 15, 2021.
ADDRESSES
: You may submit comments
[identified by Docket No. DOT–OST–
2021–0104] through one of the
following methods:
•Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
•Fax: (202) 493–2251.
•Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket
Management Facility, U.S. Department
of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12–
140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except on Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Marc D. Pentino, (202)366–6968,
marc.pentino@dot.gov or Aarathi Haig,
aarathi.haig@dot.gov/Departmental
Office of Civil Rights, Office of the
Secretary, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
: To assist
in estimating the potential paperwork
burden of these collections, the
Department reached out to a small
number of stakeholders to gain a general
understanding of how much time they
spend each year responding to these
collections. However, the stakeholder
responses varied so significantly that we
are concerned the responses blur lines
between what aspects of the program are
specifically information collections
versus more general requirements of the
program. To help commenters provide
information that will better allow the
Department to include the appropriate
paperwork burden within this
collection, we offer the following
clarifications. A ‘‘collection of
information’’ is defined as ‘‘the
obtaining, causing to be obtained,
soliciting, or requiring the disclosure to
an agency, requiring the disclosure to an
agency, third parties or the public of
information by or for an agency by
means of identical questions posed to,
or identical reporting, recordkeeping, or
disclosure requirements imposed on,
ten or more persons.’’ 5 CFR
1320.3(c)(1). The activities that
constitute the ‘‘burden’’ associated with
a collection are defined in 5 CFR
1320.3(b)(1) as ‘‘the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended by persons
to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose
or provide information to or for a
Federal agency.’’ Importantly, this
burden is not necessarily the same as
the entire regulatory burden for a
program or an aspect of a program. For
example, if a regulation requires an
inspection and the completion of a form
documenting the inspection, the full
regulatory burden would likely include
both actions, while the paperwork
burden would only include the time and
other resources needed to complete the
form.
In addition, the Department believes
certain recordkeeping requirements
have not been adequately accounted for
in the current collection. As stated in 5
CFR 1320(m), ‘‘Recordkeeping
requirement means a requirement
imposed by or for an agency on persons
to maintain specified records, including
a requirement to: (1) Retain such
records; (2) Notify third parties, the
Federal government, or the public of the
existence of such records; (3) Disclose
such records to third parties, the Federal
government, or the public; or (4) Report
to third parties, the Federal government,
or the public regarding such records.’’
Thus, recordkeeping requirements can
attach to records that are not necessarily
covered by the PRA itself if, as in the
DBE program, a requirement exists to
maintain a complete case file. In that
case, as the case file itself is not
standardized, it would not be
considered an information collection
and the burden associated with
developing the file would not be a
paperwork burden. However, the
requirement to keep that case file and,
upon request, submit it to the
Department, would be part of the
paperwork burden.
For purposes of this 30-day notice, we
have included the burden estimates we
received from the small number of
stakeholders we contacted as well as
from the seven comments we received
from the 60-day notice published in the
Federal Register on June 15, 2021. As
noted above, the Department is
concerned that at least several of these
estimates contain burdens associated
with aspects of the program that are not
paperwork burdens. To the extent
feasible, the Department requests that
commenters who provide burden
estimates for aspects of the program
identified below be as specific as
possible, including what amount of time
each task takes and what, if any,
additional costs beyond labor costs (e.g.,
copying, mailing, storage, or other
technology costs) are associated with
each aspect of the collection.
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