[Federal Register: January 31, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 20)]
[Notices]
[Page 4558-4559]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31ja07-119]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[Docket FTA-2007-26859]
Notice of Establishment of Emergency Relief Docket for Calendar
Year 2007
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As provided for in 49 CFR Part 601, Subpart D, (72 FR 910,
Jan. 9, 2007), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) must, by
January 31 of each calendar year, establish an Emergency Relief Docket
so grantees and subgrantees affected by national or regional
emergencies may request relief from policy statements, circulars,
guidance documents and regulations. By this notice, FTA is establishing
an Emergency Relief Docket for calendar year 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie L. Graves, Attorney-Advisor,
Legislation and Regulations Division, Office of Chief Counsel, Federal
Transit Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Room 9316, Washington,
DC, 20590, phone: (202) 366-4011, fax: (202) 366-3809, or e-mail,
Bonnie.Graves@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Administrator in his/her sole discretion
shall determine the need for opening the Emergency Relief Docket. It
may be opened at the request of a grantee or subgrantee, or on the
Administrator's own initiative. When the Emergency Relief Docket is
opened, FTA will post a notice on its Web site, at http://www.fta.dot.gov. In
addition, a notice will be posted in the docket.
In the event a grantee or subgrantee believes the Emergency Relief
Docket should be opened and it has not been opened, that grantee or
subgrantee may submit a petition in duplicate to the Administrator, via
U.S. mail, to: Federal Transit Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20590; via telephone, at: (202) 366-4043; or via fax, at
(202) 366-3472, requesting opening of the Docket for that emergency and
including the information set forth below.
All petitions for relief must be posted in the docket in order to
receive consideration by FTA. The docket is publicly accessible and can
be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via the Internet at the
docket facility's Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Petitions may also be
submitted by U.S. mail or by hand delivery to the DOT Docket Management
Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20590.
In the event a grantee or subgrantee needs to request immediate
relief and does not have access to electronic means to request that
relief, the grantee or subgrantee may contact any FTA regional office
or FTA headquarters and request that FTA staff submit the petition on
their behalf.
Any grantee or subgrantee submitting petitions for relief or
comments to the docket must include the agency name (Federal Transit
Administration) and docket number 26859. Grantees and subgrantees
making submissions by mail or hand delivery should submit two copies.
A petition for relief shall:
(a) Identify the grantee or subgrantee and its geographic location;
(b) Specifically address how an FTA requirement in a policy
statement, circular, or agency guidance will limit a grantee's or
subgrantee's ability to respond to an emergency or disaster;
(c) Identify the policy statement, circular, guidance document and/
or rule from which the grantee or subgrantee seeks relief; and
(d) Specify if the petition for relief is one-time or ongoing, and
if ongoing identify the time period for which the relief is requested.
The time period may not exceed three months; however, additional time
may be requested through a second petition for relief.
A petition for relief will be conditionally granted for a period of
three (3) business days from the date it is submitted to the Emergency
Relief Docket. FTA will review the petition after the expiration of the
three business days and review any comments submitted thereto. FTA may
contact the grantee or subgrantee that submitted the request for
relief, or any party that submits comments to the docket, to obtain
more information prior to making a decision. FTA shall then post a
decision to the Emergency Relief Docket. FTA's decision will be based
on whether the petition meets the criteria for use of these emergency
procedures, the substance of the request, and the comments submitted
regarding the petition. If FTA does not respond to the request for
relief to the docket within three business days, the grantee or
subgrantee may assume its petition is granted for a period not to
exceed three months until and unless FTA states otherwise.
FTA reserves the right to reopen any docket and reconsider any
decision made pursuant to these emergency procedures based upon its own
initiative, based upon information or comments received subsequent to
the
[[Page 4559]]
three business day comment period, or at the request of a grantee or
subgrantee upon denial of a request for relief. FTA shall notify the
grantee or subgrantee if it plans to reconsider a decision. FTA
decision letters, either granting or denying a petition, shall be
posted in the appropriate Emergency Relief Docket and shall reference
the document number of the petition to which it relates.
Issued in Washington, DC this 25th day of January 2007.
James S. Simpson,
FTA Administrator.
[FR Doc. E7-1488 Filed 1-30-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P