[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 165 (Friday, August 23, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43568-43569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21565]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Office of International Transportation and Trade; Notice of 
Public Meeting

SUMMARY: U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena and Canadian 
Transport Minister David Anderson have established a U.S./Canadian 
governmental Working Group to explore the possibility of greater 
cooperation between the two countries in administering and managing 
services in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway system. The U.S. 
Department of Transportation will conduct a public meeting to obtain 
public comment on opportunities for increased binational cooperation. 
This public meeting will aid the Working Group in drafting a report to 
the Secretary and Transport Minister. Anyone who wishes to make a 
statement at the public meeting should register his or her intention to 
do so by

[[Page 43569]]

August 30, 1996, by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT, below. Those who register will be sent an 
information package prior to the public meeting. Statements should also 
be submitted in writing as promptly as possible, and written statements 
may be submitted in lieu of oral presentations.

DATES: The public meeting will be held in Rosemont, Illinois, on 
Wednesday, September 4, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Ramada Plaza O'Hare Hotel, 
6600 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont, Illinois 60018 (847) 827-5131.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Craig Middlebrook, (202-366-0091; 
FAX: 202-366-1747), St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC 
20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The St. Lawrence Seaway is currently 
operated and maintained by the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development 
Corporation, a modal administration of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, and the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Authority, a Crown 
corporation. Both countries are restructuring their organizations and 
pursuing methods, through new cooperative mechanisms, to reduce costs 
for taxpayers and users. On June 5, 1996, U.S. Transportation Secretary 
Federico Pena and Canadian Transport Minister David Anderson agreed to 
establish a U.S./Canadian Working Group to explore avenues of increased 
binational cooperation.
    The Working Group, which held its initial meeting in Ottawa, 
Ontario, on August 7, will exchange timely information on the 
respective U.S. and Canadian efforts to restructure their Seaway 
organizations and identify workable options to improve binational 
management of the Seaway. The Working Group will examine the Seaway 
lock system which falls within the scope of the current binational 
agreement, and also will begin an analysis of other aspects of the 
overall system, including navigation aids, vessel traffic control 
systems, ice breaking, communication systems, and other locks outside 
the scope of the binational agreement, with a view toward identifying 
opportunities to eliminate or reduce duplication.
    The Working Group consists of representatives from the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, the Canadian Ministry of Transportation, 
and the Canadian Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans, as well as other 
affected government departments and agencies in both countries.
    The purpose of the September 4 public meeting is to solicit views 
from interested individuals related to the improvement of binational 
cooperation in the management of the St. Lawrence Seaway System. The 
Working Group will deliver a progress report of its findings to the 
Canadian Minister of Transport and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation 
in late September.

    Dated: August 20, 1996.
Bernard Gaillard,
Director, Office of International Transportation and Trade.
[FR Doc. 96-21565 Filed 8-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-U