[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 120 (Thursday, June 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35986-35988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9861]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. OST-2006-25103]


Advisory Committee on Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.7: 
Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Transportation Systems and 
Infrastructure--Gulf Coast Study

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), USDOT.

ACTION: Notice of appointees to the committee, and notice of the first 
meeting of the committee.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to duties imposed by law upon the Department, 
including the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2) 
``FACA,'' and DOT Order 1120.3B, the Office of the Secretary, 
Department of Transportation has established an advisory committee to 
provide technical advice and recommendations to a USDOT/USGS Research 
Team investigating the potential impacts of climate change on 
transportation. The committee includes scientists, educators, experts, 
and representatives of State and local governments engaged in 
transportation decision-making. This document describes the role of the 
committee as set forth in the Charter, provides information on the 
qualifications of the individuals appointed by the Secretary, and 
provides notice of the initial meeting of the committee.

DATES: The first meeting of the committee will take place on July 18-
19, 2006. All meetings are open to the public. The meeting is scheduled 
to run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 18th and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 
19th.

ADDRESSES: The committee meeting will take place at: Houston Marriott 
North at Greenspoint, 255 N. Sam Houston Pkwy East, Houston, Texas 
77060. Phone: (281) 875-4000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Savonis, Air Quality Team 
Leader, Federal Highway Administration Office of Natural and Human 
Environment, at 202-366-2080 ([email protected]). His mailing 
address is at the Department of Transportation, Room 3240 HEPN-10, 400 
7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.

[[Page 35987]]

    Comment Period: The comment period for this notice extends through 
July 7, 2006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOT Center for Climate Change and 
Environmental Forecasting (the Center) has identified the need for 
improved information about climate variability and change in 
transportation decision making. In consultation with transportation 
experts, climate scientists and Federal partners, the Center developed 
this study to investigate the impacts of climate change and variability 
on transportation through a regional study of the central U.S. Gulf 
Coast. The study will develop decision-support knowledge and tools to 
assist transportation decision-makers in incorporating climate-related 
trend information into transportation system planning, design, 
engineering, and operational decisions. Implications for all 
transportation modes--surface, marine, and aviation--will be addressed.
    This study is one of 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products of the 
U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP). The study prospectus has 
been posted by the CCSP for public review in the Federal Register, and 
has been modified to incorporate public comments. The prospectus is 
available at: http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4--7/sap4-7prospectus-final.htm. DOT is assisted by the U.S. Geological Survey 
(USGS) in this study. DOT and USGS signed a memo of understanding in 
January 2004 agreeing to cooperate on research that will inform 
decision-makers and the public about the potential effects of climate 
variability and change on the Nation's transportation systems. This 
study is the first project under that agreement.
    Members of the public wishing to attend meetings held in Department 
of Transportation buildings or other Federal facilities will have to 
enter through designated security checkpoints. The visitor entry point 
for the Department of Transportation headquarters building is in the 
southwest corner entrance to the building (i.e., the entrance nearest 
the corner of 7th and E Streets, SW.). Visitors must be escorted into 
and out of the building. Because it can take some time for large 
numbers of visitors to process through security, we request that 
visitors arrive between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m. to undergo the screening 
process. DOT personnel will then escort groups of visitors to the 
meeting room. This group escort process will also be followed for 
persons entering following the lunch break and for persons leaving the 
building for lunch and at the end of each day's meeting.

Charter of the Committee

    A summary of the Charter of the Advisory Committee on Synthesis and 
Assessment Product 4.7: Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on 
Transportation Systems and Infrastructure--Gulf Coast Study is provided 
below.
    The Secretary of Transportation, pursuant to duties imposed by law 
upon the Department, including the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App. 2) ``FACA'', and DOT Order 1120.3B, hereby establishes the 
U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Advisory Committee on 
Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.7 (S&A 4.7): Impacts of Climate 
Variability and Change on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure--
Gulf Coast Study, Phase I.
    The committee will provide technical advice and recommendations to 
the DOT in order to develop S&A Product 4.7 for the Climate Change 
Science Program (CCSP). The committee will provide balanced, consensual 
advice on the Study design, research methodology, data sources and 
quality, and Study findings. The committee will function as an advisory 
body and will comply with the requirements of FACA in carrying out its 
duties.

Members of the Committee

    The members of the committee and a summary of their qualifications 
are provided below.

VICKI ARROYO, J.D., Director of Policy Analysis for the Pew Center 
on Global Climate Change
PHILIP B. BEDIENT, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Civil and 
Environmental Engineering at Rice University
LEIGH B. BOSKE, Ph.D., Associate Dean and Professor of Economics at 
the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas 
at Austin
ALAN CLARK, Director for Houston-Galveston Area Council Metropolitan 
Planning Organization
FRED DENNIN, Regional Administrator of the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA), Region 3
PAUL FISCHBECK, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Engineering and 
Public Policy and the Department of Social and Decision Sciences, 
Carnegie Mellon University
ANTHONY JANETOS, Ph.D., Vice President, H. John Heinz III Center for 
Science, Economics and the Environment
THOMAS KARL, Ph.D., Director of the National Climatic Data Center, 
NOAA
ROBERT LEMPERT, Ph.D., Senior Physical Scientist, the RAND 
Corporation
GILBERT MITCHELL, Division Chief, National Geodetic Survey
CHRIS OYNES, J.D., Regional Director for the Gulf of Mexico OCS 
Region of Minerals Management Service
HAROLD R. ``SKIP'' PAUL, P.E., Associate Director of Research at the 
Louisiana Transportation Research Center, Office of Highways
TOM PODANY Acting Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project 
Management and Chief of Planning, Programs and Project Management 
Division
BURR STEWART Strategic Planning Manager, Port of Seattle
ELAINE WILKINSON, Executive Director, Gulf Regional Planning 
Commission
JOHN ZAMURS, Ph.D., Air Quality Section Head, Environmental Analysis 
Bureau, New York State Department of Transportation

Meeting Agenda

    This meeting and any future meetings of the committee are open to 
the public (unless portions of the meeting are held in closed session, 
as provided under FACA), and time will be provided in each meeting's 
schedule for comments by members of the public. Attendance will 
necessarily be limited by the size of the meeting room. Members of the 
public wishing to present written materials to the committee may do so, 
and should make enough copies for the facilitator and all members of 
the committee.
    The agenda topics of the meeting of the committee will include, but 
not necessarily be limited to, discussion of the following issues:
    1. Review of draft findings of the USGS research team on climate 
variability and change in the study region;
    2. Review of technical memos addressing the potential effects of 
climate variability and change on transportation planning and 
operations in the study region, including implications for:

--Highways and transit,
--Rail,
--Ports and waterways,
--Aviation,
--Pipelines,
--Emergency management,
--Long range planning and investment; and

    3. Next steps for completion of the study.
    The committee may alter its schedule and the agenda items. The 
agenda presented in this notice is necessarily very general since the 
direction and nature of the advisory committee discussions will shape 
the meeting. The Department will issue additional notices, as needed, 
with respect to future meeting schedules and agenda topics.


[[Page 35988]]


    Issued this 16th day of June, 2006, at Washington DC.
Tyler Duvall,
Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation.
 [FR Doc. E6-9861 Filed 6-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P