[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 20 (Wednesday, January 31, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4558-4559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1488]


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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.

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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, 
[email protected].

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 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