Establishment of Interim National Multimodal Freight Network |
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Finch Fulton
U.S. Department of Transportation
25 October 2017
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49478-49480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22315]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2016-0053]
Establishment of Interim National Multimodal Freight Network
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA),
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Maritime Administration (MARAD),
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC), and U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of reopening of comment period and extension of
deadline.
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SUMMARY: DOT is extending the deadline and comment period for materials
related to the Interim National Multimodal Freight Network (Interim
NMFN), as established in a notice published on June 6, 2016 at 81 FR
36381. The original notice asked for comments by September 6, 2016. The
reopening and extension of the comment period is based on input
received from DOT stakeholders that the September 6, 2016 closing date
did not provide sufficient time for submission of comments to the
Department, as well as an analysis that some comments submitted by
States did not include the required statutory certification. DOT agrees
that the comment period should be reopened and extended. Therefore, the
comment period on the establishment of the Interim NMFN is reopened.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 22, 2018 to
receive consideration by DOT with respect to the final designation of
the NMFN. Late-filed comments received after this date will be
considered to the fullest extent practicable. Comments may be submitted
by all interested stakeholders.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions,
please submit them by only one of the following means:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., W12-140, Washington, DC
20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 366-
9329.
[[Page 49479]]
Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket
number at the beginning of your comments. All comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. If you have any GIS shapefiles or other
geographic information to submit to the docket, please email those
files to ryan.endorf@dot.gov with the agency name and docket number in
the email.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Endorf, 202-366-4835 or email
ryan.endorf@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: Section 70103 of title 49, U.S.C., which was
established in section 8001 of the Fixing America's Surface
Transportation (FAST) Act, directs the Under Secretary of
Transportation for Policy (Under Secretary) to establish a NMFN that
will be used to: (1) Assist States in strategically directing resources
toward improved system performance for the efficient movement of
freight on the NMFN; (2) inform freight transportation planning; (3)
assist in the prioritization of Federal investment; and (4) assess and
support Federal investments to achieve the national multimodal freight
policy goals described in section 70101(b) of title 49, U.S.C., and the
national highway freight program goals described in section 167 of
title 23, U.S.C.
On June 6, 2016, the Under Secretary established an Interim NMFN
that includes the following components: (1) The National Highway
Freight Network (NHFN), as established under section 167 of title 23,
U.S.C.; (2) the freight rail systems of Class I railroads as designated
by the Surface Transportation Board; (3) the public ports of the United
States that have total annual foreign and domestic trade of at least
2,000,000 short tons, as identified by the Waterborne Commerce
Statistics Center of the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), using the
data from the latest year for which such data are available; (4) the
inland and intracoastal waterways of the United States, as described in
section 206 of the Inland Waterways Revenue Act of 1978 (33 U.S.C.
1804); (5) the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and coastal and
ocean routes along which domestic freight is transported; (6) the 50
airports located in the United States with the highest annual landed
weight, as identified by the FAA; and (7) other strategic freight
assets, including strategic intermodal facilities and freight rail
lines of Class II and Class III railroads, designated by the Under
Secretary as critical to interstate commerce.
The Interim NMFN was published in the Federal Register at 81 FR
36381 on June 6, 2016, and the public was invited to submit comments to
the docket through September 6, 2016. In the Federal Register notice,
DOT posed several questions for the public to consider, and States and
other stakeholders were provided the opportunity to submit additional
designations for consideration of inclusion to the Final NMFN to be
designated by the Under Secretary. As part of their submission, States
were required by statute to certify that they had satisfied the
statutory requirements under 49 U.S.C. 70103(c)(4)(A) and that any
additional designations submitted address the factors for designation
under 49 U.S.C. 70103(c)(2). Per the statute, only States are required
to submit this certification along with their comments; other
stakeholders or members of the public do not have this requirement.
Several commenters stated in their comments to the docket that the
initial 90-day comment period was insufficient in order to coordinate
and prepare their comments and additional designations. In particular,
multiple States stated that they did not have sufficient time to
consider nominations from their public and private stakeholders, which
is a requirement that these States would have needed to certify.
Additionally, upon a review of comments submitted by the States, DOT
has identified that many comments submitted by States lack the
statutorily required certification and thus, DOT cannot consider those
comments.
As a result, DOT is reopening the comment period for all
stakeholders to submit comments on the Interim NMFN. Comments that have
previously been submitted will continue to receive consideration,
though States that previously submitted comments should refer to the
below section on State Input. Any stakeholder or member of the public
is free to submit new comments and to amend or supplement previously
submitted comments. In the initial June 6, 2016 Federal Register notice
establishing the Interim NMFN at 81 FR 36381, DOT posed a number of
questions by mode and solicited input from the public. DOT continues to
seek input on these questions and encourages the public to refer back
to the original FR notice located at Docket Number DOT-OST-2016-0053.
Previously submitted comments can also be viewed at this docket.
Interested stakeholders and members of the public can find more
information on the Interim NMFN, including maps and tables by State, at
https://www.transportation.gov/freight/InterimNMFN.
State Input: 49 U.S.C. 70103(c)(4)(D) requires that each State
certify that they have considered nominations for additional
designations from a wide range of stakeholders, including MPOs, State
Freight Advisory Committees (as applicable), and owners and operators
of port, rail, pipeline, and airport facilities. Each State proposing
additional designations must certify that all additional designations
are consistent with the Statewide transportation improvement program
(STIP) or State freight plan. Finally, each State must also certify
that each proposed designation addresses the factors listed in 49
U.S.C. 70103(c)(2). Each State comment must include a statement
addressing these certifications in order to it to receive consideration
from DOT. An example of an acceptable certification is the following:
``The State of A certifies it considered nominations from the
stakeholders and the State Freight Advisory Committee [as applicable],
required under 49 U.S.C. 70103(c)(4)(A)(i) and (ii), in identifying
additional NMFN designations within the State. These additional
designations are consistent with the State's Statewide Transportation
Improvement Program and our State Freight Plan [as applicable--some
States may not have a completed State Freight Plan]. Further, the State
of A certifies that the proposed additional designations address the
factors described in 49 U.S.C. 70103(c)(2).''
States are not required to resubmit any comments provided in
response to the June 6, 2016 Federal Register notice unless the State
did not provide a certification with their previously submitted
comments. If no certification was provided, the State should resubmit
their comments with a certification in order to receive consideration.
If a State has already provided the required certification and is not
seeking to modify those comments or proposed designations, they are not
required to resubmit their original comments or certification. Any
State offering changes to prior submitted comments, including proposed
additional designations, modifications, or deletions, must include a
new certification. States that are commenting for the first time must
provide a certification to receive consideration. In all cases, the
State must submit a written certification to the docket consistent with
49 U.S.C. 70103(c)(4)(D).
Public Comment: The DOT invites comments by all those interested in
the NMFN. Comments on the Interim
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NMFN may be submitted and viewed at Docket Number DOT-OST-2016-0053.
Comments must be received on or before February 22, 2018 to receive
full consideration by DOT with respect to the final designation of the
NMFN. After February 22, 2018, comments will continue to be available
for viewing by the public.
Dated: October 10, 2017.
Finch Fulton,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017-22315 Filed 10-24-17; 8:45 am]
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