Proposed Sunset of Waivers Granted Under 49 CFR Part 229 and Establishment of Docket for Collection of Waivers and Documents Generated by the Locomotive Safety Standards Working Group, 9059-9060 [E7-3448]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 39 / Wednesday, February 28, 2007 / Notices meeting (March 22 April 19, and May 17) from 1–2 p.m. Individuals wishing to address the committee should sign up on the public comment sign-in sheet before 11:30 a.m. The time available will be reasonably divided among those who have signed up, but no one will have more than 15 minutes. Written comments and reports can be given to the facilitator for distribution to the committee members. Persons wanting to present written materials to the committee should make enough copies for the 15 committee members and the facilitator. The agenda topics for the meetings will include, but not necessarily be limited to, discussion of the following issues: 1. State enforcement practices; 2. Operational procedures to detect and deter fraud; 3. Needed improvements for seamless information sharing between States; 4. Effective methods for accurately sharing electronic data between States; 5. Adequate proof of citizenship; 6. Updated technology; and 7. Timely notification from judicial bodies concerning traffic and criminal convictions of commercial driver’s license holders. The agenda topics presented in this notice are necessarily very general since the direction and nature of the advisory committee discussions will shape each subsequent meeting. The DOT may issue additional notices, as needed, with respect to changes in the schedule or agenda topics. Issued on February 21, 2007. Rose A. McMurray, Assistant Administrator, Chief Safety Officer. [FR Doc. E7–3481 Filed 2–27–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES Petition for Waiver of Compliance In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the petitioner’s arguments in favor of relief. VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:08 Feb 27, 2007 Jkt 211001 9059 Union Railroad Company DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION [Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA–2006– 26603] Federal Railroad Administration The Union Railroad Company seeks a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Safety Glazing Standards, 49 CFR Part 223 that requires certified glazing for 33 locomotives. The Union Railroad Company is located in Monroeville, PA, and operates primarily as an industrial railroad with less then 20 miles of track, and at speeds not exceeding 20 mph. Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party desires an opportunity for oral comment, they should notify FRA, in writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for their request. All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number 2006–26603) and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Docket Management Facility, Room PL–401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Communications received within 45 days of the date of this notice will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. All written communications concerning these proceedings are available for examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) at the above facility. All documents in the public docket are also available for inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket facility’s Web site at https:// dms.dot.gov. Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78). The Statement may also be found at https:// dms.dot.gov. [Docket No. FRA–2007–27155] Issued in Washington, DC, on February 21, 2007. Grady C. Cothen, Jr., Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program Development. [FR Doc. E7–3479 Filed 2–27–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–06–P PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Proposed Sunset of Waivers Granted Under 49 CFR Part 229 and Establishment of Docket for Collection of Waivers and Documents Generated by the Locomotive Safety Standards Working Group Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of proposed sunset and establishment of public docket. AGENCY: SUMMARY: FRA is notifying the public that waivers granted relative to the provisions of 49 CFR Part 229, Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards, may be affected by potential revisions to the regulation. FRA is requesting that grantees (primarily railroads) submit current waivers for consideration in light of potential revisions to the regulation, and is establishing a docket to collect the waivers along with other documents generated by the Locomotive Safety Standards Working Group (LSSWG) as part of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) process. Note that this request pertains to waivers from the provisions of 49 CFR Part 229 only, and not to waivers of any other of the regulations administered by FRA. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles L. Bielitz, Mechanical Engineer, FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue NW., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone 202–493–6314), or Michael Masci, Trial Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue NW., Mail Stop 10, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone 202–493–6037). ADDRESSES: Submissions: Submissions related to Docket Number FRA–2007– 27155 may be submitted by any of the following methods: • Web site: https://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for submissions on the DOT electronic docket site; • Fax: 202–493–2251; • Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590– 001; • Hand delivery: Room PL–401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays; or • Federal rulemaking portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submissions. E:\FR\FM\28FEN1.SGM 28FEN1 sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES 9060 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 39 / Wednesday, February 28, 2007 / Notices Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and docket number for this notice. Note that all submissions received will be posted to https://dms.dot.gov without change, including any personal information. Please see the general information heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document for Privacy Act information related to submitted comments or materials. Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or submissions received, go to https:// dms.dot.gov at any time, or visit PL–401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 22, 2006, FRA announced it is seeking input through the RSAC for potential revision of the Locomotive Safety Standards contained in 49 CFR Part 229. Although these standards have been the subject of a series of modifications, the basic text of the rule has remained largely unchanged since promulgation in 1980. In section 229.19, titled ‘‘Prior waivers,’’ the existing regulation states: ‘‘All waivers of every form and type from any requirement of any order or regulation implementing the Locomotive Inspection Act, applicable to one or more locomotives, except those propelled by steam power, shall lapse on August 31, 1980, unless a copy of the grant of waiver is filed prior to that date with the Office of Safety, RRS–23, Federal Railroad Administration.’’ If the standards are modified, FRA foresees including a similar requirement to terminate all Part 229 waivers shortly after issuance of the revised rule, unless they are reregistered with FRA by a similar process. An opportunity to comment on the proposed sunset regulation will be provided at a later time, prior to the issuance of a final rule. To conform with current Safety Board practice that limits relief to a 5-year term or less, all current waivers of 49 CFR Part 229 that are not already term-limited shall be terminated 5 years after re-registration. Termination dates of waivers already term-limited will not be changed. At the end of the 5-year period, the Safety Board may grant a formal request for extension, pursuant to 49 CFR Part 211. FRA is requesting that grantees submit all current waivers of Federal regulations contained in 49 CFR 229 if there is a need for the waivers to continue. Anticipating the sunset of these waivers, FRA hopes to address ongoing industry needs and maximize VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:08 Feb 27, 2007 Jkt 211001 the effectiveness of the current potential rulemaking by considering potential revisions in light of current waivers. Where appropriate, FRA (utilizing the RSAC process) will consider whether potential revisions of Part 229 can safely accommodate the situation faced by the railroad without the need for a waiver. Where this is not appropriate, including situations that are too specific to merit a general accommodation, FRA will retain the waivers submitted at this time and forward them into the docket of waivers to be continued beyond the implementation of the potential revisions to 49 CFR Part 229. Such waivers will not need to be resubmitted if a final rule is implemented. Accordingly, railroads and other parties that have waiver(s) of any portion of 49 CFR Part 229 that they wish to extend after adoption of revised Locomotive Safety Standards shall file a copy of the letter granting the waiver, together with a cover letter referencing this docket number, within 90 days of the date of this notice. This notice establishes docket number FRA–2007–27155 for collection of documents related to the LSSWG’s activities. The docket will be utilized to collect copies of granted waivers submitted pursuant to this notice and other documents generated during the RSAC process, making them available to the public. Anyone is able to search all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 665, Number 7, Pages 19477–78). The statement may also be found at https:// dms.dot.gov. Issued in Washington, DC on February 23, 2007. Grady C. Cothen, Jr., Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program Development. [FR Doc. E7–3448 Filed 2–27–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–06–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration Notice of Application for Approval of Discontinuance or Modification of a Railroad Signal System or Relief From the Requirements of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 236 Pursuant to Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 235 and 49 PO 00000 Frm 00102 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 U.S.C. 20502(a), the following railroad has petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) seeking approval for the discontinuance or modification of the signal system or relief from the requirements of 49 CFR Part 236, as detailed below. [Docket Number FRA–2006–26756] Applicant: Canadian National Railway, Mr. E. L. Harris, Executive Vice President, Operations, 10004– 104th Avenue, Floor 24, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 0K2. Canadian National Railway (CN) seeks relief from the requirements of the rules, standards, and instructions set out in CFR 236.410, as it relates to the requirement for an entering signal or electric switch lock to enter the main track in centralized traffic control territory at a hand-operated switch. CN believes that the precepts of 49 CFR 236.410 are based on an outdated ideology that concerned itself with thennew signal technology, a less-thanrobust communication network, and/or rail traffic controller (RTC) system that did not have today’s abilities for checking and blocking regarding block occupancy movements. CN believes that other jurisdictions have acknowledged the redundancy of the electric switch lock and provided for their removal and the reliance on the RTC, who is the authority for track occupancy on his or her respective territory. CN therefore requests exemption from the requirements of 49 CFR 236.410 in the territories recently identified as a traffic control system, which was previously identified as ABS/Rule 512B. This exemption would involve approximately 80 hand-operated switches within these areas. Any interested party desiring to protest the granting of an application shall set forth specifically the grounds upon which the protest is made and include a concise statement of the interest of the party in the proceeding. Additionally, one copy of the protest shall be furnished to the applicant at the address listed above. All communications concerning this proceeding should be identified by Docket Number (FRA 2006–26756) and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room PI–401, 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590–0001. Communications received within 45 days of the date of this notice will be considered by the FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. All written communications concerning these proceedings are available for examination during regular E:\FR\FM\28FEN1.SGM 28FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 39 (Wednesday, February 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9059-9060]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3448]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2007-27155]


Proposed Sunset of Waivers Granted Under 49 CFR Part 229 and 
Establishment of Docket for Collection of Waivers and Documents 
Generated by the Locomotive Safety Standards Working Group

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed sunset and establishment of public docket.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: FRA is notifying the public that waivers granted relative to 
the provisions of 49 CFR Part 229, Railroad Locomotive Safety 
Standards, may be affected by potential revisions to the regulation. 
FRA is requesting that grantees (primarily railroads) submit current 
waivers for consideration in light of potential revisions to the 
regulation, and is establishing a docket to collect the waivers along 
with other documents generated by the Locomotive Safety Standards 
Working Group (LSSWG) as part of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee 
(RSAC) process. Note that this request pertains to waivers from the 
provisions of 49 CFR Part 229 only, and not to waivers of any other of 
the regulations administered by FRA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles L. Bielitz, Mechanical 
Engineer, FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue NW., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 
20590 (Telephone 202-493-6314), or Michael Masci, Trial Attorney, 
Office of Chief Counsel, FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue NW., Mail Stop 10, 
Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone 202-493-6037).

ADDRESSES: Submissions: Submissions related to Docket Number FRA-2007-
27155 may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Web site: https://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submissions on the DOT electronic docket site;
     Fax: 202-493-2251;
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-001;
     Hand delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the 
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays; or
     Federal rulemaking portal: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submissions.

[[Page 9060]]

    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number for this notice. Note that all submissions received will 
be posted to https://dms.dot.gov without change, including any personal 
information. Please see the general information heading in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document for Privacy Act 
information related to submitted comments or materials.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
submissions received, go to https://dms.dot.gov at any time, or visit 
PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 22, 2006, FRA announced it is 
seeking input through the RSAC for potential revision of the Locomotive 
Safety Standards contained in 49 CFR Part 229. Although these standards 
have been the subject of a series of modifications, the basic text of 
the rule has remained largely unchanged since promulgation in 1980. In 
section 229.19, titled ``Prior waivers,'' the existing regulation 
states: ``All waivers of every form and type from any requirement of 
any order or regulation implementing the Locomotive Inspection Act, 
applicable to one or more locomotives, except those propelled by steam 
power, shall lapse on August 31, 1980, unless a copy of the grant of 
waiver is filed prior to that date with the Office of Safety, RRS-23, 
Federal Railroad Administration.'' If the standards are modified, FRA 
foresees including a similar requirement to terminate all Part 229 
waivers shortly after issuance of the revised rule, unless they are re-
registered with FRA by a similar process. An opportunity to comment on 
the proposed sunset regulation will be provided at a later time, prior 
to the issuance of a final rule. To conform with current Safety Board 
practice that limits relief to a 5-year term or less, all current 
waivers of 49 CFR Part 229 that are not already term-limited shall be 
terminated 5 years after re-registration. Termination dates of waivers 
already term-limited will not be changed. At the end of the 5-year 
period, the Safety Board may grant a formal request for extension, 
pursuant to 49 CFR Part 211.
    FRA is requesting that grantees submit all current waivers of 
Federal regulations contained in 49 CFR 229 if there is a need for the 
waivers to continue. Anticipating the sunset of these waivers, FRA 
hopes to address ongoing industry needs and maximize the effectiveness 
of the current potential rulemaking by considering potential revisions 
in light of current waivers. Where appropriate, FRA (utilizing the RSAC 
process) will consider whether potential revisions of Part 229 can 
safely accommodate the situation faced by the railroad without the need 
for a waiver. Where this is not appropriate, including situations that 
are too specific to merit a general accommodation, FRA will retain the 
waivers submitted at this time and forward them into the docket of 
waivers to be continued beyond the implementation of the potential 
revisions to 49 CFR Part 229. Such waivers will not need to be 
resubmitted if a final rule is implemented. Accordingly, railroads and 
other parties that have waiver(s) of any portion of 49 CFR Part 229 
that they wish to extend after adoption of revised Locomotive Safety 
Standards shall file a copy of the letter granting the waiver, together 
with a cover letter referencing this docket number, within 90 days of 
the date of this notice.
    This notice establishes docket number FRA-2007-27155 for collection 
of documents related to the LSSWG's activities. The docket will be 
utilized to collect copies of granted waivers submitted pursuant to 
this notice and other documents generated during the RSAC process, 
making them available to the public.
    Anyone is able to search all comments received into any of our 
dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or 
signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 
665, Number 7, Pages 19477-78). The statement may also be found at 
https://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on February 23, 2007.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E7-3448 Filed 2-27-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
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