Review of the Surface Transportation Board's General Costing System, 16441-16442 [E9-8152]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 68 / Friday, April 10, 2009 / Notices
Albany, New York 12207, Telephone:
518–431–4127.
Or
Norik Tatevossian, P.E., Director of
Structures, New York State Department
of Transportation, Region 11, Hunters
Point Plaza, 47–40 21st Street, Long
Island City, NY 11101, Telephone: 718–
482–4683.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
hereby given that the FHWA, and other
Federal agencies have taken their final
agency actions subject to 23 U.S.C.
139(l)(1) by issuing licenses, permits,
and approvals for the following highway
project in the State of New York: The
Kosciuszko Bridge (Interstate 278) over
Newtown Creek, Kings and Queens
Counties. The preferred environmental
alternative replaces the existing bridge,
building a new permanent, parallel
bridge on the eastbound (Queensbound) side of the existing bridge. The
new bridge will be built at a lower
elevation to allow for reduced grades.
When completed, the Kosciuszko Bridge
will include auxiliary lanes in both
directions, carrying five lanes of
eastbound traffic and four lanes of
westbound traffic, and have standard
lane widths and shoulders. The new
bridge will also include a bikeway/
walkway on the north side of the bridge.
The selected alternative provides
superior safety, operational, and
structural improvements compared with
the other build alternatives, while
minimizing adverse social, economic,
and environmental impacts to the extent
practicable.
The new bridge will be constructed at
a lower elevation, decreasing the
vertical clearance over Newtown Creek
from 38 m (125′–0″) to approximately 27
m (88′–6″), to improve traffic safety and
operations on the bridge by decreasing
the steep roadway grades. The reduced
grades will significantly improve the
vertical stopping sight distance on the
main span of the bridge, meeting the
current interstate highway standard. As
described in the Final EIS, constructing
the new bridge 11 m (36 ft) lower than
the existing bridge will not impede
maritime traffic on the creek. The
project will also include the
construction of a new bikeway/walkway
on the north side of the westbound
(Brooklyn-bound) structure and
substantial increases in both the quality
and quantity of parkland (with both
active and passive recreation features)
in the project area, between four and
five times over existing park space.
Other mitigation measures include
streetscaping enhancements along all
streets to be reconstructed as part of the
project, including new tree plantings,
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15:39 Apr 09, 2009
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reconstructed sidewalks, new street
lighting, improved crosswalks, and
better pedestrian sightlines. In addition,
boat launches for small, non-motorized
boats on each side of Newtown Creek
will be provided.
The actions taken by the Federal
agencies, and the laws under which
such actions were taken, are described
in the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) issued on November
25, 2008 and in the FHWA Record of
Decision (ROD) issued on March 3,
2009. The FEIS, ROD, and other project
records are available by contacting the
FHWA or the New York State
Department of Transportation at the
addresses provided above, or they can
be viewed and downloaded at the
project Web site (https://
www.nysdot.gov/regional-offices/
region11/projects/kosciuszko-bridgeproject), or viewed at public libraries in
the project area.
This notice applies to all Federal
agency decisions related to the
replacement of the Kosciuszko Bridge
over Newtown Creek project as of the
issuance date of this notice and all laws
under which such actions were taken,
including but not limited to:
1. National Environmental Policy Act
[42 U.S.C. 4321–4351].
2. Federal-Aid Highway Act [23
U.S.C. 109 and 23 U.S.C. 128].
3. Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401–
7671(q)].
4. Section 4(f) of the Department of
Transportation Act of 1966 [49 U.S.C.
303].
5. Endangered Species Act [16 U.S.C.
1531–1544 and Section 1536].
6. Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act
[16 U.S.C. 661–667(d)].
7. Migratory Bird Treaty Act [16
U.S.C. 703–712].
8. Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, as amended
[16 U.S.C. 470(f) et seq.].
9. Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C.
2000(d)–2000(d)(1)].
10. Farmland Protection Policy Act [7
U.S.C. 4201–4209].
11. Wetlands and Water Resources:
Clean Water Act (Section 404, Section
401, Section 319) [33 U.S.C. 1251–1377]
12. Land and Water Conservation
Fund [16 U.S.C. 4601–4604].
13. Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
[33 U.S.C. 401–406].
14. Executive Order 11990 Protection
of Wetlands.
15. Executive Order 11988 Floodplain
Management.
16. Executive Order 12898, Federal
Actions to Address Environmental
Justice Minority Populations and Low
Income Populations.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning
PO 00000
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16441
and Construction. The regulations
implementing Executive Order 12372
regarding intergovernmental consultation on
Federal programs and activities apply to this
program.)
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1).
Issued on April 2, 2009.
Jeffrey W. Kolb,
Division Administrator, Federal Highway
Administration, Albany, New York.
[FR Doc. E9–8191 Filed 4–9–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Ex Parte No. 431 (Sub-No. 3)]
Review of the Surface Transportation
Board’s General Costing System
Surface Transportation Board.
Notice of public hearing.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation
Board will hold a public hearing
beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April
30, 2009, at its headquarters in
Washington, DC. The purpose of the
public hearing will be to examine issues
related to the Board’s Uniform Railroad
Costing System (URCS). Persons
wishing to speak at the hearing should
notify the Board in writing.
DATES: The public hearing will take
place on Thursday, April 30, 2009. Any
person wishing to speak at the hearing
should file with the Board a combined
written notice of intent to participate
(identifying the party, the proposed
speaker, the time requested, and topic(s)
to be covered) and their written
testimony as soon as possible, but no
later than April 23, 2009. Written
submissions by interested persons who
do not wish to appear at the hearing will
also be due by April 23, 2009.
ADDRESSES: All combined notices of
intent to participate and testimony may
be submitted either via the Board’s efiling format or in the traditional paper
format. Any person using e-filing should
attach a document and otherwise
comply with the Board’s https://
www.stb.dot.gov Web site, at the ‘‘E–
FILING’’ link. Any person submitting a
filing in the traditional paper format
should send an original and 10 copies
of the filing to: Surface Transportation
Board, Attn: STB Ex Parte No. 431 (SubNo. 3), 395 E Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20423–0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Timothy J. Strafford, (202) 245–0356.
[Assistance for the hearing impaired is
available through the Federal
E:\FR\FM\10APN1.SGM
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16442
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 68 / Friday, April 10, 2009 / Notices
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at:
(800) 877–8339.]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board
uses URCS to determine a rail carrier’s
variable costs in a variety of regulatory
proceedings. URCS determines, for each
Class I railroad, the portion of each
category of expenses shown in the
carrier’s Annual Report to the Board
(STB Form R–1) that represents its
system-average variable unit cost for
that cost category for that year. More
specifically, URCS consists of a series of
computer programs and manual
procedures organized into three phases.
Phase I compiles the raw data provided
by the carriers into a useable format,
and then uses statistical estimation
procedures to determine the portion of
specific expense account groupings that
vary with changes in the volume of
activity. In Phase II, these cost/volume
relationships are then used to develop
the variable unit costs that allow costing
of specific rail movements. Finally, in
Phase III, these variable unit costs are
applied to determine the costs of
specific movements via an interactive
computer program that permits the user
to enter operating characteristic data for
the specific movements under
consideration.
URCS was initially adopted by the
Board’s predecessor agency, the
Interstate Commerce Commission, as the
general purpose costing system in Ex
Parte No. 431 (Sub-No. 1), Adoption of
the Uniform Railroad Costing System as
a General Purpose Costing System For
All Regulatory Costing Purposes, 5
I.C.C.2d 894 (1989). Periodic review of
URCS is called for in 49 U.S.C. 11161.
The first review of URCS came in a
decision served on October 1, 1997, in
which the system was modified to: (1)
Alter the procedures used to determine
the variable costs associated with rail
movements of intermodal traffic; (2)
revise the train switching conversion
factor used in the costing procedures;
(3) discontinue the collection of cost
data on switching and terminal
companies; and (4) revise the procedure
for determining the variable cost of
using privately-owned rail cars. See
Review of the General Purpose Costing
System, 2 S.T.B. 659 (1997). On
reconsideration in a decision served on
December 12, 1997, the costing of
intermodal rail movements was further
modified. See Review of the General
Purpose Costing System, 2 S.T.B. 754
(1997).
The Board believes it is time for a
second, and more comprehensive,
review of URCS to determine whether
and to what extent modifications are
needed to account for recent changes in
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15:39 Apr 09, 2009
Jkt 217001
Board procedures and to improve the
system outputs. Accordingly, the Board
is instituting this proceeding and
holding a hearing to receive public
comment on how best to revise the
existing URCS model. Parties are
specifically encouraged to address
whether and how the Board could:
1. Improve the efficiency adjustments
associated with unit-train and multi-car
movements;
2. Update the historical studies used
in URCS;
3. Improve the costing of trailer or
container on flat car (TOFC/COFC)
traffic;
4. Update the URCS national car tare
weight calculation to account for the
number of car miles that each car type
operates;
5. Update the number of miles
between non-intermodal intertrain/
intratrain (I&I) switches by URCS car
type;
6. Disaggregate loss and damage
information by carrier and by two-digit
Standard Transportation Commodity
Code (STCC) groupings;
7. Revise the Train Switching
Conversion factor used to place all road
train crew wages on a common mileage
basis;
8. Require carriers to report their
average switch engine speeds in order to
better reflect switching expenses;
9. Revise the ratio of urban and rural
land values to allocate expenses
between running and switching;
10. Revise the URCS car types to
eliminate outdated car types and add
new car types to reflect those currently
used in the railroad industry;
11. Revise the spotted to pulled factor
for each car type;
12. Revise the approach used in
individual proceedings to index URCS
in order to use the Rail Cost Adjustment
Factor indexes published by the Board;
and
13. Update the various statistical
relationships used in URCS, including
the variability estimates.
The Board welcomes suggestions on
additional aspects or features of URCS
the Board should revisit. However, note
that, by an advance notice of proposed
rulemaking served and published on
January 5, 2009 (74 FR 248), the Board
already sought comments on whether
and how the Board should update its
accounting and financial reporting for
Class I rail carriers and URCS to better
capture the operating cost of
transporting hazardous materials. The
Board is currently reviewing the
comments submitted. Therefore,
comments for this public hearing need
not duplicate those already submitted in
that proceeding.
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
As a follow up to this hearing, the
Board will accept comments for 30 days
responsive to the hearing.
Date of Hearing. The hearing will
begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 30,
2009, in the 1st floor hearing room at
the Board’s headquarters at 395 E Street,
SW., in Washington, DC, and will
continue until every person scheduled
to speak has been heard.
Notice of Intent to Participate and
Testimony. Any person wishing to
speak at the hearing should file with the
Board a combined written notice of
intent to participate (identifying the
party, the proposed speaker, the time
requested, and topic(s) to be covered)
and their written testimony as soon as
possible, but no later than April 23,
2009.
Board Releases and Live Audio
Available Via the Internet. Decisions
and notices of the Board, including this
notice, are available on the Board’s Web
site at https://www.stb.dot.gov. This
hearing will be available on the Board’s
Web site by live video streaming. To
access the hearing, click on the ‘‘Live
Video’’ link under ‘‘Information Center’’
at the left side of the home page
beginning at 9 a.m. on April 30, 2009.
This action will not significantly
affect either the quality of the human
environment or the conservation of
energy resources.
Dated: April 6, 2009.
Kulunie L. Cannon,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. E9–8152 Filed 4–9–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Membership Availability in the National
Parks Overflights Advisory Group
Aviation Rulemaking Committee
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY: The National Park Service
(NPS) and the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), as required by
the National Parks Air Tour
Management Act of 2000, established
the National Parks Overflights Advisory
Group (NPOAG) in March 2001. The
NPOAG was formed to provide
continuing advice and counsel with
respect to commercial air tour
operations over and near national parks.
This notice informs the public of six
vacancies (due to completion of
membership on October 9, 2009) on the
NPOAG (now the NPOAG Aviation
Rulemaking Committee (ARC)) for
members representing general aviation
E:\FR\FM\10APN1.SGM
10APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 68 (Friday, April 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16441-16442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8152]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Ex Parte No. 431 (Sub-No. 3)]
Review of the Surface Transportation Board's General Costing
System
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
ACTION: Notice of public hearing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board will hold a public hearing
beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 30, 2009, at its headquarters in
Washington, DC. The purpose of the public hearing will be to examine
issues related to the Board's Uniform Railroad Costing System (URCS).
Persons wishing to speak at the hearing should notify the Board in
writing.
DATES: The public hearing will take place on Thursday, April 30, 2009.
Any person wishing to speak at the hearing should file with the Board a
combined written notice of intent to participate (identifying the
party, the proposed speaker, the time requested, and topic(s) to be
covered) and their written testimony as soon as possible, but no later
than April 23, 2009. Written submissions by interested persons who do
not wish to appear at the hearing will also be due by April 23, 2009.
ADDRESSES: All combined notices of intent to participate and testimony
may be submitted either via the Board's e-filing format or in the
traditional paper format. Any person using e-filing should attach a
document and otherwise comply with the Board's https://www.stb.dot.gov
Web site, at the ``E-FILING'' link. Any person submitting a filing in
the traditional paper format should send an original and 10 copies of
the filing to: Surface Transportation Board, Attn: STB Ex Parte No. 431
(Sub-No. 3), 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy J. Strafford, (202) 245-0356.
[Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal
[[Page 16442]]
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at: (800) 877-8339.]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board uses URCS to determine a rail
carrier's variable costs in a variety of regulatory proceedings. URCS
determines, for each Class I railroad, the portion of each category of
expenses shown in the carrier's Annual Report to the Board (STB Form R-
1) that represents its system-average variable unit cost for that cost
category for that year. More specifically, URCS consists of a series of
computer programs and manual procedures organized into three phases.
Phase I compiles the raw data provided by the carriers into a useable
format, and then uses statistical estimation procedures to determine
the portion of specific expense account groupings that vary with
changes in the volume of activity. In Phase II, these cost/volume
relationships are then used to develop the variable unit costs that
allow costing of specific rail movements. Finally, in Phase III, these
variable unit costs are applied to determine the costs of specific
movements via an interactive computer program that permits the user to
enter operating characteristic data for the specific movements under
consideration.
URCS was initially adopted by the Board's predecessor agency, the
Interstate Commerce Commission, as the general purpose costing system
in Ex Parte No. 431 (Sub-No. 1), Adoption of the Uniform Railroad
Costing System as a General Purpose Costing System For All Regulatory
Costing Purposes, 5 I.C.C.2d 894 (1989). Periodic review of URCS is
called for in 49 U.S.C. 11161.
The first review of URCS came in a decision served on October 1,
1997, in which the system was modified to: (1) Alter the procedures
used to determine the variable costs associated with rail movements of
intermodal traffic; (2) revise the train switching conversion factor
used in the costing procedures; (3) discontinue the collection of cost
data on switching and terminal companies; and (4) revise the procedure
for determining the variable cost of using privately-owned rail cars.
See Review of the General Purpose Costing System, 2 S.T.B. 659 (1997).
On reconsideration in a decision served on December 12, 1997, the
costing of intermodal rail movements was further modified. See Review
of the General Purpose Costing System, 2 S.T.B. 754 (1997).
The Board believes it is time for a second, and more comprehensive,
review of URCS to determine whether and to what extent modifications
are needed to account for recent changes in Board procedures and to
improve the system outputs. Accordingly, the Board is instituting this
proceeding and holding a hearing to receive public comment on how best
to revise the existing URCS model. Parties are specifically encouraged
to address whether and how the Board could:
1. Improve the efficiency adjustments associated with unit-train
and multi-car movements;
2. Update the historical studies used in URCS;
3. Improve the costing of trailer or container on flat car (TOFC/
COFC) traffic;
4. Update the URCS national car tare weight calculation to account
for the number of car miles that each car type operates;
5. Update the number of miles between non-intermodal intertrain/
intratrain (I&I) switches by URCS car type;
6. Disaggregate loss and damage information by carrier and by two-
digit Standard Transportation Commodity Code (STCC) groupings;
7. Revise the Train Switching Conversion factor used to place all
road train crew wages on a common mileage basis;
8. Require carriers to report their average switch engine speeds in
order to better reflect switching expenses;
9. Revise the ratio of urban and rural land values to allocate
expenses between running and switching;
10. Revise the URCS car types to eliminate outdated car types and
add new car types to reflect those currently used in the railroad
industry;
11. Revise the spotted to pulled factor for each car type;
12. Revise the approach used in individual proceedings to index
URCS in order to use the Rail Cost Adjustment Factor indexes published
by the Board; and
13. Update the various statistical relationships used in URCS,
including the variability estimates.
The Board welcomes suggestions on additional aspects or features of
URCS the Board should revisit. However, note that, by an advance notice
of proposed rulemaking served and published on January 5, 2009 (74 FR
248), the Board already sought comments on whether and how the Board
should update its accounting and financial reporting for Class I rail
carriers and URCS to better capture the operating cost of transporting
hazardous materials. The Board is currently reviewing the comments
submitted. Therefore, comments for this public hearing need not
duplicate those already submitted in that proceeding.
As a follow up to this hearing, the Board will accept comments for
30 days responsive to the hearing.
Date of Hearing. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday,
April 30, 2009, in the 1st floor hearing room at the Board's
headquarters at 395 E Street, SW., in Washington, DC, and will continue
until every person scheduled to speak has been heard.
Notice of Intent to Participate and Testimony. Any person wishing
to speak at the hearing should file with the Board a combined written
notice of intent to participate (identifying the party, the proposed
speaker, the time requested, and topic(s) to be covered) and their
written testimony as soon as possible, but no later than April 23,
2009.
Board Releases and Live Audio Available Via the Internet. Decisions
and notices of the Board, including this notice, are available on the
Board's Web site at https://www.stb.dot.gov. This hearing will be
available on the Board's Web site by live video streaming. To access
the hearing, click on the ``Live Video'' link under ``Information
Center'' at the left side of the home page beginning at 9 a.m. on April
30, 2009.
This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the
human environment or the conservation of energy resources.
Dated: April 6, 2009.
Kulunie L. Cannon,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. E9-8152 Filed 4-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
