Federal Railroad Administration October 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

To carry out a 2008 Congressional rulemaking mandate, FRA is creating regulations prescribing minimum safety and health requirements for camp cars that a railroad provides as sleeping quarters to any of its train employees, signal employees, and dispatching service employees (covered-service employees) and individuals employed to maintain its right of way. Under separate but related statutory authority, FRA is also amending its regulations regarding construction of employee sleeping quarters. In particular, FRA's existing guidelines with respect to the location, in relation to switching or humping of hazardous material, of a camp car that is occupied exclusively by individuals employed to maintain a railroad's right of way are being replaced with regulatory amendments prohibiting a railroad from positioning such a camp car in the immediate vicinity of the switching or humping of hazardous material. Finally, FRA is making miscellaneous changes clarifying its provision on applicability, removing an existing provision on the preemptive effect of the regulations as unnecessary, and moving, without changing, an existing provision on penalties for violation.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking renewal of the following currently approved information collection activities. Before submitting these information collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.

On August 24, 2011, FRA published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would remove regulatory provisions requiring railroads to either conduct further analyses or meet certain risk-based criteria in order to avoid positive train control (PTC) system implementation on track segments that do not transport poison- or toxic-by-inhalation (PIH) hazardous materials traffic and are not used for intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation as of December 31, 2015. FRA is announcing a public hearing to provide interested persons an opportunity to provide comments on the proposal and to discuss further development of the regulation. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires the implementation of PTC systems. FRA is also extending the comment period for this proceeding to allow time for interested parties to submit comments after the public hearing.

The FRA and FTA are issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) to advise other agencies and the public that they will jointly prepare an EIS to study the implementation of passenger rail service between Tucson, Arizona and Phoenix, Arizona and to serve communities in between the two metropolitan areas (the proposed action). The FRA, FTA, and Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will use a tiered process, as described in the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) at 40 CFR 1502.20 and 1508.28 (NEPA) and FTA's environmental procedures at 23 CFR 771.111(g) and 774.7. This EIS is the first planning-level tier of the two-tiered environmental review process for the proposed action. FRA and FTA are issuing this Notice to alert interested parties, to solicit public and agency input on the scope of the Tier 1 EIS, provide information on the nature of the proposed project, including the purpose and need for the proposed action, possible alternatives to be considered in the preparation of the Tier 1 EIS, potentially significant impacts to the natural and built environment of those alternatives, and invite public participation in the EIS process. The Tier 1 EIS will be prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the CEQ regulations implementing NEPA, the FRA's Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts as set forth in 64 FR 28545 dated May 26, 1999 (Environmental Procedures), and FTA's Environmental Impact and Related Procedures, in 23 CFR part 771. The EIS will also address Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966 (49 U.S.C. 303) and other applicable Federal and state laws and regulations to the extent relevant for a planning-level Tier-1 document. In addition, the Tier 1 study will incorporate the alternatives analyses process required by Federal transit law (49 U.S.C. 5309) and regulation (49 CFR part 611) for a project proposed for New Starts funding. Environmental Review Process: The FRA and FTA will use a tiered process, as provided for in 40 CFR 1508.28 and in accordance with FRA guidance, in the completion of the environmental review of the proposed action. ``Tiering'' is a staged environmental review process applied to environmental reviews for complex projects. The Tier 1 EIS will address broad corridor-level issues and alternatives. Subsequent tiers will analyze site-specific component projects and alternatives based on the decisions made in Tier 1. Tier 1: The Tier 1 assessment will result in a NEPA document with the appropriate level of detail for corridor-level decisions and will address broad overall issues of concern, including but not limited to: Confirming the purpose and need for the proposed action. Confirming the study area appropriate to assess reasonable alternatives. Developing evaluation criteria to identify alternatives that meet the purpose and need of the proposed action and those that do not. Identifying the range of reasonable alternatives to be considered, including the no action alternative, consistent with the current and planned use of the corridor and the existing services within and adjacent to the study area. Identifying the general alignment(s) of the reasonable alternatives. Identifying right-of-way requirements for the reasonable alternatives. Identifying the infrastructure and equipment investment requirements for the reasonable alternatives. Specifying the future no-build alternative that reflects already planned highway and transit developments in the study area expected to be in place by the project design year. Specifying the New Starts baseline alternative that addresses the proposed action's purpose and need to the maximum extent possible without a new transit fixed guideway. Identifying the operational changes required for the reasonable alternatives. Describing and evaluating the potential environmental impacts and mitigation associated with the proposed alternatives in the level of detail appropriate for a Tier 1 EIS. Establishing the timing and sequencing of independent actions to implement the proposed action. Evaluating the transit alternatives under the New Starts criteria specified in 49 U.S.C. 5309 and 49 CFR part 611. The transit alternatives may be subsets of the full build alternatives that provide intercity rail service. Identifying the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA), FTA's planning level alternative for the New Starts program, through an Alternatives Analysis process. Tier 2: The Tier 2 assessments will not be included in this study but will be identified as future actions to address components of the planning level alternative selected at the conclusion of the Tier 1 EIS. This Tier 1 EIS preparation will include initial planning level elements of a Service Development Plan; present corridor route alternatives; and provide conceptual engineering designs of track, ancillary facilities, stations, and other major design features to a level sufficient to allow for meaningful understanding and comparison of alternatives. The Tier 1 EIS will provide programmatic assessment of environmental effects associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance components of the proposed action. The Tier 1 EIS will evaluate a range of reasonable corridor-level alternatives to include the ``Baseline Conditions'' and ``No Action'' Alternatives. Build alternatives may occur along existing rail line(s) or may be on a new alignment. The EIS will provide for: (1) An FTA-compliant Alternatives Analysis and (2) an FTA-compliant Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement.