Surface Transportation Board 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board has approved the fourth quarter 2012 rail cost adjustment factor (RCAF) and cost index filed by the Association of American Railroads. The fourth quarter 2012 RCAF (Unadjusted) is 1.209. The fourth quarter 2012 RCAF (Adjusted) is 0.529. The fourth quarter 2012 RCAF-5 is 0.499.

CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) and Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company (GTW) have agreed to exchange perpetual rail operating easements over certain parts of each other's lines. GTW has agreed to grant CSXT an easement over a GTW line between Munster, Ind., and Elsdon, Ill. (Elsdon Line), over which GTW would retain local and overhead trackage rights. CSXT also has agreed to convey local and overhead trackage rights over that line to various GTW affiliates and a CSXT affiliate. In exchange for that easement, CSXT has agreed to grant GTW an easement over a CSXT line between Leewood, Tenn., and Aulon, Tenn., over which CSXT would retain local and overhead trackage rights. In this docket, CSXT has filed an application for authority to acquire an easement from GTW, and in the embraced Docket Nos. FD 35522 (Sub-No. 1) and (Sub-No. 2), the CSXT affiliate and the various GTW affiliates, respectively, seek authority to acquire trackage rights over that line.

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) is accepting for consideration the application filed August 6, 2012, by Genesee and Wyoming Inc. (GWI) and RailAmerica, Inc. (RailAmerica). The application seeks Board approval under 49 U.S.C. 11323-11325 of the acquisition of control of RailAmerica, a noncarrier holding company, by GWI, a noncarrier holding company. This proposal is referred to as the Transaction, and GWI and RailAmerica are referred to collectively as Applicants. The Board finds that the application is complete and that the Transaction is a minor transaction upon the preliminary determination that the Transaction clearly will not have any anticompetitive effects. 49 CFR 1180.2(b)(1), (c). The Board makes this determination based solely on the evidence presented in the application. The Board stresses that this is not a final determination, and its finding may be rebutted by filings and evidence submitted into the record for this proceeding. The Board will give careful consideration to any claims that the Transaction would have anticompetitive effects that are not apparent from the application itself.

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3519 (PRA), the Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives notice of its intent to seek from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the information collections (here third-party disclosures) required under the Board's decision in Released Rates of Motor Common Carriers of Household Goods, Docket No. RR 999 (Amendment No. 5) (served Jan. 21, 2011 (2011 Decision) and Jan.10, 2012 (2012 Decision) and modified on May 15, 2012). Under 49 U.S.C. 13501, 13531, and 14706(f)(2), the Board is charged with oversight of certain motor carrier tariffs (the published rates that interstate movers of household goods charge for the services they offer). More specifically, the Interstate Commerce Act requires that such a mover offer what are known as ``full-value'' rates, which are rates under which the mover will be liable for the full value of any lost or damaged cargo. Full- value has been defined by statute to mean the ``replacement value'' of the goods (the cost to the consumer to replace the items lost or damaged (49 CFR 375.201)). Additionally, the Board and its predecessor agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission, have authorized moving companies to offer consumers a lower, ``released'' rate under which the carrier is released from full liability for lost or damaged cargo and assumes less than the statutory level of cargo liability for an interstate move. In its 2011 Decision and notice (76 FR 5,431), the Board issued preliminary regulations implementing a Congressional directive to enhance consumer protection in the case of loss or damage that occurs during interstate household-good moves. See Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Sec. 4215, Public Law 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144, 1760 (2005). The 2011 Decision required movers to provide certain information concerning the two available cargo-liability options on the written estimate formthe first form that a moving company must give to a customer. In response to comments, the 2012 Decision modified the disclosure requirements proposed in the 2011 Decision (See 77 FR 15187- 01). Subsequently, in response to further public comments, the Board issued a March 9, 2012 decision and notice postponing the effective date of the new requirements until May 15 (See 77 FR 15187-01). These disclosure requirements, which fall within the definition of information collections under the PRA (see 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c)), are described in more detail below and appear in full in the appendices to this notice. Comments are requested concerning: (1) The accuracy of the Board's burden estimates; (2) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; (3) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology when appropriate; and (4) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Board, including whether the collection has practical utility. Submitted comments will be summarized and included in the Board's request for OMB approval.

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) proposes to change some of its existing regulations and procedures concerning rate complaint proceedings. The Board previously created two simplified procedures to reduce the time, complexity, and expense of rate cases. The Board now proposes to modify its rules to remove the limitation on relief for one simplified approach, and to double the relief available under the other simplified approach. The Board also proposes technical changes to the full and simplified rate procedures, and to raise the interest rate that railroads must pay on reparations if they are found to have charged unreasonable rates. The overarching goal is to ensure that the Board's simplified and expedited processes for resolving rate disputes are more accessible.