[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 8, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 54255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20416]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

49 CFR Part 229

[Docket No. FRA-2003-16357, Notice No. 2]
RIN 2130-AB34


Locomotive Event Recorders

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing and extension of 
comment period.

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SUMMARY: By notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on June 30, 
2004 (69 FR 39774), FRA proposed revisions to the regulations governing 
locomotive event recorders in order to improve the crashworthiness of 
railroad locomotive event recorders and to enhance the quality of 
information available for post-accident investigations. In that 
document, FRA announced that it expected to be able to resolve this 
rulemaking without a public, oral hearing but indicated that if it 
received a specific request for a public, oral hearing, one would be 
scheduled. In response to that document, several commenters requested 
the opportunity for a public, oral hearing, and one commenter sought an 
extension in the time for submitting written comments. This document 
grants those requests.

DATES: (1) Comments: Comments must be received by October 11, 2004, 
unless information received at the public hearing indicates a need to 
further extend this time period.
    (2) Public Hearing: A public hearing will be held on September 30, 
2004, beginning at 10 a.m. at the location listed below to provide 
interested parties the opportunity to comment on the proposed revisions 
contained in the NPRM.
    Any person wishing to participate in the public hearing should 
notify FRA's Docket Clerk by mail at the address provided below at 
least five working days prior to the date of the hearing and submit 
three copies of the oral statement that he or she intends to make at 
the hearing. The notification should identify the party the person 
represents, and the particular subject(s) the person plans to address. 
The notification should also provide the Docket Clerk with the 
participant's mailing address. FRA reserves the right to limit 
participation in the hearings of persons who fail to provide such 
notification.

ADDRESSES: (1) Comments: Comments related to Docket No. FRA-2003-16357 
may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     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.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number or Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) for this 
rulemaking. Note that all comments received will be posted without 
change to http://dms.dot.gov including any personal information. FRA 
wishes to inform all potential commenters that anyone is able to search 
the electronic form of all comments received into any agency docket 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) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
    (2) Public Hearing: A hearing to provide interested parties the 
opportunity to comment on the proposed revisions contained in the NPRM 
will be held in Conference Room 1 located on the 7th floor at 1120 
Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20005.
    (3) FRA Docket Clerk: Written notification of a party's desire to 
participate in the public hearing should identify the docket number and 
must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel, Federal 
Railroad Administration, RCC-10, Mail Stop 10, 1120 Vermont Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20005.
    (4) DOT Docket: For access to the docket to read background 
documents or comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or 
to 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward W. Pritchard, Director, Office 
of Safety Assurance and Compliance, RRS-10, Mail Stop 25, Federal 
Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation, 1120 Vermont 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202-493-6247), or Thomas 
J. Herrmann, Trial Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, Mail Stop 10, 
Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20590 (telephone 202-493-6036).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The public hearing will be informal and will 
be conducted in accordance with FRA's Rules of Practice (49 CFR 211.25) 
by representatives designated by FRA. FRA's representatives will make 
opening statements outlining the scope of the hearing, as well as any 
additional procedures for the conduct of the hearing. The hearing will 
be a non-adversarial proceeding in which all interested parties will be 
given the opportunity to express their views regarding this NPRM, 
without cross-examination. After all initial statements have been 
completed, those persons wishing to make brief rebuttal statements will 
be given an opportunity to do so in the same order in which initial 
statements were made.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2004.
Betty Monro,
Acting Federal Railroad Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-20416 Filed 9-3-04; 1:49 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P