[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 173 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53413-53414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17840]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2005-22365]


Establishment of a Temporary Emergency Relief Docket and 
Procedures for Handling Petitions for Emergency Waiver Relief From the 
Federal Regulations

    Due to the catastrophic and devastating damage inflicted on the 
southern portion of the United States in the aftermath of hurricane 
Katrina, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is establishing a 
temporary means for handling petitions for waiver from the federal 
regulations that are directly related to the effects of the hurricane 
or are necessary to effectively address the relief efforts being 
undertaken in the area. FRA recognizes that these types of petitions 
must be afforded special consideration and must be handled 
expeditiously in order to ensure that the safety of the public and the 
safety of those individuals and businesses providing aid to the region 
are immediately addressed. This document is intended to provide all 
interested parties notice of FRA's intent to establish a temporary 
Emergency Relief Docket which will be used to provide interested 
parties notice of the filing of such petitions for waiver. This 
document also contains the procedures for submitting and responding to 
such petitions for waiver as well as detailing the procedure that FRA 
will temporarily utilize to respond to these types of requests.
    For Futher Information Contact: Grady C. Cothen, Jr., Deputy 
Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program Development, 
FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., RRS-2, Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 
20590 (Telephone 202-493-6302), or Thomas Herrmann, Trial Attorney, 
Office of Chief Counsel, FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Mail Stop 10, 
Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone 202-493-6036).

Background Information

    On August 29, 2005, hurricane Katrina hit the southern gulf region 
of the United States. The aftermath of the hurricane has revealed 
unprecedented damage to property and a constantly increasing loss of 
life. As the nation turns toward the task of saving lives, providing 
adequate living facilities for displaced families, and rebuilding the 
devastated areas, our nation's railroads will play a key role in these 
efforts by providing necessary supplies and by moving displaced 
families and relief personnel to and from the area. In an effort to 
ensure that this mission is safely, effectively, and timely performed, 
FRA believes it is necessary to establish a method by which FRA can 
quickly and efficiently handle requests for relief from the Federal 
regulatory requirements that are directly related to the effects of 
hurricane Katrina or that will impact the relief effort being 
undertaken in that segment of the United States.
    FRA's existing procedures related to the handling of petitions for 
waiver from the Federal safety regulations contained in 49 CFR part 
211, do not lend themselves to quick and immediate decisions by the 
agency, nor were they intended to. The existing procedures establish a 
process whereby FRA publishes a notice of any petition for waiver in 
the Federal Register. This notice then allows interested parties a 
period of time in which to comment on any such petition, generally 
thirty (30) days, and provides for a public hearing should one be 
requested. This process generally takes several months to accomplish. 
As noted above, this process would not be appropriate for handling 
petitions for waivers directly related to addressing the effects of 
hurricane Katrina, the outcome of which could have a serious impact on 
the health and safety of those members of the public directly affected 
by the hurricane as well as those individuals aiding the relief 
efforts. Thus, FRA is instituting temporary procedures for handling 
petitions for waivers that are directly related to the effects and 
aftermath of hurricane Katrina. FRA believes these temporary emergency 
procedures will provide the agency with the ability to promptly and 
effectively address waiver requests directly related to the hurricane 
while ensuring that the public and all interested parties are afforded 
proper notice of any such request and are provided a sufficient 
opportunity to comment on any such request.

[[Page 53414]]

Procedures

    1. These emergency procedures will only be in effect for a period 
not to exceed nine (9) months from the date of publication of this 
document, unless later extended.
    2. The procedures will only be used to address petitions for 
waivers that FRA determines are directly related to hurricane Katrina. 
Petitions submitted to FRA should specifically address how the petition 
is related to the aftermath of the hurricane or related relief efforts.
    3. Any relief granted through these emergency procedures will only 
be effective for the nine (9) month period that these emergency 
procedures remain in place.
    4. FRA has created the Emergency Relief Docket FRA-2005-22365 in 
the publicly accessible Department of Transportation (DOT) Document 
Management System (DMS). The docket can be accessed 24 hours a day, 
seven days a week, via the Internet at the docket facility's Web site 
at http://dms.dot.gov. All documents in this docket are available for 
inspection and copying on the Web site or are available for examination 
at the DOT Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 
7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590 during regular business hours (9 
a.m.-5 p.m.). The DMS internet site also allows any interested party to 
subscribe, without fee, to its list serve application which will 
automatically notify the party via e-mail when documents are added to 
the Emergency Relief Docket (FRA-2005-22365).
    5. Upon receipt and initial review of a petition for waiver, to 
verify that it meets the criteria for use of these emergency 
procedures, FRA will add the petition to the Emergency Relief Docket 
(FRA-2005-22365). (If FRA determines that a petition meets the criteria 
for use of the emergency procedures it will so notify the petitioning 
party). The DMS numbers each document that is added to a docket. For 
example, the first document submitted to the docket will be identified 
as FRA-2005-22365-1. Thus, each petition submitted to the Emergency 
Relief Docket will have a unique document number which should be 
identified on all communications related to petitions contained in this 
docket.
    6. FRA will allow a 72-hour comment period from the time the 
petition is entered into and available on the DMS. Any comment received 
after that period will be considered to the extent practicable.
    7. Interested parties will be given multiple methods by which they 
may submit views, data or comment. All communications should identify 
the appropriate docket (FRA-2005-22365) and should identify the 
specific document number, discussed above. Interested parties may 
submit their comments using any of the following methods:
    a. Direct e-mail to FRA at: [email protected].
    b. Direct fax to FRA at: 202-493-6309.
    c. Submission of comments to the Docket Clerk, DOT Docket 
Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590.
    Any comments or information sent directly to FRA will be 
immediately provided to the DOT DMS for inclusion into the Emergency 
Relief Docket.
    8. Parties interested in having a public hearing on any petition 
must notify FRA within 72 hours of the posting of the petition in the 
Emergency Relief Docket. If FRA receives a request for a public hearing 
from any interested party, FRA will immediately arrange for a telephone 
conference between all interested parties as soon as practicable. Thus, 
interested party submitting comments or information on any petition for 
waiver should include telephone numbers at which its representatives 
may be contacted should the need arise. After such conference, should a 
party still request a public hearing one will be arranged as soon as 
practicable pursuant to the provisions contained in 49 CFR part 211.
    9. FRA may grant a petition for waiver prior to conducting a public 
hearing if such action is in the public interest and consistent with 
safety or in situations where a hearing request is received subsequent 
to the 72-hour comment period. In such an instance, FRA will 
immediately notify the party requesting the public hearing and will 
arrange to conduct such hearing as soon as practicable.
    10. FRA reserves the right to reopen any docket and reconsider any 
decision made pursuant to these emergency procedures based upon its own 
initiative or based upon information or comments received subsequent to 
the 72-hour comment period or at a later scheduled public hearing.
    11. All FRA decision letters, either granting or denying a 
petition, will be posted in the Emergency Relief Docket (FRA-2005-
22365) and will reference the document number of the petition to which 
it relates.
    FRA wishes to inform all interested parties that 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 
http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on September 1, 2005.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 05-17840 Filed 9-2-05; 3:10 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P