[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43974-43975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17293]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain 
requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is 
described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory 
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the 
petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.

City of Menasha, Wisconsin

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2008-0082]

    The City of Menasha, Wisconsin (City), seeks a permanent waiver of 
compliance from certain provisions of the Use of Locomotive Horns at 
Highway-Rail Grade Crossings, 49 CFR Part 222. The City intends to 
establish Pre-Rule Quiet Zones that it had previously continued under 
the provisions of 49 CFR Part 222.41(c)(1). The City is seeking a 
waiver to extend: (1) The mailing date for a Notice of Intent as 
provided in 49 CFR Part 222.41(c)(2)(i)(a) which states that the Notice 
of Intent must be mailed by February 24, 2008 and (2) the filing date 
for a Detailed Plan as provided in 49 CFR Part 222.41(c)(2)(i)(b) which 
states that the Detailed Plan must be filed with FRA by June 24, 2008. 
The waiver petition requests that the City be allowed an unspecified 
amount of additional time to submit its Notice of Intent and Detailed 
Plan due to confusion regarding its five existing pre-rule quiet zones 
which the City is trying to consolidate into two quiet zones.
    The City states that when it started to review the requirements for 
continuation of its Pre-Rule Quiet Zones, it discovered that the 
descriptions and locations of the five quiet zones were somewhat 
confusing. For example, there was a single crossing quiet zone on a 
mainline that was between two other crossings identified in a separate 
quiet zone. Two other quiet zones included crossings that were

[[Page 43975]]

not contiguous with each other and, in some cases, were very remote 
from the remainder of the crossings in that particular quiet zone. Upon 
consultation with one of FRA's Regional Crossing Managers who also 
spoke with the Canadian National Railroad Company (CN) about the 
situation, it was determined that consolidating the five pre-rule quiet 
zones into two was appropriate. Because of the confusion regarding its 
five existing quiet zone and objectives to consolidate those into two 
quiet zones, the City was unable to confidently and timely prepare its 
Notice of Intent and Detailed Plan by the required dates.
    The City states that it is committed to promptly submitting its 
Notice of Intent and Detailed Plan. The commitment extends further to 
the goal of reaching compliance with the FRA safety level established 
for Pre-Rule Quiet Zones, realizing there may be significant costs 
required to implement necessary improvements.
    The City seeks the waiver in order to continue the restrictions on 
routine sounding of locomotive horns along its five quiet zone 
corridors, with the possibility that these five quiet zones might be 
combined into two quiet zones in the future with the CN's approval.
    The City states that it made a good faith effort to obtain CN's 
support for the waiver but failed to reach an agreement and thus was 
unable to file a joint waiver. The City had several good faith 
discussions with CN but was unable to reach an accord due to CN's 
requirement that the Appleton Street Crossing be closed as a condition 
of its support. The City offered several alternatives to the closing of 
Appleton Street including the permanent closure of another street, a 
commitment to install future supplemental safety measures (most likely 
a four quadrant gate system) at two major crossings (Racine Street and 
Plank Road), and closing Appleton Street to vehicular traffic but 
allowing pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The City does not feel that 
the closure of Appleton Street would contribute significantly to public 
safety. A church and school that is on the street would still need to 
be accessed, and it is believed that pedestrians would still attempt to 
cross at the location and expose themselves to train traffic. 
Additionally, traffic would be diverted to adjacent crossings that are 
approximately 850 feet from Appleton Street. Both adjacent streets are 
high volume arterial streets, and users would be subjected to higher 
traffic volumes and fewer traffic gaps.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since 
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party 
desires an opportunity for oral comment, they should notify FRA, in 
writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for 
their request.
    All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
2008-0082) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
    1. Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Fax: 202-493-2251.
    3. Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
    4. Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Communications received within 45 days of the date of this notice 
will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments 
received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. All 
written communications concerning these proceedings are available for 
examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the above 
facility. All documents in the public docket are also available for 
inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket facility's Web 
site at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written 
communications and 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).

    Issued in Washington, DC on July 23, 2008.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E8-17293 Filed 7-28-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P