[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 64 (Monday, April 6, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15387-15388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7566]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

49 CFR Part 232

[Docket No. FRA-2004-17529; Notice No. 7]
RIN 2130-AB94


Adjustments to the Minimum and Maximum Civil Monetary Penalties 
for Violations of Federal Railroad Safety Laws or Federal Railroad 
Administration Safety Regulations; Correction

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

ACTION: Correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: On December 30, 2008, FRA published a final rule, pursuant to 
two statutes, which increased the minimum, ordinary maximum, and 
aggravated maximum civil monetary penalty it may apply when assessing a 
civil penalty for a violation of a railroad safety statute or 
regulation under its authority. (73 FR 79698). In preparing that final 
rule for publication, an error was made: FRA instructed that the 
numerical amount ``$16,000'' be removed from footnote 1 of appendix A 
to 49 CFR part 232 of the final rule and the numerical amount 
``$25,000'' be added in its place. The instruction should have directed 
the removal of the numerical amount ``$11,000'' and the addition of 
``$25,000'' in its place.

DATES:  The correction to the final rule is effective on April 6, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen N. Gordon, Trial Attorney, 
Office of Chief Counsel, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Mail Stop 
10, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202-493-6001), 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An error was included in the final rule 
published on December 30, 2008. (73 FR 79698). FRA failed to account 
for an October 16, 2008 amendment to footnote 1 in appendix A to part 
232. The October 16, 2008 amendment inadvertently changed the total 
ordinary maximum civil penalty amount normally assessed per day for two 
or more violations within a

[[Page 15388]]

single unit of equipment from ``$16,000'' to ``$11,000''. (73 FR 
61512).
    As background, on September 6, 2007, FRA adjusted the ordinary 
maximum civil monetary penalty pursuant to the requirements of the 
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. (72 FR 
51194). As part of this inflation adjustment to the ordinary maximum 
civil monetary penalty, FRA amended footnote 1 to appendix A in part 
232 by increasing the ordinary maximum civil monetary penalty to 
``$16,000''. As a result, footnote 1 read, in pertinent part, 
``[g]enerally, when two or more violations of these regulations are 
discovered with respect to a single unit of equipment that is placed or 
continued in service by a railroad, the appropriate penalties set forth 
above are aggregated up to a maximum of $16,000 per day.'' (72 FR 
51197).
    The October 16, 2008 amendment was part of a broader change in part 
232 that was not focused on changing the inflation adjustment to the 
ordinary maximum civil monetary penalty for violations within that 
part. The October 16, 2008 amendment instituted FRA's new regulations 
for electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake systems. In the 
process of promulgating the new ECP brake systems rules, FRA 
unintentionally removed the correct numerical amount ``$16,000'' and 
re-inserted the superseded numerical amount ``$11,000'' in its place. 
(73 FR 61556-57).
    FRA's December 30, 2008 adjustment of the ordinary maximum civil 
monetary penalty directed that the numerical amount ``$16,000'', which 
was no longer included in the text of footnote 1, be removed and 
replaced by the numerical amount ``$25,000''. The final rule published 
on December 30, 2008 should have instructed that the numerical amount 
``$11,000'' be removed and the numerical amount ``$25,000'' be added in 
its place. FRA is correcting this minor error so that the final rule 
clearly conforms to FRA's intent.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 232

    Penalties, Railroad safety, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

The Final Rule

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In accordance with the foregoing, 49 CFR part 232, chapter II, subtitle 
B of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations is corrected by making the 
following correcting amendment:

PART 232--[AMENDED]

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1. The authority citation for part 232 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 20102-20103, 20107, 20133, 20141, 20301-
20303, 20306, 21301-21302, 21304; 28 U.S.C. 2461, note; and 49 CFR 
1.49.

Appendix A to Part 232--[AMENDED]

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2. Footnote 1 to appendix A of part 232 is amended by removing the 
numerical amount ``$11,000'' and adding in its place the numerical 
amount ``$25,000''.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 19, 2009.
Jo Strang,
Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration.
 [FR Doc. E9-7566 Filed 4-3-09; 8:45 am]
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