[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19412-19413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7618]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2012-0011]


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) has received a request for a waiver of compliance from 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. The petition has been 
assigned Docket Number FRA-2012-0011.
    Farmrail System Inc. (Farmrail), located in Clinton, OK, hereby 
petitions FRA for a waiver from 49 CFR 213.4(e)(3) to allow more than 
five cars required to be placarded by the Hazardous Materials 
Regulations (49 CFR part 172) to operate in a single-unit train 
consist. Farmrail proposes that FRA grant Farmrail a waiver of 
compliance that will permit more than five tank cars carrying any 
quantity of crude oil moving from the Anadarko Basin to operate over 
designated ``excepted track'' segments. The basin is located between 
Clinton and Sayre, OK. The 17-mile segment between Elk City and Sayre 
is the former Rock Island Railroad main track and currently designated 
as excepted track. Under this proposal, outbound loads would be metered 
in maximum blocks of 10 cars, while up to 20 inbound empties could be 
moved as they arrive (without unnecessary delay and loss of velocity); 
thereby relieving severe track congestion at Elk City. Farmrail claims 
the relief would not only improve the increasing volume of outbound 
traffic, but also eliminate bunching of inbound empties at the Elk City 
bottleneck between Class 2 and excepted track, where longer strings 
must now be split into five-car blocks for delivery to the different 
logistics customers.
    Additionally, Farmrail states that a rail shipper in Sayre receives 
inbound loaded tank cars of methanol at a rate of approximately one or 
two cars per month. Methanol is a hazardous material. Under this 
proposal, a loaded car of methanol would displace one empty car of 
crude oil, and an empty tank car of methanol would displace one loaded 
car of crude oil. A train leaving Elk City for Sayre would be permitted 
to have up to 19 empty crude oil cars and one loaded methanol car. 
Similarly, a train leaving Sayre for Elk City could have 9 loaded crude 
oil cars and one empty methanol car.
    Farmrail states that they have experienced no line-haul derailments 
between Elk City and Sayre on the 100-pound former mainline rail at 10 
mph. Farmrail has installed new ties where there is curvature, so the 
safety risk for empty tank cars in this extremely rural environment is 
minimal. Public benefits from issuance of the requested regulatory 
waiver would include a potential 50-percent reduction in the number of 
train movements required to move available traffic and associated grade 
crossing accident exposure. Farmrail train crews have had emergency 
response and hazmat training, and their operating practices are 
randomly monitored by a field compliance supervisor. Farmrail proposes 
to conduct twice-weekly hi-rail inspections of the subject track 
segment until it can be reclassified.
    Additionally, Farmrail states that they are the recipients of the 
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery or TIGER III 
grant funds for the rehabilitation of 49 miles of rail line in western 
Oklahoma to sound Class 2 safety standards. The Clinton-to-Sayre 
segment is critical to the origination of rapidly growing volumes of 
crude oil produced from the Anadarko Basin oil and gas reserves. The 
$8.4 million-track project, sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of 
Transportation (ODOT), includes 20 percent in local matching funds and 
an indicated benefit-cost factor of 56.8, as posted by ODOT on its Web 
site www.odot.gov.
    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.

[[Page 19413]]

    All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
2012-0011) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
     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 30 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 document (or signing the 
document, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor 
union, etc.). You may review the U.S. Department of Transportation's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or at http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.

    Dated: Issued in Washington, DC, on March 26, 2012.
Ron Hynes,
Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative 
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2012-7618 Filed 3-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P