[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 32 (Thursday, February 18, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8171-8172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03332]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

49 CFR Parts 1241, 1242, 1243, 1244, 1245, 1246, 1247, and 1248

[Docket No. EP 701]


Accelerating Reporting Requirements for Class I Railroads

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Proposed rule, withdrawn.

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SUMMARY: The Board is withdrawing the proposed rules and discontinuing 
the EP 701 rulemaking proceeding which proposed to accelerate the 
filing deadlines for certain financial, employee, and traffic reports 
submitted by Class I railroads.

DATES: The proposed rule is withdrawn and the rulemaking proceeding is 
discontinued on February 18, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pedro Ramirez, (202) 245-0333. 
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 8, 2015, the Board issued a Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking public comment on a proposal to 
accelerate the filing deadlines for certain financial, employee, and 
traffic reports submitted by Class I railroads.\1\ The Board has 
authority to collect financial and statistical data from railroads as 
necessary for the economic oversight of the industry. 49 U.S.C. 
1321(b),\2\ 11145. To this end, the Board's regulations require Class I 
railroads to submit annual, quarterly, and monthly reports containing 
financial and operating statistics, including employment and traffic 
data.

[[Page 8172]]

49 U.S.C. 11145; 49 CFR 1241-1248. The data collected is used by the 
Board in various proceedings, as well as by other governmental agencies 
and interested parties in evaluating the railroad industry.
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    \1\ The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on July 8, 
2015 (80 FR 39045).
    \2\ The recently enacted Surface Transportation Board 
Reauthorization Act of 2015, Public Law 114-110, recodifies 
provisions of title 49, United States Code, redesignating 49 U.S.C. 
721, as Sec.  1321.
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    In the NPRM, the Board proposed changing the filing deadlines for a 
number of these reports. Specifically, the NPRM proposed the following 
deadlines: Schedule 250 would be filed by March 31 each year, at the 
same time as the Annual Report Form R-1; Quarterly Report Form RE&I, 
Form CBS, Quarterly Wage Forms A & B, and Reports of Fuel Cost, 
Consumption, and Surcharge Revenue would be filed within 15 days after 
the end of each quarter; Annual Wage Forms A & B and Annual Form QCS 
would be filed 30 days after the end of each year; Quarterly Form QCS 
would be filed 30 days after the end of each quarter; Form STB-54 would 
be filed within 60 days after the end of each year; and Form C would be 
filed 10 days after the end of each month.
    The NPRM also proposed to: Update several form titles; clarify the 
method by which carriers arrive at the number of employees reported on 
Form C, pursuant to part 1246; replace references to the ``Interstate 
Commerce Act'' with ``pt. A of subtitle IV of tit. 49, United States 
Code'' between 49 CFR parts 1241 and 1248 to accurately describe the 
current controlling statute; and eliminate the requirement of railroads 
to file duplicate copies of reports, with the exception of the Annual 
Report Form R-1, which requires hard copies to be filed.
    On August 21, 2015, the AAR filed comments on the proposed rules. 
AAR expresses concern that the proposed accelerated deadlines would 
impose significant burdens while not conferring a public benefit. (AAR 
Comment 7.) AAR states that the proposed deadlines for the STB reports 
would be incompatible with and would create additional reporting 
obligations for the railroads under Securities and Exchange Commission 
(SEC) regulations. (Id. at 10-12.) AAR also states that accelerated 
deadlines could cause investor confusion because the information in 
Board filings is based on a different corporate entity than information 
in the SEC filings, and there are also differences in accounting 
between Board reports and SEC reports. (Id. at 13.)
    Based on AAR's comments, the proposed rules could impose a 
significant burden on the railroads and conflict with SEC reporting 
requirements. No other comments were submitted. Therefore, we will not 
adopt the proposed accelerated deadlines and will discontinue this 
proceeding.
    However, some of the nonsubstantive updates that the Board proposed 
will be adopted in Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, EP 712. 
These updates include changing the following form titles: ``Form MRRE'' 
to ``Form C'' (49 CFR 1246.1) and; ``Form QRSC'' and ``Form ARSC'' to 
``Quarterly Wage Forms A & B'' and ``Annual Wage Forms A & B'' 
respectively (49 CFR 1245.2). In that proceeding, we will also 
eliminate the requirement for railroads to file duplicate copies of 
reports, with the exception of the Annual Report Form R-1, which 
requires hard copies to be filed.
    This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the 
human environment or the conservation of energy resources.

    Decided: February 11, 2016.

    By the Board, Chairman Elliott, Vice Chairman Miller, and 
Commissioner Begeman.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-03332 Filed 2-17-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P