[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8485-8486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02501]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2023-0066, Notice No. 2]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance and Notice of Public Hearing

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

ACTION: Announcement of public hearing and extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: On January 16, 2024, FRA published a public notice announcing 
that on August 10, 2023, Georgia Central Railway, L.P. and Heart of 
Georgia Railroad, Inc. (Petitioners) submitted a request to FRA for 
approval of a test program, and the temporary suspension of certain FRA 
safety regulations in connection with that program (Program). In this 
notice, FRA is announcing a public hearing to allow interested persons 
the opportunity to provide comments on the petition. FRA is also 
announcing a 14-day extension of the comment period to allow time for 
interested parties to submit comments on the petition or in response to 
views or information provided at the public hearing.

DATES: 
    (1) A public hearing will be held on March 12, 2024, from 1 p.m. 
(ET) to 5 p.m. (ET) in Vidalia, GA, and through one or more internet 
links.
    (2) Comments: FRA must receive comments on the petition, or in 
response to views or information provided at the public hearing, by 
April 1, 2024. FRA will consider comments received after that date to 
the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: 
    Public Hearing: The public hearing will allow for participation in-
person or virtually. For those participants that prefer to appear in 
person, the public hearing will be held at the Vidalia Community 
Center, 107 Old Airport Road, Vidalia, GA 30474. For those participants 
wishing to make a statement at the public hearing, either in-person or 
virtually, please contact FRA as described under the Public 
Participation Procedures heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document. Any person who wants to participate or 
observe the public hearing virtually can visit https://railroads.dot.gov/hog-gc-hearingfor the web address and hyperlink.
    Comments: Comments related to Docket No. FRA-2023-0066 may be 
submitted by going to https://www.regulations.gov and following the 
online instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number (FRA-2023-0066). All comments received will be posted 
without change to https://www.regulations.gov; this includes any 
personal information. Please see the Privacy Act heading in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document for Privacy Act 
information related to any submitted comments or materials.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Brewer, Staff Director--
Engineering and Technology Division, Federal Railroad Administration, 
telephone: 509-994-1978, email: [email protected]; or Veronica 
Chittim, Attorney Advisor, Federal Railroad Administration, telephone: 
202-480-3410, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this hearing is to receive 
comments in response to a petition for approval of a test program and 
the temporary suspension of certain FRA safety regulations in 
connection with that Program, including certain statutory requirements 
that would require FRA to exercise its authority under 49 U.S.C. 20306 
to exempt the rail equipment involved from the requirements of 49 
U.S.C. 20302. Petitioners should be present at the hearing and prepared 
to present evidence that any requirements of chapter 203, title 49, 
U.S.C., for which exemption is sought ``preclude the development or 
implementation of more efficient railroad transportation.''
    Interested parties are invited to present statements and to offer 
information and views at the hearing. The hearing will be an informal, 
non-adversarial proceeding conducted by a representative FRA designates 
under FRA's Rules of Practice (49 CFR 211.25). Therefore, there will be 
no cross-examination of persons presenting statements or offering 
information. An FRA representative will make an

[[Page 8486]]

opening statement outlining the scope of the hearing. Interested 
parties will then be provided with an opportunity to make initial 
statements. After all initial statements are completed, those persons 
wishing to make a brief rebuttal will be given the opportunity to do 
so, in the same order in which the initial statements were made. FRA 
will announce any additional procedures necessary at the hearing.
    There will be a court reporter to record and transcribe comments 
presented verbatim at the hearing. FRA will add the verbatim transcript 
of the discussions to the public docket in this proceeding.

Public Participation Procedures

    Any person: (1) wishing to attend the hearing in person, (2) make a 
statement at the hearing either in-person or virtually, or (3) both, 
should notify FRA by contacting Ms. Shari Carney, Transportation 
Analyst, by email at [email protected], no later than March 8, 2024, 
providing the following information, as applicable:
    (a) The name, affiliation or party represented, email address, and 
phone number of the participant.
    (b) Whether the participant is attending in person or virtually.
    (c) The subject(s) of the statement and/or presentation the 
participant wishes to make, and the amount of time requested.
    (d) A copy of the oral statement and/or presentation, if available.
    FRA reserves the right to limit participation in the hearing of 
persons who fail to follow the public participation procedures as 
outlined above, or additional procedures announced at the hearing. FRA 
also reserves the right to limit the duration of presentations, as 
necessary, to afford all persons the opportunity to speak, or to limit 
participation in the hearing of persons who exceed their allotted time 
or who discuss topics or issues outside the scope of the petition. 
Further, FRA reserves the right to limit in-person attendance at the 
hearing, as space is limited; preference in attendance will be provided 
to persons requesting to present statements in person.
    FRA is committed to providing equal access to this meeting for all 
participants. If you need alternative formats or other reasonable 
accommodations to participate in this meeting, either in-person or 
virtually, please contact FRA Transportation Analyst Ms. Shari Carney, 
by email at [email protected], no later than March 8, 2024.

Extension of Comment Period

    FRA is extending the comment period by 14 days to April 1, 2024, to 
allow time for interested parties to submit written comments on the 
proposal or in response to views or information provided at the public 
hearing.

Privacy Act

    In accordance with FRA Order 1100.14G, FRA solicits comments from 
the public to better inform its disposition of waivers, exemptions, 
block signal applications, and other special approvals under the 
Federal railroad safety laws and regulations and in accordance with 
FRA's Rules of Practice (title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
part 211). DOT posts these comments, without edit, to 
www.regulations.gov, under docket number FRA-2023-0066, as described in 
the system of records notice, DOT/ALL-14 FDMS, accessible through 
https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. To facilitate comment tracking 
and response, we encourage commenters to provide their name, or the 
name of their organization; however, submission of names is completely 
optional. Whether or not commenters identify themselves, all timely 
comments will be fully considered. If you wish to provide comments 
containing proprietary or confidential information, please contact the 
agency for alternate submission instructions.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-02501 Filed 2-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P