[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 43 (Monday, March 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15625-15626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04510]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2018-0041]


Petition for Renewal of Waiver of Compliance and Notice of Public 
Hearing

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

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

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SUMMARY: On September 19, 2023, FRA published a public notice in Docket 
Number FRA-2018-0041 announcing that on July 1, 2023, Port Authority 
Trans-Hudson Corporation (Petitioner) submitted a petition seeking 
renewal of a waiver. 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 it is reopening the comment period for 
15 days 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) The comment period for the notice published September 19, 2023, 
at 88 FR 64515, is reopened. FRA must receive comments on the petition, 
or in response to views or information provided at the public hearing, 
by April 19, 2024. FRA will consider comments received after that date 
to the extent practicable.
    (2) A public hearing will be held on April 3, 2024, from 10 a.m. 
(ET) to 12 p.m. (ET) in Jersey City, New Jersey.

ADDRESSES: 
    Public Hearing: The public hearing will be held at One PATH Plaza, 
Jersey City, NJ 07306. For those participants wishing to make a 
statement at the public hearing, please contact FRA as described under 
the Public Participation Procedures heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.
    Comments: Comments related to Docket No. FRA-2018-0041 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-2018-0041). 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: Yu-Jiang Zhang, Staff Director--Track 
and Structures Division, Federal Railroad Administration, telephone: 
202-493-6460, 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 to extend relief from certain 
requirements of 49 CFR part 214, subpart C. Petitioner should be 
present at the hearing and prepared to present evidence that relief 
from the definition of fouling the track (49 CFR 214.7, Definitions) in 
the 11 locations using bench walls for clearing for trains are 
necessary and in the best interest of safety. Several Labor 
organizations requested that FRA hold a public hearing on PATH's 
renewal petition to receive testimony from all

[[Page 15626]]

parties interested in and affected by this proceeding.\1\
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    \1\ See https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FRA-2018-0041-0015; 
https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FRA-2018-0041-0016.
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    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 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, (2) make a statement 
at the hearing, or (3) both, should notify FRA by contacting Mr. 
Timothy Presser, FRA Roadway Worker Protection (RWP)/Roadway 
Maintenance Machines (RMM) Specialist, by email at 
[email protected], no later than April 1, 2024, providing the 
following information, as applicable:
    (a) The name, affiliation or party represented, email address, and 
phone number of the participant.
    (b) The subject(s) of the statement and/or presentation the 
participant wishes to make, and the amount of time requested.
    (c) 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.
    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, please contact FRA RWP/
RMM Specialist Mr. Timothy Presser, by email at 
[email protected], no later than April 1, 2024.

Reopening of Comment Period

    FRA is reopening the comment period for 15 days to April 19, 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-2018-0041, 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. 2024-04510 Filed 3-1-24; 8:45 am]
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