Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 222 / Thursday, November 18, 2004 / Notices 67619

Interchange to South Dakota Border, 

July 1997. 

Letters describing the proposed action 

and soliciting comments will be sent to 

appropriate Federal, State, and local 

agencies, and to private organizations 

and citizens who have previously 

expressed or are known to have interest 

in this proposal. A series of public 

meetings will be held throughout the 

study process. In addition, a public 

hearing will be held. Public notice will 

be given of the time and place of the 

meetings and hearing. The draft EIS will 

be available for public and agency 

review and comment prior to the public 

hearing. A formal scoping meeting with 

resource agencies will be scheduled. 

Resource agencies will be notified 30 

days prior to the meeting date. 

To ensure that the full range of issues 

related to this proposed action are 

addressed and all significant issues 

identified, comments, and suggestions 

are invited from all interested parties. 

Comments or questions concerning this 

proposed project and EIS should be 

directed to the FHWA or Iowa 

Department of Transportation at the 

address provided in the caption FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program)

(Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48)

Dated: November 10, 2004. 

Phil Barnes, 

Division Administrator, FHWA Iowa Division.

[FR Doc. 04–25544 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration 

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 with 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 Valley Railroad Company 

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA–2004–

19259] 

The Valley Railroad Company (VALE) 

of Essex, Connecticut, operator of a 

scenic railroad on leased track, seeks 

waivers from certain provisions of 49 

CFR part 231, 49 CFR part 223, and 49 

CFR part 229 for an 80-ton dieselelectric locomotive built by General 

Electric in 1937 and currently numbered 

VALE 0901. 

The specific sections from which 

relief is requested and the justifications 

for such relief are as follows: (1) 

Switching steps of the type required by 

49 CFR part 231.30(a)–(f) are not 

permitted by the frame construction of 

the locomotive. Instead, it is equipped 

with four side ladders which give access 

to the walkways near each corner of the 

locomotive. (2) Glazing in the 

locomotive is not compliant with 49 

CFR part 223.11; however, the current 

glazing is automotive style safety glass, 

and VALE reports they operate in a rural 

area and have had few incidents of 

rocks being thrown at their trains, and 

no incidents of rocks being thrown at a 

locomotive. (3) The locomotive has 

never been equipped with a ‘‘slip/slide 

alarm’’ as required by 49 CFR part 

229.115; however, VALE reports that it 

will be operating at speeds less than 20 

mph and with trains weighing less than 

500 tons. (4) This locomotive is 

equipped with a single headlamp on 

each end which does not meet the 

requirements of 49 CFR part 229.125(a) 

for road locomotives, but which does 

meet the requirements for locomotives 

used in switching service given in 49 

CFR part 229.125(b). Again, VALE states 

that this is sufficient due to the speed 

limit of 20 miles per hour. 

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. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver 

Petition Docket Number FRA–2004–

19259) and must be submitted to the 

Docket Clerk, DOT Docket Management 

Facility, Room PL–401 (Plaza Level), 

400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20590. 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://dms.dot.gov.

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78). The 

statement may also be found at http://

dms.dot.gov.

Issued in Washington, DC on November 5, 

2004. 

Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

Acting Associate Administrator for Safety.

[FR Doc. 04–25561 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration 

Notice of Application for Approval of 

Discontinuance or Modification of a 

Railroad Signal System or Relief From 

the Requirements of Title 49 Code of 

Federal Regulations Part 236

Pursuant to Title 49 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) part 235 and 49 

U.S.C. 20502(a), the following railroad 

has petitioned the Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA) seeking approval 

for the discontinuance or modification 

of the signal system or relief from the 

requirements of 49 CFR Part 236 as 

detailed below. 

Docket No. FRA–2004–19466 

Applicant: Canadian National 

Railroad, Wisconsin Central Division, 

Mr. John P. Rath, Manager of Signal 

Installations, Signal and 

Communications, 1625 Depot Street, 

Stevens Point, Wisconsin, 54481. 

The Canadian National Railroad seeks 

approval of the proposed 

discontinuance and removal of the 

power-operated derails at CP North 

Pokegema, milepost 14.7, and CP South 

Pokegema, milepost 16.9, on the Duluth, 

Missabe, Iron Range Railroad, Interstate 

Branch Subdivision, and on the former 

Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway,