Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 75597

A comment to OMB is best assured of 

having its full effect if OMB receives it 

within 30 days of publication.

Authority: 49 CFR 1.66.

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

10, 2004. 

Joel C. Richard, 

Secretary, Maritime Administration.

[FR Doc. 04–27603 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

Reports, Forms and Record Keeping 

Requirements; Agency Information 

Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice 

announces that the Information 

Collection Request (ICR) abstracted 

below has been forwarded to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and comment. The ICR describes 

the nature of the information collections 

and their expected burden. The Federal 

Register Notice with a 60-day comment 

period was published on July 29, 2004 

[69 FR 45370–45371].

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before January 18, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: P.L. 

Moore at the National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, Office of 

International Policy, Fuel Economy and 

Consumer Programs (NVS–131), 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Room 5320, 

Washington, DC 20590. Mr. Moore’s 

telephone number is (202) 366–5222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

Title: 49 CFR Part 575.104; Uniform 

Tire Quality Grading Standard. 

OMB Number: 2127–0519. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Abstract: Part 575 requires tire 

manufacturers and tire brand owners to 

submit reports to NHTSA regarding the 

UTQGS grades of all passenger car tire 

lines they offer for sale in the United 

States. This information is used by 

consumers of passenger car tires to 

compare tire quality in making their 

purchase decisions. The information is 

provided in several different ways to 

insure that the consumer can readily see 

and understand the tire grades: (1) The 

grades are molded into the sidewall of 

the tire so that they can reviewed on 

both the new and old tires that are to be 

replaced; (2) a paper label is affixed to 

the tread face of the new tires that 

provides the grades of that particular 

tireline along with an explanation of the 

grading system; (3) tire manufacturers 

provide dealers with brochures for 

public distribution listing the grades of 

all tirelines they offer for sale; (4) 

NHTSA compiles the grading 

information of all manufacturer’s 

tirelines into a booklet that is available 

to the public both in printed form and 

on the website. 

Affected Public: All passenger car tire 

manufacturers and brand name owners 

offering passenger car tires for sale in 

the United States. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden:

NHTSA estimates that 79,650 manhours are required at a cost of 

approximately $4 million to the tire 

manufacturers to comply with this 

regulation.

ADDRESSES: Send comments, within 30 

days, to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, 725 17th 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, 

Attention NHTSA Desk Officer. 

Comments are invited on: Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; the accuracy of 

the Departments estimate of the burden 

of the proposed information collection; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

A Comment to OMB is most effective 

if OMB receives it within 30 days of 

publication.

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 8, 

2004. 

Stephen R. Kratzke, 

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.

[FR Doc. 04–27683 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Ex Parte No. 656] 

Motor Carrier Bureaus—Periodic 

Review Proceeding

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Request for comments.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 

13703(c), the Surface Transportation 

Board is instituting a proceeding to 

conduct its periodic review of motor 

carrier collective-activities agreements 

previously approved under 49 U.S.C. 

13703. The Board is seeking comments 

from those motor carrier bureaus that 

wish to have Board approval for their 

collective-activities agreements 

continued. The Board also is seeking 

comments from all interested persons 

on how those agreements, as ordered 

conditioned by the Board, have been 

working.

DATES: Opening comments may be filed 

by the bureaus and any interested 

member of the public by February 15, 

2005. Reply comments may be filed by 

March 17, 2005. Rebuttal comments 

may be filed by April 6, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Any filing submitted in this 

proceeding must refer to STB Ex Parte 

No. 656 and must be submitted either 

via the Board’s e-filing format or in the 

traditional paper format. Any person 

using e-filing should comply with the 

instructions found on the Board’s

http://www.stb.dot.gov Web site, at the 

‘‘E-FILING’’ link. Any person submitting 

a filing in the traditional paper format 

should send an original and 10 paper 

copies of the filing (and also an IBMcompatible floppy disk with any textual 

submission in any version of either 

Microsoft Word or WordPerfect) to: 

Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. Because all comments will be 

posted to the Board’s Web site, persons 

filing them with the Board need not 

serve them on other participants but 

must furnish a hard copy on request to 

any participant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph H. Dettmar, (202) 565–1609. 

[Federal Information Relay Service for 

the hearing impaired: 1–800–877–8339.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 49 

U.S.C. 13703, the Board may authorize 

motor carriers (including motor carriers 

of passengers and household goods) to 

enter into ‘‘bureau’’ agreements for the 

collective establishment of rates, fares, 

classifications, and certain ancillary 

activities. Board authorization 

immunizes activities taken under the 

approved agreements from the antitrust 

laws. Under section 13703(c), the Board 

must, every 5 years, institute a 

proceeding to review the motor carrier 

bureau agreements previously approved 

under section 13703 and shall change 

the conditions of approval of an 

agreement or terminate it when 

necessary to protect the public interest.

75598 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 

1 In EC–MAC Motor Carriers Service Association, 

Inc., et al., STB Section 5a Application No. 118 

(Sub-No. 2), et al. (STB served Oct. 16, 2003), the 

Board summarily approved the agreements of 

certain bureaus after noting their full compliance 

with the required conditions, and, for other 

bureaus, the Board listed the specific steps required 

for individual bureau compliance.

2The agreement of the National Bus Traffic 

Association, Inc., was approved without conditions. 

Application of the National Bus Traffic Association, 

Inc., for Extended Approval of its Conformed 

Agreement, Section 5a Application No. 9 

(Amendment No. 8) (STB served May 24, 2002). 

The Household Goods Carriers’ Bureau Committee 

has been operating under its previously approved 

agreement, and may continue to do so, until the 

Board rules on its application for renewal of that 

agreement.

3See National Classification Committee—

Agreement, 3 S.T.B. 917 (1998), 4 S.T.B. 496 (2000), 

and decisions served Nov. 20, 2001, Mar. 27, 2003, 

Oct. 16, 2003, and Dec. 10, 2003.

4See EC–MAC Motor Carriers Service 

Association, Inc., et al., STB Section 5a Application 

No. 118 (Sub-No. 2), et al. (STB served Nov. 20, 

2001, Mar. 27, 2003, and Oct. 16, 2003); Niagara 

Frontier Tariff Bureau, Inc.—Agreement, STB 

Section 5a Application No. 45 (Amendment No. 17) 

(STB served Oct. 16, 2003); Middlewest Motor 

Freight Bureau, Inc.—Renewal of Agreement, STB 

Section 5a Application No. 34 (Sub-No. 10) (STB 

served Jan. 21, 2004); and Pacific Inland Tariff 

Bureau, Inc.—Renewal of Agreement, STB Section 

5a Application No. 22 (Sub-No. 8) (STB served Jan. 

15, 2004).

1CRL’s and MJ’s lines are located in Illinois; 

GWRC’s line and FCR’s lines are located in Georgia; 

GWR’s lines are located in Colorado; CBGR’s lines 

are located in Iowa; NOW’s line and NSR’s lines are 

located in Ohio; and PNR’s line and ATR’s lines are 

located in Texas.

2OmniTRAX indicates that it will soon file for 

authority to control a new carrier, Kettle Falls 

International Railway, LLC, that will be acquiring 

and leasing rail lines in the State of Washington.

Under this provision, the Board must 

now commence a review proceeding. 

The Board is hereby commencing the 

required statutory review proceeding. 

Approvals of existing agreements will 

continue in effect unless the Board 

determines otherwise. 

Each bureau should, at a minimum, 

file a statement with the Board 

indicating whether it desires to continue 

to have its collective-activities 

agreement approved by the Board. The 

Board’s records indicate that approvals 

for the agreements of the following 

ratemaking bureaus have expired for 

lack of timely compliance with the 

conditions on renewal imposed by the 

Board during the prior review cycle: 

Machinery Haulers Association, Inc.; 

Motor Carriers Traffic Association; 

Nationwide Bulk Trucking Association, 

Inc.; New England Motor Rate Bureau; 

and Willamette Tariff Bureau, Inc.1 If 

the Board’s records are incorrect in this 

respect, each affected bureau must 

notify the Board.

The Board also is particularly 

interested in whether anything affecting 

the public interest has changed since 

the prior review cycle. In that review 

cycle, the Board approved the bureaus’

applications for renewal of their 

agreements, subject to conditions.2 In 

particular, the Board required the 

National Classification Committee to 

amend its agreement to provide: (1) 

Shippers with access to specified 

additional information at an earlier 

stage in the classification process; (2) 

resolution of classification dockets by a 

single, expedited decision; and (3) the 

right to seek an initial review of that 

decision by a neutral arbitrator.3 The 

Board required the ratemaking bureaus 

to amend their agreements to provide 

for: (1) The furnishing of a ‘‘truth-inrates notice’’ when collective rates are 

quoted; and (2) a prohibition of use of 

a loss-of-discount penalty for late 

payment of rates.4 Information on 

whether these conditions are working as 

intended would be especially helpful. 

Board filings, decisions, and notices 

are available on its Web site at http://

www.stb.dot.gov.

This action will not significantly 

affect either the quality of the human 

environment or the conservation of 

energy resources.

Decided: December 13, 2004. 

By the Board, Chairman Nober, Vice 

Chairman Mulvey, and Commissioner 

Buttrey. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–27629 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34615] 

Patrick D. Broe and OmniTRAX, Inc.—

Continuance in Control Exemption—

Alabama & Tennessee River Railway, 

LLC 

Patrick D. Broe (Mr. Broe) and 

OmniTRAX, Inc. (OmniTRAX), 

noncarriers, have filed a verified notice 

of exemption to continue in control of 

Alabama & Tennessee River Railway, 

LLC (ATN), upon ATN’s becoming a 

Class III rail carrier. 

The transaction is expected to be 

consummated on or shortly after 

December 31, 2004. 

The transaction is related to STB 

Finance Docket No. 34611, Alabama & 

Tennessee River Railway, LLC—Lease 

and Operation Exemption—CSX 

Transportation, Inc., wherein ATN 

seeks to lease from CSX Transportation, 

Inc. (CSXT) and operate approximately 

122 miles of rail lines in Alabama as 

follows: (1) Between milepost SG 737.1 

of the Belt Connecting Track at 

Birmingham and milepost 0AG 85.2 at 

Guntersville; and (2) the Ivalee Branch, 

between milepost 0LE 443.0 near 

Moragne and milepost 0LE 447.9 at 

Moragne. 

Mr. Broe directly controls OmniTRAX 

that currently controls 10 Class III 

railroads: Chicago Rail Link, LLC (CRL), 

Georgia Woodlands Railroad, LLC 

(GWRC), Great Western Railway of 

Colorado, LLC (GWR), Great Western 

Railway of Iowa, LLC (CBGR), 

Manufacturers’ Junction Railway, LLC 

(MJ), Newburgh & South Shore Railroad 

Limited (NSR), Northern Ohio & 

Western Railway, LLC OW), Panhandle 

Northern Railroad, LLC (PNR), Alliance 

Terminal Railroad, LLC (ATR), and 

Fulton County Railway, LLC (FCR).1

OmniTRAX also controls ATN, a 

Colorado Limited Liability Company 

formed for the purpose of leasing and 

operating certain rail lines owned by 

CSXT in the State of Alabama. 

Applicants state that the purpose sought 

to be accomplished by the proposed 

transaction is to reduce overhead 

expenses, and coordinate billing, 

maintenance, mechanical and personnel 

policies and practices of its rail carrier 

subsidiaries, and thereby improve the 

overall efficiency of rail service 

provided by the 11 railroads.2

Applicants state that: (i) The rail lines 

being leased by ATN do not connect 

with any of the lines of the railroads 

under their control or within their 

corporate family, (ii) the transaction is 

not a part of a series of anticipated 

transactions that would connect the rail 

lines being leased by ATN with any 

railroad in the OmniTRAX corporate 

family, and (iii) the transaction does not 

involve a Class I railroad. Therefore, the 

transaction is exempt from the prior 

approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 

11323. See 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2). 

Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board 

may not use its exemption authority to 

relieve a rail carrier of its statutory 

obligation to protect the interests of its 

employees. Section 11326(c), however, 

does not provide for labor protection for 

transactions under sections 11324 and 

11325 that involve only Class III rail 

carriers. Accordingly, the Board may not 

impose labor protective conditions here, 

because all of the carriers involved are 

Class III carriers. 

If the notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the 

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 

may be filed at any time. The filing of 

a petition to revoke will not 

automatically stay the transaction.