12260 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Notices 

1See 41 CFR 102–3.60(b)(3). 

2See 41 CFR 102–3.60(a). 

interested parties to review the posted 

materials prior to the meeting. 

PHMSA and FRA encourage all 

interested persons to participate in this 

meeting. The agencies ask that 

commenters provide data in the most 

detail possible, including costs of 

design, installation, and maintenance. 

The agencies also invite interested 

parties who are unable to attend the 

public meeting, or who otherwise desire 

to submit written comments or data 

responsive to the questions raised 

above, to submit any relevant 

information, data, or comments to the 

DOT Docket Management System 

Docket Number FRA–2006–25169. 

Comments may be submitted by any 

method noted in the ADDRESSES section 

above. 

Issued in Washington, DC on March 9, 

2007, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

part 106. 

Robert Richard, 

Acting Associate Administrator for 

Hazardous Materials Safety. 

[FR Doc. E7–4686 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Ex Parte No. 670] 

Establishment of the Rail Energy 

Transportation Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation 

Board seeks public comment on the 

desirability of establishing, pursuant to 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), a Rail Energy Transportation 

Advisory Committee, to provide 

independent advice and policy 

suggestions to the Board on issues 

related to the reliability of rail 

transportation of resources critical to the 

nation’s energy supply, including, but 

not necessarily limited to, the rail 

transportation of coal and ethanol. 

Specifically, the Board seeks the views 

of interested persons on the utility of 

establishing such a committee, and, if 

established, the appropriate scope and 

the optimum size and composition of 

such a committee so as to reflect an 

appropriate and balanced cross-section 

of interested and affected stakeholders. 

DATES: Comments are due by April 16, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may 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 at the E–

FILING link on the Board’s Web site, at 

http://www.stb.dot.gov. Any person 

submitting a filing in the traditional 

paper format should send an original 

and 10 copies to: Surface Transportation 

Board, Attn: STB Ex Parte No. 670, 395 

E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. 

Copies of written comments will be 

available from the Board’s contractor, 

ASAP Document Solutions (mailing 

address: Suite 103, 9332 Annapolis Rd., 

Lanham, MD 20706; e-mail address: 

asapdc@verizon.net; telephone number: 

202–306–4004). The comments will also 

be available for viewing and selfcopying in the Board’s Public Docket 

Room, Room 131, and will be posted to 

the Board’s Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Scott M. Zimmerman at 202–245–0202. 

[Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339.] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Surface Transportation Board (STB or 

Board) is seeking public comment on 

issues relating to the potential 

establishment of a federal advisory 

committee to provide independent 

advice and policy recommendations to 

the Board on issues pertaining to the 

reliability of rail transportation of 

energy resources, particularly, but not 

necessarily limited to, the rail 

transportation of coal and ethanol. 

The Board, created by Congress in 

1996 to take over many of the functions 

previously performed by the Interstate 

Commerce Commission, exercises broad 

authority over transportation by rail 

carriers, including regulation of railroad 

rates and service (49 U.S.C. 10701–

10747, 11101–11124), as well as the 

construction, acquisition, operation, and 

abandonment of rail lines (49 U.S.C. 

10901–10907) and railroad line sales, 

consolidations, mergers, and common 

control arrangements (49 U.S.C. 10902, 

11323–11327). 

The Board views the reliability of the 

nation’s energy supply as crucial to this 

nation’s economic and national security, 

and the transportation by rail of coal 

and other energy resources as a vital 

link in the energy supply chain. 

Particularly in the present environment 

of constrained rail capacity, the Board 

believes that an advisory committee 

consisting of a balanced cross-section of 

energy and rail industry stakeholders 

could serve as an important resource for 

providing independent, candid policy 

advice to the Board and for fostering 

open, effective communication among 

the affected interests on issues such as 

rail performance, capacity constraints, 

infrastructure planning and 

development, and effective coordination 

among suppliers, carriers, and users of 

energy resources. 

The Board seeks input from interested 

persons on a number of issues, 

including: (1) What are the views of rail 

and energy industry stakeholders as to 

the potential utility of such a 

committee? (2) What would be the 

appropriate scope of such a committee’s 

mandate—i.e., should it be limited to 

issues involving transportation of coal 

and ethanol, or constituted more 

broadly to include, for example, the 

biofuel industry and/or others? How 

would the scope of the committee’s 

mandate affect its utility? (3) Consistent 

with one’s views on the answers to the 

previous questions, what would be the 

optimum size of such a committee, and 

how should the committee’s 

membership be allocated among various 

stakeholder groups to achieve a fairly 

balanced ‘‘cross section of those directly 

affected, interested, and qualified,’’ as 

required under the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA)?1

The Board is not, by this notice, 

establishing such a committee. Rather, it 

seeks from interested persons input that 

would assist the Board at this 

preliminary stage in developing a 

proposed charter for such an advisory 

committee, in consultation with the 

General Services Administration’s 

Committee Management Secretariat, as 

provided under FACA.2

This action will not significantly 

affect either the quality of the human 

environment or the conservation of 

energy resources. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 721, 49 U.S.C. 11101; 

49 U.S.C. 11121. 

Decided: March 9, 2007. 

By the Board, Chairman Nottingham, Vice 

Chairman Buttrey, and Commissioner 

Mulvey. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–4769 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 


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