Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Notices 6301

Department of Transportation, Central

Dockets Office, PL–401, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. All

comments received will be available for

examination at the above address from

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., e.t., Monday

through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Those desiring notification of receipt of

comments must include a selfaddressed, stamped postcard/envelope.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Prevention of Prohibited Drug Use in

Transit Operations—Ms. Judy Meade,

Office of Program Management, (202)

366–2896.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested

parties are invited to send comments

regarding any aspect of this information

collection, including: (1) The necessity

and utility of the information collection

for the proper performance of the

functions of the FTA; (2) the accuracy

of the estimated burden; (3) ways to

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity

of the collected information; and (4)

ways to minimize the collection burden

without reducing the quality of the

collected information. Comments

submitted in response to this notice will

be summarized and/or included in the

request for OMB approval of this

information collection.

Title: Prevention of Prohibited Drug Use

in Transit Operations (OMB Number:

2132–0557)

Background: The Omnibus

Transportation Employee Testing Act of

1991 (Pub. L. 102–143, October 28,

1991, now codified in relevant part at 49

U.S.C. 5331) requires any recipient of

Federal financial assistance under 49

U.S.C. Sections 5309, 5307, or 5311 or

under 23 U.S.C. Section 103(e) (4) to

establish a program designed to help

prevent accidents and injuries resulting

from the misuse of drugs and alcohol by

employees who perform safety-sensitive

functions. FTA’s regulation, 49 CFR Part

653, ‘‘Prevention of Prohibited Drug Use

in Transit Operations,’’ effective March

17, 1994, requires recipients to submit

to FTA annual reports containing data

which summarize information

concerning the recipients’ drug testing

program, such as the number and type

of tests given, number of positive test

results, and the kinds of safety-sensitive

functions the employees perform. FTA

uses these data to ensure compliance

with the rule, to assess the misuse of

drugs in the transit industry, and to set

the random testing rate. The data will

also be used to assess the effectiveness

of the rule in reducing the misuse of

drugs among safety-sensitive transit

employees and making transit safer for

the public.

Respondents: State and local

government, business or other for-profit

institutions, non-profit institutions, and

small business organizations.

Estimated Annual Burden on

Respondents: 26.5 hours for each of the

1,615 respondents.

Estimated Total Annual Burden:

42,799 hours.

Frequency: Annual.

Issued: February 4, 1997.

Gordon J. Linton,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–3304 Filed 2–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–U

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. 41987]

Western Fuels Service Corporation v.

the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe

Railway Company

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice of exemption.

SUMMARY: Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the

Board is granting the request of both the

complainant and the defendant that this

proceeding be exempted from the

statutory requirement that it be

completed within 180 days. The Board

is extending the time limit to 270 days

pursuant to the request of the parties.

DATES: The exemption is effective on

February 11, 1997.

ADDRESSES: An original and 10 copies of

all pleadings referring to the exemption

granted in STB Docket No. 41987 must

be filed with the Surface Transportation

Board, Office of the Secretary, Case

Control Branch, 1201 Constitution Ave.,

N.W., Washington DC 20423. In

addition, a copy of all pleadings must be

served on the parties’ representatives:

(1) For Western Fuels Service

Corporation, Peter Glaser, Doherty,

Rumble & Butler, Suite 1100, 1401 New

York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

20005; and (2) for The Burlington

Northern and Santa Fe Railway

Company, Samuel M. Sipe, Jr., Steptoe

& Johnson, 1330 Connecticut Avenue,

NW, Washington, DC 20036, and

Richard E. Weicher, The Burlington

Northern and Santa Fe Railway

Company, Suite 3800, 777 Main Street,

Fort Worth, TX 76102–5384.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph H. Dettmar, (202) 927–5660.

[TDD for the hearing impaired (202)

927–5721.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

proceeding involves a request for access

to certain terminal facilities and

trackage by Western Fuels Service

Corporation (complainant) pursuant to

49 U.S.C. 11102. Under section

11102(d), the Board must complete the

proceeding within 180 days after the

filing of the request for relief. As

complainant filed its complaint on

December 9, 1996, the deadline for

completion of the proceeding is June 7,

1997. Complainant has filed a request

for a 90-day extension of the deadline

until September 5, 1997, and The

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe

Railway Company (defendant) has

joined in the request. Acting under 49

U.S.C. 10502, the Board has granted an

exemption from the statutory deadline.

The Board will establish a procedural

schedule to govern the processing of the

proceeding, if necessary, when it rules

on a pending motion by defendant to

dismiss the proceeding.

Additional information is contained

in the Board’s decision. To purchase a

copy of the full decision, write to, call,

or pick up in person from: DC NEWS &

DATA, INC., Room 2229, 1201

Constitution Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, DC 20423. Telephone:

(202) 289–4357/4359. [Assistance for

the hearing impaired is available

through TDD services (202) 927–5721.]

Decided: February 3, 1997.

By the Board, Chairman Morgan and Vice

Chairman Owen.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–3384 Filed 2–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Agency Information Collection;

Activity Under OMB Review; Report of

Financial and Operating Statistics for

Small Aircraft Operators—Form 298–C

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation

Statistics (BTS), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13, the Bureau of

Transportation Statistics (BTS) invites

the general public, industry and other

Federal Agencies to comment on the

continuing need and usefulness of BTS

collecting financial, traffic and

operating statistics from small

certificated and commuter air carriers.

Small certificated air carriers (operate

aircraft with 60 seats or less or with

18,000 pounds of payload capacity or

less) must file the five quarterly

schedules listed below:

A–1 Report of Flight and Traffic

Statistics in Scheduled Passenger

Operations,
6302 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Notices

E–1 Report of Nonscheduled Passenger

Enplanements by Small Certificated

Air Carriers,

F–1 Report of Financial Data,

F–2 Report of Aircraft Operating

Expenses and Related Statistics,

and

T–1 Report of Revenue Traffic by OnLine Origin and Destination.

Commuter air carriers must file the

three quarterly schedules listed below:

A–1 Report of Flight and Traffic

Statistics in Scheduled Passenger

Operations,

F–1 Report of Financial Data, and

T–1 Report of Revenue Traffic by OnLine Origin and Destination.

Commenters should address whether

BTS accurately estimated the reporting

burden and if there are other ways to

enhance the quality, utility and clarity

of the information collected.

DATES: Written comments should be

submitted by April 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

directed to: Office of Airline

Information, K–25, Room 4125, Bureau

of Transportation Statistics, Department

of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street,

S.W., Washington, DC 20590–0001.

COMMENTS: Comments should identify

the OMB # 2138–0009 and submit a

duplicate copy to the address listed

above. Commenters wishing the

Department to acknowledge receipt of

their comments must submit with those

comments a self-addressed stamped

postcard on which the following

statement is made: Comments on OMB

# 2138–0009. The postcard will be date/

time stamped and returned to the

commenter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bernie Stankus, Office of Airline

Information, K–25, Bureau of

Transportation Statistics, 400 Seventh

Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590–

0001, (202) 366–4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Approval No. 2138–0009.

Title: Report of Financial and

Operating Statistics for Small Aircraft

Operators—Form 298–C.

Form No.: 298–C.

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Respondents: Small certificated and

commuter air carriers.

Number of Respondents: 100

Estimated Time Per Response: 16

hours for small certificated 7 hours for

commuters.

Total Annual Burden: 5,000 hours.

Needs and Uses: Program Uses of

Form 298–C Data.

Mail Rates

The Department of Transportation

(DOT) sets and updates the Intra-Alaska

Bush mail rates based on carrier

expense, traffic, and operational data.

Form 298–C cost data, especially fuel

costs, terminal expenses, and line haul

expenses are used in arriving at rate

levels. DOT revises the established rates

based on the percentage of unit cost

changes in the carriers’ operations.

These updating procedures have

resulted in the carriers receiving rates of

compensation that more closely parallel

their costs of providing mail service and

contribute to the carriers’ economic

well-being.

Essential Air Service

DOT also must determine a

community’s eligibility as an essential

air service (EAS) point. If the

community qualifies as an EAS point, a

determination is made as to what level

of service the community is entitled and

how much, if any, compensation must

be paid to air carriers that provide the

service.

After DOT has determined that a

community is eligible to receive EAS,

DOT often has to select a carrier to

provide the service. Some of the carrier

selection criteria are historic presence in

the community, reliability of carrier

service, financial stability of the carrier,

and carrier cost structure.

Carrier Fitness

Fitness determinations are made for

both new entrants and established U.S.

domestic carriers proposing a

substantial change in operations. A

portion of these applications consists of

an operating plan for the first year (14

CFR Part 204) and an associated

projection of revenues and expenses.

The carrier’s operating cost, included in

these projections, are compared against

the cost data in the Form 298–C file for

a carrier or carriers with the same

aircraft type and similar operating

characteristics. Such a review validates

the reasonableness of the carrier’s

operating plan.

The quarterly financial submissions

by commuter air carriers are used in

determining each carrier’s continuing

fitness to operate. Section 41738 of Title

49 of the United States Code requires

DOT to find all commuters fit, willing

and able to conduct passenger service as

a prerequisite to providing such service

to an eligible essential air service point.

In making a fitness determination, DOT

reviews three areas of a carrier’s

operation: (1) The qualifications of its

management team, (2) its disposition to

comply with laws and regulations, and

(3) its financial posture. DOT must

determine whether or not a carrier has

sufficient financial resources to conduct

its operations without imposing undue

risk on the traveling public. Moreover,

once a carrier is operating as a

commuter, DOT is required to monitor

its continuing fitness.

Industry Analysis

The Secretary, Deputy Secretary and

other senior DOT officials must be kept

fully informed and advised of all

current and developing economic issues

affecting the airline industry. This is

accomplished through the preparation

of testimony given before Congressional

committees, briefing and status papers,

speech preparation, and memoranda

recommending decisions or listing

available options.

The program methodologies under

this program are as varied as the nature

of the particular aviation policy issues

that confront senior DOT officials. In

preparing financial condition reports or

status reports on a particular airline,

financial and traffic data are analyzed.

Briefing papers may use the same

information as well as airport activity

data and market data. In summary, the

nature of a particular aviation issue

determines the particular methodology

used to prepare the analysis.

Safety Analysis

The FAA evaluates the adequacy of

aviation safety regulations, standards,

policies and procedures. Problem areas

are identified and recommendations are

developed for appropriate solutions.

Enplanement data are used in

evaluating the safety status of carriers.

Passenger-miles are used to calculate

fatality and injury rates, while aircraftmiles are used in performing risk

analysis and comparative analyses with

other traffic modes. Departure data are

used to calculate accident/incident

rates, developing rates of near misses,

and assessing the significance of the

incident of operational errors.

Forecasting

Traffic schedules are used to derive

air carrier operations at non-tower

airports. Historical aircraft departure

data are used to supplement and

validate other sources of Terminal Area

Forecasts (TAF). The aircraft operations

data in the TAF are needed by the

National Plan of Integrated Airports

System (NPIAS) to prepare airport

master plans. In addition, aircraft

operations forecast data in TAF are used

in developing benefit/cost ratios for

tower establishment and tower

discontinuance criteria, for supporting

decisions on the purchase of safety-
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Notices 6303

related avionics equipment, and for the

allocation of scarce resources for the

construction or expansion of runways

and other airport facilities.

Historical enplanement data are

required to produce short, medium, and

long range passenger demand forecasts

for all airports with passenger service.

These forecasts are presented in the

TAF data base, which contains

approximately 4,000 airports, including

all airports in the NPIAS. TAF

enplanement data are used in the

preparation of various airport master

plans and in response to requests for

specific airport information from

Congress, states, and the general public.

Historical passenger enplanement

data, aircraft departure data, and freight

and mail tons enplaned by airport are

all used to project air carrier traffic and

cargo activity levels for hub airports.

Cost/Benefit Analysis

Safety rules proposed by the FAA

operating units are submitted for

economic analysis. Under established

costing methodologies, which use

various cost and traffic data, accident

data, and risk analysis, the proposed

rules are evaluated on (1) a cost/benefit

basis, (2) regulatory flexibility basis and,

(3) an international trade impact basis.

Allocation of Airport and Airways

Improvement Funds

A revenue passenger enplanement

formula prescribed in the Airport and

Airway Improvement Act of 1982 is

used to determine the amount of funds

to be allocated to each airport. Form

298–C schedules that identify revenue

passengers enplaned at individual

airports in the United States and Trust

Territories, are used for the formula.

Since several airports in the national

system are heavily involved in air

freight, all-cargo data, such as revenue

tons enplaned and aircraft departures,

are used to plan for future needs of

those airports. Scheduled aircraft

departures by aircraft type by airport are

used in determining the practical

annual capacity (PANCAP) at airports,

as prescribed in FAA Advisory Circular

‘‘Airport Capacity Criteria Used in

Preparing the National Airport Plan.’’

PANCAP is a safety-related benchmark

measure which indicates when airport

management should be concerned about

capacity problems, delays and possible

needed airport expansion or runway

construction.

Noise Abatement

Air carrier traffic data by airport are

used in assessing the level and

frequency of service at individual

airports in order to determine the

environmental noise impact of carrier

operations. Also, aircraft operating data

are used to assess carrier compliance

with noise abatement agreements.

Timothy E. Carmody,

Director, Office of Airline Information,

Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

[FR Doc. 97–3331 Filed 2–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–FE–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

[CO–62–89]

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request For Regulation Project

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Department of the

Treasury, as part of its continuing effort

to reduce paperwork and respondent

burden, invites the general public and

other Federal agencies to take this

opportunity to comment on proposed

and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is

soliciting comments concerning an

existing final regulation, CO–62–89 (TD

8407), Final Regulations Under Section

382 of the Internal Revenue Code of

1986; Limitations on Corporate Net

Operating Loss Carryforwards (§ 1.382–

3).

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before April 14, 1997 to

be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Garrick R. Shear, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5571, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

should be directed to Carol Savage,

(202) 622–3945, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5569, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Final Regulations Under Section

382 of the Internal Revenue Code of

1986; Limitations on Corporate Net

Operating Loss Carryforwards.

OMB Number: 1545–1260.

Regulation Project Number: CO–62–

89.

Abstract: Internal Revenue Code

section 382(l)(5) provides relief from the

application of the section 382 limitation

for bankruptcy reorganizations in which

the pre-change shareholders and

qualified creditors maintain a

substantial continuing interest in the

loss corporation. These regulations

concern the election a taxpayer may

make to treat as the change date the

effective date of a plan of reorganization

in a title 11 or similar case rather than

the confirmation date of a plan.

Current Actions: There is no change to

this existing regulation.

Type of Review: Extension of OMB

approval.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

10.

Estimated Time Per Respondent: 5

minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 1.

The following paragraph applies to all

of the collections of information covered

by this notice:

An agency may not conduct or

sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information

unless the collection of information

displays a valid OMB control number.

Books or records relating to a collection

of information must be retained as long

as their contents may become material

in the administration of any internal

revenue law. Generally, tax returns and

tax return information are confidential,

as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.

Request for Comments

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval. All comments will become a

matter of public record. Comments are

invited on: (a) Whether the collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information shall have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the collection of

information; (c) ways to enhance the

quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; (d) ways to

minimize the burden of the collection of

information on respondents, including

through the use of automated collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology; and (e) estimates of capital

or start-up costs and costs of operation,

maintenance, and purchase of services

to provide information.

Approved: February 5, 1997.

Garrick R. Shear,

IRS Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–3400 Filed 1–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–U