10616 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Notices 

2Cooper’s petition, which was filed under 49 CFR 

part 556, requests an agency decision to exempt 

Cooper as a manufacturer from the notification and 

recall responsibilities of 49 CFR part 573 for the 

affected tires. However, a decision on this petition 

cannot relieve distributors and dealers of the 

prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or 

introduction or delivery for introduction into 

interstate commerce of the noncompliant tires 

under their control after Cooper notified them that 

the subject noncompliance existed. 

Cooper points out that NHTSA has 

previously granted similar petitions for 

non-compliances in sidewall marking. 

In summation, Cooper believes that 

the described noncompliance of its tires 

to meet the requirements of FMVSS No. 

139 is inconsequential to motor vehicle 

safety, and that its petition, to exempt 

from providing recall notification of 

noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 

30118 and remedying the recall 

noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 

30120 should be granted. 

NHTSA Decision: The agency agrees 

with Cooper that the noncompliance is 

inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 

The agency believes that the true 

measure of inconsequentiality to motor 

vehicle safety in this case is that there 

is no effect of the noncompliances on 

the operational safety of the vehicles on 

which these tires are mounted. The 

safety of people working in the tire 

retread, repair, and recycling industries 

must also be considered. Although tire 

construction affects the strength and 

durability, neither the agency nor the 

tire industry provides information 

relating tire strength and durability to 

the number of plies and types of ply 

cord material in the tread and sidewall. 

Therefore, tire dealers and customers 

should consider the tire construction 

information along with other 

information such as load capacity, 

maximum inflation pressure, and tread 

wear, temperature, and traction ratings, 

to assess performance capabilities of 

various tires. In the agency’s judgment, 

the incorrect labeling of the tire 

construction information will have an 

inconsequential effect on motor vehicle 

safety because most consumers do not 

base tire purchases or vehicle operation 

parameters on the ply material in a tire. 

The agency also believes the 

noncompliance will have no measurable 

effect on the safety of the tire retread, 

repair, and recycling industries. The use 

of steel cord construction in the 

sidewall and tread is the primary safety 

concern of these industries. In this case, 

since the tire sidewalls do not contain 

steel plies, this potential safety concern 

does not exist. 

NHTSA notes that the statutory 

provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to 

file petitions for a determination of 

inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to 

exempt manufacturers only from the 

duties found in sections 30118 and 

30120, respectively, to notify owners, 

purchasers, and dealers of a defect or 

noncompliance and to remedy the 

defect or noncompliance. Therefore, this 

decision only applies to the 6,964 2 tires 

that Cooper no longer controlled at the 

time that it determined that a 

noncompliance existed in the subject 

tires. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

NHTSA has decided that Cooper has 

met its burden of persuasion that the 

subject FMVSS No. 139 labeling 

noncompliances are inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, 

Cooper’s petition is granted and the 

petitioner is exempted from the 

obligation of providing notification of, 

and a remedy for, the subject 

noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 

and 30120. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: 

delegations of authority at CFR 1.50 and 

501.8. 

Issued on: February 15, 2012. 

Claude H. Harris, 

Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4030 Filed 2–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration 

Advisory Council on Transportation 

Statistics; Notice of Meeting 

AGENCY: Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration (RITA), 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice. 

This notice announces, pursuant to 

Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA) (Pub. L. 72–363; 

5 U.S.C. app. 2), a meeting of the 

Advisory Council on Transportation 

Statistics (ACTS). The meeting will be 

held on Tuesday, March 6, from 9 a.m. 

to 4:30 p.m. EST in the Oklahoma City 

Room at the U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. 

SE., Washington, DC. Section 5601(o) of 

the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 

Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 

Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) directs 

the U.S. Department of Transportation 

to establish an Advisory Council on 

Transportation Statistics subject to the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

U.S.C. app. 2) to advise the Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics (BTS) on the 

quality, reliability, consistency, 

objectivity, and relevance of 

transportation statistics and analyses 

collected, supported, or disseminated by 

the Bureau and the Department. 

The following is a summary of the 

draft meeting agenda: (1) USDOT 

welcome and introduction of Council 

Members; (2) Overview of prior meeting; 

(3) Discussion of the FY 2013 budget; (4) 

Update on BTS data programs and 

future plans; (5) Council Members 

review and discussion of BTS programs 

and plans; (6) Public Comments and 

Closing Remarks. Participation is open 

to the public. Members of the public 

who wish to participate must notify 

Courtney Freiberg at 

Courtney.Freiberg@dot.gov, not later 

than February 24, 2012. Members of the 

public may present oral statements at 

the meeting with the approval of 

Patricia Hu, Director of the Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics. Noncommittee 

members wishing to present oral 

statements or obtain information should 

contact Courtney Freiberg via email no 

later than February 17, 2012. 

Questions about the agenda or written 

comments may be emailed or submitted 

by U.S. Mail to: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics, Attention: 

Courtney Freiberg, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room # E34–429, 

Washington, DC 20590, 

Courtney.Freiberg@dot.gov, or faxed to 

(202) 366–3640. BTS requests that 

written comments be received by 

February 17, 2012. Access to the DOT 

Headquarters building is controlled; 

therefore, all persons who plan to attend 

the meeting must notify Courtney 

Freiberg at 202–366–1270 prior to 

February 27, 2012. Individuals 

attending the meeting must report to the 

main DOT entrance on New Jersey 

Avenue SE. for admission to the 

building. Attendance is open to the 

public, but limited space is available. 

Persons with a disability requiring 

special services, such as an interpreter 

for the hearing impaired, should contact 

Courtney Freiberg at 202–366–1270 at 

least seven calendar days prior to the 

meeting. Notice of this meeting is 

provided in accordance with the FACA 

and the General Services 

Administration regulations (41 CFR part 

102–3) covering management of Federal 

advisory committees. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Notices 10617 

1The Board will grant a stay if an informed 

decision on environmental issues (whether raised 

by a party or by the Board’s Office of Environmental 

Analysis (OEA) in its independent investigation) 

cannot be made before the exemption’s effective 

date. See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5 

I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any request for a stay should 

be filed as soon as possible so that the Board may 

take appropriate action before the exemption’s 

effective date. 

2Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing 

fee, which is currently set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 

1002.2(f)(25). 

Issued in Washington, DC, on the 10th day 

of February, 2012. 

Deborah Johnson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3849 Filed 2–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–HY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[Docket No. AB 55 (Sub-No. 714X)] 

CSX Transportation, Inc.— 

Abandonment Exemption—in 

Vermillion County, IL. 

CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), has 

filed a verified notice of exemption 

under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F— 

Exempt Abandonments to abandon an 

approximately 0.4-mile rail line on its 

Northern Region, Chicago Division, 

Woodland Subdivision, between 

mileposts QSK 3.6 and QSK 4.0 at the 

end of the track, in Danville, Vermillion 

County, IL. The line traverses United 

States Postal Service Zip Code 61832. 

CSXT has certified that: (1) No local 

traffic has moved over the line for at 

least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead 

traffic on the line; (3) no formal 

complaint filed by a user of rail service 

on the line (or by a state or local 

government entity acting on behalf of 

such user) regarding cessation of service 

over the line either is pending with the 

Surface Transportation Board (Board) or 

with any U.S. District Court or has been 

decided in favor of complainant within 

the 2-year period; and (4) the 

requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(c) 

(environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.11 

(transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 

(newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 

1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental 

agencies) have been met. 

As a condition to this exemption, any 

employee adversely affected by the 

abandonment shall be protected under 

Oregon Short Line Railroad— 

Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch 

Between Firth & Ammon, in Bingham & 

Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 

91 (1979). To address whether this 

condition adequately protects affected 

employees, a petition for partial 

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

must be filed. 

Provided no formal expression of 

intent to file an offer of financial 

assistance (OFA) has been received, this 

exemption will be effective on March 

23, 2012, unless stayed pending 

reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do 

not involve environmental issues,1

formal expressions of intent to file an 

OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),2 and 

trail use/rail banking requests under 49 

CFR 1152.29 must be filed by March 5, 

2012. Petitions to reopen or requests for 

public use conditions under 49 CFR 

1152.28 must be filed by March 13, 

2012, with the Surface Transportation 

Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, 

DC 20423–0001. 

A copy of any petition filed with the 

Board should be sent to CSXT’s 

representative: Louis E. Gitomer, 600 

Baltimore Ave., Suite 301, Towson, MD 

21204. 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. 

CSXT has filed a combined 

environmental and historic report 

which addresses the effects, if any, of 

the abandonment on the environment 

and historic resources. OEA will issue 

an environmental assessment (EA) by 

February 27, 2012. Interested persons 

may obtain a copy of the EA by writing 

to OEA (Room 1100, Surface 

Transportation Board, Washington, DC 

20423–0001) or by calling OEA at (202) 

245–0305. Assistance for the hearing 

impaired is available through the 

Federal Information Relay Service at 1– 

800–877–8339. Comments on 

environmental and historic preservation 

matters must be filed within 15 days 

after the EA becomes available to the 

public. 

Environmental, historic preservation, 

public use, or trail use/rail banking 

conditions will be imposed, where 

appropriate, in a subsequent decision. 

Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 

1152.29(e)(2), CSXT shall file a notice of 

consummation with the Board to signify 

that it has exercised the authority 

granted and fully abandoned the line. If 

consummation has not been effected by 

CSXT’s filing of a notice of 

consummation by February 22, 2013, 

and there are no legal or regulatory 

barriers to consummation, the authority 

to abandon will automatically expire. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: February 13, 2012. 

By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3915 Filed 2–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[Docket No. FD 35595] 

Wellsboro & Corning Railroad, LLC— 

Acquisition and Operation 

Exemption—Wellsboro & Corning 

Railroad Company 

Wellsboro & Corning Railroad, LLC 

(WCLLC), a noncarrier, has filed a 

verified notice of exemption under 49 

CFR 1150.31 to acquire from Wellsboro 

& Corning Railroad Company and to 

operate approximately 35.5 miles of rail 

line between milepost 109.90 at 

Wellsboro, Pa., and milepost 74.70 at 

Erwin, NY, in Tioga County, PA, and 

Steuben County, NY. 

WCLLC states that it intends to 

interchange traffic with Norfolk 

Southern Railway Company and 

Canadian Pacific Railway Company. 

The transaction is scheduled to be 

consummated on or after March 7, 2012 

(30 days after the notice of exemption 

was filed). 

WCLLC certifies that its projected 

annual revenues as a result of this 

transaction will not result in its 

becoming a Class II or Class I rail carrier 

and will not exceed $5 million. 

If the verified 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 effectiveness of 

the exemption. Petitions to stay must be 

filed no later than February 29, 2012 (at 

least 7 days before the exemption 

becomes effective). 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 

35595, must be filed with the Surface 

Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20423–0001. In 

addition, a copy of each pleading must 

be served on Louis E. Gitomer, 600 

Baltimore Ave., Suite 301, Towson, MD 

21204. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: February 13, 2012. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES