58146 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 27, 2000 / Notices

OMB Control Number: 2125–0033

(Expiration Date: November 30, 2000).

Title: Statement of Materials and

Labor Used by Contractor on Highway

Construction Involving Federal Funds.

Abstract: The Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA) compiles data

on Federal-aid highway construction

contracts of $1 million or more and

located on the National Highway

System to establish highway

construction usage factors. These usage

factors quantify materials used, such as

cement and bitumen, and the amount of

aggregates produced and purchased by

the contractor. Also quantified are the

total labor hours utilized and associated

gross earnings. Provisions in 23 CFR

635.126 facilitate the FHWA’s efforts to

compile this data, which is submitted to

the FHWA by contractors and State

Departments of Transportation on Form

FHWA–47, Statement of Materials and

Labor Used by Contractors on Highway

Construction Involving Federal Funds.

FHWA’s estimates of current material

usage and cost distribution on Federalaid highway construction contracts are

used by materials suppliers, highway

contractors, engineers, economists and

others to plan for future needs of the

highway construction program and to

document information on the usage of

materials and labor in highway

construction.

Affected Public: Federal-aid highway

construction contractors and

Departments of Transportation for the

50 States, Puerto Rico and the District

of Columbia.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 8,450. There are an estimated

1,300 required reports annually.

Approximately 433 contractors submit

an average of 3 forms per year which

require an average of 5 hours to

complete. The estimated burden hours

for the contractors to complete Part B of

the form is 6,500 (433 contractors × 15

hours each) or (1,300 projects × 5 hours

each). In addition, 52 Transportation

Departments, including Puerto Rico and

the District of Columbia, complete Part

A on an average of 25 forms annually,

requiring approximately one and one

half (1.5) hours each. The estimated

burden hours for the Transportation

Departments is 1,950 (52 × 25 forms ×

1.5 hours each).

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended;

and 49 CFR 1.48.

Issued on: September 21, 2000.

James R. Kabel,

Chief, Management Programs and Analysis

Division.

[FR Doc. 00–24742 Filed 9–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–U

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) 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 New York, Susquehanna and

Western Railway Corporation (Waiver

Petition Docket Number FRA–2000–

7414)

The New York, Susquehanna and

Western Railway Corporation (NYSW)

seeks a waiver of compliance from the

provisions of the Track Safety

Standards, 49 CFR 213.237(a), regarding

the continuous search of rail for internal

defects. The NYSW operates infrequent

seasonal passenger excursion trains over

portions of three separate low tonnage

main lines which are classified as Class

3 track and therefore, due to the

operation of passenger trains, require a

yearly inspection for internal rail

defects.

The NYSW is petitioning for a waiver

which would allow them to schedule

inspections for internal rail defects on a

tonnage based frequency, which would

be the requirement of the Track Safety

Standards absent any passenger train

operation over these specific portions of

track. The petitioner cites the low

volume of traffic, the virtual nonexistent history of train derailments

over these track segments, and the

NYSW’s policy of performing visual

track inspections prior to the operation

of each passenger excursion trains as

arguments in favor of relief.

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 2000–7414) 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 45

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.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on September

21, 2000.

Edward R. English,

Director, Office of Safety, Assurance and

Compliance.

[FR Doc. 00–24715 Filed 9–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33407]

Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad

Corporation Construction Into the

Powder River Basin

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Draft

Environmental Impact Statement and

notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The Dakota, Minnesota &

Eastern Railroad Corporation (DM&E)

has filed an application with the Surface

Transportation Board (Board) for

authority to construct and operate new

rail line facilities in east-central

Wyoming, southwest South Dakota, and

south-central Minnesota. The project,

known as the Powder River Basin

Expansion Project, involves

approximately 280.9 miles of new rail

line construction and would extend

DM&E’s existing rail line from Wall,

South Dakota west to coal mines in

Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.

Additionally, DM&E proposes to rebuild

approximately 597.8 miles of existing

rail line along its current system to

standards acceptable for operation of

unit coal trains. The project would

require actions by a number of Federal

agencies, including the Board, the U.S.

Department of Agriculture Forest

Service (USFS), the U.S. Department of

the Interior Bureau of Land Management

(BLM), the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers (COE), the U.S. Department of

the Interior Bureau of Reclamation