Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 25, 2000 / Notices 63907

documents the working group

determines to be appropriate; or, if new

or revised requirements or compliance

methods are not recommended, a draft

report stating the rationale for not

making such recommendations.

4. Provide a status report at each

meeting of the ARAC held to consider

Transport Airplane and Engine issues.

The Secretary of Transportation has

determined that the formation and use

of the ARAC are necessary and in the

public interest in connection with the

performance of duties imposed on the

FAA by law.

Meetings of the ARAC will be open to

the public. Meetings of the General

Structures Harmonization Working

Group will not be open to the public,

except to the extent that individuals

with an interest and expertise are

selected to participate. No public

announcement of working group

meetings will be made.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 18,

2000.

Anthony F. Fazio,

Executive Director, Aviation Rulemaking

Advisory Committee.

[FR Doc. 00–27332 Filed 10–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Harmonization Initiatives

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation

Administration and the Joint Aviation

Authorities will convene a meeting to

accept input from the public on the

Harmonization Work Program. The

Harmonization Work Program is the

means by which the Federal Aviation

Administration and the Joint Aviation

Authorities carry out a commitment to

harmonize, to the maximum extent

possible, the rules regarding the

certification, operation and maintenance

of civil aircraft, and the standards,

practices, and procedures governing the

design, materials, workmanship, and

construction of civil aircraft, aircraft

engines, and other components. The

purpose of the meeting is to provide an

opportunity for the public to submit

input to the Harmonization Work

Program. This notice announces the

date, time, location and procedures for

the public meeting.

DATES: The public meeting will be held

on November 28 and November 30,

2000, starting at 10:30 a.m. each day.

Industry comments, presentations and

proposals must be received on or before

November 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be

held at the Latham Hotel, 3000 M Street,

NW., Washington, DC, 20007.

Persons unable to attend the meeting

may mail their comments in triplicate

to: Brenda Courtney, Federal Aviation

Administration, Office of Rulemaking

(ARM–200), 800 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, DC 20591. You may

also submit your comments to Brenda

Courtney by e-mail:

brenda.courtney@faa.gov or by facsimile

at (202) 267–5075.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests to attend and present a

statement at the meeting or questions

regarding the logistics of the meeting

should be directed to Brenda Courtney,

Office of Rulemaking, 800

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202)

267–3327, e-mail:

brenda.courtney@faa.gov; or facsimile at

(202) 267–3327.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA) and the

Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) will

convene a meeting to accept input from

the public on the Harmonization Work

Program. The meeting will be held on

November 28 and November 30, 2000, at

the Latham Hotel, 3000 M Street, NW.,

Washington, DC beginning at 10:30 a.m.

each day. The agenda will include:

November 28, 2000

Review of Action Items from the

March 2000 Public Meeting

Review of Action Items from the

FAA/JAA 17th Annual Conference

Presentations from the Public

Nobember 30, 2000

FAA, JAA and Transport Canada

News of Interest

General Session—Response to

Industry Issues and Concerns

The Latham Hotel is located in the

Georgetown area of Washington, DC. It

is approximately 6 blocks from the

Foggy Bottom/George Washington

University Metrorail Stop (blue/orange

lines). The hotel is approximately 6

miles from Washington Reagan National

Airport, 25 miles from Dulles

International Airport, and 40 miles from

Baltimore/Washington International

Airport. Parking is available for $20 per

night for individuals who will be

lodging at the hotel. For those

individuals who plan to attend the

meeting, but will not stay at the hotel,

parking at the hotel will be $10 per day.

For hotel reservations at the Latham

Hotel, please call (202) 726–5000 or 1–

800–368–5922. Conference attendees

should advise the hotel that you plan to

attend the ‘‘FAA/JAA Harmonization

Meeting’’. The corporate rate offered for

those attending the meeting is $129 plus

141⁄2 percent sales tax or $147.71 per

night for a single room. An additional

$20 will be charged for double

occupancy. Note that there is a 24-hour

cancellation policy. The hotel will hold

a block of rooms at this rate until

October 26.

Participation at the Meeting

The FAA should receive requests

from persons who wish to present oral

and written statements at the public

meeting no later than November 10,

2000. Statements and presentations

should be provided on diskette or

forwarded by e-mail to the person

identified under the caption FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to be

made part of the official minutes of the

meeting. Requests to present oral

statements received after November 10

will be scheduled if time is available

during the meeting.

Meeting Procedures

The following procedures are

established to facilitate the meeting:

(1) There will be no admission fee or

other charge to attend or to participate

in the meeting. The meeting will be

open to all persons who have requested

in advance to present statements or who

register on the day of the meeting,

subject to availability of space in the

meeting room.

(2) The meeting may adjourn early if

scheduled speakers complete their

statements in less than the time

scheduled for the meeting.

(3) The FAA will try to accommodate

all speakers. If the available time does

not permit this, speakers generally will

be scheduled on a first-come-first-served

basis. However, the FAA reserves the

right to exclude some speakers if

necessary to present a balance of

viewpoints and issues.

(4) Sign and oral interpretation can be

made available at the meeting, as well

as an assistive listening device, if

requested at the above number listed

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT at least 10 calendar days before

the meeting.

(5) Representatives from FAA and

JAA will preside over the meeting.

(6) The FAA and JAA will review and

consider all material presented by

participants at the meeting. Position

papers or material presenting views or

information related to proposed

harmonization initiatives may be

accepted at the discretion of the FAA

and JAA. The FAA requests that persons

participating in the meeting provide

copies of all materials to be presented.

63908 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 25, 2000 / Notices

Copies may be provided to the audience

at the discretion of the participant.

(7) Statements made by the FAA and

JAA are intended to facilitate discussion

of issues or to clarify issues. Any

statement made during the meeting by

an official is not intended to be, and

should not be construed as, a position

of the FAA or JAA.

(8) The meeting is designed to solicit

public views and more complete

information on proposed harmonization

initiatives. Therefore, the meeting will

be conducted in an informal and

nonadversarial manner. No individual

will be subject to cross-examination by

any other participant; however, panel

members may ask questions to clarify a

statement and to ensure a complete and

accurate record.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 18,

2000.

Brenda D. Courtney,

Manager, Aircraft and Airport Rules Division.

[FR Doc. 00–27333 Filed 10–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

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

from certain requirements of its safety

regulations. 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 favour of relief.

Texas Parks and Wildlife

[Docket Number FRA–2000–7270]

Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) seeks

a permanent waiver of compliance from

49 CFR 232.17(b)(2) to extend the clean,

oil, test, and stencil (COT&S) period

from 15 to 48 months on passenger cars

they operate equipped with UC and L

type air brakes. TPW operates the Texas

State Railroad between Rusk and

Palestine, Texas. They have two cars

equipped with L type brakes and the

rest have UC type brakes. Section

232.17(b)(2) requires that brake

equipment on passenger cars must be

clean, repaired, lubricated and tested as

often as necessary to maintain it in a

safe and suitable condition for service

but not less frequently than as required

in Standard S–045 in the Manual of

Standards and Recommended Practices

of the Association of American

Railroads. Standard S–045, A-III–256,

Section 2.1.2, requires a COT&S every

15 months for this brake equipment.

TPW has concluded that a car that runs

on a passenger railroad using a 15

month cycle would be legal for 10,800

hours. TPW has calculated that if the

equipment is in service only 60 percent

of the 15 month cycle, then only 6,480

hours would be used. TPW claims that

all of their annual runs, including

specials and school runs, only total

1,100 hours a year. Therefore, TPW

would like to extend the COT&S time

period to 48 months, which would be

less than 4,400 hours of actual service

time.

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 FRA–2000–

7270) and must be submitted in

triplicate to the Docket Clerk, DOT

Central Docket Management Facility,

Room PL–401, Washington, DC. 20590–

0001. 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 (9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.) at

DOT Central Docket Management

Facility, Room PL–401 (Plaza Level),

400 Seventh Street S.W., Washington,

DC. 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, DC, on October 18,

2000.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Standards and Program Development.

[FR Doc. 00–27318 Filed 10–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

Notice of Application for Approval of

Discontinuance or Modification of a

Railroad Signal System or Relief From

the Requirements of Title 49 Code of

Federal Regulations Part 236

Pursuant to Title 49 Code of Federal

Regulations (CFR) part 235 and 49

U.S.C. App. 26, the following railroads

have petitioned the Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA) seeking approval

for the discontinuance or modification

of the signal system or relief from the

requirements of 49 CFR part 236 as

detailed below.

Docket No. FRA–2000–7634.

Applicant: Burlington Northern and

Santa Fe Railway, Mr. William G.

Peterson, Director Signal Engineering,

4515 Kansas Avenue, Kansas City,

Kansas 66106.

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe

Railway (BNSF) seeks conditional relief

from the requirements of Title 49 CFR,

part 236, § 236.102(b) of the Rules,

Standards, and Instructions, for the

entire BNSF system, to the extent that

those searchlight signal mechanisms,

that have circuitry designed to

automatically detect a sticking

mechanism and automatically protect

for the safety of train movements, not be

required to be inspected and the

mechanical movement of the

mechanism observed operating to all

positions, at least once every six

months.

Applicants’ justification for relief:

Stuck mechanism circuits used in Vital

Harmon Logic Controllers (VHLC),

Wayside Interface Units (WIU),

Microprocessor based coded track and

control equipment, and relay based

stuck mechanism circuits, continuously

monitor searchlight mechanisms.

Any interested party desiring to

protest the granting of an application

shall set forth specifically the grounds

upon which the protest is made and

contain a concise statement of the

interest of the Protestant in the

proceeding. Additionally, one copy of

the protest shall be furnished to the

applicant at the address listed above.

All communications concerning this

proceeding should be identified by the

docket number and must be submitted

to the Docket Clerk, DOT Central Docket

Management Facility, Room PL–401,

Washington, DC 20590–0001.

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