14388 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 58 / Wednesday, March 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules

an arbitration award on certain limited

grounds.

§ 1108.8 Arbitration procedures.

(a) The Arbitrator will establish rules,

including timetables, for each

arbitration proceeding.

(1) The evidentiary process will be

completed within 90 days from the start

date established by the Arbitrator. The

Arbitrator’s decision will be issued

within 30 days from the close of the

record.

(2) Discovery will be permitted only

with the agreement of the parties or as

directed by the Arbitrator.

(b) Evidence will be submitted under

oath. Evidence may be submitted in

writing or orally, at the direction of the

Arbitrator. Hearings for the purpose of

cross-examining witnesses will be

permitted at the sound discretion of the

Arbitrator. The Arbitrator, at his/her

discretion, may require additional

evidence.

(c) Subject to alteration by the

Arbitrator in individual proceedings, as

a general rule where evidence is

submitted in written form, the

complaining party will proceed first,

and the defendant will proceed next.

The parties will then be given an

opportunity to file simultaneous replies.

At the discretion of the Arbitrator,

argument may be submitted with each

evidentiary filing or in the form of a

brief after the submission of all

evidence. Pagination limits will be set

by each Arbitrator for all written

submissions of other than an

evidentiary nature.

(d) Any written document, such as a

common carrier rate schedule, upon

which a party relies should be

submitted as part of that party’s proof,

in whole or in relevant part. The

Arbitrator will not be bound by formal

rules of evidence, but will avoid basing

a decision entirely or largely on

unreliable proof.

(e) Where proof submitted to an

Arbitrator addresses railroad costs, such

proof should be prepared in accordance

with the standards employed by the

STB in ascertaining the costs at issue.

(f) Where the Arbitrator is advised

that any party to an arbitration

proceeding wishes to keep matters

relating to the arbitration confidential,

the Arbitrator shall take such measures

as are reasonably necessary to ensure

that such matters are treated

confidentially by the parties or their

representatives and are not disclosed by

the Arbitrator to non-authorized

persons. If the Arbitrator regards any

confidential submission as being

essential to his/her written decision,

such information may be included in

the decision, but the Arbitrator will

make every effort to omit confidential

information from his/her written

decision.

§ 1108.9 Decisions.

(a) Decisions of the Arbitrator shall be

in writing and shall contain findings of

fact and conclusions. All such Decisions

shall be served by the Arbitrator by

hand delivery or overnight mail on the

parties and the STB.

(b) By agreeing to arbitrate pursuant to

these procedures, each party agrees that

the decision and award of the Arbitrator

shall be binding and judicially

enforceable in law and equity in any

court of appropriate jurisdiction, subject

to a limited right of appeal to the STB

as provided below.

§ 1108.10 Precedent.

Arbitration decisions rendered

pursuant to these procedures shall have

no precedential value.

§ 1108.11 Enforcement and appeals.

(a) An arbitration decision rendered

pursuant to these procedures may be

appealed to the STB within 20 days of

service of such decision. Any such

appeal shall be served by hand delivery

or overnight mail on the parties and the

STB. Replies to such appeals may be

filed within 20 days of service of the

appeal. An appeal or a reply under this

paragraph shall not exceed 20 pages in

length. The filing fee for such appeal

will be as set forth in 49 CFR

1002.2(f)(87).

(b) The filing of an appeal, as allowed

in paragraph (a) of § 1108.11,

automatically will stay an arbitration

decision pending disposition of the

appeal. The STB will decide any such

appeal within 30 days of the date on

which the reply is due. Such decision

by the STB shall be served in

accordance with normal STB service

procedures.

(c) The STB will only review cases

involving issues of general

transportation importance. The STB

may vacate or amend an arbitration

award, in whole or in part, only on the

grounds that such award:

(1) Exceeds the STB’s statutory

jurisdiction; or

(2) Does not take its essence from the

ICCTA.

(d) Effective arbitration decisions

rendered pursuant to these procedures,

whether or not appealed to the STB,

may only be enforced in accordance

with 9 U.S.C. 9 and vacated by a court

in accordance with 9 U.S.C. 10.

§ 1108.12 Additional matters.

Where an arbitration demand is filed

by one or more plaintiffs against one or

more defendants, the plaintiffs as a

group and the defendants as a group

shall be entitled to exercise those rights,

with respect to the selection of

arbitrators, as are conferred on

individual arbitration parties.

[FR Doc. 97–7663 Filed 3–25–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 021097C]

New England Fishery Management

Council; Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council; Reopening of

Comment Period

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Public hearings; reopening of

comment period.

SUMMARY: The New England and MidAtlantic Fishery Management Councils

(Councils) held public hearings to

receive comments on Amendment 9 to

the Northeast Multispecies Fishery

Management Plan (FMP). The Councils

are reopening the comment period to

allow additional time for all interested

parties to submit written comments.

DATES: The comment period, which

closed on March 14, 1997, is reopened

through April 1, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or

requests for copies of the public hearing

document, draft Amendment 9

document, or the draft Supplemental

Environmental Impact Statement should

be directed to Paul J. Howard, Executive

Director, New England Fishery

Management Council, 5 Broadway,

Saugus, MA 01906; telephone 617–231–

0422, or David Keifer, Executive

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council, 300 South New

Street, Suite 2115, Dover, DE 19901;

telephone 302–674–2331.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

J. Howard, 617–231–0422.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

February 21, 1997 (62 FR 7991), NMFS

published a notification of public

hearings on Amendment 9 to the FMP

and comments were solicited through

March 14, 1997. The Councils are aware

of the public interest in the management

measures being proposed for the

monkfish fishery and want to allow
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 58 / Wednesday, March 26, 1997 / Proposed Rules 14389

interested parties additional time to

comment.

Amendment 9 to the FMP would

bring monkfish under Federal

management authority through the

Northeast region (Virginia to Maine).

The Councils are considering two

management areas for monkfish, a

northern fishery management area and a

southern fishery management area based

on the differences in fisheries in the

Gulf of Maine versus areas to the south.

Total allowable landings targets already

have been established for the two

fishery management areas and are

consistent with the monkfish

overfishing definition and a rebuilding

strategy adopted by the Councils.

A limited access program for vessels

that target and land large volumes of

monkfish would be based on historic

participation in the fishery. These

limited access vessels could target

monkfish under a seasonal quota or

under a limited number of days-at-sea,

depending on the management

measures in the final amendment. Trip

limits would be used to control

monkfish bycatch.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: March 20, 1997.

George H. Darcy,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–7719 Filed 3–25–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F