Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / Notices 18435 

2ESC originally indicated that it would 

consummate the abandonment on or after May 21, 

2009. But counsel for EDC has been notified that the 

earliest this transaction may be consummated is 

May 22, 2009. 

3The Board will grant a stay if an informed 

decision on environmental issues (whether raised 

by a party or by the Board’s Section of 

Environmental Analysis (SEA) in its independent 

investigation) cannot be made before the 

exemption’s effective date. See Exemption of Outof-Service 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. 

4Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing 

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

1002.2(f)(25). 

1UP’s notice of exemption stated May 21, 2009, 

as the date of consummation. UP’s counsel was 

notified that May 22, 2009, is the earliest day that 

the discontinuance may be consummated (50 days 

after the filed date). 

2Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing 

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

1002.2(f)(25). 

3 In discontinuance proceedings, trail use/rail 

banking and public use conditions are not 

appropriate. Likewise, no environmental or 

historical documentation is required here under 49 

CFR 1105.6(c) and 1105.8(b), respectively. As part 

of their notice of exemption, UP also requests 

authority to temporarily remove the track structure 

and any related highway grade crossing signal 

systems to provide highway vehicles with 

unobstructed passage over grade crossings. UP 

acknowledges that they are obligated to reinstall 

track and any grade crossing signal systems at its 

sole expense should operations on the line be 

reinstated. 

EDC has certified that: (1) No local 

traffic has moved over the line for at 

least 2 years; (2) there has been no 

overhead traffic on the line since EDC 

acquired it in 2005, and any previous 

overhead traffic has been rerouted; (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 

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 

(environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.8 

(historic 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 R. Co.— 

Abandonment—Goshen, 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 May 22, 

2009, unless stayed pending 

reconsideration.2 Petitions to stay that 

do not involve environmental issues,3

formal expressions of intent to file an 

OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),4 and 

trail use/rail banking requests under 49 

CFR 1152.29 must be filed by May 4, 

2009. Petitions to reopen or requests for 

public use conditions under 49 CFR 

1152.28 must be filed by May 12, 2009, 

with: Surface Transportation Board, 395 

E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423– 

0001. 

A copy of any petition filed with the 

Board should be sent to EDC’s 

representative: Eric M. Hocky, Thorp, 

Reed & Armstrong, LLP, One Commerce 

Square, 2005 Market Street, Suite 1910, 

Philadelphia, PA 19103. 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. 

EDC has filed a combined 

environmental and historic report 

addressing the effects, if any, of the 

abandonment on the environment and 

historic resources. SEA will issue an 

environmental assessment (EA) by April 

27, 2009. Interested persons may obtain 

a copy of the EA by writing to SEA 

(Room 1100, Surface Transportation 

Board, Washington, DC 20423–0001) or 

by calling SEA at (202) 245–0305. 

[Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) 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), EDC 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 

EDC’s filing of a notice of 

consummation by April 22, 2010, 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 http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: April 10, 2009. 

By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–8855 Filed 4–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Docket No. AB–33 (Sub-No. 204X)] 

Union Pacific Railroad Company— 

Discontinuance of Service 

Exemption—in Washington County, 

MO 

Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) 

has filed a notice of exemption under 49 

CFR Part 1152 Subpart F—Exempt 

Abandonment and Discontinuances of 

Service to discontinue service over the 

Pea Ridge Subdivision, a 20.67-mile line 

of railroad, extending from milepost 

63.75, near New Fountain Farm, to 

milepost 84.42, near Pea Ridge, in 

Washington County, MO. The line 

traverses United States Postal Service 

Zip Code 93635. 

UP 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 

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 of 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 R. Co.— 

Abandonment—Goshen, 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 May 22, 

2009,1 unless stayed pending 

reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do 

not involve environmental issues and 

formal expressions of intent to file an 

OFA for continued rail service under 49 

CFR 1152.27(c)(2),2 must be filed by 

May 4, 2009.3 Petitions to reopen must 

be filed by May 12, 2009, 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 UP’s 

representative: Mack H. Shumate, Jr., 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
18436 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / Notices 

101 North Wacker Drive, Room 1920, 

Chicago, IL 60606. 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: April 10, 2009. 

By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–8765 Filed 4–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[FMCSA Docket No. FMCSA–2009–0055] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Diabetes 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to exempt twenty-four 

individuals from its rule prohibiting 

persons with insulin-treated diabetes 

mellitus (ITDM) from operating 

commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in 

interstate commerce. The exemptions 

will enable these individuals to operate 

CMVs in interstate commerce. 

DATES: The exemptions are effective 

April 22, 2009. The exemptions expire 

on April 22, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Director, Medical 

Programs, (202) 366–4001, 

fmcsamedical@dot.gov, FMCSA, Room 

W64–224, Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 

5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

You may see all the comments online 

through the Federal Document 

Management System (FDMS) at: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov and/or Room 

W12–140 on the ground level of the 

West Building, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Privacy Act: Anyone may search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of DOT’s dockets by 

the name of the individual submitting 

the comment (or of the person signing 

the comment, if submitted on behalf of 

an association, business, labor union, or 

other entity). You may review DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement in the 

Federal Register (65 FR 19477, Apr. 11, 

2000). This statement is also available at 

http://Docketinfo.dot.gov. 

Background 

On March 4, 2009, FMCSA published 

a notice of receipt of Federal diabetes 

exemption applications from fifty-six 

individuals, and requested comments 

from the public (74 FR 9467). The 

public comment period closed on April 

3, 2009 and no comments were 

received. 

FMCSA has evaluated the eligibility 

of the twenty-four applicants and 

determined that granting the 

exemptions to these individuals would 

achieve a level of safety equivalent to, 

or greater than, the level that would be 

achieved by complying with the current 

regulation 49 CFR 391.41(b)(3). 

Diabetes Mellitus and Driving 

Experience of the Applicants 

The Agency established the current 

standard for diabetes in 1970 because 

several risk studies indicated that 

diabetic drivers had a higher rate of 

crash involvement than the general 

population. The diabetes rule provides 

that ‘‘A person is physically qualified to 

drive a commercial motor vehicle if that 

person has no established medical 

history or clinical diagnosis of diabetes 

mellitus currently requiring insulin for 

control’’ (49 CFR 391.41(b)(3)). 

FMCSA established its diabetes 

exemption program, based on the 

Agency’s July 2000 study entitled ‘‘A 

Report to Congress on the Feasibility of 

a Program to Qualify Individuals with 

Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus to 

Operate in Interstate Commerce as 

Directed by the Transportation Act for 

the 21st Century.’’ The report concluded 

that a safe and practicable protocol to 

allow some drivers with ITDM to 

operate CMVs is feasible. The 2003 

notice in conjunction with the 

November 8, 2005 (70 FR 67777) 

Federal Register Notice provides the 

current protocol for allowing such 

drivers to operate CMVs in interstate 

commerce. 

These twenty-four applicants have 

had ITDM over a range of 1 to 28 years. 

These applicants report no 

hypoglycemic reaction that resulted in 

loss of consciousness or seizure, that 

required the assistance of another 

person, or resulted in impaired 

cognitive function without warning 

symptoms in the past 5 years (with one 

year of stability following any such 

episode). In each case, an 

endocrinologist has verified that the 

driver has demonstrated willingness to 

properly monitor and manage their 

diabetes, received education related to 

diabetes management, and is on a stable 

insulin regimen. These drivers report no 

other disqualifying conditions, 

including diabetes-related 

complications. Each meets the vision 

standard at 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). 

The qualifications and medical 

condition of each applicant were stated 

and discussed in detail in the March 4, 

2009, Federal Register Notice (74 FR 

9467). Therefore, they will not be 

repeated in this notice. 

Basis for Exemption Determination 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, 

FMCSA may grant an exemption from 

the diabetes standard in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(3) if the exemption is likely to 

achieve an equivalent or greater level of 

safety than would be achieved without 

the exemption. The exemption allows 

the applicants to operate CMVs in 

interstate commerce. 

To evaluate the effect of these 

exemptions on safety, FMCSA 

considered medical reports about the 

applicants’ ITDM and vision, and 

reviewed the treating endocrinologist’s 

medical opinion related to the ability of 

the driver to safely operate a CMV while 

using insulin. 

Consequently, FMCSA finds that 

exempting these applicants from the 

diabetes standard in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(3) 

is likely to achieve a level of safety 

equal to that existing without the 

exemption. 

Conditions and Requirements 

The terms and conditions of the 

exemption will be provided to the 

applicants in the exemption document 

and they include the following: (1) That 

each individual submit a quarterly 

monitoring checklist completed by the 

treating endocrinologist as well as an 

annual checklist with a comprehensive 

medical evaluation; (2) that each 

individual reports within 2 business 

days of occurrence, all episodes of 

severe hypoglycemia, significant 

complications, or inability to manage 

diabetes; also, any involvement in an 

accident or any other adverse event in 

a CMV or personal vehicle, whether or 

not they are related to an episode of 

hypoglycemia; (3) that each individual 

provide a copy of the ophthalmologist’s 

or optometrist’s report to the medical 

examiner at the time of the annual 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES