5740 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 11 / Friday, January 17, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 

1 89 FR 79767. A correction to the Rule was 

published on October 28, 2024 (89 FR 85450). 

2As stated in the Rule: ‘‘If FRA receives an 

adverse, substantive comment on any of the 

provisions, it will publish in the Federal Register 

a timely withdrawal, informing the public that the 

direct final rule will not take effect.’’ 89 FR 79767 

at 79768. 

3 88 FR 21879 (Apr. 6, 2023) available at https:// 

www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/11/ 

2023-07760/modernizing-regulatory-review. 

4 DOT–2100.6A-Rulemaking and Guidance (Jun. 

7, 2021) available at https://

www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2021-08/ 

Final-for-OST-C-210407-001-signed.pdf. 

(i) Are publicly available; 

(ii) Have been furnished to the United 

States without restriction; 

(iii) Have been otherwise made available 

without restriction; or 

(iv) Are the subject of a fraudulently 

asserted use or release restriction. 

(2) Only the Contracting Officer’s final 

decision resolving a formal challenge by 

sustaining the validity of a restrictive 

marking constitutes ‘‘validation’’ as 

addressed in 10 U.S.C. 3785(c). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2025–00722 Filed 1–16–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6001–FR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

49 CFR Part 225 

[Docket No. FRA–2024–0034] 

RIN 2130–AC98 

Accident/Incident Investigation Policy 

for Gathering Information and 

Consulting With Stakeholders 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule; withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: FRA is withdrawing the direct 

final rule titled ‘‘Federal Railroad 

Administration Accident/Incident 

Investigation Policy for Gathering 

Information and Consulting with 

Stakeholders,’’ (the Rule) which was 

published on October 1, 2024. 

DATES: Effective on January 17, 2025, 

FRA withdraws the direct final rule 

published at 89 FR 79767 on October 1, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick 

Huggins, Supervisory Railroad Security 

Specialist, Office of Railroad Safety, 

FRA, telephone: 202–465–6922 or 

email: ricky.huggins@dot.gov; or Senya 

Waas, Senior Attorney, Office of the 

Chief Counsel, FRA, telephone: 202– 

875–4158 or email: senyaann.waas@

dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On October 1, 2024, FRA published 

the Rule in the Federal Register 

amending 49 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) 225.31 to, in 

accordance with Section 22417 of the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

(IIJA), create a standard process for 

investigators to use during accident and 

incident investigations conducted under 

that section.1 This process was to be 

used to determine when it was 

appropriate to collect information and 

the appropriate method for gathering 

that information about an accident or 

incident under investigation from 

railroad carriers, contractors or 

employees of railroad carriers, or 

representatives of employees of railroad 

carriers, and others, as determined 

relevant by the Secretary. The process 

was also to be used to determine when 

it was appropriate to consult with 

railroad carriers, contractors or 

employees of railroad carriers, or 

representatives of employees of railroad 

carriers, and others, as determined 

relevant by the Secretary, for technical 

expertise on the facts of the accident or 

incident under investigation. See Public 

Law 117–58, Section 22417, Nov. 15, 

2021, 135 Stat. 748. 

The Rule generated two adverse, 

substantive comments. Accordingly, as 

described in more detail below, FRA has 

decided to withdraw the Rule. 

II. Reasons for Withdrawal 

FRA is withdrawing the Rule, which 

took effect on November 15, 2024. FRA 

received two adverse, substantive 

comments which opposed the Rule. 

There were no comments submitted in 

support of the Rule.2

Commenters objecting to the Rule 

stated that the Rule was insufficient as 

it needed to be expanded to include the 

outside review of accidents/incidents by 

professionals, such as physicists or 

highly-qualified industrial engineers, as 

independent reviews of findings. 

Commenters also alleged that FRA’s 

outreach to the Class I railroads was 

limited and insufficient, and 

nonexistent to short line railroads. As 

such, it was the position of the 

commenters that FRA did not account 

for how the Rule would fully affect the 

railroad industry in the following ways: 

(1) FRA’s ‘‘catch-all’’ provision for 

determining which accidents trigger the 

information gathering and stakeholder 

consultation requirements is vague and 

fails to properly implement the IIJA 

mandate; (2) FRA’s description of 

‘‘stakeholders’’ fails to properly 

implement the IIJA mandate; (3) FRA 

fails to explain substantive regulatory 

changes in 49 CFR 225.31(a); (4) 

loopholes allow for information to be 

shared with third parties during an 

investigation; (5) it is unclear how 

FRA’s web-based document sharing site 

will protect against the disclosure of 

confidential information; (6) there are 

no protections against post-investigation 

disclosures of confidential information; 

(7) the identity of a stakeholder should 

not be kept confidential from other 

stakeholders; (8) FRA’s investigation 

policy would create untenable conflicts 

with NTSB practice in situations where 

NTSB and FRA conduct overlapping 

investigations; (9) FRA improperly 

limits the basis for restricting 

stakeholder access to an accident site; 

(10) FRA does not have the authority to 

grant a stakeholder ‘‘virtual’’ access to 

railroad property; (11) the investigation 

policy will result in undue delays in 

clearing accident sites; (12) FRA adopts 

an incident command model but fails to 

provide details on its structure and 

tasks; and (13) FRA underestimates the 

cost of compliance of the new 

regulation. 

Given the extent of the commenters’ 

substantive issues with the Rule, FRA is 

withdrawing the Rule at this time in 

order to re-assess its components and 

work further with stakeholders to 

evaluate potential changes. 

III. Regulatory Impact and Notices 

A. Executive Order 12866 as Amended 

by Executive Order 14094 and DOT 

Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

This withdrawal is a non-significant 

regulatory action within the meaning of 

Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, as 

amended by E.O. 14094, ‘‘Modernizing 

Regulatory Review 3’’ and DOT’s Order, 

‘‘Rulemaking and Guidance 

Procedures,’’ DOT 2100.6A (June 7, 

2021).4 FRA made this determination 

because the economic effects of this 

regulatory action will not exceed the 

$100 million annual threshold as 

defined by E.O. 12866. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 11 / Friday, January 17, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 5741 

5The present value of costs are calculated in this 

analysis. Present value provides a way of converting 

future costs into equivalent DOT–2100.6ARulemaking and Guidance (Jun. 7, 2021) available 

at https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/ 

files/2021-08/Final-for-OST-C-210407-001- 

signed.pdf. 

6All figures are presented in a 2023 base year 

unless otherwise noted. 

FRA is amending its Accident/ 

Incident Regulations, covering 

reporting, classification, and 

investigations, by withdrawing its 

regulation (i.e., the Rule) for gathering 

information from and consulting with 

stakeholders during an accident/ 

incident investigation. Through this 

withdrawal of the Rule, FRA is revising 

its accident investigation process by 

removing the changes made by the Rule 

that established procedures for 

stakeholder participation in 

investigation, including notifying 

stakeholders of an accident 

investigation; permitting the assistance 

of stakeholders in investigations; and 

allowing stakeholders to submit 

information to FRA to assist with the 

investigation. 

FRA anticipates the primary benefit of 

withdrawing the Rule will be the ability 

to re-assess and ultimately re-issue a 

rule addressing Section 22417 of IIJA 

and concerns raised by commenters. 

In the Rule, FRA estimated costs of 

approximately $1.0 million (Present 

Value (PV),5 2-percent) over the ten-year 

analysis. By withdrawing the Rule, FRA 

estimates this will now incur a cost 

savings. Table 1 displays the cost 

savings of withdrawing the Rule from 

the Accident/Incident regulations in 49 

CFR part 225. 

TABLE 1—TOTAL COST SAVINGS OF THE FINAL RULE

[2023 Dollars] 6

Year 

Total 

stakeholder 

cost 

savings 

Total 

government 

cost savings 

Total cost 

savings PV 7% PV 3% PV 2% 

1 ........................................................................................................................ $ 97,922 $ 19,753 $ 117,675 $ 117,675 $ 117,675 $ 117,675 

2 ........................................................................................................................ 97,922 10,541 108,463 101,367 105,304 106,336 

3 ........................................................................................................................ 97,922 10,541 108,463 94,736 102,237 104,251 

4 ........................................................................................................................ 97,922 10,541 108,463 88,538 99,259 102,207 

5 ........................................................................................................................ 97,922 10,541 108,463 82,746 96,368 100,203 

6 ........................................................................................................................ 97,922 10,541 108,463 77,333 93,561 98,238 

7 ........................................................................................................................ 97,922 10,541 108,463 72,273 90,836 96,312 

8 ........................................................................................................................ 97,922 10,541 108,463 67,545 88,190 94,424 

9 ........................................................................................................................ 97,922 10,541 108,463 63,126 85,622 92,572 

10 ...................................................................................................................... 97,922 10,541 108,463 58,997 83,128 90,757 

Total ........................................................................................................... 979,220 114,622 1,093,842 824,336 962,180 1,002,975 

Note: Table may not sum due to rounding. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 

((RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and E.O. 

13272 (67 FR 53461, Aug. 16, 2002) 

require an agency to prepare and make 

available to the public a regulatory 

flexibility analysis that describes the 

effect of the rule on small entities (i.e., 

small businesses, small organizations, 

and small governmental jurisdictions). 

A regulatory flexibility analysis is not 

required when a rule is exempt from 

notice-and-comment rulemaking. 

C. Paperwork Reduction Act 

There are no new or additional 

information collection requirements 

associated with this withdrawal. 

Therefore, FRA is not required to 

provide an estimate of a public 

reporting burden in this document. 

D. Environmental Assessment 

FRA has evaluated this withdrawal in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council of 

Environmental Quality’s NEPA 

implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 

1500 through 1508), FRA’s regulations 

implementing NEPA (23 CFR part 771), 

and other environmental statutes, 

executive orders, and related regulatory 

requirements. FRA has determined that 

this withdrawal is categorically 

excluded from environmental review 

and therefore does not require the 

preparation of an environmental 

assessment (EA) or environmental 

impact statement (EIS). Categorical 

exclusions (CEs) are actions identified 

in an agency’s NEPA implementing 

procedures that do not normally have a 

significant impact on the environment 

and therefore do not require either an 

EA or EIS. Specifically, FRA has 

determined that this withdrawal is 

categorically excluded from detailed 

environmental review. 

This withdrawal would not directly or 

indirectly impact any environmental 

resources and would not result in 

significantly increased emissions of air 

or water pollutants or noise. In 

analyzing the applicability of a CE, FRA 

must also consider whether unusual 

circumstances are present that would 

warrant a more detailed environmental 

review. FRA has concluded that no such 

unusual circumstances exist with 

respect to this withdrawal and it meets 

the requirements for categorical 

exclusion. 

Pursuant to Section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act and 

its implementing regulations, FRA has 

determined this undertaking has no 

potential to affect historic properties. 

FRA has also determined that this 

withdrawal does not approve a project 

resulting in a use of a resource protected 

by Section 4(f). Further, FRA reviewed 

this withdrawal and found it consistent 

with E.O. 14008, ‘‘Tackling the Climate 

Crisis at Home and Abroad.’’ 

E. Environmental Justice 

Executive Order 14096, ‘‘Revitalizing 

Our Nation’s Commitment to 

Environmental Justice for All,’’ which 

expands on E.O. 12898, ‘‘Federal 

Actions to Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations,’’ requires 

DOT agencies to achieve environmental 

justice as part of their mission by 

identifying and addressing, as 

appropriate, disproportionately high 

and adverse human health or 

environmental effects, including 

interrelated social and economic effects, 

of their programs, policies, and 

activities on minority populations and 

low-income populations. DOT Order 

5610.2C (‘‘U.S. Department of 


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5742 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 11 / Friday, January 17, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 

7E.O. 14096 ‘‘Revitalizing Our Nation’s 

Commitment to Environmental Justice,’’ issued on 

April 26, 2023, supplements E.O. 12898, but is not 

currently referenced in DOT Order 5610.2C. 

Transportation Actions to Address 

Environmental Justice in Minority 

Populations and Low-Income 

Populations’’) instructs DOT agencies to 

address compliance with E.O. 12898 

and requirements within the DOT Order 

5610.2C in rulemaking activities, as 

appropriate, and also requires 

consideration of the benefits of 

transportation programs, policies, and 

other activities where minority 

populations and low-income 

populations benefit, at a minimum, to 

the same level as the general population 

as a whole when determining impacts 

on minority and low-income 

populations.7 FRA has evaluated this 

withdrawal under Executive Orders 

12898, 14096, and DOT Order 5610.2C, 

and has determined it will not cause 

disproportionate and adverse human 

health and environmental effects on 

communities with environmental justice 

concerns. 

F. Federalism Implications 

This withdrawal will not have a 

substantial effect on the States, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Thus, in 

accordance with E.O. 13132, 

‘‘Federalism’’ (64 FR 43255, Aug. 10, 

1999), preparation of a Federalism 

Assessment is not warranted. 

G. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This withdrawal will not result in the 

expenditure, in the aggregate, of 

$100,000,000 or more, adjusted for 

inflation, in any one year by State, local, 

or Indian Tribal governments, or the 

private sector. Thus, consistent with 

section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4, 2 

U.S.C. 1532), FRA is not required to 

prepare a written statement detailing the 

effect of such an expenditure. 

H. Energy Impact 

E.O. 13211 requires Federal agencies 

to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects 

for any ‘‘significant energy action.’’ 66 

FR 28355 (May 22, 2001). FRA has 

evaluated this withdrawal in accordance 

with E.O. 13211 and determined that 

this withdrawal is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ within the meaning of 

E.O. 13211. 

I. Executive Order 13175 (Tribal 

Consultation) 

FRA has evaluated this withdrawal in 

accordance with the principles and 

criteria contained in E.O. 13175, 

‘‘Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribal Governments,’’ dated 

November 6, 2000. The withdrawal 

would not have a substantial direct 

effect on one or more Indian Tribes, 

would not impose substantial direct 

compliance costs on Indian Tribal 

governments, and would not preempt 

Tribal laws. Therefore, the funding and 

consultation requirements of E.O. 13175 

do not apply, and a Tribal summary 

impact statement is not required. 

J. International Trade Impact 

Assessment 

The Trade Agreement Act of 1979 

prohibits Federal agencies from 

engaging in any standards or related 

activities that create unnecessary 

obstacles to the foreign commerce of the 

United States. Legitimate domestic 

objectives, such as safety, are not 

considered unnecessary obstacles. The 

statute also requires consideration of 

international standards and where 

appropriate, that they be the basis for 

U.S. standards. This withdrawal is 

purely domestic in nature and is not 

expected to affect trade opportunities 

for U.S. firms doing business overseas or 

for foreign firms doing business in the 

United States. 

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 225 

Investigations, Penalties, Railroad 

safety, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

The Final Rule 

In consideration of the foregoing, FRA 

amends 49 CFR part 225 as follows: 

PART 225—RAILROAD ACCIDENTS/ 

INCIDENTS: REPORTS 

CLASSIFICATION, AND 

INVESTIGATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 225 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 103, 322(a), 20103, 

20107, 20901–20902, 21301, 21302, 21311; 

28 U.S.C. 2461 note; and 49 CFR 1.89. 

§ 225.31 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 225.31 by removing the 

heading for paragraph (a), removing 

paragraph (b), and redesignating 

paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(6) as 

paragraphs (a) through (f) respectively. 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

Allison Ishihara Fultz, 

Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00998 Filed 1–16–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 


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