34328 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2001 / Notices

1Pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.50(d)(2), the railroad

must file a verified notice with the Board at least

50 days before the abandonment or discontinuance

is to be consummated. While the applicant initially

indicated a proposed consummation date of June

10, 2001, because the verified notice was filed on

June 7, 2001, consummation may not take place

prior to July 27, 2001. Applicant’s representative

has subsequently confirmed that the correct

consummation date is on or after July 27, 2001.

2The 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.

9. Other Issues Including Those Related

to Cost/Benefit

Scope of Integrity Management Planning

Earlier in this document OPS

explained its current thinking about the

scope of a proposed integrity

management rule. OPS would like

comment about its underlying

assumptions.

Cost Benefit Analysis

To support its cost benefit analysis,

OPS is seeking additional information

on the following topics:

• Benefits and costs of a company’s

active-in-line inspection and pressure

testing programs. Information could

include the results on safety such as the

reduction of accidents or leaks.

• Benefits and costs of a company’s

integrity assessment program employing

direct assessment technologies.

Information could include the types of

direct assessment that have been used or

considered. The costs associated with

the technologies. The results related to

safety, such as the reduction of

accidents or leaks reduced.

• The total mileage of gas

transmission pipeline. The number of

miles of gas transmission pipelines that

have been hydrostatically tested to

current standards. The number of miles

of gas transmission pipelines that have

been pigged at least once.

• The estimated average cost per mile

to hydrostatically test a gas transmission

pipeline. The fraction of this cost that is

associated with taking the line out of

service. Ways to minimize the cost

associated with taking the line out of

service, such as using existing looping.

• The estimated average cost per mile

to internally inspect a gas transmission

pipeline. The fraction of this cost that is

associated with taking the line out of

service. Ways to minimize the cost

associated with taking the line out of

service, such as using existing looping.

• The percentage of an operator’s

pipelines that are not capable of being

pigged. The reasons the pipeline is not

piggable, for example, because it is

telescopic, has sharp radius bends, or

has less than full opening valves The

costs to make the line piggable.

• Impacts on small businesses. The

impacts an integrity management

rulemaking will have on the company.

Include any special concerns that RSPA

should consider in addressing impacts

on small businesses. Include whether

there are alternative requirements for

small businesses that are less onerous.

• The estimated average cost per mile

to use direct assessment on a gas

transmission pipeline. The assumptions

this estimate includes on the number of

bell holes required per mile.

• The estimated average cost per mile

to change out a gas transmission

pipeline to comply with existing class

location regulations. The number of

miles per year that are typically

replaced to comply with this regulation.

• The best available data on the

actual costs associated with reported gas

pipeline incidents.

• An inventory of pipeline mileage

for pipe having diameter greater than or

equal to 30 inches and MAOP greater

than or equal to 1000 psi.

Standards

During the public meeting, INGAA

stated that consensus standards

represent a practical way to

institutionalize both the use of new

technology and the effective application

of existing technology. INGAA said that

standards currently being developed

should provide detailed information for

operators in implementing any integrity

management rule that is eventually

issued.

OPS is seeking information on the

schedule the Standards Organizations

have for completing the various

standards that relate to integrity

management that are expected to be

prepared, particularly the standards on

conducting integrity assessments and

repair criteria. The current ‘‘draft’’

Schedule on Standards is found at the

end of this Notice.

Industry Data Analysis

We believe that data sources outside

OPS incident data should be considered

in developing risk analysis and

assessment intervals. OPS seeks to

better understand the extent to which

data beyond these incident histories,

including data from all incidents and

near misses, were used to validate

industry positions.

Issued in Washington, DC, on June 19,

2001.

Jeffrey D. Wiese,

Acting Associate Administrator for Pipeline

Safety.

[FR Doc. 01–15990 Filed 6–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB–492 (Sub–No. 2X)]

Fillmore Western Railway Company—

Abandonment Exemption—in Fillmore

County, NE

Fillmore Western Railway Company

(FWRY) has filed a notice of exemption

under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F—Exempt

Abandonments and Discontinuances to

abandon a line of railroad between: (a)

milepost 1.7 near Fairmont and

milepost 10.0 near Geneva, NE; and (b)

milepost 8.1 near Fairmont, NE, and

milepost 23.0, near Milligan, NE, a

distance of approximately 23.2 miles in

Fillmore County, NE.1 The line traverses

United States Postal Service Zip Codes

68354, 68401, 68361, and 68406.

FWRY 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 in the past

2 years; (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 (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 reports), 49 CFR 1105.8

(historic reports), 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 and discontinuance 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 July 27, 2001, unless stayed

pending reconsideration. Petitions to

stay that do not involve environmental

issues,2 formal expressions of intent to

file an OFA under 49 CFR

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2001 / Notices 34329

3Each offer of financial assistance must be

accompanied by the filing fee, which currently is

set at $1000. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

1152.27(c)(2),3 and trail use/rail banking

requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be

filed by July 9, 2001. Petitions to reopen

or requests for public use conditions

under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by

July 17, 2001, with: Surface

Transportation Board, Office of the

Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423.

A copy of any petition filed with the

Board should be sent to applicant’s

representative: T. Scott Bannister, 1300

Des Moines Building, 405—Sixth

Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50309.

If the verified notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio.

FWRY has filed an environmental

report which addresses the effects, if

any, of the abandonment and

discontinuance on the environment and

historic resources. SEA will issue an

environmental assessment (EA) by July

2, 2001. Interested persons may obtain

a copy of the EA by writing to SEA

(Room 500, Surface Transportation

Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by

calling SEA, at (202) 565–1545.

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), FWRY shall file a notice

of consummation with the Board to

signify that it has exercised the

authority granted and fully abandoned

its line. If consummation has not been

effected by FWRY’s filing of a notice of

consummation by June 27, 2002, 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 website at

www.stb.dot.gov.

Decided: June 15, 2001.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–15630 Filed 6–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

Advisory Committee on the

Readjustment of Veterans, Notice of

Availability of Annual Report

Under section 10(b) of Public Law 92–

463 (Federal Advisory Committee Act)

notice is hereby given that the Fifth

Annual Report of the Advisory

Committee on the Readjustment of

Veterans has been issued. The Report

provides an assessment of veterans’

readjustment needs, a review of the

Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA)

services and programs available to meet

these needs and VA’s comments

regarding the actions recommended by

the Committee.

It is available for public inspection at

two locations:

Mr. Edward L. Malone, Jr., Federal

Advisory Committee Desk, Library of

Congress, Anglo-American

Acquisition Division, Government

Documents Section, Room LM–B42,

101 Independence Avenue, SE,

Washington, DC 20540–4172,

and

Department of Veterans Affairs,

Readjustment Counseling Service, VA

Central Office, Suite 854, 810

Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20420.

Dated: June 13, 2001.

Ventris C. Gibson,

Committee Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 01–16107 Filed 6–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–M