Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 71 / Wednesday, April 13, 2022 / Notices 22009 

1See Honorable Thomas J. Vilsack, U.S. Dep’t of 

Agric. Letter, Mar. 30, 2022, Reciprocal Switching, 

EP 711 (Sub-No. 1); Letter from Honorable Shelley 

Moore Capito, to Board Members Martin J. 

Oberman, Michelle A. Schultz, Patrick J. Fuchs, 

Robert E. Primus, & Karen J. Hedlund (Mar. 29, 

2022), available at www.stb.gov (open tab ‘‘News & 

Communications’’ & select ‘‘Non-Docketed Public 

Correspondence’’); Letter from the Nat’l Grain & 

Feed Ass’n, to Board Members Martin J. Oberman, 

Michelle A. Schultz, Patrick J. Fuchs, Robert E. 

Primus, & Karen J. Hedlund (Mar. 24, 2022), 

available at www.stb.gov (open tab ‘‘News & 

Communications’’ & select ‘‘Non-Docketed Public 

Correspondence’’); Letter from SMART-Transp. 

Div., to Chairman Martin J. Oberman (Apr. 1, 2022), 

available at www.stb.gov (open tab ‘‘News & 

Communications’’ & select ‘‘Non-Docketed Public 

Correspondence’’). 

2 Data collected pursuant to 49 CFR part 1250 is 

available on the Board’s website at https://

www.stb.gov/reports-data/rail-service-data/. 

Methodology 

For prospective employees, both 

forms are PDFs that must be printed, 

completed, signed, and emailed to 

points of contact. The Medical 

Exception form has two parts: Part 2 of 

the form must be completed by a 

medical professional before the entire 

document is scanned and emailed. 

A Notice Regarding Injunctions 

The vaccination requirement issued 

pursuant to E.O. 14043, is currently the 

subject of a nationwide injunction. 

While that injunction remains in place, 

the Department will not process 

requests for a medical exception from 

the COVID–19 vaccination requirement 

pursuant to E.O. 14043. The Department 

will also not request the submission of 

any medical information related to a 

request for an exception from the 

vaccination requirement pursuant to 

E.O. 14043 while the injunction remains 

in place. But the Department may 

nevertheless receive information 

regarding a medical exception. That is 

because, if the Department were to 

receive a request for an exception from 

the COVID–19 vaccination requirement 

pursuant to E.O. 14043 during the 

pendency of the injunction, the 

Department will accept the request, 

hold it in abeyance, and notify the 

employee who submitted the request 

that implementation and enforcement of 

the COVID–19 vaccination requirement 

pursuant to E.O. 14043 is currently 

enjoined and that an exception therefore 

is not necessary so long as the 

injunction is in place. In other words, 

during the pendency of the injunction, 

any information collection related to 

requests for medical exception from the 

COVID–19 vaccination requirement 

pursuant to E.O. 14043 is not 

undertaken to implement or enforce the 

COVID–19 vaccination requirement. 

Kevin E. Bryant, 

Deputy Director, Office of Directives 

Management, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2022–07879 Filed 4–12–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD 

[Docket No. EP 770] 

Urgent Issues in Freight Rail Service 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board. 

ACTION: Notice of public hearing. 

SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation 

Board (Board) will hold a public hearing 

on April 26 and 27, 2022, on recent rail 

service problems and recovery efforts 

involving several Class I carriers. The 

hearing will be held in the Hearing 

Room of the Board’s headquarters, 

located at 395 E Street SW, Washington, 

DC 20423–0001. The Board will direct 

executive-level officials, including 

operating and human resources officials, 

of BNSF Railway Company (BNSF), CSX 

Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), Norfolk 

Southern Railway Company (NSR), and 

Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) to 

appear to discuss the recent rail service 

problems, each carrier’s ongoing and 

planned efforts to improve service, and 

each carrier’s estimated timeline for 

recovery of normal service levels. The 

Board will also invite and welcome the 

attendance of executive-level officials, 

including operating and human 

resources officials, of Canadian National 

Railway Company (CN), Kansas City 

Southern Railway Company (KCS), and 

Canadian Pacific Railway Company 

(CP). In addition, the Board will provide 

other carriers, rail customers, labor 

organizations, and other interested 

parties the opportunity to report on 

recent service issues and service 

recovery efforts. 

DATES: The hearing will be held on 

April 26 and 27, 2022, beginning at 9:30 

a.m. each day, in the Hearing Room of 

the Board’s headquarters and will be 

open for public observation. The 

hearing will be available for viewing on 

the Board’s website. Any person 

wishing to speak at the hearing should 

file with the Board a notice of intent to 

participate (identifying the party, 

proposed speaker, and amount of time 

requested) as soon as possible but no 

later than April 14, 2022. Submission of 

written testimony by hearing 

participants is optional; any such 

written testimony, and written 

comments by any other interested 

persons, may be submitted by April 22, 

2022. 

ADDRESSES: All filings should be 

submitted via e-filing on the Board’s 

website at www.stb.gov. Filings will be 

posted to the Board’s website and need 

not be served on the other hearing 

participants, written commenters, or 

any other party to the proceeding. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nathaniel Bawcombe at (202) 245–0376. 

Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal Relay 

Service at (800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Rail 

network reliability is essential to the 

Nation’s economy and is a foremost 

priority of the Board. In recent weeks, 

the Board has heard informally from a 

broad range of stakeholders about 

inconsistent and unreliable rail service. 

These challenges include tight car 

supply and unfilled car orders, delays in 

transportation for carload and bulk 

traffic, increased origin dwell time for 

released unit trains, missed switches, 

and ineffective customer assistance. 

Moreover, the Board has received 

several recent reports, from the 

Secretary of Agriculture, Senator 

Shelley Moore Capito, and other 

stakeholders, about the serious impact 

of these service trends on rail users, 

particularly with respect to shippers of 

agricultural and energy products.1

At the same time, the Board has been 

closely monitoring weekly rail service 

performance data submitted pursuant to 

49 CFR part 1250.2 The data validate the 

anecdotal information reported to the 

Board, as many key performance 

indicators, such as system average train 

speed and average number of trains 

holding per day, suggest performance is 

below historical norms. While the Board 

appreciates that the pandemic has 

caused significant volume fluctuations, 

which have created great uncertainty 

and other challenges, these trends 

demonstrate that service has continued 

to deteriorate. Since the beginning of 

2022, and through the data for the week 

ending March 25, 2022, there has been 

no material, sustained decline in trains 

held per day due to crew or locomotive 

availability for BNSF, CSXT, NSR, or 

UP. Recognizing large reductions in 

railroad employment over the past 

several years (including prior to the 

pandemic), as reported to the Board 

under 49 CFR 1246.1, and 

understanding that carriers have 

reported hiring difficulties—difficulties 

that are not restricted to the rail 

industry—the Board is concerned that 

crew shortages have contributed to these 

recent service trends and affected 

carriers’ recovery efforts. For these 

reasons, the Board has determined that 

the service issues may have reached a 

level that requires action by the Board, 

and it is imperative that the Board hear 

from carriers, rail customers, labor 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
22010 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 71 / Wednesday, April 13, 2022 / Notices 

3The Board is directing BNSF, CSXT, NSR, and 

UP to appear because most recent service issues 

involve these four carriers. Additionally, other 

carriers and interested persons are invited to 

participate. The Board notes that it is prepared to 

address service problems with respect to any of the 

Class I carriers, as appropriate. 

4 In response to letters from Chairman Martin J. 

Oberman dated May 27, 2021, October 18, 2021, 

and November 23, 2021, Class I carriers have 

provided the Board with information about their 

service performance and workforce levels. 

Chairman Oberman’s letters and Class I carriers’ 

responsive letters are available on the Board’s 

website at www.stb.gov (open tab ‘‘News & 

Communications’’ & select ‘‘Non-Docketed Public 

Correspondence’’). While the Board appreciates the 

information that Class I carriers have provided thus 

far, the trends discussed above demonstrate that 

service has continued to deteriorate, and the 

ongoing service problems and crew shortages 

indicate that the Class I carriers need to take 

additional steps to ensure adequate service. 

Accordingly, BNSF, CSXT, NSR, and UP should 

prepare to discuss at the hearing, with specificity, 

their most recent efforts to improve service and 

their proposed timeline for recovery. 

5The Board’s public hearing is not intended to 

replace the informal and confidential dispute 

resolution process facilitated by the Board’s Rail 

Customer and Public Assistance, and stakeholders 

are encouraged to continue communicating through 

that office. 

organizations, and other interested 

persons. 

Given the serious nature of the service 

issues reported to the Board, in addition 

to providing as much visibility as 

possible to all aspects of the current 

service issues, the Board expects the 

information provided at the hearing to 

inform any potential future Board 

actions to ameliorate the problems that 

have been reported. 

The Board will hold a public hearing 

on April 26 and 27, 2022, beginning at 

9:30 a.m. each day, at its offices in 

Washington, DC, to hear firsthand from 

senior officials of BNSF, CSXT, NSR, 

and UP, as well as affected shippers, 

shipper organizations, and labor 

organizations, about rail service and 

efforts to improve service. The Board 

will direct executive-level officials, 

including operating and human 

resources officials, of BNSF, CSXT, 

NSR, and UP to appear 3 at the hearing 

to discuss their recent rail service 

problems and their ongoing and 

planned efforts to improve service, 

including detailed plans outlining the 

steps needed to improve service.4 The 

Board will also direct BNSF, CSXT, 

NSR, and UP to address the extent to 

which crew shortages, particularly in 

the context of past employment 

reductions and current hiring 

difficulties, may have contributed to 

these service problems, and their plans, 

if any, to change and improve their 

hiring and employee retention policies 

to alleviate the acute crew shortages that 

appear to be among the central causes 

of the current service issues. In addition 

to the required participation of BNSF, 

CSXT, NSR, and UP, because the abovediscussed problems have also been 

occurring to some degree on an 

industry-wide basis, the Board invites 

and will welcome the attendance of 

executive-level officials, including 

operating and human resources officials, 

of CN, KCS, and CP, and invites any 

other interested carriers to participate. 

The Board also encourages affected 

rail customers, shipper organizations, 

labor organizations, and other interested 

parties to appear at the public hearing 

to discuss their service concerns and 

comment on carriers’ efforts toward 

service recovery.5

Board Releases and Transcript 

Availability: Decisions and notices of 

the Board, including this notice, are 

available on the Board’s website at 

www.stb.gov. The Board will issue a 

separate notice containing the schedule 

of appearances. A transcript of the 

hearing will be posted on the Board’s 

website once it is available. 

It is ordered: 

1. A public hearing will be held on 

April 26 and 27, 2022, beginning at 9:30 

a.m. each day, in the Hearing Room of 

the Board’s headquarters, located at 395 

E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423– 

0001. 

2. Executive-level officials, including 

operating and human resources officials, 

of BNSF, CSXT, NSR, and UP are 

directed to appear at the public hearing, 

as discussed above. 

3. By April 14, 2022, BNSF, CSXT, 

NSR, UP and any other person wishing 

to speak at the hearing shall file with 

the Board a notice of intent to 

participate identifying the party, the 

proposed speaker(s), and the time 

requested. 

4. Written testimony by hearing 

participants (which is optional) and 

written comments from any other 

interested persons may be filed by April 

22, 2022. 

5. Filings will be posted to the Board’s 

website and need not be served on any 

hearing participants or other 

commenters. 

6. This decision is effective on its 

service date. 

7. This decision will be published in 

the Federal Register. 

Decided: April 7, 2022. 

By the Board, Board Members Fuchs, 

Hedlund, Oberman, Primus, and Schultz. 

Aretha Laws-Byrum, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2022–07831 Filed 4–12–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN 

COMMISSION 

Projects Approved for Consumptive 

Uses of Water 

AGENCY: Susquehanna River Basin 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice lists the projects 

approved by rule by the Susquehanna 

River Basin Commission during the 

period set forth in DATES. 

DATES: March 1–31, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Susquehanna River Basin 

Commission, 4423 North Front Street, 

Harrisburg, PA 17110–1788. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason E. Oyler, General Counsel and 

Secretary to the Commission, telephone: 

(717) 238–0423, ext. 1312; fax: (717) 

238–2436; email: joyler@srbc.net. 

Regular mail inquiries may be sent to 

the above address. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice lists the projects, described 

below, receiving approval for the 

consumptive use of water pursuant to 

the Commission’s approval by rule 

process set forth in 18 CFR 806.22(e) 

and 18 CFR 806.22(f) for the time period 

specified above: 

Water Source Approval—Issued Under 

18 CFR 806.22(f) 

1. Coterra Energy Inc.; Pad ID: 

BrazitisD P1; ABR–202203002; Lenox 

Township, Susquehanna County, Pa.; 

Consumptive Use of Up to 5.0000 mgd; 

Approval Date: March 9, 2022. 

2. EXCO Resources (PA), LLC; Pad ID: 

Patterson Drilling Pad #1; ABR– 

20100146.R21; Shrewsbury Township, 

Sullivan County, Pa.; Consumptive Use 

of Up to 5.0000 mgd; Approval Date: 

March 9, 2022. 

3. Pennsylvania General Energy 

Company, L.L.C.; Pad ID: COP Tract 356 

Pad J; ABR–201201014.R2; Cummings 

Township, Lycoming County, Pa.; 

Consumptive Use of Up to 3.0000 mgd; 

Approval Date: March 11, 2022. 

4. SWN Production Company, LLC.; 

Pad ID: FIELDS PAD 1; ABR– 

201202015.R2; Herrick Township, 

Bradford County, Pa.; Consumptive Use 

of Up to 4.9990 mgd; Approval Date: 

March 11, 2022. 

5. Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C.; Pad 

ID: Otis; ABR–20100318.R2; Herrick 

Township, Bradford County, Pa.; 

Consumptive Use of Up to 7.5000 mgd; 

Approval Date: March 14, 2022. 

6. Chief Oil & Gas, LLC; Pad ID: 

AMBROSIUS B PAD; ABR– 

201703002.R1; Wilmot Township, 

Bradford County, Pa.; Consumptive Use 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1