12818 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 8, 1995 / Notices

ADDRESSES: Comments on this

application may be mailed or delivered

in triplicate to the FAA at the following

address: Washington Airports District

Office, 101 West Broad Street, Suite 300,

Falls Church, Virginia 22046.

In addition, one copy of any

comments submitted to the FAA must

be mailed or delivered to David E. Blain

Airport Manager at the City of

Lynchburg, Virginia at the following

address: 4308 Wards Road, Suite 100,

Lynchburg, Virginia 24502–3532.

Air carriers and foreign air carriers

may submit copies of written comments

previously provided to the City of

Lynchburg, Virginia under section

158.23 of Part 158.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Robert Mendez, Manager,

Washington Airports District Office, 101

West Broad Street, Suite 300, Falls

Church, Virginia 22046.

The application may be reviewed in

person at this same location.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA

proposes to rule and invites public

comment on the application to impose

and use the revenue from a PFC at

Lynchburg Regional Airport under the

provisions of the Aviation Safety and

Capacity Expansion Act of 1990 (Title

IX of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1990) (Public Law

101–508) and Part 158 of the Federal

Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 158).

On December 29, 1995, the FAA

determined that the application to

impose and use the revenue from a PFC

submitted by the City of Lynchburg was

substantially complete within the

requirements of section 158.25 of Part

158. The FAA will approve or

disapprove the application, in whole or

in part, no later than April 15, 1995.

The following is a brief overview of

the application.

Level of the proposed PFC: $3.00.

Proposed charge effective date: July 1,

1995.

Proposed charge expiration date: June

30, 1999.

Total estimated PFC revenue:

$921,000.

Brief description of proposed project:

—Purchase ARFF Equipment

—Upgrade Airfield Signage

—Remove Obstruction, Runway 17/35

Approach Zone

—Master Plan

—FAR 107.14 Airfield Security

—Purchase Handicap Lift

—Rehabilitate Runway 3/21 Lights

—Land Acquisition Noise Mitigation

—Land Acquisition Part 77

—Overlay Runway 17/35

—Purchase Snow Blower (Impose Only)

—Construct Snow Equipment

Maintenance Building (Impose Only)

Class or classes of air carriers which the

public agency has requested not be

required to collect PFCs: Air Taxi/

Commercial Operators (ACTO) Filing

FAA From 1800–31.

Any person may inspect the

application in person at the FAA office

listed above under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT and at the FAA

regional Airports office located at:

Fitzgerald Federal Building, John F.

Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica,

New York 11430.

In addition, any person may, upon

request, inspect the application, notice

and other documents germane to the

application in person at the Lynchburg

Regional Airport.

Issued in Jamaica, New York State on

February 28, 1995.

Anthony P. Spera,

Acting Manager, Airports Division, Eastern

Region.

[FR Doc. 95–5641 Filed 3–7–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

Federal Railroad Administration

Petition for Exemption or Waiver of

Compliance

In accordance with Title 49 CFR

§§ 211.9 and 211.41, notice is hereby

given that the Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA) has received

requests for exemptions from or waivers

of compliance with a requirement of its

safety standards. The individual

petitions are described below, including

the party seeking relief, the regulatory

provisions involved, and the nature of

the relief being requested.

Interested parties are invited to

participate in these proceedings by

submitting written views, data, or

comments. FRA does not anticipate

scheduling a public hearing in

connection with these proceedings since

the facts do not appear to warrant a

hearing. If any interested party desires

an opportunity for oral comment, they

should notify FRA, in writing, before

the end of the comment period and

specify the basis for their request.

All communications concerning these

proceedings should identify the

appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver

Petition Docket Number RSOP–94–4)

and must be submitted in triplicate to

the Docket Clerk, Office of Chief

Counsel, Federal Railroad

Administration, Nassif Building, 400

Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.

20590. Communications received before

April 10, 1995, will be considered by

FRA before final action is taken.

Comments received after that date will

be considered as far as practicable. All

written communications concerning

these proceedings are available for

examination during regular business

hours (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) in Room 8201,

Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street,

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590.

The individual petitions seeking an

exemption or waiver of compliance are

as follows:

American President Lines, Limited and APL

Land Transport Services, Inc. (APL)

(Waiver Petition Docket Number RSOP–

94–4)

The American President Lines,

Limited and the APL seek a permanent

waiver of compliance with certain

provisions of the Railroad Operating

Practices regulation (49 CFR Part 218)

for derail and blue signal requirements.

APL is seeking relief from the

requirements of § 218.29(c)(1) which

states: ‘‘(c) Except as provided in

paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section,

when workers are on, under, or between

rolling equipment on any track, other

than main track: (1) A derail capable of

restricting access to that portion of the

track on which such equipment is

located, will fulfill the requirements of

a manually operated switch when

positioned no less than 150 feet from

the end [of] such equipment * * *’’

A new container port facility and rail

yard, which will be operated by an APL

subsidiary, are being designed and built

by the Port of Los Angeles. The new

facility is designed to load and unload

intermodal trains and is expected to be

occupied by the first quarter of 1997.

The yard will have the capacity to store

up to 78 stack train cars with each such

car being a maximum of 337 feet long.

There will be 10 parallel spur tracks

entering the yard from the north-end

with a single run-around track to the

north of the working tracks. The 10

spurs are arranged in sets of two parallel

tracks which will be serviced by gantry

cranes for loading and unloading. The

10 spurs rejoin at the south-end to

service a single spur which runs along

the wharf structure to a ‘‘dead end.’’ In

the center of the yard is a 70-foot wide

crossing aisle that divides each spur. On

each side of the aisle, APL plans to load

and unload three to five stack cars on

each of the 10 tracks. The 10 tracks will

each be about 2,800 feet in length, and

the yard will be approximately 3,700

feet in length by 500 feet in width. APL

intends to load or unload trains on all

10 spurs simultaneously. To protect its

workmen, APL plans to install blue

lights and derailers 5 feet beyond the

edge on both sides of the aisle. The 5-

foot area between the edge of the aisle

and the derailer and blue light signal

will be a surface that will immediately
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 8, 1995 / Notices 12819

dampen the progress of any car that is

derailed, so that the car will stop

moving before the face of the coupler

reaches the aisle. The blue light, derail

and red light will all be remotely and

automatically controlled from a tower

that is within 1,500 feet of the aisle and

will have a continuous uninterrupted

view of the yard. There will also be a

blue light signal and derail across the

aisle, 80 feet from the other blue light

and derail, in essence providing dual

protection for the workmen.

The facility will load and unload

ships and intermodal unit trains. In a

typical operation, a loaded train will

enter the yard from the north, pulling

enough cars to fill the first track. The

speed limit in the yard will be 5 mph.

The locomotive will pull these cars onto

the first track, where a cut will be made

just before the aisle, and those cars to be

unloaded on the north side of the aisle

will be set out. The locomotive will then

pull the rest of the cars onto the track

south of the aisle where they will be set

out. The locomotive will then exit the

first track, proceed north on the runaround track to the north of the yard

and pick-up another cut of cars to fill

the second track. This will continue

until the incoming train is spotted or all

10 tracks are filled. Excess cars can be

spotted in a storage yard northeast of

and adjacent to the main yard. During

the process, once each cut of cars is set

out on the appropriate track, the blue

lights and derails will be set.

At that point, from one to four gantry

type cranes may be used to unload the

railroad cars on any given spur. Tractors

will move the trailers or containers

either to a storage area, or directly to

ships that are berthed at the facility.

These tractors will use the aisle as the

means of access to and from the yard

with both chassis and containers. A

similar process will be followed when

loading unit trains from a ship or the

container storage yard.

APL requests waiver of the 150 foot

requirement for the blue lights and

derail devices to be used in the center

aisle in the yard. Each group of

workmen will be protected by blue light

signals 80 feet apart across the aisle.

Each group of workmen will also be

protected by two derail devices. The

first will be within 5 feet of the coupling

face, and the other will be 80 feet from

the first derail device, across the aisle.

Workmen will not begin working to load

or unload the cars on any given spur

until the cars have come to a complete

stop and are protected as set out in this

waiver request. They will be protected

by two blue light signals and by two

derail devices.

APL states that it ‘‘is working with the

Port in the process of designing the

yard. One important facet of this design

is that workmen be able to work in close

proximity to the aisle to increase

efficiency. As indicated in the Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking, when certain

criteria are present, a railroad may

safely use different approaches to afford

blue signal protection.’’ APL states they

will meet those criteria. ‘‘First, slow

speeds are involved since there is a 5

mph speed limit in the yard. Next,

control over the movement of the

equipment will be placed in the hands

of individuals directly responsible for

the people who need to be protected. In

the Final Rule, FRA expressed its goal

of assuring workers’ safety.’’ APL states

that ‘‘the combination of very low

speed, a movement dampening surface,

and derails in close proximity to cars

that are standing still will limit travel to

not more than 5 feet after derailment

which is well within FRA’s goal to:

assure that rolling equipment will not

travel more than 50 feet after

derailment.’’

APL states that ‘‘the waiver sought by

APL will allow construction of a

modern and efficient rail yard as part of

an intermodal facility at the Port of Los

Angeles. By operating with a reduced

distance for blue lights and derail

devices, APL will be able to fit the yard

to the property available. This project

will substantially increase the amount

of rail business at the Port and in the

region. Shorter train movements in the

yard will also reduce air emissions in

the Port, thereby reducing harm to the

environment.’’

Issued in Washington, DC on February 23,

1995.

Phil Olekszyk,

Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for

Safety Compliance and Program

Implementation.

[FR Doc. 95–5689 Filed 3–7–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–6–P

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement on

the North-South Rail Link, Boston,

Cambridge and Somerville, MA

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration,

DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit

Administration (FTA) and the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation

Authority (MBTA) intend to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

in accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on

the proposed rail link connecting North

and South Stations in Boston,

Massachusetts. The FTA and the MBTA

will prepare the EIS so that it also

satisfies the requirements of the

Massachusetts Environmental Policy

Act (MEPA).

This effort will be performed in

cooperation with the Massachusetts

Highway Department and the Executive

Office of Transportation and

Construction.

The EIS/EIR will evaluate the

following alternatives: A Build

alternative consisting of an underground

rail link tunnel (with an option of two

or four tracks) connecting North and

South Stations along the Central Artery

alignment, a No-Build alternative, and a

Transportation System Management

alternative which will be identified

during the scoping process. Although

the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

has elected to pursue the North-South

Rail Link corridor within the Central

Artery alignment, the FTA is interested

in receiving comments regarding

whether a rail link along the Congress

Street alignment should be included in

the Major Investment Study (MIS).

Scoping will be accomplished through

correspondence with interested persons,

organizations, and Federal, State and

local agencies, and through public

meetings.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written

comments on the scope of alternatives

and impacts to be considered should be

sent to the MBTA by April 24, 1995. See

ADDRESSES below. Scoping Meeting: A

joint FTA and MEPA public scoping

meeting will be held on Tuesday, March

21, 1995 at 2:00 p.m. at the State

Transportation Building. See ADDRESSES

below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

project scope should be sent to Mr.

Andrew D. Brennan, Manager of

Environmental Affairs, MBTA, 10 Park

Plaza, Room 6720, Boston, MA 02116. A

Scoping Meeting will be held at the

following location: State Transportation

Building, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA

02116.

See DATES above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Mary Beth Mello, Deputy Regional

Administrator, Federal Transit

Administration, Region 1, (617) 494–

2055.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

The FTA and MBTA invite written

comments for a period of 45 days after

publication of this notice (See DATES

and ADDRESSES above.) During scoping,