Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 160 / Monday, August 18, 2008 / Notices 48277 

1 GNP was previously known as Altac Terminals 

Washington, Inc. GNP changed its corporate name 

through an amendment to its articles of 

incorporation filed with the Secretary of State of the 

State of Washington on September 10, 2007. 

2The line of railroad approved for abandonment 

pursuant to that decision extended from milepost 

39.00 to milepost 47.11, a distance of approximately 

8.11 miles. 

3We note that the County does not appear to own 

the segment covering milepost 39.0 to milepost 39.1 

of the line. 

filed a waiver request seeking to delay 

the August 25, 2008 implementation 

date of amendments to Title 49, CFR, 

§ 40.67, which was issued by the 

Department of Transportation (DOT) on 

June 25, 2008 (73 FR 35961). Part 40 is 

incorporated by reference in § 219.701 

of Title 49, CFR, Part 219, Control of 

Drug and Alcohol Use in Railroad 

Operations. The amendments to § 40.67 

apply to drug tests where a direct 

observation of the urine collection is 

required (e.g., the employee presented a 

cold specimen at the collection site; had 

an invalid test result without a 

legitimate medical reason; had a 

positive or adulterated test result which 

had to be cancelled because the required 

test of the employee’s split specimen 

could not be performed; or had a prior 

positive or refusal to test and was 

subject to return-to-duty and follow-up 

testing). 

As amended, § 40.67 will require an 

employee to raise his/her shirt and 

lower his/her pants and undergarments 

to show an observer that he or she does 

not have a prosthetic device which 

could be used to affect the validity of 

the test; the direct observer must be of 

the same gender as the employee 

because of privacy concerns. In their 

petition, the AAR and ASLRRA state 

that the railroad industry is comprised 

mainly of male employees, while the 

majority of their current contract 

collectors are female, and that they need 

additional time to arrange for more male 

contract collectors and to complete 

training on the new direct observation 

procedures. 

For the reasons stated above, the 

petitioners ask FRA to waive until 

November 1, 2008, § 219.701’s 

incorporation by reference of Part 40 to 

the extent that it incorporates § 40.67’s 

new requirements for directly observed 

collections. Although the specific relief 

requested is a waiver of Part 219’s 

incorporation of the August 25, 2008 

effective date of § 40.67 as applied to 

return-to-duty and follow-up tests, the 

petitioners elsewhere state that their 

purpose is to seek ‘‘a delay in the 

effective date until November 1, 2008, 

for amendments to 49 CFR 40.67 issued 

by the Department of Transportation on 

June 25, 2008.’’ FRA therefore infers 

that petitioners are also seeking to defer 

the effective date of Part 219’s 

incorporation of § 40.67 as applied to 

mandatory direct observations triggered 

by employee behavior at the collection 

site. The petitioner also requests that 

DOT and the FRA reassess whether the 

new direct observation requirements are 

necessary, by monitoring observed drug 

tests over the next two years. 

The petitioners have sent a very 

similar petition to the Office of the 

Secretary of Transportation (OST). Both 

petitions focus on portions of the direct 

observation provisions of 49 CFR Part 

40, an OST regulation applicable to all 

DOT agencies having drug testing 

programs, making parallel arguments 

concerning these provisions. FRA will 

fully coordinate its response to the 

petition sent to FRA with OST’s 

response to the petitions sent to OST, 

and FRA’s response will be consistent 

with that of OST with respect to the 

issues involved. 

Comments should reference Docket 

No. FRA 2008–0092, and may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Docket 

Management Facility, U.S. Department 

of Transportation, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

All documents in the public docket, 

including the AAR/ASLRRA joint 

waiver request and all comments 

received, will be posted without change 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. 

Because of the necessity for expedited 

processing of this petition, FRA does 

not anticipate scheduling a public 

hearing in connection with this request 

for a waiver of certain regulatory 

provisions. Communications received 

by Aug. 21, 2008 will be considered by 

FRA before final action is taken. 

Comments received after that date will 

be considered as far as practicable. 

For access to the docket, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov anytime, or 

to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. Follow the online 

instructions for accessing the dockets, 

where you may also review DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement in the 

Federal Register published on April 11, 

2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 

19477–78). 

Issued in Washington, DC on August 12, 

2008. 

Michael J. Logue, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Compliance and Program Implementation. 

[FR Doc. E8–19037 Filed 8–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 35151] 

GNP Rly Inc.—Modified Rail 

Certificate—In Snohomish County, WA 

On July 14, 2008, GNP Rly Inc. 

(GNP) 1 filed an application for a 

modified certificate of public 

convenience and necessity under 49 

CFR Part 1150, Subpart C, Modified 

Certificate of Public Convenience and 

Necessity (modified certificate), to lease 

and operate a segment of a line of 

railroad in the City of Snohomish, 

Snohomish County (County), WA. The 

segment is owned by the County and 

extends from milepost 39.1 to milepost 

39.3, a distance of approximately 0.2 

miles. On August 7, 2008, Mayor Randy 

Hamlin, on behalf of the City of 

Snohomish (City), filed a letter in 

response to GNP’s application. 

The segment is part of a line of 

railroad authorized to be abandoned 

pursuant to a decision issued by the 

Board’s predecessor agency, the 

Interstate Commerce Commission, in 

Burlington Northern Railroad 

Company—Exemption—Abandonment 

in Snohomish County, WA, Docket No. 

AB–6 (Sub-No. 280X) (ICC served Mar. 

12, 1986).2 GNP states that the County 

acquired the segment on October 20, 

1992.3

The County leased the segment to 

GNP by agreement dated May 23, 2008. 

GNP states that it will lease the segment 

for an initial term beginning January 1, 

2008, and ending December 31, 2039, 

with a 31-year renewal term. GNP states 

that the segment will be used for the 

reconstruction of 350 yards of sidings 

and service tracks for storage and 

maintenance of locomotives and cars 

and as a base of operations for trains, 

motive power, and rolling stock to be 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
48278 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 160 / Monday, August 18, 2008 / Notices 

4The rail line involved in Docket No. AB–6 (SubNo. 280X) connects with a 0.99-mile line of railroad 

owned by BNSF Railway Company (BNSF), 

between milepost 38.01 and milepost 39.0 in 

Snohomish (BNSF line). The BNSF line was the 

subject of a notice of exemption to abandon and 

discontinue service in BNSF Railway Company—

Abandonment Exemption—In Snohomish County, 

WA, STB Docket No. AB–6 (Sub-No. 422X) (STB 

served July 2, 2004). By decision served on 

December 18, 2007, in STB Docket No. AB–6 (SubNo. 422X), the consummation deadline for BNSF’s 

abandonment of the line at issue in that proceeding 

was extended until December 31, 2008. GNP states 

that BNSF has not consummated the abandonment 

of the BNSF line and that the line may be acquired 

by a public authority. However, by subsequent 

letter received on July 21, 2008, BNSF advised the 

Board that it has consummated the abandonment of 

the BNSF line between milepost 38.25 and milepost 

39.00, and that the remainder of the line (between 

milepost 38.01 and milepost 38.25) would be 

retained for railroad purposes. 

operated by GNP. GNP states that it will 

also provide commuter rail service and 

common carrier freight rail service over 

the segment as provided in its 

agreement with the County.4 GNP states 

that the segment at issue here is the first 

small piece of a larger segment that GNP 

hopes to operate. 

The City requests that the Board deny 

GNP’s application. The City opposes 

passenger rail operations on the 

segment, citing safety and noise 

concerns. In particular, the City 

complains about the negative impact 

rail service would have on several 

public facilities located near the 

segment, the danger to pedestrians and 

automobiles at the 11 crossings along 

the segment, and the close proximity of 

the segment to many new multifamily 

residences. Further, the City argues that 

the safety of the Snohomish River 

Bridge has not been evaluated. Finally, 

the City argues that there is no apparent 

need for additional commuter rail 

service. 

The rail segment qualifies for a 

modified certificate of public 

convenience and necessity, which was 

designed to promote the continuation of 

rail service over marginal lines. See 

Common Carrier Status of States, State 

Agencies, 363 I.C.C. 132, aff’d sub nom. 

Simmons v. ICC, 697 F.2d 326 (D.C. Cir. 

1982). 

Although the County supports the 

proposal, the City does not, and the City 

raises safety issues that it believes could 

arise if request rail service were to 

develop. It is not at all clear that the 

more extensive proposal, of which this 

proposal is a part, will materialize, in 

that GNP does not now have, and may 

never obtain, the ability to operate over 

any track beyond the 0.2-mile segment 

at issue here. Thus, the safety issues that 

the City raises may never arise as a 

result of the permissive authority sought 

here. In any event, any holder of a 

modified certificate must operate in 

accordance with all Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA) safety regulations. 

The FRA regulations cover such areas as 

grade crossings, noise, and the safety of 

tracks and bridges. Thus, the City’s 

concerns, should GNP’s plans come to 

fruition, can be addressed under the 

appropriate regulations. 

Pursuant to the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 

110–161, section 193, 121 Stat. 1844 

(2007), nothing in this decision 

authorizes the following activities at any 

solid waste rail transfer facility: 

collecting, storing or transferring solid 

waste outside of its original shipping 

container; or separating or processing 

solid waste (including baling, crushing, 

compacting and shredding). The term 

‘‘solid waste’’ is defined in section 1004 

of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 

U.S.C. 6903. 

This notice will be served on the 

Association of American Railroads (Car 

Service Division) as agent for all 

railroads subscribing to the car-service 

and car-hire agreement: Association of 

American Railroads, 50 F Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20001; and on the 

American Short Line and Regional 

Railroad Association: American Short 

Line and Regional Railroad Association, 

50 F Street, NW., Suite 7020, 

Washington, DC 20001. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: August 12, 2008. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Anne K. Quinlan, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–19051 Filed 8–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES