Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 27, 2010 / Notices 66187 

1 49 U.S.C. 10505, Public Law 95–473, 92 Stat. 

1361, has been omitted by Public Law 104–88, Title 

I, § 102(a). 

2H.R. Rep. No. 96–1430, at 105 (1980). 

3See, e.g., Rail Gen. Exemption Auth.— 

Nonferrous Recyclables, 3 S.T.B. 62 (1998); Rail 

Gen. Exemption Auth.—Petition of AAR to Exempt 

Rail Transp. of Selected Commodity Groups, 9 

I.C.C. 2d 969 (1993); Exemption from Regulation— 

Rail Transp. Frozen Food, 367 I.C.C. 859 (1983); 

Liquid Iron Chloride, 367 I.C.C. 347 (1983); Rail 

Gen. Exemption Auth.—Miscellaneous Agric. 

Commodities, 367 I.C.C. 298 (1983). 

4See Central States Motor Freight Bureau v. ICC, 

924 F.2d 1099 (DC Cir. 1991), for a summary of the 

agency’s several actions in connection with the 

progressive deregulation of TOFC/COFC services 

through the exemption process. 

5See Brae Corp. v. United States, 740 F.2d 1023 

(DC Cir. 1984). 

6See Pejepscot Indus. Park—Pet. for Declaratory 

Order, 6 S.T.B. 886, 891, reconsideration granted in 

part, 7 S.T.B. 220 (2003). 

information collection, including (a) 

whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for FAA’s 

performance; (b) the accuracy of the 

estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to 

enhance the quality, utility and clarity 

of the information collection; and (d) 

ways that the burden could be 

minimized without reducing the quality 

of the collected information. The agency 

will summarize and/or include your 

comments in the request for OMB’s 

clearance of this information collection. 

Issued in Washington, DC on October 20, 

2010. 

Carla Scott, 

FAA Information Collection Clearance 

Officer, IT Enterprises Business Services 

Division, AES–200. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27097 Filed 10–26–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[Docket No. EP 704] 

Review of Commodity, Boxcar, and 

TOFC/COFC Exemptions 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation 

Board (Board) will hold a public hearing 

beginning at 9:30 a.m. on December 9, 

2010, in the Hearing Room on the first 

floor of the Board’s headquarters in 

Washington, DC. The purpose of the 

public hearing will be to review certain 

categorical exemptions from regulation 

under 49 U.S.C. 10502, specifically the 

commodity exemptions under 49 CFR 

1039.10 and 1039.11, the boxcar 

exemptions under 49 CFR 1039.14, and 

trailer-on-flatcar/container-on-flatcar 

(TOFC/COFC) exemptions under 49 

CFR part 1090. Persons wishing to speak 

at the hearing should notify the Board 

in writing. 

DATES: The public hearing will take 

place on December 9, 2010. Any person 

wishing to speak at the hearing should 

file with the Board a combined notice of 

intent to participate (identifying the 

party, the proposed speaker, the time 

requested, and the topic(s) to be 

covered) and the person’s written 

testimony by November 30, 2010. 

Written submissions by interested 

persons who do not wish to appear at 

the hearing are also due by November 

30, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: All filings may be submitted 

either via the Board’s e-filing format or 

in the traditional paper format. Any 

person using e-filing should attach a 

document and otherwise comply with 

the instructions at the ‘‘E–FILING’’ link 

on the Board’s ‘‘http://www.stb.dot.gov’’ 

Web site. Any person submitting a filing 

in the traditional paper format should 

send an original and 10 copies of the 

filing to: Surface Transportation Board, 

Attn: Docket No. EP 704, 395 E Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20423–0001. 

Copies of written submissions will be 

posted to the Board’s Web site and will 

be available for viewing and selfcopying in the Board’s Public Docket 

Room, Suite 131. Copies of the 

submissions will also be available (for a 

fee) by contacting the Board’s Chief 

Records Officer at (202) 245–0235 or 

395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20423–0001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia 

Farr at (202) 245–0359. [Assistance for 

the hearing impaired is available 

through the Federal Information Relay 

Service (FIRS) at: (800) 877–8339.] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

exemption provisions pertaining to 

railroads first adopted in the Railroad 

Revitalization and Regulatory Reform 

Act of 1976, Public Law 94–210, 90 Stat. 

31 (1976) (4R Act), and later modified 

in the Staggers Act of 1980, Public Law 

96–448, 94 Stat. 1895 (1980) (Staggers 

Act), fundamentally changed the 

economic regulation of the railroad 

industry by the Board’s predecessor, the 

Interstate Commerce Commission (the 

Commission). Prior to 1976, the 

Commission heavily regulated the 

industry. The Commission focused its 

regulation on ensuring equal treatment 

of shippers, which in some instances, 

led to railroad pricing decisions based 

on factors other than market 

considerations. 

By the early 1970s, the railroads were 

in financial decline. In an effort to 

revitalize the struggling railroad 

industry, Congress enacted the 4R Act 

and, 4 years later, the Staggers Act. In 

both statutes, Congress reduced the 

Commission’s oversight of railroads 

through various means, including the 

statutory exemption provisions of 49 

U.S.C. 10505. Under § 10505, which was 

enacted in the 4R Act and modified in 

the Staggers Act, Congress directed the 

Commission to exempt railroad 

activities when it found that regulation 

was not necessary to carry out the 

national rail transportation policy (RTP) 

of 49 U.S.C. 10101, and either: (1) The 

exemption was of limited scope; or (2) 

regulation was not necessary to protect 

shippers from abuse of market power. 

(These exemption provisions are now 

contained in 49 U.S.C. 10502.1) In the 

Staggers Act, Congress directed the 

Commission to pursue exemptions 

aggressively, and to correct any 

problems arising as a result of the 

exemption through its revocation 

authority.2

Consistent with that Congressional 

directive, the Commission exempted 

numerous commodities, services, and 

types of transactions from regulation. In 

its first ‘‘commodity’’ exemption, in Rail 

General Exemption Authority—Fresh 

Fruits & Vegetables, 361 I.C.C. 211 

(1979), the Commission exempted 

certain fresh fruits and vegetables from 

its regulations, based largely on its 

conclusion that the rail market share of 

movements of these goods, which were 

subject to strong competitive forces, was 

minimal and declining. Since then, the 

agency has exempted numerous other 

individual commodities, listed in 49 

CFR 1039.10 and 1039.11, after finding 

that traffic for these individual 

commodities was sufficiently 

competitive and that railroads lacked 

sufficient market power such that abuse 

of shippers was not a substantial threat.3

The Commission also exempted rail 

(and truck) operations provided in 

connection with intermodal (TOFC/ 

COFC) services, under 49 CFR part 

1090,4 and the rail transportation of all 

commodities in single-line boxcar 

service, under 49 CFR 1039.14.5

These agency exemption decisions 

were instrumental in the U.S. rail 

system’s transition from a heavily 

regulated, financially weak component 

of the economy into a mature, relatively 

healthy industry that operates with only 

minimal oversight. The transition, 

however, was not without challenges, 

sometimes because an exemption under 

§ 10502 excuses carriers from virtually 

all aspects of regulation,6 even though 

the Board’s continuing jurisdiction over 

exempted movements also extinguishes 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
66188 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 27, 2010 / Notices 

7See Consol. Rail Corp.—Declaratory Order— 

Exemption, 1 I.C.C. 2d 895, 898 (1986). 

any common law cause of action 

regarding common carrier duties.7 Thus, 

for exempted movements, rail customers 

could pursue legal remedies under the 

Interstate Commerce Act only if they 

successfully petitioned the agency to 

revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 

10502(d). 

As long as 30 years have passed since 

the adoption of many of these 

exemptions. In recent years, the Board 

has received informal inquiries 

questioning the relevance and/or 

necessity of some of the existing 

commodity exemptions, given the 

changes in the competitive landscape 

and the railroad industry that have 

occurred over the past few decades. The 

Board will, therefore, hold a hearing to 

explore the continuing utility of and the 

issues surrounding the categorical 

exemptions under § 10502, specifically 

the various commodity exemptions 

under 49 CFR 1039.10 and 1039.11, the 

boxcar exemptions under 49 CFR 

1039.14, and TOFC/COFC exemptions 

under 49 CFR part 1090. The Board 

seeks comments as to the effectiveness 

of these exemptions in the marketplace; 

whether the rationale behind any of 

these exemptions should be revisited; 

and whether the exemptions should be 

subject to periodic review. 

Date of Hearing: The hearing will 

begin at 9:30 a.m. on December 9, 2010, 

in the 1st floor hearing room at the 

Board’s headquarters at 395 E Street, 

SW., in Washington, DC and will 

continue, with short breaks if necessary, 

until every person scheduled to speak 

has been heard. 

Notice of Intent to Participate and 

Testimony: Any person wishing to speak 

at the hearing should file with the Board 

a combined notice of intent to 

participate (identifying the party, the 

proposed speaker, the time requested, 

and the topic(s) to be covered) and the 

person’s written testimony, by 

November 30, 2010. Also, any interested 

person who wishes to submit a written 

statement without appearing at the 

December 9, 2010 hearing should also 

file that statement by November 30, 

2010. 

Board Releases and Live Video 

Streaming Available Via the Internet: 

Decisions and notices of the Board, 

including this notice, are available on 

the Board’s Web site at ‘‘http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov.’’ This hearing will be 

available on the Board’s Web site by live 

video streaming. To access the hearing, 

click on the ‘‘Live Video’’ link under 

‘‘Information Center’’ at the left side of 

the home page beginning at 9 a.m. on 

December 9, 2010. 

This action will not significantly 

affect either the quality of the human 

environment or the conservation of 

energy resources. 

Decided: October 21, 2010. 

By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27104 Filed 10–26–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

Advisory Council to the Internal 

Revenue Service; Meeting 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Internal Revenue Service 

Advisory Council (IRSAC) will hold a 

public meeting on Wednesday, 

November 17, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Anna Millikan, Program Analyst, 

National Public Liaison, CL:NPL, 7559, 

1111 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, D.C. 20224. Telephone: 

202–622–6433 (not a toll-free number). 

E-mail address: *public_liaison@irs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given pursuant to section 

10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. (1988), a 

public meeting of the IRSAC will be 

held on Wednesday, November 17, 

2010, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the 

Madison, Loews Hotel, 1177 15th Street, 

NW., Montpelier Room, Washington, DC 

20005. Issues to be discussed include, 

but not limited to: The Issue 

Management Process, The New 

Proposed Form Regarding Uncertain 

Tax Positions, Automated Under 

Reporting (AUR) Soft Notice CP2057, 

Repayment of First Time Homebuyer 

Credit, The Filing Requirements for the 

Report of Foreign Bank and Financial 

Accounts (‘‘FBAR’’) are Confusing and 

Extremely Overbroad, Collection 

Standard Should Be Revised To 

Enhance Collection and to Reduce 

Installment Payment Default Rates, 

Circular 230 Enrollment of Former 

Internal Revenue Service Employees, 

Recommendations Regarding 

Continuing Education Program and 

Sponsor Requirements Under Proposed 

Changes to Circular 230. Reports from 

the four IRSAC subgroups, Large 

Business and International, Small 

Business/Self-Employed, Wage & 

Investment, and Office of Professional 

Responsibility will also be presented 

and discussed. Last minute agenda 

changes may preclude advanced notice. 

The meeting room accommodates 

approximately 80 people, IRSAC 

members and Internal Revenue Service 

officials inclusive. Due to limited 

seating, please call Anna Millikan to 

confirm your attendance. Ms. Millikan 

can be reached at 202–622–6433. 

Attendees are encouraged to arrive at 

least 30 minutes before the meeting 

begins. Should you wish the IRSAC to 

consider a written statement, please 

either call 202–622–6433, write to 

Internal Revenue Service, Office of 

National Public Liaison, CL:NPL:7559, 

1111 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20224, or e-mail 

*public_liaison@irs.gov. 

Dated: October 21, 2010. 

Candice Cromling, 

Director, National Public Liaison. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27116 Filed 10–26–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P 

UNITED STATES SENTENCING 

COMMISSION 

Sentencing Guidelines for United 

States Courts 

AGENCY: United States Sentencing 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of a temporary, 

emergency amendment to sentencing 

guidelines and commentary. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 8 of the 

Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, Public Law 

111–220, the Commission hereby gives 

notice of a temporary, emergency 

amendment to the sentencing guidelines 

and commentary. This notice sets forth 

the temporary, emergency amendment 

and the reason for amendment. 

The specific amendment in this notice 

is as follows: An amendment regarding 

offenses involving crack cocaine 

(particularly offenses covered by 

§§ 2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, 

Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking 

(Including Possession with Intent to 

Commit These Offenses); Attempt or 

Conspiracy) and 2D2.1 (Unlawful 

Possession; Attempt or Conspiracy)) and 

to account for certain aggravating and 

mitigating circumstances in drug 

trafficking cases (particularly cases 

under § 2D1.1) to implement section 8 

of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, 

Public Law 111–220. 

DATES: The Commission has specified 

an effective date of November 1, 2010, 

for the emergency amendment. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES