Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 26, 2001 / Notices 66497

1The 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.

2Each offer of financial assistance must be

accompanied by the filing fee, which currently is

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

(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 January 25, 2002, unless

stayed pending reconsideration.

Petitions to stay that do not involve

environmental issues,1 formal

expressions of intent to file an OFA

under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),2 and trail

use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR

1152.29 must be filed by January 7,

2002. Petitions to reopen or requests for

public use conditions under 49 CFR

1152.28 must be filed by January 15,

2002, 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: James R. Paschall, Esq.,

Norfolk Southern Corporation, Three

Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510–

2191.

If the verified notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio.

Applicant has filed an environmental

report which addresses the

abandonment’s effects, if any, on the

environment or historic resources. SEA

will issue an environmental assessment

(EA) by December 31, 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–

1552. 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), NSR shall file a notice of

consummation with the Board to signify

that it has exercised the authority

granted and fully abandoned the line. If

consummation has not been effected by

NSR’s filing of a notice of

consummation by December 26, 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.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Decided: December 18, 2001.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–31645 Filed 12–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

[REG–120168–97]

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request for Regulation Project

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Department of the

Treasury, as part of its continuing effort

to reduce paperwork and respondent

burden, invites the general public and

other Federal agencies to take this

opportunity to comment on proposed

and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13(44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is

soliciting comments concerning an

existing final regulation, REG–120168–

97 (TD 8798), Preparer Due Diligence

Requirements for Determining Earned

Income Credit Eligibility.

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before February 25, 2002

to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to George Freeland, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5244, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the regulation should be

directed to Larnice Mack, (202) 622–

3179, Internal Revenue Service, room

5244, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW.,

Washington, DC 20224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Preparer Due Diligence

Requirements for Determining Earned

Income Credit Eligibility.

OMB Number: 1545–1570.

Regulation Project Number: REG–

120168–97.

Abstract: Income tax return preparers

who satisfy the due diligence

requirements in this regulation will

avoid the imposition of the penalty

section 6695(g) of the Internal Revenue

Code for returns or claims for refund

due after December 31, 1997. The due

diligence requirements include

soliciting the information necessary to

determine a taxpayer’s eligibility for,

and amount of, the Earned Income Tax

Credit and the retention of this

information.

Current Actions: There are no changes

being made to this existing regulation.

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

100,000.

Estimated Time Per Respondent: 5

hours, 4 minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 507,136.

An agency may not conduct or

sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information

unless the collection of information

displays a valid OMB control number.

Books or records relating to a collection

of information must be retained as long

as their contents may become material

in the administration of any internal

revenue law. Generally, tax returns and

tax return information are confidential,

as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.

Request for Comments

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval. All comments will become a

matter of public record. Comments are

invited on: (a) Whether the collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information shall have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the collection of

information; (c) ways to enhance the

quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; (d) ways to

minimize the burden of the collection of

information on respondents, including

through the use of automated collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology; and (e) estimates of capital

or start-up costs and costs of operation,

maintenance, and purchase of services

to provide information.

Approved: December 17, 2001.

George Freeland,

IRS Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 01–31651 Filed 12–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P