Document ID: FRA-2011-0064-0003
Agency: fra
Document Type: Notice
Title: Petitions for Waivers of Compliance
Posted Date: 2011-08-30T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 30, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53998-53999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22058]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2011-0064]

Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), this document provides the public notice that by a 
document dated July 12, 2011, the Association of American Railroads 
(AAR) has petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a 
waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad 
safety regulations contained at 49 CFR 229.135(b)(5) and (b)(6). FRA 
assigned the petition Docket Number FRA-2011-0064.
    Specifically, the AAR seeks a waiver exempting railroads from 
meeting the 49 CFR Part 229, Appendix D, requirements until December 
31, 2015, due to Positive Train Control (PTC) requirements unforeseen 
at the time 49 CFR 229.135(b5) and (b6) were adopted. The PTC mandate 
will require an entirely new event recorder module, inclusive of the 
Appendix D requirements. Title 49 CFR Section 229.135(b) requires that 
certain locomotives be equipped with an event recorder that includes a 
certified crashworthy event recorder memory module (ERMM). The Appendix 
D section prescribes the requirements for certifying ERMM as being 
crashworthy, including the performance criteria and test sequence for 
establishing the crashworthiness of the ERMM, as well as the marking of 
the event recorder containing the crashworthy ERMM. The railroads are 
spending as much as $5,000.00 on modules that will have to be replaced 
prematurely when these locomotives are equipped with PTC. Therefore, a 
waiver of the Appendix D requirement will enable the industry to avoid 
the expense of this compliance for modules that will only be used for a 
short period of time.
    A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications 
concerning the petition, is available for review online at http://www.regulations.gov and in person at the U.S. Department of 
Transportation's (DOT) Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey 
Ave., SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Operations 
Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.
    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

[[Page 53999]]

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 and may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. Communications received by October 14, 2011 
will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments 
received after that date will be considered as far as practicable.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written 
communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the 
name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, 
if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 
19477-78), or online at http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 23, 2011.
Robert C. Lauby,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative 
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2011-22058 Filed 8-29-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P