00-16354. Petition for Waiver of Compliance

In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.

Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company (Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2000-7297)

The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company (DMIR) seeks a two-year extension of a previously granted waiver of compliance (formerly handled under Docket Number F-90-3B) from the provisions of the Railroad Freight Car Safety Standards, 49 CFR Section 215.115(b)(1)(ii), regarding inspection of roller bearings involved in a derailment. This waiver applies to DMIR cars which may be derailed at taconite pellet load out pockets at Minntac, Minorca, EVTAC, and Fairlane. These cars have been prone to derailments during the unloading process and are directed back onto the rails by being pulled over permanently mounted automatic rerailers.

DMIR states that no mainline derailments due to bearing related failures have occurred during the period of the current waiver. Bearings that have been involved in derailments have been visually inspected for external damage and allowed to return to unrestricted service when none was found.

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 2000-7297) and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Communications received within 45 days of the date of this notice 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 (9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) at the above facility. All documents in the public docket are also available for inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket facility's web site at http://dms.dot.gov.

Issued in Washington, DC on June 22, 2000.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program Development.