2010-16727. 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) has received a request for a waiver of compliance from 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.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) seeks a waiver of compliance with the Locomotive Safety Standards, 49 CFR 229.129(b)(2), which requires that the sound level of horns of locomotives manufactured before September 18, 2006, be tested before June 24, 2010. SEPTA operates approximately 332 pieces of equipment (locomotives) with train horns that were manufactured before the September 18, 2006, date. SEPTA states in their request that lack of a site meeting the requirements of the horn test regulation has caused SEPTA to be unable to perform any of the required horn tests. SEPTA has recently realized that removal of trees at their Frazier Facility will allow the horn testing to be performed there. SEPTA requests that the requirement to complete testing of horns on locomotives built prior to September 18, 2006, be extended 6 months, to December 24, 2010.

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 FRA-2010-0113) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:

• Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: [phone].
• 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 within 30 days of the date of this notice will be considered by FRA. FRA reserves the right to grant relief in response to this request prior to the expiration of the comment period. Any relief provided will be contingent upon FRA's consideration of any relevant comments submitted to the docket before the close of the comment period. 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 a.m.-5 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://www.regulations.gov.

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 document (or signing the document, 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 (65 FR 19477) or at http://www.dot.gov/​privacy.html.

Issued in Washington, DC, on July 2, 2010.

Robert C. Lauby,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative Operations.