Action
Notice of decision to issue a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking.
Summary
In accordance with a notice published on December 27, 1994 (59 FR 66501), FRA held a public regulatory conference on January 30- February 2, 1995, in Washington, DC to further discuss issues related to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on railroad accident reporting (59 FR 42880). Based on the alternative positions advanced at the conference, participants requested that FRA issue a second or supplemental NPRM to address those alternatives. Following the public regulatory conference, FRA published a notice on February 16, 1995 (60 FR 9001) that confirmed the March 10, 1995 deadline for comments. This notice also postponed FRA's decision whether or not to issue a supplemental NPRM until all comments were received and reviewed by FRA. Subsequent review of the comments received by FRA revealed that a number of issues require further consideration before they can be properly resolved. FRA therefore believes that a supplemental NPRM would be warranted for the accident reporting rulemaking. The supplemental NPRM will address revised documentation requirements for the proposed Internal Control Plan; calculation of damage costs for rail equipment accidents and incidents for the determination of whether the threshold is met for FRA reporting purposes; and the proposed definition for the classification ``worker on duty'' as it pertains to ``contractors'' and ``volunteers'' performing safety-sensitive functions. FRA is also considering whether or not a meaningful or useful performance standard can be devised. If so, FRA will propose it in the supplemental NPRM. In order to give interested parties the opportunity to comment, FRA anticipates that an informal public regulatory conference would be held in Washington, DC after issuance of the supplemental NPRM.