Action
Notice of decision not to issue a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking.
Summary
FRA published a notice on July 3, 1995 (60 FR 34498), which stated that a second or supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) would be issued for the rulemaking (59 FR 42880) to revise the railroad accident reporting regulations. The decision to issue a supplemental NPRM was made pursuant to requests advanced by some participants at a public regulatory conference held on January 30- February 2, 1995 (59 FR 66501), in Washington, D.C., during which specific topics were discussed related to the accident reporting NPRM. It was anticipated that the supplemental NPRM would address whether or not a meaningful performance standard for accident reporting could be devised for use by the railroads. It was also anticipated that the supplemental NPRM would discuss 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 has reviewed thoroughly the written comments received in response to the NPRM; the transcripts of the public hearings which were held in Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Missouri, and Portland, Oregon, in October-November, 1994; as well as the transcripts of the public regulatory conference held in Washington, D.C., in January-February, 1995. This review revealed that a supplemental NPRM is not warranted for the railroad accident reporting NPRM. In the notice issuing the final rule, FRA will deal fully with major alternative resolutions for the issues in the rulemaking explaining clearly why they are endorsed or rejected in favor of the option selected. The approach described in the final rule notice will be a logical outgrowth of the original proposal and the cooperative efforts of all parties involved in achieving solutions to the regulatory issues posited in the railroad accident reporting NPRM.