§211.9. Content of rulemaking and waiver petitions. — Inbound Citations

(a) Each petition for rulemaking filed as prescribed in §§ 211.7 and 211.9 is referred to the head of the office responsible for the subject matter of the petition to review and recommend appropriate action to the Administrator. No public hearing or oral argument is held before the Administrator decides whether the petition should be granted. However, a notice may be published in the Federal Register inviting written comments concerning the petition. Each petition shall be granted or denied not later than six months after its receipt by the Docket Clerk.

The Administrator initiates all rulemaking proceedings on his own motion by publishing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking or a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register. However, he may consider the recommendations of interested persons or other agencies of the United States. A separate docket is established and maintained for each rulemaking proceeding. Each rulemaking proceeding shall be completed not later than 12 months after the initial notice in that proceeding is published in the Federal Register. However, if it was initiated as the result of the granting of a rulemaking petition, the rulemaking proceeding shall be completed not later than 12 months after the petition was filed as prescribed in §§ 211.7 and 211.9.

(a) Each petition for a permanent or temporary waiver of a safety rule, regulation or standard filed as prescribed in §§ 211.7 and 211.9, is referred to the Railroad Safety Board for decision and decided not later than 9 months after receipt.

(a) Except as provided in § 211.41, each petition for a permanent or temporary waiver of a rule, regulation or standard shall be filed and processed as prescribed in §§ 211.7 and 211.9.

(b) Each petition for a waiver under this section shall be filed in the manner and contain the information required by §§ 211.7 and 211.9 of this chapter.

(e) Petitions submitted to FRA pursuant to this section should specifically address how the petition is related to the emergency, and to the extent practicable, contain the information required under § 211.9(a) and (b). The petition should at a minimum describe the following: how the petitioner or public is affected by the emergency (including the impact on railroad operations); what FRA regulations are implicated by the emergency (e.g., movement of defective equipment); how waiver of the implicated regulations would benefit petitioner during the emergency; and how long the petitioner expects to be affected by the emergency.

(e) Petitions submitted to FRA pursuant to this section should specifically address how the petition is related to the emergency, and to the extent practicable, contain the information required under § 211.9(a) and (b). The petition should at a minimum describe the following: how the petitioner or public is affected by the emergency (including the impact on railroad operations); what FRA regulations are implicated by the emergency (e.g., movement of defective equipment); how waiver of the implicated regulations would benefit petitioner during the emergency; and how long the petitioner expects to be affected by the emergency.