Regulations Governing Fees for Services Performed in Connection With Licensing and Related Services-2004 Update

AGENCY:

Surface Transportation Board, DOT.

ACTION:

Final rules.

SUMMARY:

The Board adopts its 2004 User Fee Update and revises its fee schedule to recover the costs associated with the January 2004 Government salary increases and to reflect changes in overhead costs to the Board.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

These rules are effective October 31, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David T. Groves, (202) 565-1551, or Anne Quinlan, (202) 565-1727. [TDD for the hearing impaired: 1-800-877-8339.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Board's regulations at 49 CFR 1002.3 require that the Board's user fee schedule be updated annually. The regulation at 49 CFR 1002.3(a) provides that the entire fee schedule or selected fees can be modified more than once a year, if necessary. Fees are revised based on the cost study formula set forth at 49 CFR 1002.3(d).

Because Board employees received a salary increase of 4.42% in January 2004, the Board is updating its user fees to recover the increased personnel costs. With certain exceptions, all fees, including those recently adopted or amended in Regulations Governing Fees For Services Performed In Connection With Licensing And Related Services—2002 New Fees, STB Ex Parte No. 542 (Sub-No. 4) (STB served Mar. 29, 2004) will be updated based on the cost formula contained in 49 CFR 1002.3(d). In addition, changes to the overhead costs borne by the Board are reflected in the revised fee schedule.

The fee increases adopted here result from the mechanical application of the update formula in 49 CFR 1002.3(d), which was adopted through notice and comment procedures in Regulations Governing Fees for Services—1987 Update, 4 I.C.C.2d 137 (1987). No new fees are being proposed in this proceeding. Therefore, the Board finds that notice and comment are unnecessary for this proceeding. See Regulations Governing Fees For Services—1990 Update, 7 I.C.C.2d 3 (1990); Regulations Governing Fees For Services—1991 Update, 8 I.C.C.2d 13 (1991); and Regulations Governing Fees For Services—1993 Update, 9 I.C.C.2d 855 (1993).

The Board concludes that the fee changes adopted here will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because the Board's regulations provide for waiver of filing fees for those entities that can make the required showing of financial hardship.

Additional information is contained in the Board's decision. To obtain a free copy of the full decision, visit the Board's Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov or call the Board's Information Officer at (202) 565-1500. To purchase a copy of the decision, write to, call, e-mail, or pick up in person from ASAP Document Solutions, 9332 Annapolis Road, Suite 103 Lanham, Maryland 20706, (301) 577-2600, asapdc@verizon.net. [Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through Federal Information Relay Services (FIRS): (800) 877-8339.]

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 1002

• Administrative practice and procedure
• Common carriers
• Freedom of information
• User fees

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, title 49, chapter X, part 1002, of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 1002—FEES

1. The authority citation for part 1002 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A) and 553; 31 U.S.C. 9701 and 49 U.S.C. 721(a).

2. Section 1002.1 is amended by revising paragraphs (a) through (d) and (f)(1); the table in paragraph (g)(6); and paragraph (g)(7) to read as follows:

2. In § 1002.2, paragraph (f) is revised as follows: