Changes to Delegations

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Surface Transportation Board 49 CFR Parts 1011, 1152, and 1244 [Docket No. EP 789] AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board. ACTION: Final rule. ( printed page 53363) SUMMARY: In this final rule, the Board is revising its regulations to clarify certain existing delegations of authority and create certain new delegations for the Board's Chief Counsel and Chief of Passenger Rail and Investigations (COPRI). The Board is also creating a new regulation that codifies and expands the Board's grant stamp procedures and is revising certain regulations to make nomenclature changes. DATES: This final rule is effective on September 17, 2026. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Ziehm at (202) 918-5462. If you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call (202) 245-0245. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As discussed in more detail below, the Board is revising its existing delegations at 49 CFR 1011.6 and 1011.7 to clarify that the Board's Chief Counsel has authority to (i) resolve discovery disputes in Board proceedings and (ii) with respect to routine procedural matters, determine whether to accept late-filed procedural motions, revise deadlines established by entire Board decision, and establish reply deadlines that differ from the default 20-day reply period in the Board's regulations. The Board also is newly delegating to the Chief Counsel the authority to determine (i) whether to approve, and if necessary, condition, certain transactions involving motor carrie…