Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Standards; Rotel North American Tours, LLC; Amendment of Exemption, 20776-20777 [E9-10209]
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20776
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 85 / Tuesday, May 5, 2009 / Notices
Secretary of State for Arms Control and
International Security.
Delegation of Authority No. 321,
dated January 16, 2009, is hereby
revoked. With this exception, nothing in
this delegation of authority shall be
deemed to supersede any other
delegation of authority, which shall
remain in full force and effect during
and after this delegation.
This delegation of authority shall be
published in the Federal Register.
Dated: April 17, 2009.
James B. Steinberg,
Deputy Secretary, Department of State.
[FR Doc. E9–10348 Filed 5–4–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–27–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB–290 (Sub-No. 310X)]
Norfolk Southern Railway Company—
Abandonment Exemption—in Floyd
and Polk Counties, GA
Norfolk Southern Railway Company
(NSR) has filed a verified notice of
exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart
F—Exempt Abandonments to abandon a
12.31-mile line of railroad between
milepost 3.69–N and milepost 16.00–N,
in Floyd and Polk Counties, GA.1 The
line traverses United States Postal
Service Zip Codes 30124 and 30161.
NSR has certified that: (1) No local
traffic has moved over the line for at
least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has
moved over the line for at least 2 years
and overhead traffic, if there were any,
could be rerouted over other lines; (3)
no formal complaint filed by a user of
rail service on the line (or by a state or
local government entity acting on behalf
of such user) regarding cessation of
service over the line either is pending
with the Surface Transportation Board
(Board) or with any U.S. District Court
or has been decided in favor of
complainant within the 2-year period;
and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR
1105.7 (environmental report), 49 CFR
1105.8 (historic report), 49 CFR 1105.11
(transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12
(newspaper publication), and 49 CFR
1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental
agencies) have been met.
As a condition to this exemption, any
employee adversely affected by the
abandonment shall be protected under
Oregon Short Line R. Co.—
Abandonment—Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91
1 NSR also seeks exemption from the
requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10904 (offers of financial
assistance (OFA)). The Board will address the
merits of this request in a separate decision.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
23:12 May 04, 2009
Jkt 217001
(1979). To address whether this
condition adequately protects affected
employees, a petition for partial
revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d)
must be filed.
Provided no formal expression of
intent to file an OFA has been received,
this exemption will be effective on June
4, 2009, unless stayed pending
reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do
not involve environmental issues,2
formal expressions of intent to file an
OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),3 and
trail use/rail banking requests under 49
CFR 1152.29 must be filed by May 15,
2009.4 Petitions to reopen or requests
for public use conditions under 49 CFR
1152.28 must be filed by May 26, 2009,
with the Surface Transportation Board,
395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC
20423–0001.
A copy of any petition filed with the
Board should be sent to NSR’s
representative: James R. Paschall, Senior
General Attorney, Norfolk Southern
Corporation, Three Commercial Place,
Norfolk, VA 23510.
If the verified notice contains false or
misleading information, the exemption
is void ab initio.
NSR has filed environmental and
historic reports that address the effects,
if any, of the abandonment on the
environment and historic resources.
SEA will issue an environmental
assessment (EA) by May 8, 2009.
Interested persons may obtain a copy of
the EA by writing to SEA (Room 1100,
Surface Transportation Board,
Washington, DC 20423–0001) or by
calling SEA, at (202) 245–0305.
[Assistance for the hearing impaired is
available through the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339.] Comments on
environmental and historic preservation
matters must be filed within 15 days
after the EA becomes available to the
public.
Environmental, historic preservation,
public use, or trail use/rail banking
2 The Board will grant a stay if an informed
decision on environmental issues (whether raised
by a party or by the Board’s Section of
Environmental Analysis (SEA) in its independent
investigation) cannot be made before the
exemption’s effective date. See Exemption of Outof-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any
request for a stay should be filed as soon as possible
so that the Board may take appropriate action before
the exemption’s effective date.
3 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing
fee, which currently is set at $1,500. See 49 CFR
1002.2(f)(25).
4 NSR states that it is not aware of any restriction
on the title to the right-of-way that would affect the
transfer of title or the use of property for other than
rail purposes but will provide full title information
promptly if it receives a proposal to acquire the
property for public purposes.
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Frm 00106
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
conditions will be imposed, where
appropriate, in a subsequent decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR
1152.29(e)(2), NSR shall file a notice of
consummation with the Board to signify
that it has exercised the authority
granted and fully abandoned the line. If
consummation has not been effected by
NSR’s filing of a notice of
consummation by May 5, 2010, and
there are no legal or regulatory barriers
to consummation, the authority to
abandon will automatically expire.
Board decisions and notices are
available on our Web site at
www.stb.dot.gov.
Decided: April 29, 2009.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. E9–10258 Filed 5–4–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2008–0078]
Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)
Standards; Rotel North American
Tours, LLC; Amendment of Exemption
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of amendment; request
for comments.
SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that the
Rotel North American Tours, LLC
(Rotel), has applied for amendment of
its existing exemption that permits 22
named drivers, employed by Rotel and
possessing German CDLs, to operate
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in
the U.S. without a CDL issued by one
of the States. Rotel proposes to amend
the roster of 22 exempt Rotel drivers in
order to substitute three new Rotel
drivers for three drivers no longer
employed by Rotel. The new Rotel
drivers would be subject to all the terms
and conditions of the current
exemption, including its expiration date
of July 30, 2010.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before May 20, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Federal Docket
Management System Number FMCSA–
2008–0078 by any of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Telefax: 1–202–493–2251.
E:\FR\FM\05MYN1.SGM
05MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 85 / Tuesday, May 5, 2009 / Notices
• Mail: Docket Management Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Ave., SE., West Building,
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: West
Building, Ground Floor, Room W12–
140, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE.,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., E.T., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the Agency name and docket
number. For detailed instructions on
submitting comments and additional
information on the exemption process,
see the Public Participation heading
below. Note that all comments received
will be posted without change to
https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided.
Please see the Privacy Act heading
below.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov, and follow the
online instructions for accessing the
dockets, or go to the street address listed
above.
Privacy Act: You may search the
electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may
review the DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19476) or you may visit https://
DocketInfo.dot.gov.
Public Participation: The Federal
eRulemaking Portal is available 24
hours each day, 365 days each year. You
may obtain electronic submission and
retrieval help and guidelines under the
‘‘help’’ section of the Federal
eRulemaking Portal Web site. If you
want us to notify you that we received
your comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or
postcard, or print the acknowledgment
page that appears after submitting
comments online. Comments received
after the comment closing date will be
included in the docket, and we will
consider late comments to the extent
practicable.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Robert F. Schultz, Jr., FMCSA Driver
and Carrier Operations Division, Office
of Bus and Truck Standards and
Operations: Telephone: 202–366–4325.
E-mail: MCPSD@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Nov<24>2008
23:12 May 04, 2009
Jkt 217001
Background
Section 4007 of the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L.
105–178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998)
amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e)
to provide FMCSA authority to grant
exemptions from its motor carrier safety
regulations, including the HOS rules.
The procedure for requesting an
exemption is prescribed in 49 CFR part
381. FMCSA must publish a notice of
each exemption request in the Federal
Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The
Agency must provide the public an
opportunity to inspect the information
relevant to the application, including
any safety analyses that have been
conducted, and to comment on the
request.
The Agency must review the safety
analyses and public comments. Then it
may grant the exemption for up to 2
years if it finds ‘‘such exemption would
likely achieve a level of safety that is
equivalent to, or greater than, the level
that would be achieved absent such
exemption’’ (49 CFR 381.305). The
decision of the Agency must be
published in the Federal Register (49
CFR 381.315(b)) with the reason for
denying or, in the alternative, the
specific person or class of persons
receiving the exemption, and the
regulatory provision or provisions from
which the exemption is granted. The
notice must also specify the effective
period of the exemption and its terms
and conditions.
Rotel provides seasonal motorcoach
tours for non-English speaking tourists.
The service is unique because the
drivers of these buses serve as the tour
guides, providing oral commentary to
the passengers in their native language,
usually German. Rotel states that none
of the States of the U.S. will issue CDLs
to these drivers because they are not
State residents. Until recent years, Rotel
drivers were able to obtain a nonresident CDL from certain States. Rotel
asserts that without the exemption from
the requirement that its drivers have a
CDL issued by a State, it would have to
terminate these tour operations.
Complete details of Rotel’s operations
can be found in its original application,
dated August 27, 2007, which is
contained in the docket of this notice.
On July 30, 2008, FMCSA granted,
after notice and comment, Rotel’s
request to allow 22 drivers, each
holding a German CDL, to operate Rotel
motor coaches in the U.S. without a
CDL issued by one of the States as
required by 49 CFR 383.23 (73 FR
44313). FMCSA found that these
drivers, operating specialty tour buses
in the U.S., would ‘‘likely achieve a
PO 00000
Frm 00107
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
20777
level of safety that is equivalent to, or
greater than, the level that would be
achieved absent such exemption,’’ in
accordance with 49 CFR 381.305. The 2year exemption expires on July 30,
2010.
Rotel’s Request for Amendment
By letter dated February 6, 2009,
supplemented by an e-mail message
dated April 9, 2009, Rotel applied for an
amendment to its exemption for the sole
purpose of replacing three drivers on
the original roster of 22 Rotel drivers
approved for this exemption. Both
documents are available in the docket
for this notice. Rotel asks that Jens
Radloff, Christian Hafner, and Ludwig
Gerlsberger be dropped from that roster,
and that, in their place, Rotel employees
Klaus Endres, Sebastian Nicki, and KarlHeinz Schmitz, non-residents of the
U.S. and holders of German CDLs, be
added to the roster as drivers exempt
from the CDL licensing requirement.
Rotel believes these three new drivers,
like the non-resident Rotel drivers
already operating under this exemption,
possess sufficient knowledge, skills, and
experience to ensure a level of safety
that is equivalent to, or greater than, the
level of safety that would be obtained by
complying with the requirement for a
U.S. CDL. If the Agency determines that
this amendment should be granted, the
three new drivers would be subject to
the terms and conditions of the original
Rotel exemption.
In accordance with 49 U.S.C.
31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA
requests public comments on Rotel’s
request for amendment of its exemption
to allow it to substitute three new Rotel
CDL drivers for three of the 22 original
Rotel CDL drivers granted exemption
from 49 CFR 383.23 on July 30, 2008.
FMCSA will consider all comments
received by close of business on May 20,
2009. All comments will be available for
examination in the docket at the
location listed under the ADDRESSES
section of this notice. The Agency will
consider to the extent practicable
comments received in the public docket
after the closing date of the comment
period.
Issued on: April 28, 2009.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy and
Program Development.
[FR Doc. E9–10209 Filed 5–4–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
E:\FR\FM\05MYN1.SGM
05MYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20776-20777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10209]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2008-0078]
Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Standards; Rotel North American
Tours, LLC; Amendment of Exemption
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of amendment; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that the Rotel North American Tours, LLC
(Rotel), has applied for amendment of its existing exemption that
permits 22 named drivers, employed by Rotel and possessing German CDLs,
to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in the U.S. without a CDL
issued by one of the States. Rotel proposes to amend the roster of 22
exempt Rotel drivers in order to substitute three new Rotel drivers for
three drivers no longer employed by Rotel. The new Rotel drivers would
be subject to all the terms and conditions of the current exemption,
including its expiration date of July 30, 2010.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 20, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket
Management System Number FMCSA-2008-0078 by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Telefax: 1-202-493-2251.
[[Page 20777]]
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Washington, DC 20590, between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information on the exemption process, see the Public
Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading
below.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov, and follow the
online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street
address listed above.
Privacy Act: You may search the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the
DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published
on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19476) or you may visit https://DocketInfo.dot.gov.
Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You may obtain electronic
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site. If you want us to notify
you that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed,
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgment page that
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the
comment closing date will be included in the docket, and we will
consider late comments to the extent practicable.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert F. Schultz, Jr., FMCSA
Driver and Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck
Standards and Operations: Telephone: 202-366-4325. E-mail:
MCPSD@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
(Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998) amended 49 U.S.C. 31315
and 31136(e) to provide FMCSA authority to grant exemptions from its
motor carrier safety regulations, including the HOS rules. The
procedure for requesting an exemption is prescribed in 49 CFR part 381.
FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption request in the Federal
Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The Agency must provide the public an
opportunity to inspect the information relevant to the application,
including any safety analyses that have been conducted, and to comment
on the request.
The Agency must review the safety analyses and public comments.
Then it may grant the exemption for up to 2 years if it finds ``such
exemption would likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to,
or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such
exemption'' (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of the Agency must be
published in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(b)) with the reason
for denying or, in the alternative, the specific person or class of
persons receiving the exemption, and the regulatory provision or
provisions from which the exemption is granted. The notice must also
specify the effective period of the exemption and its terms and
conditions.
Rotel provides seasonal motorcoach tours for non-English speaking
tourists. The service is unique because the drivers of these buses
serve as the tour guides, providing oral commentary to the passengers
in their native language, usually German. Rotel states that none of the
States of the U.S. will issue CDLs to these drivers because they are
not State residents. Until recent years, Rotel drivers were able to
obtain a non-resident CDL from certain States. Rotel asserts that
without the exemption from the requirement that its drivers have a CDL
issued by a State, it would have to terminate these tour operations.
Complete details of Rotel's operations can be found in its original
application, dated August 27, 2007, which is contained in the docket of
this notice.
On July 30, 2008, FMCSA granted, after notice and comment, Rotel's
request to allow 22 drivers, each holding a German CDL, to operate
Rotel motor coaches in the U.S. without a CDL issued by one of the
States as required by 49 CFR 383.23 (73 FR 44313). FMCSA found that
these drivers, operating specialty tour buses in the U.S., would
``likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater
than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption,'' in
accordance with 49 CFR 381.305. The 2-year exemption expires on July
30, 2010.
Rotel's Request for Amendment
By letter dated February 6, 2009, supplemented by an e-mail message
dated April 9, 2009, Rotel applied for an amendment to its exemption
for the sole purpose of replacing three drivers on the original roster
of 22 Rotel drivers approved for this exemption. Both documents are
available in the docket for this notice. Rotel asks that Jens Radloff,
Christian Hafner, and Ludwig Gerlsberger be dropped from that roster,
and that, in their place, Rotel employees Klaus Endres, Sebastian
Nicki, and Karl-Heinz Schmitz, non-residents of the U.S. and holders of
German CDLs, be added to the roster as drivers exempt from the CDL
licensing requirement. Rotel believes these three new drivers, like the
non-resident Rotel drivers already operating under this exemption,
possess sufficient knowledge, skills, and experience to ensure a level
of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety
that would be obtained by complying with the requirement for a U.S.
CDL. If the Agency determines that this amendment should be granted,
the three new drivers would be subject to the terms and conditions of
the original Rotel exemption.
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA
requests public comments on Rotel's request for amendment of its
exemption to allow it to substitute three new Rotel CDL drivers for
three of the 22 original Rotel CDL drivers granted exemption from 49
CFR 383.23 on July 30, 2008. FMCSA will consider all comments received
by close of business on May 20, 2009. All comments will be available
for examination in the docket at the location listed under the
ADDRESSES section of this notice. The Agency will consider to the
extent practicable comments received in the public docket after the
closing date of the comment period.
Issued on: April 28, 2009.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy and Program Development.
[FR Doc. E9-10209 Filed 5-4-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P