Greenkraft Inc.; Receipt of Application for Temporary Exemption From FMVSS No. 108, 12138-12140 [2013-03950]
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12138
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 35 / Thursday, February 21, 2013 / Notices
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended;
and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued On: February 14, 2013.
Michael Howell,
Information Collections Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013–03935 Filed 2–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. FHWA–2013–0006]
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Request for Comments for a
New Information Collection
Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
FHWA invites public
comments about our intention to request
the Office of Management and Budget’s
(OMB) approval for a new information
collection, which is summarized below
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We
published a Federal Register Notice
with a 60-day public comment period
on this information collection on
November 23, 2012. We are required to
publish this notice in the Federal
Register by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995.
DATES: Please submit comments by
March 25, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments
within 30 days to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget, 725
17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503,
Attention DOT Desk Officer. You are
asked to comment on any aspect of this
information collection, including: (1)
Whether the proposed collection is
necessary for the FHWA’s performance;
(2) the accuracy of the estimated
burden; (3) ways for the FHWA to
enhance the quality, usefulness, and
clarity of the collected information; and
(4) ways that the burden could be
minimized, including the use of
electronic technology, without reducing
the quality of the collected information.
All comments should include the
Docket number FHWA–2013–0006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Joyce Gottlieb, 202–366–3664, Office of
Civil Rights, Federal Highway
Administration, Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave.
SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
14:47 Feb 20, 2013
Jkt 229001
Title: Federal-Aid Highway
Construction Equal Employment
Opportunity.
Background: Title 23, Part 140(a),
requires the FHWA to ensure equal
opportunity regarding contractors’
employment practices on Federal-aid
highway projects. To carry out this
requirement, the contractors must
submit to the State Transportation
Agencies (STAs) on all work being
performed on Federal-aid contracts
during the month of July, a report on its
employment workforce data. This report
provides the employment workforce
data on these contracts and includes the
number of minorities, women, and nonminorities in specific highway
construction job categories. This
information is reported on Form PR–
1391, Federal-Aid Highway
Construction Contractors Summary of
Employment Data. The statute also
requires the STAs to submit a report to
the FHWA summarizing the data
entered on the PR–1391 forms. This
summary data is provided on Form PR–
1392, Federal-Aid Highway
Construction Contractors Summary of
Employment Data. The STAs and
FHWA use this data to identify patterns
and trends of employment in the
highway construction industry, and to
determine the adequacy and impact of
the STA’s and FHWA’s contract
compliance and on-the-job (OJT)
training programs. The STAs use this
information to monitor the contractorsemployment and training of minorities
and women in the traditional highway
construction crafts. Additionally, the
data is used by FHWA to provide
summarization, trend analyses to
Congress, DOT, and FHWA officials as
well as others who request information
relating to the Federal-aid highway
construction EEO program. The
information is also used in making
decisions regarding resource allocation;
program emphasis; marketing and
promotion activities; training; and
compliance efforts.
Respondents: 11,077 annual
respondents for form PR–1391, and 52
STAs annual respondents for Form PR–
1392, total of 11,129.
Frequency: Annually.
Estimated Average Burden per
Response: FHWA estimates it takes 30
minutes for Federal-aid contractors to
complete and submit Form PR–1391
and 8 hours for STAs to complete and
submit Form PR–1392.
Estimated Total Amount Burden
Hours: Form PR–1391–5,539 hours per
year; Form PR–1392–416 hours per year,
total of 5,955 hours annually.
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Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended;
and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued On: February 14, 2013.
Michael Howell,
Information Collection Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013–03938 Filed 2–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA–2013–0019]
Greenkraft Inc.; Receipt of Application
for Temporary Exemption From FMVSS
No. 108
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition for
a temporary exemption from Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and
Associated Equipment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
procedures in 49 CFR Part 555,
Greenkraft, Inc. has applied for a
temporary exemption for its 1061 and
1082 model trucks from the
requirements of paragraph S7 of FMVSS
No. 108 applicable to headlamps. The
basis of the application is that the
exemption would make development or
field evaluation of a low-emission
vehicle easier without unreasonably
lowering the safety performance of the
vehicle.
NHTSA is publishing this notice of
receipt of the application in accordance
with the requirements of 49 U.S.C.
30113(b)(2), and has made no judgment
on the merits of the application.
DATES: You should submit your
comments not later than March 25,
2013.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas Healy, Office of the Chief
Counsel, NCC–112, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 4th
Floor, Room W41–212, Washington, DC
20590. Telephone: (202) 366–2992; Fax:
(202) 366–3820.
Comments: We invite you to submit
comments on the application described
above. You may submit comments
identified by the docket number at the
heading of this notice by any of the
following methods:
• Web Site: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments
on the electronic docket site by clicking
E:\FR\FM\21FEN1.SGM
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erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 35 / Thursday, February 21, 2013 / Notices
on ‘‘Help and Information’’ or ‘‘Help/
Info.’’
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
• Mail: U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., West Building Ground
Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name and docket
number. 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 discussion
below. We will consider all comments
received before the close of business on
the comment closing date indicated
above. To the extent possible, we will
also consider comments filed after the
closing date.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov at any time or to
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. Telephone:
(202) 366–9826.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to 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 DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (Volume
65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78) or you
may visit https://www.dot.gov/
privacy.html.
Confidential Business Information: If
you wish to submit any information
under a claim of confidentiality, you
should submit three copies of your
complete submission, including the
information you claim to be confidential
business information, to the Chief
Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. In addition, you should
submit two copies, from which you
have deleted the claimed confidential
business information, to Docket
Management at the address given above.
When you send a comment containing
information claimed to be confidential
business information, you should
VerDate Mar<15>2010
14:47 Feb 20, 2013
Jkt 229001
include a cover letter setting forth the
information specified in our
confidential business information
regulation (49 CFR Part 512).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Statutory Basis for Temporary
Exemptions
The National Traffic and Motor
Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act), codified
as 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301, authorizes the
Secretary of Transportation to exempt,
on a temporary basis and under
specified circumstances, motor vehicles
from a motor vehicle safety standard or
bumper standard. This authority is set
forth at 49 U.S.C. 30113. The Secretary
has delegated the authority in this
section to NHTSA.
NHTSA established 49 CFR part 555,
Temporary Exemption from Motor
Vehicle Safety and Bumper Standards,
to implement the statutory provisions
concerning temporary exemptions. A
vehicle manufacturer wishing to obtain
an exemption from a standard must
demonstrate in its application (A) that
an exemption would be in the public
interest and consistent with the Safety
Act and (B) that the manufacturer
satisfies one of the following four bases
for an exemption: (i) Compliance with
the standard would cause substantial
economic hardship to a manufacturer
that has tried to comply with the
standard in good faith; (ii) the
exemption would make easier the
development or field evaluation of a
new motor vehicle safety feature
providing a safety level at least equal to
the safety level of the standard; (iii) the
exemption would make the
development or field evaluation of a
low-emission motor vehicle easier and
would not unreasonably lower the
safety level of that vehicle; or (iv)
compliance with the standard would
prevent the manufacturer from selling a
motor vehicle with an overall safety
level at least equal to the overall safety
level of nonexempt vehicles.
For an exemption petition to be
granted on the basis that the exemption
would make the development or field
evaluation of a low-emission motor
vehicle easier and would not
unreasonably lower the safety level of
the vehicle, the petition must include
specified information set forth at 49 CFR
555.6(c). The main requirements of that
section include: (1) Substantiation that
the vehicle is a low-emission vehicle;
(2) documentation establishing that a
temporary exemption would not
unreasonably degrade the safety of a
vehicle; (3) substantiation that a
temporary exemption would facilitate
the development or field evaluation of
the vehicle; (4) a statement of whether
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12139
the petitioner intends to conform to the
standard at the end of the exemption
period; and (5) a statement that not
more than 2,500 exempted vehicles will
be sold in the United States in any 12month period for which an exemption
may be granted.
II. Greenkraft’s Petition
Greenkraft is petitioning the agency
for a temporary exemption from the
provisions in FMVSS No. 108
applicable to headlamp photometry on
the basis that ‘‘the exemption would
make the development or field
evaluation of a low-emission motor
vehicle easier and would not
unreasonably lower the safety level of
that vehicle.’’ 49 U.S.C.
30113(b)(3)(B)(iii). The agency received
Greenkraft’s petition October 24, 2012.
Greenkraft has requested that, if granted,
the exemption period begin
immediately.
Greenkraft plans to produce trucks
that run on compressed natural gas
engines with a gross vehicle weight
rating (GVWR) of over 14,000 pounds
under the requested exemption.
Greenkraft is requesting a three-year
exemption and plans to produce 2,300
vehicles during the exemption period.
Greenkraft states in the petition that it
plans to comply with FMVSS No. 108
at the end of the exemption period.
A. Low Emission Vehicle
In order to be eligible for a temporary
exemption on the grounds that the
exemption would make development or
field evaluation of a low-emission
vehicle easier without unreasonably
lowering the safety performance of the
vehicle, the applicant must substantiate
that the vehicle is a low-emission
vehicle. In order to qualify as a lowemission vehicle, the vehicle must meet
the applicable standards for new motor
vehicles under the Clean Air Act, 42
U.S.C. 7521, et seq. and emit an air
pollutant in an amount significantly
below one of those standards. The
Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) regulations issued pursuant to the
Clean Air Act establish exhaust
emissions thresholds for heavy-duty
low-emission vehicles. These exhaust
emission thresholds require that a heavy
duty low emission vehicle emit
combined emissions of oxides of
nitrogen and nonmethane hydrocarbons
(or nonmethane hydrocarbon
equivalent) of 3.8 grams or less per
brake horsepower-hour or combined
emissions of oxides of nitrogen and
nonmethane hydrocarbons (or
nonmethane hydrocarbon equivalent) of
3.5 grams or less per brake horsepowerhour when tested (certified) on fuel
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 35 / Thursday, February 21, 2013 / Notices
meeting the specifications of California
certification fuel. 40 CFR 88.105–94.
Greenkraft submitted a certification
from the California Environmental
Protection Agency’s Air Resources
Board to substantiate that the vehicle
that is the subject of the application is
a low emissions vehicle. The Air
Resources Board certification states that
the vehicle’s combined emissions of
oxides of nitrogen and nonmethane
hydrocarbons are 0.13 grams per brake
horsepower-hour.
B. Statement That a Temporary
Exemption Would Not Unreasonably
Degrade Safety
The requirements from which
Greenkraft seeks a temporary exemption
are the Upper Beam #3 requirements in
Table XVIII and Lower Beam #3V
requirements in Table XIX-b. Greenkraft
states in its application for a temporary
exemption that the only difference
between Greenkraft’s low-emission
vehicle if exempted and a compliant
vehicle is that the headlamps on
Greenkraft’s low-emission vehicle fail to
meet the minimum candela
requirements for two upper beam test
points and six lower beam test points
and exceeds the maximum candela
requirement for one upper beam test
point for visually/optically aimed
headlamps. Greenkraft attached to its
application for an exemption a test
report from a test laboratory showing
that the headlamps on the vehicles that
would be the subject of the exemption
fail to meet the upper and lower beam
requirements for optically and visually
aimed headlamps. Greenkraft states in
the application that granting the
exemption would not unreasonably
degrade the safety of the vehicle because
the lamps provide ‘‘excellent
illumination’’ even though they do not
comply with the photometric
requirements of FMVSS No. 108.
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C. Substantiation That a Temporary
Exemption Would Facilitate the
Development of a Low Emissions
Vehicle
14:47 Feb 20, 2013
Jkt 229001
Greenkraft states that granting the
temporary exemption would be in the
public interest because the exemption
would help increase the availability of
low-emission natural gas power vehicles
to businesses in the United States.
Greenkraft states that this would reduce
the United States’ dependence on
foreign oil.
III. Issuance of Notice of Final Action
Upon receiving a petition, NHTSA
conducts an initial review of the
petition with respect to whether the
petition is complete and whether the
petitioner appears to be eligible to apply
for the requested petition. The agency
has tentatively concluded that the
petition is complete and that the
petitioner is eligible to apply for the
requested exemption. The agency has
not made any judgment on the merits of
the application and is placing a nonconfidential copy of the petition in the
docket.
We are providing a 30-day comment
period. After considering public
comments and other available
information, we will publish a notice of
final action on the application in the
Federal Register.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 12,
2013 under authority delegated in 49 CFR
1.95.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2013–03950 Filed 2–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Innovative Technology
Administration
[Docket ID Number RITA 2008–0002]
Agency Information Collection;
Activity Under OMB Review; Part 249
Preservation of Records
Research and Innovative
Technology Administration (RITA),
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Greenkraft states that a temporary
exemption would facilitate the
development of low-emission vehicles
by allowing Greenkraft to redesign the
headlamp without interrupting the
development of the vehicle while the
headlamp is being redesigned.
Greenkraft further claims that, by
beginning development promptly, it can
receive critical data and test results to
further the development of natural gas
powered vehicles.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
D. Public Interest
In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13, the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics invites the
general public, industry and other
governmental parties to comment on the
continuing need for and usefulness of
BTS requiring certificated air carriers to
preserve accounting records, consumer
complaint letters, reservation reports
and records, system reports of aircraft
SUMMARY:
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movements, etc. Also, public charter
operators and overseas military
personnel charter operators are required
to retain certain contracts, invoices,
receipts, bank records and reservation
records.
Written comments should be
submitted by April 22, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff
Gorham, Office of Airline Information,
RTS–42, Room E34, RITA, BTS, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC 20590–0001, Telephone Number
(202) 366–4406, Fax Number (202) 366–
3383 or EMAIL jeff.gorham@dot.gov.
Comments: Comments should identify
the associated OMB approval # 2138–
0006 and Docket—RITA 2008–0002.
Persons wishing the Department to
acknowledge receipt of their comments
must submit with those comments a
self-addressed stamped postcard on
which the following statement is made:
Comments on OMB #2138–0006,
Docket—RITA 2008–0002. The postcard
will be date/time stamped and returned.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Approval No.: 2138–0006.
Title: Preservation of Air Carrier
Records—14 CFR Part 249.
Form No.: None.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved recordkeeping
requirement.
Respondents: Certificated air carriers
and charter operators.
Number of Respondents: 90
certificated air carriers 300 charter
operators.
Estimated Time per Response: 3 hours
per certificated air carrier; 1 hour per
charter operator.
Total Annual Burden: 570 hours.
Needs and Uses: Part 249 requires the
retention of records such as: general and
subsidiary ledgers, journals and journal
vouchers, voucher distribution registers,
accounts receivable and payable
journals and legers, subsidy records
documenting underlying financial and
statistical reports to DOT, funds reports,
consumer records, sales reports,
auditors’ and flight coupons, air
waybills, etc. Depending on the nature
of the document, the carrier may be
required to retain the document for a
period of 30 days to three years. Public
charter operators and overseas military
personnel charter operators must retain
documents which evidence or reflect
deposits made by each charter
participant and commissions received
by, paid to, or deducted by travel agents,
and all statements, invoices, bills and
receipts from suppliers or furnishers of
goods and services in connection with
the tour or charter. These records are
DATES:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 35 (Thursday, February 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12138-12140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03950]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2013-0019]
Greenkraft Inc.; Receipt of Application for Temporary Exemption
From FMVSS No. 108
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition for a temporary exemption from
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps,
Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the procedures in 49 CFR Part 555,
Greenkraft, Inc. has applied for a temporary exemption for its 1061 and
1082 model trucks from the requirements of paragraph S7 of FMVSS No.
108 applicable to headlamps. The basis of the application is that the
exemption would make development or field evaluation of a low-emission
vehicle easier without unreasonably lowering the safety performance of
the vehicle.
NHTSA is publishing this notice of receipt of the application in
accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30113(b)(2), and has made
no judgment on the merits of the application.
DATES: You should submit your comments not later than March 25, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Healy, Office of the Chief
Counsel, NCC-112, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 4th Floor, Room W41-212,
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2992; Fax: (202) 366-3820.
Comments: We invite you to submit comments on the application
described above. You may submit comments identified by the docket
number at the heading of this notice by any of the following methods:
Web Site: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on the electronic docket site by
clicking
[[Page 12139]]
on ``Help and Information'' or ``Help/Info.''
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket
Operations, M-30, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC 20590.
Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number. 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 discussion below. We
will consider all comments received before the close of business on the
comment closing date indicated above. To the extent possible, we will
also consider comments filed after the closing date.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov at any time or to
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. Telephone: (202) 366-9826.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to 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 DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit
https://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.
Confidential Business Information: If you wish to submit any
information under a claim of confidentiality, you should submit three
copies of your complete submission, including the information you claim
to be confidential business information, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA,
at the address given under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. In
addition, you should submit two copies, from which you have deleted the
claimed confidential business information, to Docket Management at the
address given above. When you send a comment containing information
claimed to be confidential business information, you should include a
cover letter setting forth the information specified in our
confidential business information regulation (49 CFR Part 512).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Statutory Basis for Temporary Exemptions
The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act),
codified as 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301, authorizes the Secretary of
Transportation to exempt, on a temporary basis and under specified
circumstances, motor vehicles from a motor vehicle safety standard or
bumper standard. This authority is set forth at 49 U.S.C. 30113. The
Secretary has delegated the authority in this section to NHTSA.
NHTSA established 49 CFR part 555, Temporary Exemption from Motor
Vehicle Safety and Bumper Standards, to implement the statutory
provisions concerning temporary exemptions. A vehicle manufacturer
wishing to obtain an exemption from a standard must demonstrate in its
application (A) that an exemption would be in the public interest and
consistent with the Safety Act and (B) that the manufacturer satisfies
one of the following four bases for an exemption: (i) Compliance with
the standard would cause substantial economic hardship to a
manufacturer that has tried to comply with the standard in good faith;
(ii) the exemption would make easier the development or field
evaluation of a new motor vehicle safety feature providing a safety
level at least equal to the safety level of the standard; (iii) the
exemption would make the development or field evaluation of a low-
emission motor vehicle easier and would not unreasonably lower the
safety level of that vehicle; or (iv) compliance with the standard
would prevent the manufacturer from selling a motor vehicle with an
overall safety level at least equal to the overall safety level of
nonexempt vehicles.
For an exemption petition to be granted on the basis that the
exemption would make the development or field evaluation of a low-
emission motor vehicle easier and would not unreasonably lower the
safety level of the vehicle, the petition must include specified
information set forth at 49 CFR 555.6(c). The main requirements of that
section include: (1) Substantiation that the vehicle is a low-emission
vehicle; (2) documentation establishing that a temporary exemption
would not unreasonably degrade the safety of a vehicle; (3)
substantiation that a temporary exemption would facilitate the
development or field evaluation of the vehicle; (4) a statement of
whether the petitioner intends to conform to the standard at the end of
the exemption period; and (5) a statement that not more than 2,500
exempted vehicles will be sold in the United States in any 12-month
period for which an exemption may be granted.
II. Greenkraft's Petition
Greenkraft is petitioning the agency for a temporary exemption from
the provisions in FMVSS No. 108 applicable to headlamp photometry on
the basis that ``the exemption would make the development or field
evaluation of a low-emission motor vehicle easier and would not
unreasonably lower the safety level of that vehicle.'' 49 U.S.C.
30113(b)(3)(B)(iii). The agency received Greenkraft's petition October
24, 2012. Greenkraft has requested that, if granted, the exemption
period begin immediately.
Greenkraft plans to produce trucks that run on compressed natural
gas engines with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of over 14,000
pounds under the requested exemption. Greenkraft is requesting a three-
year exemption and plans to produce 2,300 vehicles during the exemption
period. Greenkraft states in the petition that it plans to comply with
FMVSS No. 108 at the end of the exemption period.
A. Low Emission Vehicle
In order to be eligible for a temporary exemption on the grounds
that the exemption would make development or field evaluation of a low-
emission vehicle easier without unreasonably lowering the safety
performance of the vehicle, the applicant must substantiate that the
vehicle is a low-emission vehicle. In order to qualify as a low-
emission vehicle, the vehicle must meet the applicable standards for
new motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7521, et seq. and
emit an air pollutant in an amount significantly below one of those
standards. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulations
issued pursuant to the Clean Air Act establish exhaust emissions
thresholds for heavy-duty low-emission vehicles. These exhaust emission
thresholds require that a heavy duty low emission vehicle emit combined
emissions of oxides of nitrogen and nonmethane hydrocarbons (or
nonmethane hydrocarbon equivalent) of 3.8 grams or less per brake
horsepower-hour or combined emissions of oxides of nitrogen and
nonmethane hydrocarbons (or nonmethane hydrocarbon equivalent) of 3.5
grams or less per brake horsepower-hour when tested (certified) on fuel
[[Page 12140]]
meeting the specifications of California certification fuel. 40 CFR
88.105-94.
Greenkraft submitted a certification from the California
Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board to substantiate
that the vehicle that is the subject of the application is a low
emissions vehicle. The Air Resources Board certification states that
the vehicle's combined emissions of oxides of nitrogen and nonmethane
hydrocarbons are 0.13 grams per brake horsepower-hour.
B. Statement That a Temporary Exemption Would Not Unreasonably Degrade
Safety
The requirements from which Greenkraft seeks a temporary exemption
are the Upper Beam 3 requirements in Table XVIII and Lower
Beam 3V requirements in Table XIX-b. Greenkraft states in its
application for a temporary exemption that the only difference between
Greenkraft's low-emission vehicle if exempted and a compliant vehicle
is that the headlamps on Greenkraft's low-emission vehicle fail to meet
the minimum candela requirements for two upper beam test points and six
lower beam test points and exceeds the maximum candela requirement for
one upper beam test point for visually/optically aimed headlamps.
Greenkraft attached to its application for an exemption a test report
from a test laboratory showing that the headlamps on the vehicles that
would be the subject of the exemption fail to meet the upper and lower
beam requirements for optically and visually aimed headlamps.
Greenkraft states in the application that granting the exemption would
not unreasonably degrade the safety of the vehicle because the lamps
provide ``excellent illumination'' even though they do not comply with
the photometric requirements of FMVSS No. 108.
C. Substantiation That a Temporary Exemption Would Facilitate the
Development of a Low Emissions Vehicle
Greenkraft states that a temporary exemption would facilitate the
development of low-emission vehicles by allowing Greenkraft to redesign
the headlamp without interrupting the development of the vehicle while
the headlamp is being redesigned. Greenkraft further claims that, by
beginning development promptly, it can receive critical data and test
results to further the development of natural gas powered vehicles.
D. Public Interest
Greenkraft states that granting the temporary exemption would be in
the public interest because the exemption would help increase the
availability of low-emission natural gas power vehicles to businesses
in the United States. Greenkraft states that this would reduce the
United States' dependence on foreign oil.
III. Issuance of Notice of Final Action
Upon receiving a petition, NHTSA conducts an initial review of the
petition with respect to whether the petition is complete and whether
the petitioner appears to be eligible to apply for the requested
petition. The agency has tentatively concluded that the petition is
complete and that the petitioner is eligible to apply for the requested
exemption. The agency has not made any judgment on the merits of the
application and is placing a non-confidential copy of the petition in
the docket.
We are providing a 30-day comment period. After considering public
comments and other available information, we will publish a notice of
final action on the application in the Federal Register.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 12, 2013 under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.95.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2013-03950 Filed 2-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
