Hours of Service of Drivers: Application for Exemption; Power and Communication Contractors Association (PCCA), 43283-43285 [2017-19512]
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asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2017 / Notices
327. Notice is hereby given that the
Caltrans, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA), and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) has taken final
agency actions subject to 23 U.S.C.
139(l)(1) by issuing licenses, permits,
and approvals for the following highway
project in the State of California: The
project is located in San Diego County
at the I–5/SR 56 Interchange near
Carmel Valley Road in San Diego from
postmile (PM) I–5: R32.7 to R34.8 and
SR 56: 0.00 to 2.5. The proposed project
includes improvements to maintain or
improve the existing and future traffic
operations on the I–5 and SR 56
corridors. The preferred alternative
consists adding the two missing
connectors (I–5 Southbound to SR 56
Eastbound and SR 56 Westbound to I–
5 Northbound). The Del Mar Heights
Overcrossing will be replaced with
pedestrian enhancements and improved
lighting. The Carmel Valley Road will
be widened from three to four lanes by
the I–5 off-ramp and will be widened
from six lanes to eight lanes from I–5
and El Camino Real. Relocation of the
AT&T-owned transcontinental fiberoptic line that currently parallels I–5
between Carmel Valley Road and Del
Mar Heights Road to within High Bluff
Drive and El Camino Real. In addition
the project includes: Auxiliary lanes;
sound walls; retaining walls, barriers,
guard rails/end treatments, crash
cushions, bridge rails, drainage
improvements, detention basins,
replacement of existing fences, potential
installation of fencing for right-of-way,
visual and community enhancements;
ramp improvements; and appurtenant
structures including signage. The
actions by the Federal agencies, and the
laws under which such actions were
taken, are described in the Final
Environmental Statement (FEIS) for the
project, approved on June 26, 2017, in
the Record of Decision (ROD) issued on
August 13, 2017, and in other
documents in the FHWA project
records. The FEIS, ROD, and other
project records are available by
contacting Caltrans at the addresses
provided above.
The Caltrans Final FEIS and ROD can
be viewed and downloaded from the
project Web site at https://
www.dot.ca.gov/d11/environmental/.
This notice applies to all Federal agency
decisions as of the issuance date of this
notice and all laws under which such
actions were taken, including but not
limited to:
1. Council on Environmental Quality
regulations;
2. National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA);
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:41 Sep 13, 2017
Jkt 241001
3. Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU);
4. Department of Transportation Act
of 1966;
5. Federal Aid Highway Act of 1970;
6. Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments
of 1990;
7. Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1977 and
1987;
8. Federal Water Pollution Control
Act of 1972;
9. Endangered Species Act of 1973;
10. Migratory Bird Treaty Act;
11. Farmland Protection Policy Act of
1981;
12. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964;
13. Uniform Relocation Assistance
and Real Property Acquisition Act of
1970;
14. National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA) of 1966;
15. Historic Sites Act of 1935;
16. Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act of 1976;
17. Community Environmental
Response Facilitation Act (CERFA) of
1992;
18. Executive Order 11990, Protection
of Wetlands;
19. Executive Order 13112, Invasive
Species;
20. Executive Order 11988,
Floodplain Management; and,
21. Executive Order 12898,
Environmental Justice.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning
and Construction. The regulations
implementing Executive Order 12372
regarding intergovernmental consultation on
Federal programs and activities apply to this
program.)
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1).
Tashia J. Clemons,
Director of Project Development, Federal
Highway Administration, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. 2017–19517 Filed 9–13–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0243]
Hours of Service of Drivers:
Application for Exemption; Power and
Communication Contractors
Association (PCCA)
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for
exemption; request for comments.
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Frm 00068
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
43283
FMCSA announces that the
Power and Communication Contractors
Association (PCCA) has requested an
exemption from the requirement that a
motor carrier install and require each of
its drivers to use an electronic logging
device (ELD) to record the driver’s
hours-of-service (HOS) no later than
December 18, 2017. PCCA requests the
exemption for all operators of a
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in the
power and communications
construction industry. Construction
contractors spend considerable time
working off-road on varying jobsites,
and a single CMV may have several
different drivers over the course of a
day, moving the vehicle short distances
around the jobsite. Because of the
limited time within a workday that their
drivers spend driving on public roads,
PCCA states that ELD and record of duty
status (RODS) requirements for drivers
in their industries do not result in a
significant safety benefit. PCCA’s
drivers would remain subject to the
standard HOS limits and maintain a
paper RODS for HOS compliance. PCCA
believes that the exemption, if granted,
will achieve a level of safety that is
equivalent to, or greater than, the level
that would be achieved absent the
exemption. FMCSA requests public
comment on PCCA’s application for
exemption.
SUMMARY:
Comments must be received on
or before October 16, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Number
FMCSA–2017–0243 by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
www.regulations.gov. See the Public
Participation and Request for Comments
section below for further information.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue 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 Avenue SE.,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
• Each submission must include the
Agency name and the docket number for
this notice. Note that DOT posts all
comments received without change to
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information included in a
comment. Please see the Privacy Act
heading below.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\14SEN1.SGM
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43284
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2017 / Notices
any time or visit Room W12–140 on the
ground level of the West Building, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays. The on-line FDMS is available
24 hours each day, 365 days each year.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5
U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments
from the public to better inform its
rulemaking process. DOT posts these
comments, without edit, including any
personal information the commenter
provides, to www.regulations.gov, as
described in the system of records
notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can
be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information concerning this notice,
contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA
Driver and Carrier Operations Division;
Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle
Safety Standards; Telephone: 614–942–
6477. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you
have questions on viewing or submitting
material to the docket, contact Docket
Services, telephone (202) 366–9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for
Comments
FMCSA encourages you to participate
by submitting comments and related
materials.
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
Submitting Comments
If you submit a comment, please
include the docket number for this
notice (FMCSA–2017–0243), indicate
the specific section of this document to
which the comment applies, and
provide a reason for suggestions or
recommendations. You may submit
your comments and material online or
by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but
please use only one of these means.
FMCSA recommends that you include
your name and a mailing address, an
email address, or a phone number in the
body of your document so the Agency
can contact you if it has questions
regarding your submission.
To submit your comments online, go
to www.regulations.gov and put the
docket number, ‘‘FMCSA–2017–0243’’
in the ‘‘Keyword’’ box, and click
‘‘Search.’’ When the new screen
appears, click on ‘‘Comment Now!’’
button and type your comment into the
text box in the following screen. Choose
whether you are submitting your
comment as an individual or on behalf
of a third party, and then submit. If you
submit your comments by mail or hand
delivery, submit them in an unbound
format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches,
suitable for copying and electronic
filing. If you submit comments by mail
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:41 Sep 13, 2017
Jkt 241001
and would like to know that they
reached the facility, please enclose a
stamped, self-addressed postcard or
envelope. FMCSA will consider all
comments and material received during
the comment period and may grant or
not grant this application based on your
comments.
II. Legal Basis
FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C.
31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions
from certain parts of the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).
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. The Agency must also
provide an opportunity for public
comment on the request.
The Agency reviews safety analyses
and public comments submitted, and
determines whether granting the
exemption would likely achieve a level
of safety equivalent to, or greater than,
the level that would be achieved by the
current regulation (49 CFR 381.305).
The decision of the Agency must be
published in the Federal Register (49
CFR 381.315(b)) with the reasons for
denying or granting the application and,
if granted, the name of the person or
class of persons receiving the
exemption, and the regulatory provision
from which the exemption is granted.
The notice must also specify the
effective period and explain the terms
and conditions of the exemption. The
exemption may be renewed (49 CFR
381.300(b)).
III. Request for Exemption
The PCCA represents contractors,
manufacturers, and distributors who
build and repair America’s power and
communications infrastructure,
including electric transmission,
distribution, and substation facilities
and broadband, telephone, and cable
television systems. PCCA members also
engage in directional drilling, local area
and premises wiring, and improvements
to water and sewer infrastructure, as
well as gas and oil pipelines. While
PCCA is not aware of a confirmed, finite
number of drivers in the power and
communication construction industry,
they believe there are tens of thousands
of them across the U.S. These are
construction workers—driving is
incidental to their core job function.
PCCA contractors maintain a wide
range of different vehicles, including
dump trucks, water-related vehicles,
skid trucks, and flatbeds used to carry
PO 00000
Frm 00069
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
heavy excavation equipment. Buses are
also used to transport workers to and
from a construction jobsite.
The exemption would apply to
drivers in the power and
communications construction industry,
who operate under significantly
different circumstances than interstate
truck drivers. CMV operators working
on broadband and/or electric
infrastructure projects commonly drive
multiple vehicles for short distances
within a single day, and a single vehicle
is often driven by multiple drivers.
Numerous exemptions to the ELD and
RODS requirements are available
depending on varying job functions,
including for those operating 8 days in
30-day period, short haul 100 air-mile
rule, 150 air-mile rule, utility service
vehicle (USV) exemption, ready mix
trucks, pipeline welders, etc. The
complexity of navigating the ELD and
RODS requirements and exemptions
make compliance difficult, exposing
their drivers to unknowing violations.
According to PCCA, application of these
requirements to their drivers is
confusing even for law enforcement
officials. When contrasted against the
requirements’ minimal benefit to the
safety of their drivers, application of the
ELD and RODS requirements to their
construction personnel proves to be
quite unnecessary.
Drivers in the power and
communication construction industry
commonly operate under the USV
exemption as defined under § 395.2 of
FMCSRs, which exempts drivers of a
USV ‘‘used in the furtherance of
repairing, maintaining, or operating any
structures or any other physical
facilities necessary for the delivery of
public utility services, including the
furnishing of electric, gas, water,
sanitary sewer, telephone, and
television cable or community antenna
service.’’ Requiring installation of ELD
technology in USVs operated in an
industry that is normally exempt from
HOS requirements because of the
critical nature of its work presents an
unnecessary burden.
PCCA’s application requests an
exemption from requirements to use
ELDs in lieu of written logs to document
their RODS under 49 CFR 395.8(a). The
exemption they are requesting would be
limited to their drivers: (1) Who are on
duty no more than 14 hours per day; (2)
Who drive less than 200 miles per day,
regardless of start and stop location; and
(3) For whom the driving of CMVs is
incidental to their core employment.
E:\FR\FM\14SEN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2017 / Notices
IV. Method To Ensure an Equivalent or
Greater Level of Safety
According to PCCA, exempting power
and communication contractors from
ELD requirements would not
compromise the safety of drivers in the
industry in any way. All rules related to
the short-haul exemption would still
apply, and drivers would continue to
comply with written RODS
requirements when short-haul
limitations are exceeded. Unlike longhaul interstate truckers, drivers in the
construction industry meet a variety of
job functions and spend the vast
majority of their time on a jobsite within
a short distance of their daily assembly
point, not on public roads and
highways. Power and communication
contractors would continue to meet all
other HOS requirements overseen by
FMCSA.
PCCA believes an equivalent level of
safety will be achieved if drivers in the
power and communication construction
industry are exempt from ELD
requirements as described above.
A copy of PCCA’s application for
exemption is available for review in the
docket for this notice.
Issued on: September 8, 2017.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017–19512 Filed 9–13–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
Application No.
Docket No.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Hazardous Materials: Notice of
Applications for Special Permits
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA), DOT.
ACTION: List of applications for special
permits.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
procedures governing the application
for, and the processing of, special
permits from the Department of
Transportation’s Hazardous Material
Regulations notice is hereby given that
the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety
has received the application described
herein. Each mode of transportation for
which a particular special permit is
requested is indicated by a number in
the ‘‘Nature of Application’’ portion of
the table below as follows: 1—Motor
vehicle, 2—Rail freight, 3—Cargo vessel,
4—Cargo aircraft only, 5—Passengercarrying aircraft.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before October 16, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Record Center, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation Washington, DC 20590.
SUMMARY:
Regulation(s)
affected
Applicant
43285
Comments should refer to the
application number and be submitted in
triplicate. If confirmation of receipt of
comments is desired, include a selfaddressed stamped postcard showing
the special permit number.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ryan Paquet, Director, Office of
Hazardous Materials Approvals and
Permits Division, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation, East Building, PHH–30,
1200 New Jersey Avenue Southeast,
Washington, DC 20590–0001, (202) 366–
4535.
Copies of
the applications are available for
inspection in the Records Center, East
Building, PHH–30, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue Southeast, Washington, DC or at
https://regulations.gov.
This notice of receipt of applications
for special permit is published in
accordance with part 107 of the Federal
hazardous materials transportation law
(49 U.S.C. 5117(b); 49 CFR 1.53(b)).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 31,
2017.
Donald Burger,
Chief, Office of the Special Permits and
Approvals.
Nature of the special permits thereof
SPECIAL PERMITS DATA
...........................
Worldwind Helicopters, Inc ....
172.101(j), 172.200,
172.204(c)(3), 172.300,
173.27(b)(2), 175.30(a)(1),
175.75.
20513–N .............
...........................
Rolling Paper Depot, LLC ......
173.308 ..................................
20517–N .............
...........................
Advance Research Chemicals, Inc.
173.205 ..................................
20518–N .............
...........................
Colep Portugal, S.A ...............
178.33–7 ................................
20519–N .............
...........................
Richemont North America, Inc
173.4b(a), 173.4b(a)(10) ........
20522–N .............
...........................
Maine Department of Transportation.
172.101(k), 172.200, 172.300,
172.400, 172.500, 172.600.
20523–N .............
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
20512–N .............
...........................
Whitewave Foods Company,
The.
173.306(b) ..............................
20524–N .............
...........................
Wilhelm Schmidt GmbH .........
172.102(c)(4), .........................
178.705(c)(2)(ii) ......................
20525–N .............
...........................
Avfuel Corporation .................
180.407(a) ..............................
20526–N .............
...........................
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
105.30, 105.30(a),
105.30(a)(2).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:41 Sep 13, 2017
Jkt 241001
PO 00000
Frm 00070
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
To authorize the transportation in commerce of certain hazardous materials by external load with a helicopter in remote areas of the US without being subject to hazard
communication requirements and quantity limitations
where no other means of transportation is available.
(Mode 4).
To authorize the transportation in commerce of lighters without the use of certain hazard communication. (Mode 1)
To authorize the transportation in commerce of non-DOT
specification cylinders containing materials intended for
disposal. (Modes 1, 3).
To authorize the manufacture, mark, sale and use of nonDOT specification receptacles conforming with all regulations applicable to a DOT specification (2P and 2Q), except for the wall thickness. (Modes 1, 2, 3).
To authorize the transportation in commerce of articles containing a Division 2.1 material as de minimis. (Modes 1, 4,
5).
To authorize the transportation in commerce of private
motor vehicles containing certain hazardous materials via
passenger ferry vessels.
To authorize the transportation in commerce of non-DOT
specification pressure receptacles containing foodstuffs.
(Modes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
To authorize the manufacture, mark, sale, and use of IBCs
intended
to
contain
ammonia
solutions
and
dichloromethane. (Modes 1, 2, 3).
To authorize the transportation in commerce of certain DOT
cargo tanks that have not been requalified in accordance
with part 180. (Mode 1).
To authorize the transportation in commerce of low production lithium batteries contained in equipment in non-DOT
specification packaging. (Mode 1).
E:\FR\FM\14SEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43283-43285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19512]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0243]
Hours of Service of Drivers: Application for Exemption; Power and
Communication Contractors Association (PCCA)
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that the Power and Communication Contractors
Association (PCCA) has requested an exemption from the requirement that
a motor carrier install and require each of its drivers to use an
electronic logging device (ELD) to record the driver's hours-of-service
(HOS) no later than December 18, 2017. PCCA requests the exemption for
all operators of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in the power and
communications construction industry. Construction contractors spend
considerable time working off-road on varying jobsites, and a single
CMV may have several different drivers over the course of a day, moving
the vehicle short distances around the jobsite. Because of the limited
time within a workday that their drivers spend driving on public roads,
PCCA states that ELD and record of duty status (RODS) requirements for
drivers in their industries do not result in a significant safety
benefit. PCCA's drivers would remain subject to the standard HOS limits
and maintain a paper RODS for HOS compliance. PCCA believes that the
exemption, if granted, will achieve a level of safety that is
equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent
the exemption. FMCSA requests public comment on PCCA's application for
exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 16, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Number FMCSA-2017-0243 by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. See the
Public Participation and Request for Comments section below for further
information.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 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 Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Each submission must include the Agency name and the
docket number for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments
received without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading
below.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at
[[Page 43284]]
any time or visit Room W12-140 on the ground level of the West
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The on-
line FDMS is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.dot.gov/privacy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this
notice, contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA Driver and Carrier
Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety
Standards; Telephone: 614-942-6477. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you have
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, contact
Docket Services, telephone (202) 366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for Comments
FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and
related materials.
Submitting Comments
If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
notice (FMCSA-2017-0243), indicate the specific section of this
document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for
suggestions or recommendations. You may submit your comments and
material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only
one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a
mailing address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of
your document so the Agency can contact you if it has questions
regarding your submission.
To submit your comments online, go to www.regulations.gov and put
the docket number, ``FMCSA-2017-0243'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and
click ``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on ``Comment
Now!'' button and type your comment into the text box in the following
screen. Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual
or on behalf of a third party, and then submit. If you submit your
comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic
filing. If you submit comments by mail and would like to know that they
reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard
or envelope. FMCSA will consider all comments and material received
during the comment period and may grant or not grant this application
based on your comments.
II. Legal Basis
FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant
exemptions from certain parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations (FMCSRs). 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. The Agency must also provide an opportunity for public
comment on the request.
The Agency reviews safety analyses and public comments submitted,
and determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a
level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of
the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR
381.315(b)) with the reasons for denying or granting the application
and, if granted, the name of the person or class of persons receiving
the exemption, and the regulatory provision from which the exemption is
granted. The notice must also specify the effective period and explain
the terms and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed
(49 CFR 381.300(b)).
III. Request for Exemption
The PCCA represents contractors, manufacturers, and distributors
who build and repair America's power and communications infrastructure,
including electric transmission, distribution, and substation
facilities and broadband, telephone, and cable television systems. PCCA
members also engage in directional drilling, local area and premises
wiring, and improvements to water and sewer infrastructure, as well as
gas and oil pipelines. While PCCA is not aware of a confirmed, finite
number of drivers in the power and communication construction industry,
they believe there are tens of thousands of them across the U.S. These
are construction workers--driving is incidental to their core job
function.
PCCA contractors maintain a wide range of different vehicles,
including dump trucks, water-related vehicles, skid trucks, and
flatbeds used to carry heavy excavation equipment. Buses are also used
to transport workers to and from a construction jobsite.
The exemption would apply to drivers in the power and
communications construction industry, who operate under significantly
different circumstances than interstate truck drivers. CMV operators
working on broadband and/or electric infrastructure projects commonly
drive multiple vehicles for short distances within a single day, and a
single vehicle is often driven by multiple drivers.
Numerous exemptions to the ELD and RODS requirements are available
depending on varying job functions, including for those operating 8
days in 30-day period, short haul 100 air-mile rule, 150 air-mile rule,
utility service vehicle (USV) exemption, ready mix trucks, pipeline
welders, etc. The complexity of navigating the ELD and RODS
requirements and exemptions make compliance difficult, exposing their
drivers to unknowing violations. According to PCCA, application of
these requirements to their drivers is confusing even for law
enforcement officials. When contrasted against the requirements'
minimal benefit to the safety of their drivers, application of the ELD
and RODS requirements to their construction personnel proves to be
quite unnecessary.
Drivers in the power and communication construction industry
commonly operate under the USV exemption as defined under Sec. 395.2
of FMCSRs, which exempts drivers of a USV ``used in the furtherance of
repairing, maintaining, or operating any structures or any other
physical facilities necessary for the delivery of public utility
services, including the furnishing of electric, gas, water, sanitary
sewer, telephone, and television cable or community antenna service.''
Requiring installation of ELD technology in USVs operated in an
industry that is normally exempt from HOS requirements because of the
critical nature of its work presents an unnecessary burden.
PCCA's application requests an exemption from requirements to use
ELDs in lieu of written logs to document their RODS under 49 CFR
395.8(a). The exemption they are requesting would be limited to their
drivers: (1) Who are on duty no more than 14 hours per day; (2) Who
drive less than 200 miles per day, regardless of start and stop
location; and (3) For whom the driving of CMVs is incidental to their
core employment.
[[Page 43285]]
IV. Method To Ensure an Equivalent or Greater Level of Safety
According to PCCA, exempting power and communication contractors
from ELD requirements would not compromise the safety of drivers in the
industry in any way. All rules related to the short-haul exemption
would still apply, and drivers would continue to comply with written
RODS requirements when short-haul limitations are exceeded. Unlike
long-haul interstate truckers, drivers in the construction industry
meet a variety of job functions and spend the vast majority of their
time on a jobsite within a short distance of their daily assembly
point, not on public roads and highways. Power and communication
contractors would continue to meet all other HOS requirements overseen
by FMCSA.
PCCA believes an equivalent level of safety will be achieved if
drivers in the power and communication construction industry are exempt
from ELD requirements as described above.
A copy of PCCA's application for exemption is available for review
in the docket for this notice.
Issued on: September 8, 2017.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017-19512 Filed 9-13-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
