Department of Transportation September 19, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

By Federal Register notice on June 3, 2019 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Park Service (NPS) invited interested persons to apply to fill one existing and two upcoming vacancies on the National Parks Overflights Advisory Group (NPOAG). This notice informs the public of the selections made for the vacancies representing air tour operator and environmental concerns. No selection was made for the existing opening representing Native American tribal concerns so this notice also invites persons interested in that opening to apply. Persons previously submitting applications for the Native American tribal representative opening will need to resubmit their application.

FMCSA announces that Navistar, Inc. (Navistar) has requested an exemption for five commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) drivers from the Federal requirement to hold a U.S. commercial driver's license (CDL). The requested exemption will cover five Swedish Project Engineers who will test-drive commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) for Navistar within the United States. All five engineers work for Scania AB in Sweden (part of the Volkswagen Group), which is partnering with Navistar to develop improved fuel economy and emissions reductions. The Scania drivers all hold valid Swedish commercial licenses and need to test- drive Navistar vehicles on U.S. roads to better understand product requirements in ``real world'' environments and to verify results. Navistar believes the requirements for a Swedish commercial license ensure that operation under the exemption will likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level that would be obtained in the absence of the exemption. FMCSA requests public comments on Navistar's application for exemption.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) extends the comment period for its August 22, 2019 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its hours-of-service (HOS) rules. FMCSA received requests for an extension to the comment period from the American Trucking Associations, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The Agency believes it is appropriate to extend the comment period to provide interested parties additional time to submit their responses to the NPRM. Therefore, the Agency extends the deadline for the submission of comments until October 21, 2019.