Pipe Line Contractors Association; United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry; Application for Exemption

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
September 3, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 171 (Thursday, September 3, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53384-53385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21893]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2015-0267]


Pipe Line Contractors Association; United Association of 
Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry; 
Application for Exemption

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received a joint application from 
the Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) and the United Association 
of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry 
of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO (UA), for an exemption from 
Parts 391, 392, 393, 395 and 396 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Regulations (FMCSRs). The exemption would be available to motor 
carriers and drivers operating commercial motor vehicles (CMV) weighing 
less than 15,000 pounds while engaged in pipeline-welding operations. 
FMCSA requests public comment on this joint application for exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 5, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID, FMCSA-2015-0267 using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     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., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 
5 p.m., ET, 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 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 online FDMS is available 24 hours each 
day, 365 days each year. If you want acknowledgment that we received 
your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 
postcard or print the acknowledgment page that appears after submitting 
comments on-line.
    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.

[[Page 53385]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Schultz, Driver and Carrier 
Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety 
Standards, FMCSA; Telephone: 202-366-4325. 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: 

Background

    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. 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 regulations (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)), but only after the public is provided the 
opportunity to comment on the renewal.

Request for Exemption

    UA and PLCA, the applicants, jointly seek exemption from part 391, 
``Qualifications of Drivers,'' part 392, ``Driving of Commercial Motor 
Vehicles,'' part 393 ``Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe 
Operation,'' and part 395, ``Hours of Service of Drivers.'' The 
regulations from which the applicants seek exemption apply only to 
drivers and motor carriers operating in interstate commerce. According 
to UA and PLCA, welders ``live in various states and travel from job to 
job, often across state lines,'' but the applicants did not otherwise 
address the question whether pipeline welders operate in interstate 
commerce. The complete application is available in the docket referred 
to at the beginning of this notice.
    UA is a trade union whose membership includes approximately 3,500 
welders who are employed by companies engaged in the construction, 
repair and maintenance of pipelines. The typical welder owns a heavy-
duty pickup truck equipped with welding equipment and weighing less 
than 15,000 pounds that he or she drives to the work site. The 
pipeline-construction companies employing the drivers are members of 
PLCA, a trade association. According to the joint application for 
exemption, pipeline contractors typically hire 10 to 12 welders for a 
specific location and the employment usually lasts 4 to 6 weeks. PLCA 
states that its contractors were involved in approximately 500 such 
projects in 2014.
    For many welders, the truck is the sole vehicle they have; they use 
it for personal errands and other everyday use when they are not on the 
job. The applicants state that the pipeline contractor hiring the 
welder enters into a lease for use of the truck for the period of the 
welder's employment. It also agrees to pay an hourly fee for the time 
during which the welding equipment is actually in use.
    Pipeline projects are typically located in remote areas served by 
right-of-ways that are not open to the public. As described in the 
application, at the beginning of the day, welders typically drive their 
welding vehicle to a prearranged ``assembly point'' that is usually 
about 10 miles from the pipeline right of way. After driving their 
vehicle 10 miles on public roads, welders enter the pipeline right-of-
way at the project site and do not usually return to the public roads 
until the end of the workday. The applicants state that even the 
largest pipeline projects do not exceed 100 miles in length. The 
typical workday for a welder includes significant ``waiting time'' in 
the remote area because welders often have to wait for other work to be 
completed before they can weld. Welders typically work 10 hours a day, 
6 days a week.
    The FMCSRs place responsibility upon motor carriers to ensure the 
safety of the vehicles they place into commerce. The applicants state 
that it is not practical for the pipeline contractors to be responsible 
for inspection of the welding-vehicles because the vehicles remain 
under control of the welders at all times. They cite terms of the 
collective bargaining agreement requiring the welders to maintain their 
vehicle in safe condition, and point out that PLCA provides safety 
training to its members and their drivers. They also contend that the 
FMCSRs should not apply to the operation of the welding CMVs because 
these vehicles must pass state inspections applicable to passenger 
vehicles.
    The FMCSRs place various responsibilities upon motor carriers 
relative to the qualifications and health of the drivers it permits to 
operate CMVs in interstate commerce. The applicants contend that 
because pipeline-construction companies hire welders temporarily--
usually for 6 weeks or less--it is not practical for them to comply 
with regulatory requirements pertaining to driver qualification files 
and driver hours of service. Pipeline-welders are often also motor 
carriers as that term is defined by the FMCSRs. The welders assert that 
it is not practical for them to comply with the FMCSRs because they are 
sole proprietors and it is too taxing for them to keep up with all the 
requirements of the FMCSRs. They further contend that welding CMVs are 
seldom on public roads and that ``DOT officials and officers'' apply 
truck safety rules inconsistently when they encounter welding vehicles 
on public roads.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315(b)(4), FMCSA 
requests public comment on the joint application of UA and the PLCA for 
exemption from part 391, ``Qualifications of Drivers,'' part 392, 
``Driving of Commercial Motor Vehicles,'' part 393 ``Parts and 
Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation,'' and part 395, ``Hours of 
Service of drivers.'' The Agency will consider all comments received by 
close of business on October 5, 2015. Comments will be available for 
examination in the docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice.

    Issued on: August 28, 2015.
Larry W. Minor,
 Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-21893 Filed 9-2-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P