Commercial Driver's License (CDL): Application for Exemption; U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. (USCHI) |
|---|
|
Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
1 May 2017
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 82 (Monday, May 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20415-20416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08725]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0133]
Commercial Driver's License (CDL): Application for Exemption;
U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. (USCHI)
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that the U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. (USCHI)
has requested an exemption from the ``K'' intrastate restriction on
commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) held by custom harvester drivers
operating in interstate commerce. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations (FMCSRs) exempt drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs)
controlled and operated by a person engaged in interstate custom
harvesting, including the requirement that drivers be at least 21 years
old. However, many younger custom harvester drivers hold CDLs with an
intrastate-only (or ``K'') restriction. This has caused drivers of
USCHI member companies to be cited during roadside inspections in a
different State, as some officers interpret the ``K'' restriction to
mean that the license is invalid outside the State of issuance, even
when the younger driver is operating under the custom harvester
exemption. This is an issue not only for individual drivers, but also
for the custom harvester employing those drivers, whose safety record
is adversely affected. FMCSA requests public comment on USCHI's
application for exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 31, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Number FMCSA-2017-0133 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 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-2017-0133), 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-2017-0133'' 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
[[Page 20416]]
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
Custom harvesters are businesses that supply the equipment and
labor to assist farmers with harvesting during their busiest seasons.
Typically, there are two different classes of operations, grain
harvesting and forage harvesting. A grain harvester uses combines to
harvest wheat, corn, barley, canola, sunflowers, soybeans, and grain
sorghum, among others. These crop products are transported to an
elevator or on-farm storage, where the crop is stored and later
transported elsewhere to be processed into products for public use. A
forage harvester uses a chopper to harvest whole-plant crops such as
corn, sorghum, milo, triticale, and alfalfa. These crops are used for
silage to feed livestock in dairies and feedlots. Some operators
harvest crops such as cotton that require other specialized equipment.
Custom harvesters travel from State to State and can spend from a few
days to several months cutting crops for one farmer.
USCHI states that custom harvesters are experiencing a problem with
the exemption they have utilized since the early 1970s (49 CFR
391.2(a)). Under this provision, drivers of CMVs controlled and
operated by a person engaged in custom harvesting are exempt from all
of part 391, including the requirement to be at least 21 years of age
to operate a CMV in interstate commerce. USCHI members frequently
employ drivers 18-21 years of age, who are issued CDLs with a ``K''
restriction that makes the license valid only for operations within the
issuing State (49 CFR 383.153(a)(10)(vii)). The problem arises when law
enforcement officers interpret the ``K'' restriction to mean that the
license is invalid outside the issuing State, even though section
391.2(a) exempts younger custom harvester drivers from the 21-year-old
age requirement when operating in interstate commerce. This has caused
drivers employed by some of USCHI's members to be cited for CDL
violations during inspections. This an issue not only for the
individual driver, but also for the custom harvester employer, whose
safety record is adversely affected.
Therefore, USCHI asks that the Agency grant an exemption under the
following terms and conditions:
(1) Drivers for custom harvesters operating in interstate commerce
shall be exempt from any intrastate-only ``K'' restriction on their
CDLs (49 CFR 383.153(a)(10)(vii));
(2) Drivers to be included in this exemption are identified in 49
CFR 391.2 as those operating a CMV to:
(1) Transport farm machinery, supplies, or both, to or from a farm
for custom-harvesting operations on a farm; or
(2) Transport custom-harvested crops to storage or market.
In its application, USCHI cites regulatory guidance to 49 CFR
383.155, entitled ``Special topics--State Reciprocity,'' which reads as
follows: ``Question 1: May a State place an `intrastate only' or
similar restriction on the CDL of a driver who certifies that he or she
is not subject to part 391?; Guidance: Yes; however, this restriction
would not apply to drivers in interstate commerce who are excepted or
exempted from part 391 under the provisions of parts 390 or 391.''
USCHI believes that this guidance clearly indicates that the
``intrastate only'' restriction should not be applied to custom
harvester drivers; however, USCHI states that this guidance does not
seem to have been widely circulated among State law enforcement
personnel or is not followed consistently.
To ensure that the driver is authentically operating as a custom
harvester, USCHI specifies that he/she should be able to provide at
least three of the following methods of verification:
The driver shall have on hand a valid custom harvesting
document such as a current date agricultural commodity scale sheet, a
current date custom harvesting load sheet, an official company document
stating the company purpose, etc.;
The CMV may have license plates specific to custom
harvesting, or the verbiage ``Harvesting'' may be part of the business
signage on the vehicle;
The CMV must be designed to haul a harvested agricultural
commodity or equipment for harvesting, or be a support vehicle for
custom-harvesting operations such as a service truck;
The CMV may be hauling a harvested agricultural commodity
or equipment for the purpose of custom harvesting;
The CMV may have newly harvested commodity or remnants on
board;
The driver will provide a verifiable location of current
harvesting operation or delivery location for a harvested commodity.
IV. Method To Ensure an Equivalent or Greater Level of Safety
One requirement of any exemption issued under 49 CFR part 381 is
that it be likely to achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or
greater than, the level that would be achieved by the current
regulation. In this case interstate operations by custom harvester
drivers is already authorized by 49 CFR 391.2(a), but could be
construed as prohibited by the conflicting requirements of 49 CFR
383.153(a)(10)(vii). By clarifying the nature of permitted
transportation, USCHI believes this exemption would not have any impact
on safe operation of CMVs and is therefore likely to achieve a level of
safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved
by the current regulation (49 CFR 391.2(a)).
USCHI requests the exemption for the maximum available period of
five years. A copy of USCHI's application for exemption is available
for review in the docket for this notice.
Issued on: April 21, 2017.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017-08725 Filed 4-28-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P