Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a New Information Collection; Waiver and Exemption Requirements

Thomas P. Keane
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
16 August 2021

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 155 (Monday, August 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45803-45804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17418]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2021-0107]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a New 
Information Collection; Waiver and Exemption Requirements

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announces its plan 
to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval 
and invites public comment. This notice invites comment on a new 
information collection titled ``Waiver and Exemption Requirements''. 
The ICR estimates the burden applicants incur to comply with the 
reporting tasks required for requesting waivers and exemptions. FMCSA 
has not previously accounted for these burdens.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before October 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2021-0107 using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations; 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: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street 
address listed above.
    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.
    Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section 
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal website. If you want us to notify you 
that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that 
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the 
comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pearlie Robinson, Driver and Carrier 
Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-4225. Email: 
MCPSD@dot.gov. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal Holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: In 1998, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the 
predecessor agency of FMCSA, adopted 49 CFR part 381 as an interim 
final rule (IFR), establishing procedures for applying for waivers, 
exemptions, and pilot programs (63 FR 67600, December 8, 1998). Section 
4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) 
amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) to provide authority to the 
Secretary of Transportation to grant waivers and exemptions from motor 
carrier safety regulations. Section 4007 of TEA-21 requires that the 
terms and conditions for all waivers and exemptions likely achieve a 
level of safety equivalent to or greater than what would be achieved by 
complying with the safety regulations. In 2004, FMCSA adopted its IFR 
as final at 49 CFR part 381, consistent with section 4007 of TEA-21 (69 
FR 51589, August 20, 2004). The final rule also established procedures 
that govern how FMCSA reviews, grants, or denies requests for waivers 
and applications for exemptions. The final rule included requirements 
for publishing notice of exemption applications in the Federal Register 
to afford the public an opportunity for comment. There is no statutory 
requirement to publish Federal Register notices concerning waiver 
applications.
    When the waiver and exemption provisions were first adopted, FHWA 
stated that it would ``consider the information collection requirements 
for each waiver, exemption, and pilot program and, if necessary, 
request approval from the Office of Management and Budget for any 
special recordkeeping requirements associated with the waiver, 
exemption, or pilot program.'' (63 FR 67608). FMCSA included a similar 
statement when finalizing its IFR in 2004 (69 FR 51597). Recently, 
FMCSA determined that it now receives a sufficient number of waiver and 
exemption requests per year to require OMB approval.
    Title: Waiver and Exemption Requirements.
    OMB Control No.: To be determined by OMB upon OMB approval of the 
ICR.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Respondents: States, State Drivers Licensing Authorities, 
individuals, and motor carriers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 131 per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2 minutes to 2 hours.
    Expiration Date: This is a new information collection.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion (respondents are not required to 
submit requests for waivers or exemptions).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 95 burden hours.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the FMCSA to enhance 
the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and 
(4) ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the 
quality of the collected information.

[[Page 45804]]

    The agency will summarize or include your comments in the request 
for OMB's clearance of this information collection.

Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2021-17418 Filed 8-13-21; 8:45 am]
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