Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently-Approved Information Collection Request: Hazardous Materials Safety Permits

Kelly Leone
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
December 23, 2010

[Federal Register: December 23, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 246)]
[Notices]               
[Page 80886-80887]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23de10-142]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2010-0382]

 
Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a 
Currently-Approved Information Collection Request: Hazardous Materials 
Safety Permits

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 (PRA), 
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. The FMCSA requests approval to revise and 
extend an ICR entitled, ``Hazardous Materials Safety Permits.'' This 
ICR requires companies holding permits to

[[Page 80887]]

develop communications plans that allows for the periodic tracking of 
the shipments. A record of the communications that includes the time of 
the call and location of the shipment may be kept by either the driver 
(e.g., recorded in the log book) or the company. These records must be 
kept, either physically or electronically, for at least six months at 
the company's principal place of business or readily available to the 
employees at the company's principal place of business. This ICR is 
being revised due to an increase in the estimated number of annual 
trips in which permitted Hazardous Materials (HM) is transported 
resulting in a change to the total information collection burden for 
maintaining a daily communication record.
    On September 9, 2010, FMCSA published a Federal Register notice 
allowing for a 60-day comment period on the ICR. No comment was 
received.

DATES: Please send your comments by January 24, 2011. OMB must receive 
your comments by this date in order to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2010-0382. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention 
of the Desk Officer, Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, and sent via electronic mail to oira_
submission@omb.eop.gov, or faxed to (202) 395-6974, or mailed to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Paul Bomgardner, Hazardous 
Materials Division, Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-493-0027; e-mail 
paul.bomgardner@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Hazardous Materials Safety Permits.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0030.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently-approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Motor carriers subject to the Hazardous Materials 
Safety Permit requirements in 49 CFR part 385, subpart E.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,425.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 1,425 annually.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes. The communication between 
motor carriers and their drivers must take place at least two times per 
day and it is estimated that it will take 5 minutes to maintain a daily 
communication record for each driver.
    Expiration Date: February 28, 2011.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 350,000 hours [4.2 million trips x 5 
minutes/60 minutes per record = 350,000].
    Background: The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) is 
responsible for implementing regulations to issue safety permits for 
transporting certain HM in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq. The 
HM Safety Permit regulations (49 CFR part 385) require carriers to 
complete a ``Combined Motor Carrier Identification Report and HM Permit 
Application'' (Form MCS-150B). The HM Safety Permit regulations also 
require carriers to have a security program. As part of the HM Safety 
Permit regulations, carriers are required to develop and maintain route 
plans so that law enforcement officials can verify the correct location 
of the HM shipment. The FMCSA requires companies holding permits to 
develop a communications plan that allows for the periodic tracking of 
the shipment. This information covers the record of communications that 
includes the time of the call and location of the shipment. The records 
may be kept by either the driver (e.g., recorded in the log book) or 
the company. These records must be kept, either physically or 
electronically, for at least six months at the company's principal 
place of business or be readily available to employees at the company's 
principal place of business.
    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 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. The Agency will summarize or include your 
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.

    Issued on: December 5, 2010.
Kelly Leone,
Associate Administrator for Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2010-32239 Filed 12-22-10; 8:45 am]
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