30-day comments Federal Register notice

Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2011 / Notices
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lucy Garliauskas, Director, Office of
Human Environment, (202) 366–2047,
[email protected] or Adam
Sleeter, Office of the Chief Counsel,
(202) 366–8839; Federal Highway
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access
An electronic copy of this notice may
be downloaded from the Office of the
Federal Register’s home page at http://
www.archives.gov/ and the Government
Printing Office’s Web site at http://
www.access.gpo.gov/.

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Background
Section 5207 of the Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU)
(Pub. L. 109–59, Aug. 10, 2005),
established the Surface Transportation
Environment and Planning Cooperative
Research Program in section 507 of Title
23, United States Code. The FHWA
anticipates that the STEP or a similar
program to provide resources for
national research on issues related to
planning, environment, and realty will
be included in future surface
transportation legislation. The general
objective of the STEP is to improve
understanding of the complex
relationship between surface
transportation, planning, and the
environment.
The SAFETEA–LU provided $16.875
million per year for FY 2006–2009 to
implement this cooperative research
program. Due to obligation limitations,
rescissions, and congressional
designation of Title V Research in
SAFETEA–LU, on average $14.5 million
of the $16.875 million authorized was
available each fiscal year.
The STEP is the primary source of
funds for FHWA to conduct research
and develop tools and technologies to
advance the state of the practice
regarding national surface
transportation and environmental
decisionmaking. In FY 2012, the FHWA
expects to seek partnerships that can
leverage limited research funding in the
STEP with other stakeholders and
partners in order to increase the total
amount of resources available to meet
the nation’s surface transportation
research needs.
The FY 2012 STEP will support the
implementation of a national research
agenda that includes:

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(1) Conducting research to develop
climate change mitigation, adaptation
and livability strategies;
(2) Developing and/or supporting
accurate models and tools for evaluating
transportation measures and developing
indicators of economic, social, and
environmental performance of
transportation systems to facilitate
alternative analysis;
(3) Developing and deploying
research to address congestion
reduction efforts;
(4) Developing transportation safety
planning strategies for surface
transportation systems and
improvements;
(5) Improving planning, operation,
and management of surface
transportation systems and rights-ofway;
(6) Enhancing knowledge of strategies
to improve transportation in rural areas
and small communities;
(7) Strengthening and advancing
State/local and tribal capabilities
regarding surface transportation and the
environment;
(8) Improving transportation
decisionmaking and coordination across
international borders;
(9) Improving state of the practice
regarding the impact of transportation
on the environment;
(10) Conducting research to promote
environmental streamlining/
stewardship and sustainability;
(11) Disseminating research results
and advances in state of the practice
through peer exchanges, workshops,
conferences, etc;
(12) Meeting additional priorities as
determined by the Secretary; and
(13) Refining the scope and research
emphases through active outreach and
in consultation with stakeholders.
The FHWA is issuing this notice to:
(1) To announce the STEP
Implementation Strategy for the FY
2012 STEP in anticipation of future
surface transportation legislation, and
(2) to solicit comments on proposed
research activities to be undertaken in
the FY 2012 STEP via the STEP Web
site. The STEP Implementation Strategy
can be found at http://
www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/about_step/
strategy/. That Strategy updates
information on the graphs and charts
regarding historical planning and
environment research funding, and adds
information about the proposed FY 2012
STEP including proposed funding
levels, goals, and potential research
activities. We invite the public to visit
this Web site to obtain additional
information on the STEP, as well as
information on the process for
forwarding comments to the FHWA

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regarding the STEP implementation
plan. The URL for the STEP Web site is:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/.
The FHWA will use this Web site as
a major mechanism for informing the
public regarding the status of the STEP.
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 507.

OMB Approval for Specific Forms,
Surveys, Questionnaires: Burden
Statement
This collection of information is
voluntary and will be used to identify
potential research for the creation of a
research plan for the FHWA STEP
Program. Public reporting burden is
estimated to average 30 minutes per
response, including the time for
reviewing instructions, searching
existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection
of information. No confidential
information will be collected; therefore,
no assurances of confidentiality will be
provided. Please note that an agency
may not conduct or sponsor, and a
person is not required to respond to, a
collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) control
number. The OMB control number for
this collection is 2125–0627 (Expiration
6/30/14). Send comments regarding this
burden estimate or any other aspect of
this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing this burden to:
Information Collection Clearance
Officer, Federal Highway
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Authority: 5 CFR 1320.8.
Issued on: August 8, 2011.
Victor M. Mendez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011–20506 Filed 8–11–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2011–0177]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Request for Comment;
Extension of an Information Collection:
Hours of Service (HOS) of Drivers
Regulations
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2011 / Notices

(PRA), FMCSA announces its plan to
submit the Information Collection
Request (ICR) described below to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and approval and
invites public comment. The FMCSA
requests OMB approval to revise and
extend an existing ICR entitled, ‘‘Hours
of Service (HOS) of Drivers
Regulations.’’ The HOS rules require
most commercial motor vehicle (CMV)
drivers to maintain in the CMV an
accurate record of duty status (RODS) in
either paper or electronic form. The
Agency, effective June 4, 2010,
authorized the use of electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) to create driver
RODS. This ICR estimates, for the first
time, the PRA burden of motor carriers
voluntarily directing their drivers to
employ EOBRs. This ICR promotes
safety in CMV operations by assisting
motor carriers and enforcement officials
in monitoring compliance with the HOS
rules. On June 6, 2011, FMCSA
published a Federal Register notice
allowing for a 60-day comment period
on the ICR (76 FR 32388). One comment
was received.
DATES: Please send your comments by
September 12, 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–2011–0177. 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
[email protected], 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:
Robert F. Schultz, Jr., FMCSA Driver
and Carrier Operations Division.
Telephone: 202–366–4325. E-mail:
[email protected].
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Hours of Service (HOS) of
Drivers Regulations.
OMB Control Number: 2126–0001.
Type of Request: Revision and
extension of a currently-approved
information collection.
Respondents: Motor Carriers, Drivers
of CMVs.

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Estimated Annual Respondents: 4.93
million [4.60 million drivers + 0.33
million active motor carriers].
Estimated Time per Response: A
driver employing a paper RODS takes an
average of 6.5 minutes to complete it; a
driver employing an EOBR takes an
average of 2 minutes to complete it. A
driver takes an average of 5 minutes to
forward a paper RODS to the motor
carrier; a driver employing an EOBR is
relieved of this task by automation.
Whether using a paper or EOBR RODS,
a motor carrier takes 2 minutes to
review a RODS and its corresponding
supporting documents, and 1 additional
minute to maintain those supporting
documents. For those motor carriers
using an EOBR, the ICR burden of
maintaining the RODS is eliminated by
automation; for those motor carriers
using paper RODS, 1 minute is required
to maintain the RODS.
Expiration Date: 8/31/2011.
Estimated Frequency of Response
Drivers: 240 days per year, on average.
Motor Carriers: 240 days per year, on
average.
Estimated Annual Responses:
3,843.59 million—the sum of the
following:
A. Driver Tasks
(1) Filling out the RODS:
1,104 million, and
(2) Forwarding the RODS to the motor
carrier: 102.23 million.
B. Motor Carrier Tasks
(1) Reviewing the RODS: 552 million,
(2) Maintaining the RODS:
981.36 million, and
(3) Maintaining the supporting
documents: 1,104 million.
Estimated Total Annual Burden:
172.08 million burden hours [118.92
million driver hours + 53.16 million
carrier hours].
Background: The FMCSA regulates
the amount of time a CMV driver may
drive or otherwise be on duty, in order
to ensure that an adequate period of
time is available to the driver to rest. A
driver must accurately record his or her
duty status (driving, on duty not
driving, off duty, sleeper berth) at all
points during the 24-hour period
designated by the motor carrier (49 CFR
395.8(a)(1)). This RODS must be made
on a grid specified by subsection
395.8(g). The term ‘‘logbook’’ is often
used in the industry to denote the
collection of the most recent RODS of
the driver. A driver must have the RODS
for the previous 7 consecutive days in
the CMV at all times (395.8(k)(2)). The
RODS must be submitted to the motor
carrier along with any supporting

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documents, such as fuel receipts and
toll tickets that could assist in verifying
the accuracy of entries on the RODS,
and the motor carrier must retain these
records for a minimum of 6 months
from the date of receipt (49 CFR
395.8(k)(1)).
Statutory authority for regulating the
hours of service (HOS) of drivers
operating CMVs in interstate commerce
is derived from 49 U.S.C. 31136 and
31502. The penalty provisions are
located at 49 U.S.C. 521, 522 and 526,
as amended. On November 28, 1982, the
Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA), the agency responsible for
administration of the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs)
(49 CFR 350 et seq.) at that time,
promulgated a final rule requiring motor
carriers to ensure that their drivers
record their duty status in a specified
format and verify the accuracy of the
HOS of each driver (47 FR 53383). The
rule is codified at 49 CFR 395.8.
The HOS rules provide the following
four methods of recording driver duty
status:
(1) Paper RODS: This grid form
requires the driver to graph time and
location on a paper record over a 24hour period (Section 395.8(g)). It must
be present on the CMV in the absence
of a regulatory exception.
(2) Time Record: The HOS regulations
allow certain ‘‘short haul’’ CMV drivers
to avoid the onboard-the-CMV RODS
requirement if their employing motor
carrier records their HOS by means of a
time record or time card maintained at
the place of business (Section 395.1(e)).
To qualify for this exception, short-haul
drivers generally must return at the end
of the duty day to the same location at
which they began the day, and must
remain within a certain distance of that
location at all times during the duty
day. The time record must show the
time the driver began work, was
released from work, and the total hours
worked.
(3) Automatic On-Board Recording
Device (AOBRD): An electronic record is
permitted if it is created and maintained
by an AOBRD as defined by 49 CFR
395.2. The record must include all the
information that would appear on a
paper RODS, and the driver or carrier
must be capable of producing this
information upon demand.
(4) EOBR: Motor carriers subject to an
FMCSA remedial directive must use an
electronic record created and
maintained by an EOBR as defined in
49 CFR 395.2. Other motor carriers may
voluntarily employ EOBRs.
The RODS is important because it
provides motor carriers and
enforcement personnel a significant tool

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2011 / Notices
for determining driver compliance with
the HOS rules. Compliance helps
FMCSA protect the public by reducing
the number of tired CMV drivers on the
highways.
Most States receive grants from
FMCSA under the Motor Carrier Safety
Assistance Program. As a condition of
receiving these grants, States agree to
adopt and enforce the FMCSRs,
including the HOS rules, as State law.
As a result, State enforcement
inspectors use the RODS and supporting
documents to determine whether CMV
drivers are complying with the HOS
rules. In addition, FMCSA uses the
RODS during on-site compliance
reviews (CRs) and targeted reviews of
motor carriers. The CR is a public
record. An unfavorable review can be
damaging to a motor carrier’s business
because customers may access the CRs
before selecting a motor carrier to hire.
Finally, Federal and State judicial
systems generally accept RODS as
evidence in actions alleging driver or
motor carrier violations of the HOS
regulations. This information collection
supports the DOT’s Strategic Goal of
Safety because the information helps the
Agency ensure the safe operation of
CMVs in interstate commerce on our
Nation’s highways.
The currently-approved PRA burden
estimate is 181.28 million hours, as
approved by OMB on August 20, 2010.
The expiration date of this IC is August
31, 2011. In this ICR, FMCSA proposes
to reduce the PRA burden by
approximately 9.20 million burden
hours, or by slightly over 5 percent.
FMCSA seeks OMB approval of its
revised estimated PRA burden of 172.08
million burden hours. In today’s
submission, FMCSA for the first time
estimates the extent of voluntary EOBR
use by motor carriers, and subtracts that
same number from its estimate of the
extent of the use of paper RODS. The
Agency maintains its OMB-approved
estimates of the total number of CMV
drivers subject to the HOS rules, and the
total number of CMV drivers subject to
an Agency remedial HOS directive.
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 information
collected.

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Issued on: August 8, 2011.
Kelly Leone,
Associate Administrator for Research and
Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2011–20584 Filed 8–11–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
Notice of Fiscal Year 2012 Safety
Grants and Solicitation for
Applications
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; change in application
due dates.
AGENCY:

This notice informs the public
of FMCSA’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 safety
grant opportunities and FMCSA’s
projected application due dates. FMCSA
announces these grant opportunities
based on authorities provided for in the
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy of
Users. The Agency will inform
applicants if new authorizing legislation
changes its grant programs for FY 2012
through a Federal Register notice. The
10 safety grant programs include the
Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program
(MCSAP) Basic grants; MCSAP
Incentive grants; New Entrant Safety
Audit grants; MCSAP High Priority
grants; Commercial Motor Vehicle
(CMV) Operator Safety Training grants;
Border Enforcement grants (BEG);
Commercial Driver’s License Program
Improvement (CDLPI) grants;
Performance and Registration
Information Systems Management
(PRISM) grants; Safety Data
Improvement Program (SaDIP) grants;
and the Commercial Vehicle
Information Systems and Networks
(CVISN) grants. It should be noted that
FMCSA does not expect the Commercial
Driver’s License Information System
(CDLIS) Modernization grants to be
continued in reauthorization, and,
therefore, FMCSA will not be soliciting
applications for this grant program in
FY 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Please contact the following FMCSA
staff with questions or needed
information on the Agency’s grant
programs:
MCSAP Basic/Incentive Grants—
Suzanne Poole,
[email protected], 202–493–
0804.
New Entrant Safety Audits Grants—
Arthur Williams,
SUMMARY:

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[email protected], 202–366–
3695.
Border Enforcement Grants—Carla
Vagnini, [email protected], 202–
366–3771.
High Priority Grants—Cim Weiss,
[email protected], 202–366–0275.
CMV Operator Safety Training Grants—
Arthur Williams,
[email protected], 202–366–
0710.
CDLPI Grants—James Ross,
[email protected], 202–366–0133.
SaDIP Grants—Cim Weiss,
[email protected], 202–366–0275.
PRISM Grants—Julie Otto,
[email protected], 202–366–0710.
CVISN Grants—Julie Otto,
[email protected], 202–366–0710.
All staff may be reached at FMCSA,
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., E.S.T., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
FMCSA recognizes that State and
local governments and other grantees
are dependent on the Agency’s safety
grants to develop and maintain
important CMV safety programs.
FMCSA further acknowledges that
delays in awarding grant funds may
have an adverse impact on these
important safety programs. As a result,
FMCSA completed a grants process
review to identify ways to streamline
the application, award, and grants
management processes, and to award
grant funds earlier each fiscal year. In
addition, FMCSA made changes in the
grants application, award and oversight
processes to standardize application
forms, increase the use of electronic
documents, standardize quarterly
reports, and reduce the number of
needed grant amendments.
FMCSA continues to enter into grant
agreements beginning October 1 or as
soon thereafter as administratively
practicable. FMCSA intends to begin
awarding grants no later than 90 days
from the date the application is due.
FMCSA uses the standard grant
application form and quarterly reporting
process. FMCSA requires the Standard
Form 424 (Application for Federal
Assistance) and its attachments for all
grant program applications. While each
grant program may request different
data in some of the data fields on the
form, the use of the Standard Form 424
is mandatory. FMCSA uses the Standard
Form-Project Progress Report (SF–PPR)
as its required form for quarterly
reporting. While each grant program
may request that different data be
submitted in some fields or boxes on the

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