60-Day FR

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 46 / Friday, March 8, 2019 / Notices
other in the guidance document,
including thresholds and requirements.
In addition, interview responses within
OES indicated a difference of opinion in
terms of what constituted outreach to
underserved and protected populations.
At the district level, ODOT district
environmental staff indicated that they
had inconsistent information on how to
determine if there were protected
populations and how to conduct the
required outreach activities, even if
there were no disproportionately
negative impacts. However, OES is
trusting the districts, on projects with a
lower level of NEPA classification, to
ensure full and fair participation by
underserved and protected populations
in public involvement, NEPA and the
transportation decisionmaking
processes.
Documentation and Records
Management
Observation 4: Opportunities exist to
continue improving documentation in
the areas of PI, EJ, and environmental
commitments.
In response to previous audits and
self-assessments, ODOT updated many
procedures relating to the NEPA process
to improve its processes and meet
Federal requirements. The updates
included changes to ODOT’s internal
documentation and filing guidelines
and updates to EnviroNet. The review
team thinks these changes have
positively impacted the program since
Audits 1 and 2.
The quality of documentation for
projects is trending in a positive
direction since Audits 1 and 2, as
approximately 50 percent of all projects
reviewed had zero deficiencies noted by
the team. However, although there were
examples of high quality PI, EJ reviews,
development of environmental
commitments, and documentation for
some projects, these same elements
were lacking in others. For the projects
reviewed, 42 percent of substantive
comments made by the team related to
EJ, 22 percent to PI, 17 percent to
environmental commitments, 11 percent
to QA/QC, and 8 percent to
documentation. This demonstrates
inconsistencies in practice, which may
indicate additional training, guidance,
and/or quality controls may be needed
to improve consistency in application of
documentation statewide.
The team met with ODOT to discuss
individual deficiencies noted by both
FHWA and ODOT OES during this
audit. The ODOT evaluated these
deficiencies at OES and then
communicated them individually with
the districts. The ODOT remains
committed to improvements in

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documentation, with plans to continue
updates to EnviroNet and guidance, as
needed, and with the training required
to deliver results.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/
QC)
Observation 5: There are variations in
awareness, understanding, and
implementation of QA/QC process and
procedures.
The inconsistencies and missing
information noted in the Documentation
and Records Management section are an
indication of inconsistency in ODOT’s
QA/QC process. The team found
inconsistencies in awareness and use of
peer reviews in the ODOT Districts, as
well as use of comments in EnviroNet.
Selected ODOT OES and district
environmental staff said that they rely
on the ODOT Central Office for QC
support. No training is provided
exclusively for QA/QC.
Legal Sufficiency Review
The ODOT utilized its guidance for
legal sufficiency to review one
Environmental Impact Statement Reevaluation, one EA, and two Individual
Section 4(f) approvals.
Performance Measures
The development of Performance
Measures is required in MOU Section
10.2. The ODOT has refined their
Performance Measures to provide a
better overall indication of ODOT’s
execution of its responsibilities as
assigned by the MOU. The team found
evidence that the results obtained
through the Performance Measures are
beginning to provide actionable
feedback, allowing ODOT to make
appropriate changes as it manages its
environmental program.
Training Program
During the previous audits, it was
noted that ODOT has a robust
environmental training program and
provides adequate budget and time for
staff to access a variety of internal and
external training. To add to the training
program and plan, ODOT has
complemented its traditional,
instructor-based training courses,
quarterly DEC meetings, and monthly
NEPA chats with the development of
several online courses. During the audit,
ODOT reported that 10 online courses
are anticipated to be available in August
2018, with an additional 19 online
courses anticipated to be developed
within the year. As of October 2018, it
is not evident that these courses were
yet deployed.
Observation 6: Opportunities exist to
expand required and continuous

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training to additional staff and develop
additional instructor-led or online
training in NEPA-related subject areas.
Also, during the previous audit, it was
noted ODOT’s training plan states that
all ODOT environmental staff (both
central and district offices) and
environmental consultants are required
to take the pre-qualification training
courses. The ODOT should consider
extending this requirement to NEPA
project managers and public
involvement officers. Extending the
training to additional staff may improve
public outreach efforts and overall
program delivery. The ODOT should
focus on training in NEPA and NEPArelated subject areas such as Limited
English Proficiency and Public
Involvement. The FHWA encourages
ODOT to include specific EJ training
opportunities in its training plan, such
as the Web-based course currently
under development.
Next Steps
The FHWA provided a draft of this
audit report to ODOT for a 14-day
review and comment period and
considered ODOT’s comments in
developing this draft report. In addition,
FHWA will consider comments on the
draft report received from the public
within the 30-day comment period after
publication in the Federal Register,
pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327(g). No later
than 60 days after the close of the
comment period, FHWA will respond to
all comments submitted, pursuant to 23
U.S.C. 327(g)(2)(B). Once finalized,
FHWA will publish the final audit
report in the Federal Register.
The FHWA will consider the results
of this audit in preparing the scope of
the next annual audit. The next audit
report will include a summary that
describes the status of ODOT’s
corrective and other actions taken in
response to this audit’s conclusions.
[FR Doc. 2019–04231 Filed 3–7–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2019–0023]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Revision of an Approved
Information Collection: Hours of
Service (HOS) of Drivers Regulations
FMCSA, DOT.
Notice and request for
comments.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

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8564

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 46 / Friday, March 8, 2019 / Notices

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
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. The FMCSA requests
approval to renew an ICR titled, ‘‘Hours
of Service (HOS) of Drivers
Regulations.’’ The HOS regulations
require a motor carrier to install and
require each of its drivers subject to the
record of duty status (RODS) rule to use
an electronic logging device (ELD) to
report the driver’s RODS. The RODS is
critical to FMCSA’s safety mission
because it helps enforcement officials
determine if CMV drivers are complying
with the HOS rules limiting driver onduty and driving time and requiring
periodic off-duty time.
DATES: We must receive your comments
on or before May 7, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket
Number FMCSA–2019–0023 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, 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. 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: Anyone is able to search
the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may
SUMMARY:

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review DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement for the Federal Docket
Management System published in the
Federal Register on January 17, 2008
(73 FR 3316), or you may visit http://
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdfE8794.pdf.
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 selfaddressed, 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: Ms.
Pearlie Robinson, FMCSA Driver and
Carrier Operations Division Department
of Transportation, FMCSA, West
Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
Telephone: 202–366–4225. Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 16, 2015, the final rule
titled ‘‘Electronic Logging Devices and
Hours of Service Supporting
Documents’’ was published and became
effective February 16, 2016 (80 FR
78292). The FMCSA established
minimum performance and design
standards for ELDs and the mandatory
use of these devices by drivers who are
subject to the HOS reporting
requirements. Drivers currently using
compliant automatic on-board recorders
(AOBRDs) have until December 16,
2019, to replace the devices with ELDs.
As a condition of receiving certain
federal grants, States agree to adopt and
enforce the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations, 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 and offsite
investigations of motor carriers. And,
Federal and State courts rely upon the
RODS as evidence of driver and 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.

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Renewal of This IC
The current IC burden estimate of the
HOS rules, approved by OMB on June
13, 2016, is 99.46 million hours. The
expiration date of the current ICR is
June 30, 2019. Through this ICR,
FMCSA requests a revision of the
paperwork burden of 2126–0001. The
Agency requests a reduction in the
burden hours from 99.46 million hours
to 41.03 million hours. The reduction is
the result of amendments of the HOS
rules in which the burden estimate for
most drivers and motor carriers is based
on compliance with the ELD final rule
during the three-year ICR period. Two
types of information are collected under
this IC: (1) Drivers’ RODS commonly
referred as a logbook, and (2) supporting
documents, such as gasoline and toll
receipts, that motor carriers use to verify
accuracy of RODS and document
expense deductions for income tax
filing purposes. The use of ELDs
reduces the driver’s time to input duty
status from 6.5 minutes to 2 minutes.
Title: Hours of Service (HOS) of
Drivers Regulations.
OMB Control Number: 2126–0001.
Type of Request: Revision of an
information collection.
Respondents: Motor Carriers of
Property and Passengers, Drivers of
CMVs.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
3.42 million CMV drivers; 540,000
Motor Carriers.
Estimated Time per Response: CMV
drivers using technology: 2 minutes.
Motor Carriers: 2 minutes.
Expiration Date: June 30, 2019.
Frequency of Response: Drivers: 240
days per year; Motor carriers 240 days
per year.
Estimated Total Annual Burden:
41.03 million 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 information
collected. The Agency will summarize
or include your comments in the request
for OMB’s clearance of this ICR.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR
1.87 on:

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 46 / Friday, March 8, 2019 / Notices
Dated: March 1, 2019.
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of
Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2019–04190 Filed 3–7–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2019–0056]

Hours of Service of Drivers: R.J.
Corman Railroad Services,
Cranemasters, Inc., and National
Railroad Construction and
Maintenance Association, Inc.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for
exemption; request for comments.
AGENCY:

FMCSA announces that it has
received an application from R.J.
Corman Railroad Services,
Cranemasters, Inc., (‘‘Companies’’) and
the National Railroad Construction and
Maintenance Association, Inc.
requesting a limited exemption from the
regulatory hours-of-service (HOS)
maximum driving time requirements for
drivers of property-carrying vehicles.
The applicants request the exemption to
enable affected railroad employees,
subject to the HOS rule, to respond to
an unplanned event that occurs outside
of or extends beyond the employee’s
normal work hours. FMCSA requests
public comment on the Companies’
application for exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before April 8, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Federal Docket
Management System Number FMCSA–
2019–0056 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. E.T., 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
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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: Ms.
Pearlie Robinson, FMCSA Driver and
Carrier Operations Division; Office of
Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety
Standards; Telephone: (202) 366–4325;
Email: [email protected]. 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–2019–0056), 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 comment online, go to
www.regulations.gov and put the docket
number, ‘‘FMCSA–2019–0056’’ 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

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and then submit. If you submit your
comments by mail or hand delivery,
submit them in an unbound format, no
larger than 81⁄2 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, selfaddressed postcard or envelope. FMCSA
will consider all comments and material
received during the comment period.
II. Legal Basis
FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C.
31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions
from certain 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 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 (up to 5 years) and
explain the terms and conditions of the
exemption. The exemption may be
renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).
III. Request for Exemption
R.J. Corman Railroad Services,
Cranemasters, Inc., (‘‘Companies’’) and
the National Railroad Construction and
Maintenance Association, Inc. is
requesting an exemption from the HOS
regulations in 49 CFR part 395 for their
employees who transport equipment
used to clear derailed or disabled trains
or debris blocking tracks or railroad
rights-of-way when they are responding
to unplanned events that affect
interstate commerce, service or the
safety of railway operations, including
passenger rail operations.
The Companies assert that many
unplanned events occur outside of
normal business hours and in many
instances the situation is locally
contained. In that case, while a local
government official could declare an
emergency that would exempt the

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